INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Leaming 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI' PHILIP MELANCHTHON, THE FORMULA OF CONCORD, AND THE THIRD USE OF THE LAW DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Ken Ray Schurb, B.A., B.S.Ed., M.Div., M.A., S.T.M. Me * * * * The Ohio State University 2001 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Dale K. Van Kley, Adviser Professor James M. Kittelson /C \fco^ Ki Adviser Professor John C. Rule Department of History UMI Number: 9999439 UMI UMI Microform 9999439 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Leaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT The sixteenth-century Lutheran view of the Christian’s relationship to God’s law forms the subject of this study. Particularly, what role should God’s law play in the Christian life in view of the traditional Lutheran distinction between law and gospel? Since the days o f Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon, Lutherans have generally agreed that the law I.) curbs outbursts of evil and 2.) exposes sin. In 1577 the Formula of Concord took a step not explicitly taken by Luther, identifying a “third use” of the law: giving Christians a rule for living on account of their abiding sinful nature. In 1534-1535 Melanchthon had been the first Lutheran theologian to enumerate three uses of the law, but was the third (instructional) use truly Lutheran? Scholars have had grave doubts, in the twentieth century as well as the sixteenth. After summarizing the twentieth-century research and the Formula of Concord’s position on the third use of the law, the present study examines the respective editions of Melanchthon’s theological textbook, the Loci Communes. Thus, it takes a “reading” on Melanchthon’s stance toward the law and related subjects as of 1521 (the first edition o f the Loci), 1530-1531 (the Augsburg Confession and its Apology), 1535 (second edition of the Zoc/), and 1543 (the third and final Loc/ edition). It concludes that over the years Melanchthon’s position displayed remarkable u consistency, although there were a couple of shifts in it. The teaching of the Formula of Concord reflected Melanchthon’s thinking on the law as he wrote the Augsburg Confession and Apology. The third use of the law was thus not a foreign element that later intruded into Lutheran theology. This study also suggests that the twentieth-century treatment of the third use has been shaped by influences besides encounter with Melanchthon’s writings themselves, and that Melanchthon’s ethical concern grew less as a result of “humanisf’ optimism about man and more due to his concern with individual salvation in addition to civic and churchly considerations. Finally, it offers several questions which can finitfiilly be put to Luther’s writings in order to establish the relationship between him and Melanchthon. m Dedicated to my wife and my mother IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and certainly foremost, I owe a special debt of gratitude to Professor James M. Kittelson, formerly of The Ohio State University and now Professor of Church History and Director of the Reformation Research Program at Luther- Northwestem Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. He never lost interest in me and in this work even when my interests moved in a variety of directions and as a result I took entirely too long to finish this dissertation. His continuing patience, help, and willingness to serve as co-adviser have been essential to my undertaking, and are most appreciated. I also thank my adviser. Professor Dale Van Kley, and Professor John Rule who served as a reader. Truly, a project like this one can be completed only with the courtesy and assistance of many people. Seasoned scholars such as Professors Ulrich Asendorf and Oliver Olson generously offered me their counsel as I was getting started. I also benefited from shorter conversations with Professors Leif Grane and Timothy Wengert. My classmates and colleagues also helped, especially Dr. Alan Borcherding and Dr. Scott Murray. Professor Charles Arand of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis encouraged me and generously allowed me pre-publication peeks at both his English translation of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession for the new Fortress Press edition of the Book of Concord and his valuable article on the rhetorical structure of the fourth article of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. Dr. Lowell Green sent me a copy of one of his papers before its publication. Dr. Charles Manske proved unfailing with his sympathy and encouragement. At the International Center of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in St. Louis, librarians Wendi Adams and Shari Stelling kept me well-supplied with materials. My immediate supervisor. President A.L. Barry, facilitated my taking time off in blocks during 1999 and so made possible the writing of the first draft. Several publishers have granted me permission to quote extensively from materials on which they hold copyright. The Book of Concord, Theodore G. Tappert, general editor. Used by permission of Augsburg Fortress Press. Luther’s Works: American Edition, volumes 1-30 Copyright 1955-1975 by Concordia Publishing House. Used with permission under license number 00: 8-83. Luther’s Works: American Edition, volumes 31-55 Used by permission of Augsburg Fortress Press. Philip Melanchthon’s 1540 Commentary on Romans Copyright 1992 by Concordia Publishing House. Used with permission under license number 00: 8-83. Philip Melanchthon’s Loci Communes of 1521 Reproduced from MELANCHTHON AND BUCER (Library of Christian Classics) by Wilhelm Pauck, Used by permission of Westminster John Knox Press. Philip Melanchthon’s Loci Communes 1543 Copyright 1992 by Concordia Publishing House. Used with permission under license number 00: 8-83. VI This dissertation is dedicated to two women who have probably wanted to see the finished product even more than I have. They are my wife, Lâna Schurb, and my mother, June Schurb. Soli Deo gloria! vu VITA March 6, 1957 Bom - New Orleans, Louisiana 1979 B.A. Classics, B.S.Ed. Secondary Education, Concordia Teachers College, Seward, Nebraska 1982 M.Div., Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana 1982-83 Graduate Teaching and Research Assistant, Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana 1983-1988 Graduate Teaching, Research, and Administrative Associate, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Summers, 1984, 1987, 1990 Guest Instructor, Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana 1986 M.A. History, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1988 S.T.M., Systematic Theology, Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana 1988-92 Pastor, Peace Lutheran Church, Berne, Indiana 1992-94 Assistant Professor, Concordia College, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1994-present Assistant to the President, The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod, St. Louis, Missouri vm PUBLICATIONS Research Publication “Twentieth-Century Melanchthon Scholarship and the Missouri Synod.” Concordia Theological Quarterly 62 (October, 1998):287-307. “ ‘The Law Always Accuses’ in the Augsburg Confession and the Apology.” Concordia Journal 23 (October, I997):338-349. “The Meeting of Church and Ministry in the Lutheran Confessions and Some of their Interpreters.” The Pieper Lectures: Volume 1. The Office of the Ministry. Edited by Chris Christophersen Boshoven. N.p.: Concordia Historical Institute and the Luther Academy, 1997. Pp. 60-112. “The Resurrection in Gospel Proclamation.” Concordia Journal 18 (January, 1992):28-39. “The Religious Function of Ideas: A Retrospective on Carl Becker's Heavenly City.” The University of Dayton Reyiew 20 (Fall, 1990): 101-106. “ A Case Study of Spirituality in Bernard of Clairvaux. ” Concordia Journal 16 (October, 1990):352-362. “Sixteenth-Century Lutheran/Calvinist Conflict on the Protevangelium.” Concordia Theological Quarterly 54 (January, 1990):25-47. “Melanchthon on Church and Ministry.” Concordia Journal 15 (October, 1989):447-466. Co-edited (with Martin R. Noland) Erich H. Heintzen, The Prairie School of the Prophets. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1989. “Luther and the Jews — A Reconsideration.” Concordia Journal 13 (October, 1987):307-330. (With James M. Kittelson) “The Curious Histories of the Wittenberg Concord.” Concordia Theological Quarterly 50 (April, 1986): 119-137. IX Ecclesiastical Publication “Affective Education in the Synodical College: Teaching Theology in the Traditional Program Classroom.” Lutheran Education 132 (Jan.-Feb., 1997): 134-140. “ Declining Denominational Loyalty. ” Logia: A Journal of Lutheran Theology 2 (Reformation, 1993) :45-47, “Routine in the Evangelistic Use of Radio.” Evangelism 7 (May, 1993): 11-17.