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Reformation Confessors: Martin Chemnitz – Pr. Paul

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Reformation Confessors: Martin Chemnitz – Pr. Paul TRANSCRIPT Rev. ToDD Wilken, Host + + + + + "Reformation Confessors: Martin Chemnitz" Guest: Pastor Paul McCain Publisher & Executive Director of Editorial, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Missouri General Editor of Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions Tuesday, October 22, 2013 + + + + + WILKEN: When you consider the second Martin – Martin Chemnitz. Now, you contribution, the intellect, the kind of force of might not be familiar with his name, but by personality that was the 16th century the end of this hour, I hope that you are and reformer Martin Luther, it’s kind of hard to that you appreciate his contribution to believe that in the second generation of the Reformation theology. Reformation, there is another Martin who equals Luther in many ways. Maybe not in Welcome back to Issues, Etc. on this the force of personality – not as compelling Tuesday afternoon, the 22nd of October. I’m a personality – but certainly as compelling a Todd Wilken. Thanks for tuning us in for day theologian and as great a contributor as two of Issues, Etc. Reformation Week. We’ll Luther himself. Some would even say that be talking about Martin Chemnitz. Pastor without the second Martin, the first Martin Paul McCain is our guest. He’s Publisher would not have gotten anywhere. The and Executive Director of Editorial for Issues, Etc. Transcript – “Reformation Confessors: Martin Chemnitz” – page 1 Concordia Publishing House, based in St. those years particularly he came under the Louis, and General Editor of ConcorDia: The personal supervision and tutelage of Philip Lutheran Confessions. Paul, welcome back Melanchthon. And then he got his Master’s to Issues, Etc. of Theology later from Königsberg, and at that point he had kind of an interesting twist McCAIN: Hey, Todd, great to be with you. in his career. He was hired to be the duke’s – the prince of the area – his personal WILKEN: He’s called “the second Martin.” librarian and also teacher to his students Why is Martin Chemnitz called “the second and members of the court. So he spent Martin”? Who coined that particular epithet? several years doing that, and that was a very key time in his life, because as he McCAIN: Well, according to what we know, writes about it in his own autobiography, it was actually the Roman Catholics who those years are so precious to him, because first called him that, who recognized in he literally spent hours and hours and hours Martin Chemnitz such a powerful force to be in the library reading very carefully through reckoned with that they ended up coining a all the early church fathers, taking very little phrase that said, “If the second Martin careful notes on what, I guess, today, we had not come, the first Martin would not would call notecards. So it was a huge have stood.” In other words, Martin opportunity for him to really grow in his Chemnitz so well defended the theology knowledge, and you can see that in all his and work of the Lutheran Reformation, and writings. And then he finally came back to Martin Luther in particular, that they gave Wittenberg, where he became a member of him the name “second Martin.” I guess they the Wittenberg faculty in 1554. And then intended it to be some kind of an insult, but from there, he went on to become a key it was actually kind of a grudging leader of the church in the Braunschweig, compliment. Germany area. And during that time, he became what is known as a superintendent, WILKEN: So let’s talk about him as – well, which is basically just another word for first of all, a little biography of the man. And bishop. He became the area supervisor of then let’s talk about him emerging as a all the congregation’s church workers in the theologian that can, in history, legitimately area. take a second place only to someone like Martin Luther. WILKEN: So how long was he actually on the faculty, do we know, at Wittenberg? Is McCAIN: Yeah, it’s really interesting. that a significant portion of his career? Chemnitz came to Wittenberg as part of his schooling, and he was constantly moving McCAIN: No, he was not on very long at all. around in his earlier life because of financial In fact, he was made a member of the difficulties. But he did study at Wittenberg faculty in 1554, and later that same year, he for two years, and actually had a chance, accepted the call to become what’s called even though at the time he didn’t fully coadjutor of Braunschweig, just a church appreciate it. Apparently he had the chance supervisory position, with his friend, to hear Martin Luther lecturing on the book Joachim Mörlin. And he and his friend of Genesis at some point. But he was more Mörlin played a critical role later, trying to a student of Philip Melanchthon in bring peace and harmony among feuding Wittenberg. But then he went on to the city Lutherans. of Magdeburg for a couple of years, and a couple other cities, and he finally received WILKEN: Now, he – that feuding part of his his Bachelor of Arts degree at Wittenberg career, wherein, after Luther’s death – and between the years 1545 and 1547. During Issues, Etc. Transcript – “Reformation Confessors: Martin Chemnitz” – page 2 we’ve discussed this in another venue, finally Chemnitz rose in more prominence, talking about the Formula of Concord, with and he, along with several other key rulers, which Chemnitz is very strongly associated like Jacob Andreii, were able to approach – give us kind of a thumbnail sketch of what these issues a little more calmly and go Chemnitz and the other leaders of the through them a little more systematically Reformation in the second generation were and work out things in a very careful facing from within Lutheran ranks. manner, which led to the Formula of Concord, of which Chemnitz was the chief McCAIN: Well, at the death of Martin Luther editor and author, and then the entire Book in 1546, almost immediately there broke out of Concord, of which Chemnitz was a main heavy controversies among the Lutherans, editor as well. and part of the huge problem was at the very same time, there was actually warfare WILKEN: So how much of Chemnitz do we where the Roman Catholic ruler, Charles V, find in that final document, the Formula of had attacked and defeated the ruler of the Concord? How much, would you say, are area of Wittenberg, John Frederick the we seeing his fingerprints on the Magnanimous, and defeated him in 1547. Lutheranism of his day? So there was an enormous amount of controversy politically, socially, and also McCAIN: Well, honestly, his fingerprints are theologically. Fortunately, Chemnitz kind of all over it, but he was very careful to make came to the intense struggles just a little bit sure that everybody involved made a later. You’ll notice in his career he didn’t significant contribution. I actually have a really get super involved in these matters book on my shelf that identifies, sentence until the late 1550s. And by that time, ten, by sentence, who’s responsible for that twelve, fifteen years had gone by of intense sentence or paragraph. Chemnitz is in there controversy, and then Chemnitz came on quite a lot, but so also is Jacob Andreii, the scene later with his coworker, Mörlin, Nicholas Selnicker, other people who and they became more involved in trying to contributed to the final work on the Formula work out some of the controversies. of Concord. And that was very intentional on Basically, it all came down to the fact that Chemnitz’s part. He wanted to be a unifier after Luther died, there was no strong and, a phrase that some used to refer to leader to follow him. People looked to Philip Chemnitz and others, is “a concordist,” a Melanchthon, but Philip Melanchthon simply person who wanted harmony. And so I didn’t have the personality and character would say Chemnitz very intentionally, even that Luther did. And he, unfortunately, made though he took a very prominent leadership compromises and allowed statements to role in getting people to agree to the stand that were subject to different Formula of Concord, when it came to writing interpretation. He kind of played fast and it he was very careful to work with other loose with the theology of John Calvin on people and make sure their views were the Lord’s Supper, on the nature of free will, heard and included as much as possible. and just led to all kinds of controversy. And so there developed, basically, two major WILKEN: Could you describe, with a minute parties, called the Philipists, who followed or so here, the task that he undertook to edit Philip Melanchthon, and then a group that the entire Book of ConcorD? That’s a pretty came to be known as the Gnesio-Lutherans, big responsibility, especially considering which means “genuine Lutherans.” And what they were intending to do by way of those folks were led by a man named that book. Matthias Flacius. And so this controversy went on for about just roughly 15 years, until Issues, Etc. Transcript – “Reformation Confessors: Martin Chemnitz” – page 3 McCAIN: Sure; well, I don’t want to mislead contributed. And Chemnitz was an heir of anybody into thinking that Chemnitz was this great theological rediscovery and this like a one-man operation here. He took it great treasure. He recognized it as such. upon himself to serve as kind of the final, And he on his own – even though Philip general editor, in the sense of guiding, Melanchthon was, frankly, a mentor to him overseeing, making sure documents were and a close friend – finally he had to reject put in that were proper, that were the best even Philip Melanchthon’s errors in order to editions that they thought belonged in the preserve the clarity of the Gospel that had Book of ConcorD, rejecting those that they come shining and breaking forth through the felt did not – for instance, later editions of Reformation.
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