Zwinglianism

“ Tall, with grave but winning features, with a kind and generous heart and winning manner, Zwingli's personality was most fascinating. A scholar but no pedant, a plain but vigorous speaker, of sound and practical judgment, with vast stores of learning, and an unusual elevation of mind, he was also broadminded and compassionate. It may be mentioned that he provided on Ufenau Island in Zurich lake a last asylum for Ulrich von Hutten, who had been rejected by Erasmus and driven from Germany. ”

“ An enthusiastic scholar, a gifted preacher, a zealous patriot, and a remarkably able politician, he devoted his life to the work of rescuing his people and country from their moral decline. This he proposed to effect by the working of the Divine Word. Luther left the knotty skein of politics to his princely friends to unravel, but Zwingli, on the contrary, shrank from no political difficulties, encumbrances, or complications. To his clear and far-seeing mind social and political reform was inseparably bound up with religious change and progress. ”

“ Like Luther, he served himself heir to the work of earlier theologians; but he did not go to Occam, Biel, or D'Ailly, as the German Reformer had done. Erasmus, who had no liking for the priestly miracle in the Mass, and cared little for a rigid literal interpretation of the words of the institution, had declared that the Sacrament of the Supper was the symbol of commemoration, of a covenant with God, and of the fellowship of all believers in Christ, and this commended itself to Zwingli's conception of the social character of Christianity ”

“ The defect of this theory is that it does not make the Presence of Christ in the Sacrament in any way depend on the ordinance; there is no sacramental presence other than what there is in any act of faith. It was not until Zwingli had elaborated his theory that he sought for and found an explanation of the words of our Lord, and taught that This is My Body, must mean This signifies My Body. His theory was entirely different from that of Carlstadt, with which Luther always identified it. ”

“ Thus spoke Zwingle. In every part of Europe he beheld the mighty ones of the earth aiding one another to stifle the reviving animation of the Church; and he thought that without some decisive and energetic movement, Christianity, overwhelmed by so many blows, would soon fall back into its ancient slavery. Luther under similar circumstances arrested the swords ready to be crossed, and demanded that the Word of God alone should appear on the field of battle. Zwingle thought not thus. In his opinion war was not revolt, for Switzerland had no master. ”

“ Church property paid its share of the communal taxes, and religious houses were subject to civil inspection. Zwingli looked rather to the City Fathers than to the pope, and as long as he had them with him he moved confidently and laboured for reforms which were as much political and moral in character as religious. He had none of Luther's distrust of "the common man" and fear of popular government, and this fact won for his teaching the favour of the towns of South Germany not less than of Switzerland. ”

“ The Zwinglians thought that free preaching extended to the Five Cantons as well as to the Common Lands; and on the other hand the Five Cantons naturally held themselves free to act as they pleased in their own territory. Thus the peace which placed Zurich at the height of her power contained in itself the seeds of future war. As a politician, if not as a theologian, Zwingli was justified in his preference for force. ”

“ He made his acolytes shout to the multitude that pressed around his stalls: “Hinder not each other. Let those come first who have money; we will try afterwards to content those who have none.”
Ulrich Zwinglius, from that time, attacked the power of the pope, the penitential sacrament, the merit of ceremonial works, the sacrifice of the Mass, abstinence from flesh, the celibacy of priests; gradually growing more firm and more decided as the public voice answered his with increasing energy. ”

“ The German reformer proclaimed the great doctrine of justification by faith, and with it inflicted a death-blow on the pharisaical righteousness of Rome. The reformer of Switzerland unquestionably did the same; the inability of man to save himself forms the basis of the work of all the reformers. But Zwingle did something more: he established the sovereign, universal, and exclusive agency of God, and thus inflicted a deadly blow on the pagan worship of Rome.
Roman-catholicism had exalted man and lowered God. Luther lowered man, and Zwingle exalted God. ”

“ The attempt failed—Luther showing the most uncompromising hostility to the Zwinglian doctrine concerning the Sacraments—and shortly after, Zwingle had to face a reaction in his own country. Like so many reformers, he was wrecked on the shoal of politics. The Forest Cantons had from the first been the resolute opponents of the new teaching,Reaction against Zwingle in Switzerland. not only because they were strongly Catholic, but because Zwingle’s political reforms, if carried out, would destroy the position they had hitherto enjoyed in the Federal Diet. ”

“ The moral and religious condition of the people of Switzerland was at a very low ebb, and the course of the Reformation was to preach against abuses. Zwingli drew his knowledge and faith from the Bible, holding that for authority one ought to return to it or to the primitive church. He advocated the abolition of image-worship, and, in addition, the abolition of enforced celibacy, nunneries, and the celebration of the mass. He held, too, that there ought to be a return to local church government, and {386} that all of the cloisters should be converted into schools. ”

“ It is for the Word of God alone to scatter with its powerful breath all this idle dust. [1062] Be firm, noble lords, and in despite of certain black horses, as black at Zurich [371] as they are at Lucerne, [1063] but whose malice will never succeed in overturning the chariot of Reform, we shall clear this difficult pass, and arrive at the unity of Switzerland and at unity of faith." Thus Zwingle, while calling for force against political abuses, asked only liberty for the Gospel; but he desired a prompt intervention, in order that this liberty might be secured to it. ”

“ Every man is by temperament and training a radical or a conservative, and a party on the whole agreed in policy has always its Left and its Right wing. Zwingli had the experience common to all leaders: whatever he did or left undone, some were certain to accuse him of going too fast, while others would assert that he was going far too slow; to one he would seem to be destroying the very foundations of the faith, while another would complain of him as only a half-hearted reformer after all. ”

“ With great mildness and learning Œcolampadius now unfolded his view, which Luther, however, in spite of every challenge, refused to contradict, falling back always upon the verbal expression. "Beloved sirs," said he, "as long as these words stand, I cannot really get over them, but must confess and believe, that the body of Christ is there."--Springing up, Zwingli asked: "Is He indeed there, Doctor, corporeally there? There also in the sacrament, is He daily broken anew? In what then do you differ from the Papists?" The scene became more lively; Luther's replies more bitter. ”

“ John Schönbrunner, formerly canon of Zurich, who had retired to Zug at the epoch of the Reformation, could not restrain his tears; "Whatever may have been thy creed," said he, "I know, Zwingle, that thou hast been a loyal confederate! May thy soul rest with God!"
But the pensioners of the foreigner, on whom Zwingle had never ceased to make war, required that the body of the heretic should be dismembered, and a portion sent to each of the Five Cantons. "Peace be to the dead! and God alone be their Judge!" exclaimed the avoyer Golder and the landamman Thoss of Zug. ”

“ The Swiss Diets were besieged by agents of the Powers. A French party was to be found in every town, and a papalist anti-French party was created by Matthäus Schinner, Cardinal of Sion, in the service of Julius II. Zwingli's interest in politics was great; politics and patriotism* inspired his earliest German poems,—the Labyrinth, and the Fahle of the Ox and the Beasts; his position in Glarus made him a valuable ally for the papal party in a parish where the French were strong ”

“ With this resolve, under this shield, Zwingli began the practice of his calling, not at all anxious about the judgments of men, nor troubled at the remarks of the multitude. In him ruled the ardent spirit of vigorous youth, averse to every thing that smacked of devotional hypocrisy, full of life and mirth, sometimes verging even on wantonness, and yet so earnest, where the affairs of science, so profound, where those of faith, and so conscientious, where those of the congregation entrusted to his care, were concerned, or those of his country, in whose welfare and honor his heart was bound up. ”

“ Aebli's message, supported by that of Berne, was sent back by the council to the army; for, according to the principles of the time, "wherever the banner waves, there is Zurich." "Let us not be staggered," cried the reformer, ever decided and firm; "our destiny depends upon our courage; to-day they beg and entreat, and in a month, when we have laid down our arms, they will crush us. Let us stand firm in God. Before all things, let us be just: peace will come after that." But Zwingle, transformed to a statesman, began to lose the influence which he had gained as a servant of God. ”

“ Thus, Zwingli's labors in Zurich began to stir up base elements, along with what were truly noble and pure. People, who were lacking in means to rise, and often justly low in public esteem, now called out likewise for change, so that their old incapacity, or their old sins, might be forgotten. The deeper the agitation, the more they hoped to gain. Then already Grebel was numbered among them; the better spirit had wholly forsaken him. Others of a like stamp clustered around him. To stand with Zwingli they would have needed purer morals, more labor of the mind, and above all self-denial. ”

“ To us, ears and access are completely closed; we are crippled in all our members. From an appeal in person, or from thy servants here, whom thou couldst entrust with the Gospel, there is nothing to hope; should circumstances meanwhile take a more favorable turn, I will send you word." And yet the Landgrave of Hesse, in a special conference with the Emperor, had fearlessly defended himself and his friends, without however giving among them the name of Zwingli, a confession of faith from whose hand had just then reached Augsburg, and was viewed with the greatest displeasure. ”

“ On the morrow the news of the disgraceful treatment of Zwingle's corpse aroused all the anger of Zurich; and his friends, uplifting their tear-bedimmed eyes, exclaimed, "These men may fall upon his body; they may kindle their piles, and brand his innocent life......but he lives—this invincible hero lives in eternity, and leaves behind him an immortal monument of glory that no flames can destroy. [1238] God, for whose honour he has labored, even at the price of his blood, will make his memory eternal." ”

“ THE REFORMATION IN SWITZERLAND
Hulerreich Zwingli, the Reformer of German Switzerland, was born at Wildenhaus, January 1, 1484. In school he made rapid progress and was soon recognized as a youth of much promise. His bright mind, love of truth, and devotion to the Scriptures soon brought him prominently before the public. On discovering the corruptions of the clergy, and learning of the dogmas and traditions, not found in the Bible, such as indulgences, the worship of the “Virgin” Mary and of images, he attempted to reform the Roman Catholic Church. ”

“ Nothing could better prove the ecclesiastical anarchy into which Switzerland had fallen, and the chance that a reforming Papacy would have had of preserving unity and yet securing progress. Luzern, whence these proposals came, was afterwards a centre of the Counter-Reformation. They were rejected by Zurich, but resulted in the Disputation at Baden (May-June, 1526) . Zwingli, however, it was easy to see, cared little for unity or peace, compared with the carrying out of his own far-reaching plans. ”

“ On the question of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, Bucer’s opinions were decidedly Zwinglian, but he was anxious to maintain church unity with the Lutheran party, and constantly endeavoured, especially after Zwingli’s death, to formulate a statement of belief that would unite Lutheran, south German and Swiss reformers. ”

“ Nothing could be discovered before the year 1523. But now came the war on images, then the burning of Ittingen, then the insurrection of the peasantry, then the passing of armed Zurichers to and from Waldshut, endangering the peace with Austria; then the Anabaptists rose from the very bosom of the new church, and lastly, Zwingli was attacked in the Great Council by the secretary Am Gruet, touching the matter of tithes, and again, a second time, in regard to the Lord's Supper--a prelude to his subsequent controversy with Luther. ”

“ This decree, proceeding not from the Bishop but from the civil rulers, and taking the Bible as a standard, exhibited two characteristics of the Zwinglian position.
The political events of these years were decisive for Zwingli and for Zurich. The French, at a Diet held at Luzern (May 5, 1521) , strove to get support from the Confederates. Pensions had already done much harm to social and political life; the mercenary soldiers, whether abroad selling their lives for gold, or at home spending it in riot, were an injury to the State. ”