the mystical theology of valentin weigel - DataSpace at Princeton ...
the mystical theology of valentin weigel - DataSpace at Princeton ... the mystical theology of valentin weigel - DataSpace at Princeton ...
Alternatively, some Lutherans took it upon themselves to ferret through the theological writings of the Middle Ages in search of documents that agreed with Luther’s new theology, thus proving that Luther was only the latest in a line of witnesses to the Truth, and that true theology could not be extinguished even under the tyranny of the papacy. 55 But whereas the question of how to value the theological writings of the Middle Ages was an important issue for many Lutherans (regardless of how they answered the question), it seems that history was not a pressing question for Weigel. In short, Weigel was interested in Eckhart and Dionysius neither because they were considered heretics nor because they antedated Luther’s writings. He did not turn to these texts because they formed part of an anti-canon of books that pious Lutherans ought to stay away from; if anything, Eckhart and Dionysius would have been part of the eclectic reading list of a learned sixteenth century reader. Rather, I argue throughout this dissertation that Weigel was keenly interested in what these texts had to say about indifference. The concept of indifference is the key element of Weigel’s response to the theological and ecclesiological challenges of his time, namely a lack of consensus about fundamental issues: how should decisions about religious life be made, on what basis, and more importantly, by whom? Indifference became key for Weigel because the sixteenth century saw not only doctrine transformed in the wake of Luther’s reform 55 The most famous of these projects was headed by Matthias Flacius Illyricus, producing the Catalogus Testium Veritate, qui ante nostram aetatem reclamarunt Papae (1556), reprinted in 1562 and translated into German in 1573; and then the monumental Ecclesiastica Historia, better known as the Magdeburger Centurien, published between 1557 and 1574. A good (albeit partisan) overview of Flacius’ enormously interesting work is Oliver K. Olson, Matthias Flacius and the Survival of Luther's Reform (Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz Verlag, 2002); see also Bruce Gordon, “The Changing Face of Protestant History and Identity in the Sixteenth Century” and Markus Wriedt, “Luther's Concept of History and the Formation of an Evangelical Identity”, in Protestant History and Identity in Sixteenth-Century Europe, ed. Bruce Gordon (Brookfield, VT: Scolar Press, 1996); Martina Hartmann, "Matthias Flacius Illyricus, die Magdeburger Centuriatoren und die Anfänge der quellenbezogenen Geschichtsforschung," in Catalogus und Centurien: Interdisziplinäre Studien zu Matthias Flacius und den Magdeburger Centurien, ed. Martina Hartmann and Arno Mentzel-Reuters, 1-17 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008). 20
movement, but also profound shifts in religious leadership and government, a process that modern scholarship calls confessionalization. Confessionalization standardized and bureaucratized religious life, and increasingly brought worship under the oversight of secular power, both of which Weigel found extremely troubling. In observing how confessionalization reshaped the Lutheran Church in Saxony for the worse (in Weigel’s opinion), he concluded that fighting against it was fruitless, and that the most principled response was to cultivate an attitude of indifference. Confessionalization In order to understand the radical quality of Weigel’s advocacy of indifference, we must delve deeper into the tensions between Church and State that characterize this period of confessionalization. Generating and maintaining doctrinal conformity became an urgent problem in Europe beginning in the sixteenth century, and modern scholarship has attributed this development to the increasingly close integration of Church and State that arose after the Lutheran schism left the Church in strongly Lutheran areas without an administrative head. The term used to describe this logic is confessionalization, and modern historians argue that, although religion and politics had always been “structurally interlinked” in European society, in the early modern period, religion came to play a role in all areas of society, functioning as the “central axis” connecting state and society. 56 56 The original German of my English paraphrase reads: “Das Konzept der ‘Konfessionalisierung’...beruht auf der Tatsache, daß in Alteuropa—im Mittelalter nicht anders als in der frühen Neuzeit—Religion und Politik, Staat und Kirche strukturell miteinander verzahn waren, daß unter den spezifischen Bedingungen der frühneuzeitlichen Vergesellschaftung Religion und Kirche nicht historische Teilphänomene waren, sondern das Gesamtsystem der Gesellschaft abdeckten und zentrale Achsen von Staat und Gesellschaft bildeten.” Heinz Schilling, “Die Konfessionalisierung im Reich: Religiöser und gesellschaftlicher Wandel in Deutschland zwischen 1555 und 1620 (1988),” Ausgewählte Abhandlungen zur europäischen 21
- Page 1 and 2: MYSTICISM & CONFESSIONAL CONFLICT I
- Page 3 and 4: ABSTRACT This dissertation investig
- Page 5 and 6: INTRODUCTION • ES IST DIR NICHT B
- Page 7 and 8: mostly undisturbed by his Lutheran
- Page 9 and 10: yet have signalled his assent with
- Page 11 and 12: in a context where action is expect
- Page 13 and 14: Protestant Mysticism: Not a Contrad
- Page 15 and 16: interest, 31 and praised the Theolo
- Page 17 and 18: one can observe the texture of the
- Page 19 and 20: discourse and reasoned debate, or t
- Page 21 and 22: with fragments of Eckhart and Taule
- Page 23: Dionysius and Eckhart (for differen
- Page 27 and 28: schools, as well as universities wh
- Page 29 and 30: allowed them to cooperate effective
- Page 31 and 32: made clear, would result in dismiss
- Page 33 and 34: and in these external dealings, the
- Page 35 and 36: same laws of physics, but while the
- Page 37 and 38: Tertullian’s De Fuga in Persecuti
- Page 39 and 40: as a martyr. Moreover, Holy Scriptu
- Page 41 and 42: Alternatively, the so-called four-f
- Page 43 and 44: tzeyger und unterrichter ist ynn di
- Page 45 and 46: fellow Lutherans in studying books
- Page 47 and 48: provoked into action unnecessarily,
- Page 49 and 50: masses for the dead (for instance)
- Page 51 and 52: traditional proof texts about the o
- Page 53 and 54: positive understandings of indiffer
- Page 55 and 56: insofar as their imperfection is ra
- Page 57 and 58: Of these forms of indifference, I f
- Page 59 and 60: to Dionysius’ authority. Two grou
- Page 61 and 62: PART I • VALENTIN WEIGEL AND MEIS
- Page 63 and 64: investigating his early modern read
- Page 65 and 66: was a devilish heretic to others (
- Page 67 and 68: his neglect of Eckhart. 158 For ins
- Page 69 and 70: “unheilvolle Kompliziertheit”).
- Page 71 and 72: and Jerome (wearing what looks like
- Page 73 and 74: title page, as mentioned above, des
movement, but also pr<strong>of</strong>ound shifts in religious leadership and government, a process th<strong>at</strong><br />
modern scholarship calls confessionaliz<strong>at</strong>ion. Confessionaliz<strong>at</strong>ion standardized and<br />
bureaucr<strong>at</strong>ized religious life, and increasingly brought worship under <strong>the</strong> oversight <strong>of</strong><br />
secular power, both <strong>of</strong> which Weigel found extremely troubling. In observing how<br />
confessionaliz<strong>at</strong>ion reshaped <strong>the</strong> Lu<strong>the</strong>ran Church in Saxony for <strong>the</strong> worse (in Weigel’s<br />
opinion), he concluded th<strong>at</strong> fighting against it was fruitless, and th<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> most principled<br />
response was to cultiv<strong>at</strong>e an <strong>at</strong>titude <strong>of</strong> indifference.<br />
Confessionaliz<strong>at</strong>ion<br />
In order to understand <strong>the</strong> radical quality <strong>of</strong> Weigel’s advocacy <strong>of</strong> indifference,<br />
we must delve deeper into <strong>the</strong> tensions between Church and St<strong>at</strong>e th<strong>at</strong> characterize this<br />
period <strong>of</strong> confessionaliz<strong>at</strong>ion. Gener<strong>at</strong>ing and maintaining doctrinal conformity became<br />
an urgent problem in Europe beginning in <strong>the</strong> sixteenth century, and modern scholarship<br />
has <strong>at</strong>tributed this development to <strong>the</strong> increasingly close integr<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>of</strong> Church and St<strong>at</strong>e<br />
th<strong>at</strong> arose after <strong>the</strong> Lu<strong>the</strong>ran schism left <strong>the</strong> Church in strongly Lu<strong>the</strong>ran areas without an<br />
administr<strong>at</strong>ive head. The term used to describe this logic is confessionaliz<strong>at</strong>ion, and<br />
modern historians argue th<strong>at</strong>, although religion and politics had always been “structurally<br />
interlinked” in European society, in <strong>the</strong> early modern period, religion came to play a role<br />
in all areas <strong>of</strong> society, functioning as <strong>the</strong> “central axis” connecting st<strong>at</strong>e and society. 56<br />
56 The original German <strong>of</strong> my English paraphrase reads: “Das Konzept der ‘Konfessionalisierung’...beruht<br />
auf der T<strong>at</strong>sache, daß in Alteuropa—im Mittelalter nicht anders als in der frühen Neuzeit—Religion und<br />
Politik, Sta<strong>at</strong> und Kirche strukturell miteinander verzahn waren, daß unter den spezifischen Bedingungen<br />
der frühneuzeitlichen Vergesellschaftung Religion und Kirche nicht historische Teilphänomene waren,<br />
sondern das Gesamtsystem der Gesellschaft abdeckten und zentrale Achsen von Sta<strong>at</strong> und Gesellschaft<br />
bildeten.” Heinz Schilling, “Die Konfessionalisierung im Reich: Religiöser und gesellschaftlicher Wandel<br />
in Deutschland zwischen 1555 und 1620 (1988),” Ausgewählte Abhandlungen zur europäischen<br />
21
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