Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 685

Chap. V]

§ 104.

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIFORMITY

661

Church. They claimed an autonomous Church under her only King, Christ Jesus, and though later they went so far in granting the State a civil in the liberty of the life

for the

right over sacred things (ius circa sacra), that this liberty of the

Church became actually an

illusion, yet

from the

beginning their standpoint Avas more accurately chosen. In Lutheran lands, the princes, aided by teachers of their ap-

pointment acting as

Church

ecclesia doceiis,

took the guidance of the

Reformed demanded that all ecclesiastical questions should be decided by the lawful representatives of the churches, convened in Synod. This is the reason that the State, in Reformed lands, had less inin their hands, while the

terest in the exclusion of those of differing opinions, since it

found

in these diverging

groups a support over against the

ever-bolder pretensions of the autonomous churches.

Hence

the principle, "that the religion of the crown must be the religion of the people," could never gain a foothold in the

Reformed

lands, the result of

ning the ecclesiastical

life

which was that from the begin-

in these lands exhibited a char-

acter of greater multiformity.

elsewhere, found

Exiles,

who were

refused

Reformed countries, and thus the idea of the liberty of conscience, which is an immediate result of multiformity, became of itself an established doctrine in the Reformed kingdoms much earlier than in Lutheran and Romish states. He who found himself in trouble for his religion's sake had no standing or chance for life anywhere but in the Reformed lands, viz. in Switzerland and in the Netherlands. But it cannot be questioned for a moment, that to Luther a shelter

protection

in

the honor belongs of having dealt the fatal blow to the false

uniformity of the Church. bull, that

When

Luther burned the papal

unity was essentially destroyed.

He

derived the

moral right for this action from no canonical rule, but from the authority of God, by whose Word it was assured unto him in the deepest depths of his conscience. And by this the

subjective-religious

principle

received

its

right

as

a

needs be, could defy churchly authority.

power, Avhich, if And when Luther's initiative found an echo in the hearts

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen