Theology Today - Vol 49, No.1 - April 1992 - BOOK REVIEW - Martin Luther: Shaping and Defining the Reformation, 1521-1532 & A Life of John Calvin: A Study in the Shaping of Western Culture

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Martin Luther: Shaping and Defining the Reformation, 1521-1532
By Martin Brecht
Minneapolis, Fortress, 1990. 543 pp. $39.95.

A Life of John Calvin: A Study in the Shaping of Western Culture
By Alister E. McGrath
Cambridge, Mass., Basil Blackwell, 1990. 332 pp. $29.95.

Reviewing these two books together reminds one of the similarities and differences between Luther and Calvin and of the dependence of the latter on the former. Both were biblical theologians, serious exegetes, christocentric, and Augustinian in their doctrines of sin and grace. Both were pastors with practical concerns who preached regularly and also lectured to audiences that were theologically literate. Unlike the many radical reformers of their day, both were cautious in their handling of the many problems that confronted them. An example of this in Luther, who is usually considered otherwise, is his attention given the mass; not until November of 1525, reports Brecht, did he attack it publicly. Moreover, McGrath indicates that both Luther and Calvin made heavy use of their vernacular languages, German and French, and thus made important contributions to the development and establishment of those languages as literary vehicles.

Their dissimilarities are as striking. Unlike the German Reformation, the work in Geneva was, according to McGrath, a "process ... locked into a social spiral from which the peasantry were excluded." Whereas we know a considerable amount about Luther's early years, concerning Calvin's we know next to nothing. Luther tells us much about himself, Calvin little. McGrath shows that the two men, in spite of their common interests, had different agenda. Luther's individualist conception of Christian existence contrasts with the "more corporate conception" associated with Zwingli, Bucer, and Calvin. Calvin's

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international involvements and emphasis on the doctrines of predesti nation and calling led to a "worldly activism" in his disciples, which sets the men and their traditions apart. Moreover, Calvin's background in humanism and h is early interest in method and style, seen in his Seneca commentary and later works, distinguishes him from Luther. Besides, Strasbourg and Geneva helped in the formation of Calvin in a potent way, something that Luther did not experience in Wittenberg.

The scope of the two books is different. Brecht's is a detailed chronicle, with interpretation, of Luther's activities from 1521 to 1532, with little left out. This book is the second volume in the first multi-volumed life of Luther done in this century. McGrath gives us an overview of Calvin's life and devotes the last quarter of the work to Calvin's influence on society, economic theory, and politics after his death. A common feature of both volumes is the correction of false legends concerning their main characters. Luther's many detractors and the critics of Calvin (Jerome Bolsec, Honore de Balzac, Aldous Huxley, and Stefan Zweig) are given brief, but decisive, answers.

In this second volume of his biography of Luther, Brecht, Professor of Reformation and Modern Church History at the University of Munster, treats the eleven years between the Diet of Worms in 1521 and the religious peace of 1532. The story begins with Luther's nine and a half months at Wartburg, during which he translated the New Testament along with carrying on other literary activity. The return to Wittenberg meant confronting a multitude of problems, which rendered naive Luther's earlier expectation that the old system would collapse within two years. Prophets, enthusiasts, iconoclasts, fanatics, and the Peasants' War demanded his attention and response. Although he did so reluctantly, finally, in 1525, he had to respond to Erasmus on free will. He preferred that the old man, who was not qualified for the controversy, die in peace. Amid it all, Luther followed the advice he had given others: He married and established a home and family. The reform of the university and lectures there, the reorganization of the church, and the four-year eucharistic controversy were major aspects of ongoing reform, each requiring great time and effort. Yet, Luther attended to incredible other detail and preached regularly, for example, 121 times in 1529. His relation to Melanchthon is well-depicted, and Brecht mentions Luther's self-assurance, arrogance, and lack of charity in dealing with opponents, as well as his virtues. The book shows that this period indeed shaped and defined the Lutheran Reformation and was, therefore, of great importance.

Although, at thirty-eight, a relatively young scholar, Alister McGrath is erudite and writes well. His references show wide reading; in them he also quotes from eight of his own earlier writings. This book reminded me of John T. McNeill's History and Character of Calvinism in that it covers the same ground and handles materials in the same

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judicious way with appreciation for the subject and greater attention to outer history than to theological ideas. Moreover, McGrath devotes the last quarter of his book to Calvin's posthumous influence on society, economics, and politics.

Points in the narrative that appealed to this reviewer were: (1) a bit of history of the genesis of the Republic of Geneva, (2) the discussions on church structure in the thought of Calvin and Calvinism, (3) the treatment of Calvin as a "systematic thinker" who had little interest in developing a "theological system," (4) the emphasis on Calvin's dependence upon the tradition of the church at its best, and upon Luther, Bucer, and Melanchthon, (5) the treatment of the doctrine of predestination in Calvin's writings, (6) the importance of Geneva in the formation of Calvin, (7) the essay on the relation of Calvinism to capitalism, including criticism of Weber's thesis, (8) and the reasons given for the enormous impact of Calvinism on western civilization.

What I missed in McGrath's study was treatment of Calvin's constant reminder that it is the Holy Spirit-God with us in church, state, creation, and our individual lives-who grants us meaning, order, and whatever gifts we have. If Doumergue, Warfield, Kruschke, Vander Linde, Dillenberger, and others are correct in their assessments of the importance of this theme in Calvin, as I am certain that they are, that point should have been made here. Another minor disappointment was the lack of emphasis on Calvin's, and Luther's, sense of living coram Deo, their firm belief that all their labor was done before the face of God. J.T. Bakker of Kampen, the Netherlands, first called this to my attention in his dissertation on Luther; later I found the idea and the expression frequently in Calvin.

McGrath's learning and literary skill, in the service of Christian convictions and a solid theological stance, bode well for the future of the church and its Reformed tradition. His positions as lecturer in historical and systematic theology at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and as a member of the Oxford University theological faculty give him opportunity to use his gifts for the good of students and colleagues as well as for a wider reading audience. Martin Brecht has an established reputation, and his thorough work on Luther is definitive, even though it lacks the crisp literary style of the monographs on Luther of Roland Bainton or Heiko Oberman. This is not to demean the excellent translation of James L. Schaaf; he deserves a medal! Rather, it suggests that the authors had different purposes in writing.

M. Eugene Osterhaven
Western Theological Seminary
Holland, Michigan