Leonard H. Verduin (1897–1999): A Chronology of His Life and a Bibliographic Index

[Work in Progress]
by
Tony Byrne

Introduction

Early in my Christian life, because of the so-called Lordship salvation debate, I began researching the issue of the differing views throughout church history on the continuities and discontinuities between the OT and NT. When I began to investigate the Reformation era and the “Anabaptists,” Leonard Verduin’s (pronounced as Ver-dine, according to James White and these audio recordings) writings were particularly helpful, especially his insights on the theme of church-state relations. Since the early 1990’s, he has been one of my favorite authors. I love his writing style and historical honesty. Consequently, I wish to honor this man by providing the church with a biographical sketch of his life and a chronological bibliography of his writings. John Stead rightly said:

It is unfortunate that his [Verduin’s] works have not received greater circulation. He reads all the languages of the Reformation fluently, thereby allowing him access to the actual writings and documents. In my estimation, his historiography is of the highest quality. What Paul Johnson did for historiography in exposing the utopian schemes of the twentieth century, Verduin does in the bringing forward the great contributions of the dissenters from A.D. 313 to the founding of this nation [the U.S.].

John P. Stead, “Developing a Biblical View of Church and State,” in Think Biblically: Rediscovering a Christian Worldview, ed. John MacArthur (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2003), 350n3.

It is hoped that the following information will help his works to receive greater attention and circulation. This index is original research. Please do not copy or reproduce without my permission or without linking back to this post.

I. Biographical Information

A Chronology of His Life

• He was born on March 9, 1897 on a truck farm in South Holland (Cook County), Illinois. He was the son of Cornelius Verduin and Aartje Swets. His father was one of the first, if not the very first, children to be baptized in the CRC by Rev. Koene Vanden Bosch of Noordeloos, Michigan. Leonard’s paternal and maternal grandparents had been involved in the secession of 1834 and were among those who went to the New World to escape persecution. Leonard was the 8th of nine children born of this marriage. He had a brother named John and one named Harry. Leonard’s great-grandfather Willem Verduin emigrated from Holland to America in 1848.
• Baptized around 3 years old since his father, at the time, was having doubts about infant baptism.
• For a short time, Leonard and his parents lived on a farm in the Sioux Indian reservation in Todd County, South Dakota. In 1983 he said he still spoke a little Sioux. It was here that Leonard met and married Hattie Timmermans in 1918. The Verduins eventually reared 5 children. He had sons named Arthur, Cal, and Ron. His great granddaughter is Elizabeth.
• In 1920 he moved to Hull, Iowa, where he attended Western Academy, a Christian Reformed high school, though his first year of high school was by correspondence. Hattie ran a restaurant there, and Leonard finished the rest of his high school requirements in two years and graduated  with the first class from Western Academy.
• After teaching a year, during which he took correspondence courses with the University of Chicago, Leonard moved to Grand Rapids and started Calvin College in 1923
• After three years he graduated from Calvin College (A.B.) in 1926, and then went to seminary.
• Earned a Th.B degree from Calvin Theological Seminary in 1929.
• Ordained in 1929.
• Pastored in Corsica, South Dakota from 1929 to 1941 (serving the Corsica CRC).
• In 1941 he was appointed full-time director of student work at the CRC.
• Appointed chaplain at the campus chapel in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1942. The history of the chapel can be read here. Verduin was the first student chaplain in the CRC. He served at the CRC campus chapel at Ann Arbor, Michigan from 1941–62 (according to Haan). He often compared Ann Arbor to the Athens of Paul’s day. What began in 1941 as a small gathering of students in the university’s Women's League soon grew to a larger gathering that met at the Student Religious Center, and then to a sizable group that held its meetings in a large home that once had served as the governor’s mansion and now doubled as a parsonate. Finally, in 1949, a comely stone chapel was built on the university campus, where it stands today as a witness to the Reformed faith.
• Invited John Christian Wenger to his home in Ann Arbor in August of 1942. Around this time he might have also had contact with prominent Mennonite scholar Harold S. Bender.
• During this time in Ann Arbor (1946) he received a master’s degree in history (A.M. from the University of Michigan), and he developed a wide range of linguistic skills, including Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German (medieval and modern), and French. He already knew Dutch. It was in Ann Arbor, too, that Verduin did much of the research for his books. The University of Michigan has a marvelous library, one that contains a wealth of materials on the Synod of Dort. It also has a vast amount of material on the early history of the Dutch in Michigan and bales of letters written by them, materials which Verduin reported on as part of the requirements for a Master of Arts degree in history.
• Around 1946, Verduin accepted the task of translating the works of Menno Simons.
• In May 1948, he completed the task of translating some 300 pages of the second part of the 1681 Dutch edition of Simons’writings.
• Stayed in the Netherlands 1950–1951 on a Fulbright scholarship to study the Protestant Reformation in that country, and perfected his academic Dutch.
• In October 1954, Verduin completed translating most of the first part of the 1681 edition of Simons’ work. Over the next few years he translated several additional items.
• His translation of The Complete Writings of Menno Simons came out in 1956.
• Served on a three-person synodical committee (Belgic Confession Revision Committee) in 1957 to consider a possible revision.
• In 1961, the Synod disagreed with Verduin’s recommendations for the revision and proposed  changes to Article 36 without explanation.
• Retired as chaplain in 1962. According to Arthur, his son, Verduin was offered an academic position at Goshen College in Indiana, but he declined, preferring to enjoy his retirement. Since his retirement in 1962, the Verduins spent summers in Grand Rapids and winters in a mobile home park in Apache Junction near Phoenix, Arizona. He loved the nearby primitive areas and often went hiking there. He sometimes taught courses at the University of Arizona.
• Published The Reformers and Their Stepchildren in 1964.
• Published Toward a Theistic Creationism in 1969.
• Published Somewhat Less Than God in 1970.
• Published The Anatomy of a Hybrid in 1976.
• In June 1977 (at age 80), Verduin, as one of seven members, was appointed to a special committee with the task of preparing a fresh translation of the Belgic Confession that would match the contemporary language of the Heidelberg Catechism and the canons of Dort. The committee started its deliberations in September of 1977 and concluded its work in 1985.
• Verduin celebrates his 85th birthday in the Palm Lane Christian Reformed Church in Scottsdale, Arizona on March 9, 1983. Soon Mr. and Mrs. Verduin will celebrate their 64 wedding anniversary. They worship at the Palm Late CRC during the winter.
• Gertrude Haan writes her profile on Verduin and it is published in The Banner on August 1, 1983. Leonard was 86 and his wife, Hattie, was 85. They are described as the oldest couple in the ministry in the Christian Reformed Church. The Rev. William D. Buursma served as pastor to the retired couple. Verduin, in 1983, said that he still speaks a little Sioux.
• His wife, Hattie, whom he was married to for almost 70 years, passed away on July 27, 1987.
• Published Honor Your Mother in 1988.
• In 1997 (at age 100), he and his oldest son, Arthur, traveled to Sarasota to meet John J. Overholt.
• Published That First Amendment and the Remnant in Sarasota in 1998.
• Died November 10 (or 11?), 1999 at the age of 102 in Payson, Arizona.
• Eulogies were given by Rev. Don Postema and Rev. William Buursma on November 18, 1999.

Sources for Biographical Information

Margaret Meyering, “Verduin’s 85th Birthday Celebrated,” The Banner 117.15 (April 19, 1982): 22.

Gertrude Haan (former associate editor of The Banner), “A Prophet in Athens: Profile of Rev. Leonard Verduin,” The Banner 118.28 (August 1, 1983): 14–15.

Leonard Verduin, “Things Remembered,” Origins 18.1 (Spring 2000): 10–11. Written at age 100.

William Buursma, “Rev. Leonard Verduin, 1897–1999,” Origins 18.1 (Spring 2000): 7–9.

Gerlof D. Homan, “Torn Between Two Faiths? American Calvinist Leonard Verduin’s Anabaptist-Mennonite Connection,” Mennonite Quarterly Review 78.2 (April 2004): 271–295.

Christian Reformed Church Ministers Database

Leonard Verduin Collection, Heritage Hall, Hekman Library

Pictures of the Rev. L. Verduin

II. Books

The Reformers and Their Stepchildren. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964; repr. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1980. This book emerged out of a series of lectures sponsored by the Calvin Foundation in Grand Rapids in the fall of 1963.

Toward A Theistic Creationism. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1969.

Somewhat Less Than God: The Biblical View of Man. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1970.

The Anatomy of a Hybrid: A Study in Church-State Relationships. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1976. (Logos version)

Honor Your Mother: Christian Reformed Church Roots in the Secession of 1834. Grand Rapids, MI: CRC Publications, 1988.

That First Amendment and the Remnant. Sarasota, FL: Christian Hymnary Publishers, 1998/2007.

Common Grace and Its Bearing on Church and State: A Paper Read Before the Theology Forum. Mennonite Hist. Library, n.d.

III. Book Contributions

Leonard Verduin, “Tests for the Proper Celebration of the Lord’s Supper,” in Sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism, vol. 3: Sermons on Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Lord’s Days 25–31), ed. Henry J. Kuiper (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1938), 108–119.

Leonard Verduin, “Luther’s Dilemma: Restitution or Reformation?,” in The Dawn of Modern Civilization: Studies in Renaissance, Reformation and Other Topics Presented to Honor Albert Hyma, ed. Kenneth A. Strand (Ann Arbor, MI: Ann Arbor Publishers, 1962).

Also in “Luther’s Dilemma: Restitution or Reformation?,” in Essays on Luther, ed. Kenneth A. Strand (Ann Arbor, MI: 1969), 73–96.

The Complete Writings of Menno Simmons, trans. Leonard Verduin (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1956/1966/1984/1986).

The Church Orders of the Sixteenth Century Reformed Churches of the Netherlands: Together with their Social, Political, and Ecclesiastical Context , trans. and ed. by Richard A. DeRidder with the assistance of Peter H. Jonker and Leonard Verduin (Grand Rapids, MI: Calvin Theological Seminary, 1987).

IV. Journal Articles

“Whom Say Ye That I Am?,” Christianity Today 2.12 (April 1932): 6–8.

Unknown title, The Banner (March 3, 1933).

Unknown title, The Banner (July 24, 1934).

“Orphan Missions,” Banner 71 (January 17, 1936): 61.

“Cremation and the Resurrection Body: A Discussion,” The Calvin Forum 4.4 (November 1938): 91.

“Ostrich Nurture,” The Banner 6 (July 1939): 627.

“Was Warfield Right?,” The Calvin Forum 6.4 (November 1940): 77.

“Who is This ‘Son of Man’?” The Calvin Forum 6.5 (December 1940): 91–93.

“From Michigan’s University Campus,” The Calvin Forum 7.3 (October 1941): 51–52.

“A Century of American University Education,” The Calvin Forum 8.8 (March 1942): 169.

“A chapel of our own at Ann Arbor: a brief history of the work at Ann Arbor,” Banner 77 (April 10, 1942): 348–49.

“From a University Center,” The Calvin Forum 9.1–2 (August–September 1943): 28.

“The New Minister,” The Calvin Forum 9.9 (April 1944): 188–191.

“From A University Campus,” The Calvin Forum 10.3 (October 1944): 54.

“An Ann Arbor Letter,” The Calvin Forum 11.5 (December 1945): 99.

“At Michigan’s University,” The Calvin Forum 11.8 (March 1946): 174.

“Christian Civilization,” The Calvin Forum 11.9 (April 1946): 198.

“Early Dutch Protestantism and Toleration,” The Calvin Forum 12.7 (February 1947): 137–140.

“An Ancient Version of Obbe Philips’ Confession,” Mennonite Quarterly Review 21.2 (April 1947): 120–122.

“On Detesting Anabaptists,” The Calvin Forum 13.9 (April 1948): 183–186.

“Anabaptism and Community of Goods,” Gospel Herald 41.30 (July 1948): 691, 704.

“And Behold It Was Very Good,” His: Student Magazine of the IVCF 9.4 (January 1949): 2–5.

“Was Calvin a Philosopher? A Symposium,” The Calvin Forum 14.10 (May 1949): 211–215.

“Christianity and the Inquisitive Urge in Man,” The Calvin Forum 15.1–2 (August–September 1949): 15–17.

“Christianity and the Acquisitive Urge in Man,” The Calvin Forum 15.3 (October 1949): 48–50.

“Menno Simons’ Theology Reviewed,” Mennonite Quarterly Review 24 (January 1950): 53–64.

“Puritan-Anglican Controversy: A Review of ‘The Admonition Controversy’ by Donald Joseph McGinn (New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press, 1949),” The Calvin Forum 15.8 (March 1950): 176.

“As to Being Sectarian,” The Calvin Forum 16.10 (May 1951): 210–213.

“Communism—God’s Servant?,” The Reformed Journal 1.3 (May 1951): 13–14.

“Church and State—A Historical Survey: I. The Apostolic Age,” The Reformed Journal 2.10 (October 1952): 12–13.

“Church and State—A Historical Survey: II. The Fallen Church,” The Reformed Journal 2.11 (November 1952): 12–14.

“Church and State—A Historical Survey: III. The Reformers,” The Reformed Journal 2.12 (December 1952): 6–8.

“Church and State—A Historical Survey: IV. After the Reformation,” The Reformed Journal 3.1 (January 1953): 9–12.

“Religion and the State University,” The Calvin Forum 18.6 (January 1953): 105–107.

“The ‘Absolute’ Antithesis,” The Reformed Journal 3.6 (June 1953): 10–13.

“Biblical Christianity and Culture Composition,” The Reformed Journal 3.10 (October 1953): 1–5.

“Luther, the Fortunate,” The Reformed Journal 4.6 (June 1954): 8–10.

“Pharisaitis,” The Calvin Forum 19.11 (June – July 1954): 219–220.

“Luther Was Not Alone,” The Reformed Journal 4.7 (July–August 1954): 6–8.

“As Sons of Olevianus (Part I),” The Reformed Journal 5.1 (January 1955): 13–16.

“As Sons of Olevianus (Part II),” The Reformed Journal 5.2 (February 1955): 11–15.

“As Sons of Olevianus (Part III),” The Reformed Journal 5.3 (March 1955): 13–16.

“As Sons of Olevianus (Part IV),” The Reformed Journal 5.4 (April 1955): 12–15.

“Reformed Faith and Symmetrism,” The Reformed Journal 5.9 (October 1955): 1–3.

“Correspondence: German Churches,” The Christian Century 72.44 (November 2, 1955): 1275.

“On the IUS Reformandi,” The Reformed Journal 6.2 (February 1956): 15; see also “The Interesting Quotation,” Progressive Calvinism 2.4 (April 1956): 122–123. The editor is quoting from Verduin’s 1956 article in The Reformed Journal.

“Daane’s A Theology of Grace: a Symposium,” The Calvin Forum 20.9 (April 1956): 181.

“Apostate from Reformed Principles?,” The Reformed Journal 6.5 (May 1956): 10–13.

“Foundation of American Freedom,” The Reformed Journal 6.9 (September 1956): 17–19.

“Toward a Theistic Creationism (Part I),” The Reformed Journal 6.10 (October 1956): 6–9.

“Toward a Theistic Creationism (Part II),” The Reformed Journal 6.11 (November 1956): 9–13.

“Reformed Theology and First Amendment,” The Reformed Journal 8.3 (March 1958): 6–9.

“Letters to the Editor: Too Far,” The Christian Century 75.20 (May 14, 1958): 593–94.

“Does Our Theology Hamper Our Missions?,” The Reformed Journal 8.6 (June 1958): 3–6.

“On Confrontation,” The Reformed Journal 8.9 (September 1958): 14–17.

“Scripture and Saaso,” The Reformed Journal 8.10 (October 1958): 20–23.

“Calvin on Secession,” The Reformed Journal 9.5 (May 1959): 8–10.

“A Note on Chapels,” The Reformed Journal 9.7 (July–August 1959): 17–18.

“Christian Truth is an Ellipse,” The Reformed Journal 9.9 (October 1959): 6–8.

“The Concept of Infallibility in the Christian Tradition,” The Reformed Journal 9.11 (November 1959): 15–17.

“A Theological Note on the Incarnation,” The Reformed Journal 9.12 (December 1959): 11–12.

“Karl Barth’s Rejection of Infant Baptism,” The Reformed Journal 10.2 (February 1960): 13–17.

“Letters to the Journal,” The Reformed Journal 10.4 (April 1960): 23.

“Toward a Biblical View of Marriage,” The Reformed Journal 10.6 (June 1960): 5–9.

“The Chambers of Rhetoric and Anabaptist Origins in the Low Countries,” in Mennonite Quarterly Review 34.3 (July 1960): 192–196.

Daily Manna Calender (Aug? or Sept?, 1960): ?

“This Infallible Rule,” The Reformed Journal 10:11 (November 1960): 12–15.

“None Except Reformed,” The Reformed Journal 11.1 (January 1961): 22–23.

“Which Belgic Confession? (Part 1),” The Reformed Journal 11 (September 1961): 16–20.

“Guido de Brès and the Anabaptists,” Mennonite Quarterly Review 35.4 (October 1961): 251–266.

“Which Belgic Confession? (Part 2),” The Reformed Journal 11 (October 1961): 19–22.

“A Memo on Menno (book review),” Christianity Today 6.3 (November 10, 1961): 60–61.

“Which Belgic Confession? (Part 3),” The Reformed Journal 11 (November 1961): 14–17.

“Which Belgic Confession? (Part 4),” The Reformed Journal 11 (December 1961): 17–20.

“Which Belgic Confession? (Part 5),” The Reformed Journal 12 (January 1962): 15–19.

“Books in Review: Heretics??? A Review of ‘Even Unto Death: The Heroic Witness of the 16th Century Anabaptists,’ by John Christian Wenger (John Knox Press, 1961),” Christianity Today 6.9 (February 2, 1962): 44–45.

“Thou and Thy House,” The Reformed Journal 12.3 (March 1962): 12–15.

“Back to Dordt?,” The Reformed Journal 12.7 (July–August 1962): 4–7.

“The Church’s Return to the Womb,” The Reformed Journal 13.2 (February 1963): 6–9.

“The Heidelberg Catechism in the Perspective of History,” The Reformed Journal 13.5 (May–June 1963): 6–9.

“Baptism and Original Sin (Part 1),” The Reformed Journal 13.7 (September 1963): 19–23.

“Baptism and Original Sin (Part 2),” The Reformed Journal 13.8 (October 1963): 18–21.

“Of Moats and Drawbridges,” The Reformed Journal 14.4 (April 1964): 19–21.

“Books in Review: Gospel on Campus: A Review of ‘On the Work of the Ministry in University Communities,’ by Richard N. Bender (The Methodist Church, Division of Higher Education, 1962),” Christianity Today 8.18 (June 5, 1964): 30–31.

“Education in a ‘Christian’ Society,” The Presbyterian Guardian 33 (November 1964): 139–141, 148–151.

“Man, a Created Being: What of An Animal Ancestry for Man?,” Christianity Today 9.17 (May 21, 1965): 9–16.

“On being ‘Pink’,” The Reformed Journal 15.9 (November 1965): 8–11.

“Letter to the Editor: ‘On the Stepchildren of the Reformation’,” Torch and Trumpet 15.10 (December 1965): 21–22.

“‘Liberalisme’ in South Africa,” The Reformed Journal 16.7 (September 1966): 9–12.

“The Reformed Churches and South Africa (I),” The Church Herald (Jan 6, 1967): 4.

“The Reformed Churches and South Africa (II),” The Church Herald (Jan 13, 1967): 12.

“On Reconciling a Mother and a Daughter,” The Reformed Journal 17.3 (March 1967): 10–12.

“Man and Christian Perspectives” (6-6-1967). Seminary Events 1421 (audio recording).

“The Gospel and Apartheid,” The Reformed Journal 17.6 (July–August 1967): 11–13.

“Retarded Socialization,” The Reformed Journal 17.10 (December 1967): 9–11.

“War and the New Morality: A Comment,” The Reformed Journal 18.2 (February 1968): 29–30.

“Letters to the Journal,” The Reformed Journal 20.2 (February 1970): 30.

“The ‘If’ of the Gospel,” The Reformed Journal 20.4 (April 1970): 8–10.

“The Great South African Divide,” The Reformed Journal 20.6 (July–August 1970): 13–15.

“Response,” The Reformed Journal 20.7 (September 1970): 24.

“Report from South Africa,” The Reformed Journal 20.8 (October 1970): 16.

“Report from South Africa (2),” The Reformed Journal 20.9 (November 1970): 19–20.

“Review of ‘The New Left and Christian Radicalism,’ by Arthur Gish (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1970),” The Reformed Journal 21.1 (January 1971): 23–25.

“Report from South Africa (3),” The Reformed Journal 21.3 (March 1971): 18–20.

“A look at Red China,” Banner 107 (March 24, 1972): 20–21.

The Banner 106 or 107 (April 14, 1971 or 72?): ?.

“Report from South Africa (4),” The Reformed Journal 21.7 (September 1971): 28–29.

“Report from South Africa (5), The Reformed Journal 21.9 (November 1971): 24–25.

“On the Nature and Extent of Biblical Authority,” The Banner (November 19, 1971?): 20–23.

“Leonard Verduin on Report 36: Reply,” The Banner 107.18 (May 5, 1972): 25.

“Reply,” The Banner 107.24 (June 16, 1972): 21.

“In Defense of Words,” The Banner 107.27 (July 7, 1972): 10–11.

“Of Beards & Bonnets,” The Banner 107.34 (September 8, 1972): 16–17.

“Mountains,” The Banner 107.35 (September 15, 1972): 11.

“Wild-Life,” The Banner 107.38 (October 6, 1972): 13.

“Reply,” The Banner 107.38 (October 6, 1972): 21.

“One-Navelism,” The Banner 107.42 (November 3, 1972): 16–17.

“A Review of ‘Arminius: A Study in the Dutch Reformation,’ by Carl Bangs. Nashville and New York: Abingdon Press, 1971,” Mennonite Quarterly Review 47.1 (January 1973): 71–72.

“On Getting Past Sirens,” The Banner 108.10 (March 9, 1973): 6–7.

“On Gerrymandering (1),” The Banner 108.15 (April 13, 1973): 12–13.

“On Gerrymandering (2),” The Banner 108.16 (April, 20, 1973): 12–14.

“On Gerrymandering (3),” The Banner 108.17 (April 27, 1973): 12–13.

“The Case for ‘Close’ Communion,” The Banner 108.20 (May 18, 1973): 14–15.

“Paradise,” The Banner 108.22 (June 1, 1973): 11.

“Pack Rat,” The Banner 108.30 (July 27, 1973): 9.

“Will the Real CRC Please Stand Up?,” The Banner 108.32 (August 24, 1973): 16–17.

“Well,” The Banner 108.35 (September 14, 1973): 9.

“Infant,” The Banner 108.38 (October 5, 1973): 9.

“Infant,” The Church Herald (Nov 30, 1973): 3.

“Once,” The Banner 109.1 (January 4, 1974): 9.

“Canals,” The Banner 109.3 (January 18, 1974): 9.

“Road-Runner,” The Banner 109.9 (March 1, 1974): 14.

“That First Commission (1),” The Banner 109.10 (March 8, 1974): 10–11.

“That First Commission (2),” The Banner 109.11 (March 15, 1974): 10–11.

“That First Commission (3),” The Banner 109.12 (March 22, 1974): 12–13.

“A Review of ‘South African Dialogue: Contrasts in South African Thinking on Basic Race Issues,’ ed. Ν J Rhoodie Philadelphia Westminster, 1972,” The Reformed Journal 24.4 (April 1974): 26–27.

“This Nation Under God,” The Church Herald (June 28, 1974): 12–13.

“Vacation Religion,” The Banner 109.27 (July 5, 1974): 4–5.

“Day 13,” The Banner 109.27 (July 5, 1974): 21.

“False Advertising,” The Banner 109.30 (July 27, 1974): 6–8.

“Reader Reaction: ‘Verpakkingsmateriaalhermeneutick,’” The Reformed Journal 24.6 (July–August 1974): 11–13.

“Crisis,” The Banner 109.37 (September 27, 1974): 19.

“The AACS and the Word ‘Word’,” The Banner 109.40 (October 18, 1974): 13–14.

“Is the ‘Race Problem’ a Problem of Race?,” The Banner 109.44 (November 15, 1974): 14–15.

“Why is the Third World Poor?,” The Banner 110.2 (January 10, 1975): 4–5.

“Manzanita,” The Banner 110.3 (January 17, 1975): 3.

“Untimely,” The Banner 110.4 (January 24, 1975): 3.

“Automation,” The Banner 110.5 (January 31, 1975): 3.

“Pass,” The Banner 110.7 (February 14, 1975): 3.

“Dossier,” The Banner 110.10 (March 7, 1975): 3.

“Thorns,” The Banner 110.13 (March 28, 1975): 3.

“Hedgehog,” The Banner 110.15 (April 11, 1975): 3.

“Humus,” The Banner 110.17 (April 25, 1975): 3.

“Schism,” The Banner 110.18 (May 2, 1975): 3.

“Now,” The Banner 110.19 (May 9, 1975): 3.

“Rattlers,” The Banner 110.20 (May 16, 1975): 3.

“Barrel Cactus,” The Banner 110.21 (May 23, 1975): 3.

“Confession,” The Banner 110.23 (June 6, 1975): 3.

“Saguaro,” The Banner 110.24 (June 24, 1975): 3.

“Day 1,” The Banner 110.27 (July 4, 1975): 6.

“Mayhem in the Cathedral,” The Banner 110.32 (August 22, 1975): 4–6.

“What Has Jerusalem to do With Pretoria,” The Reformed Journal 25.7 (September 1975): 11–13.

Leonard Verduin (writing as “Dispersion”), “Letters to ‘The Church That is in Babylon’ (1),” The Banner 110.36 (September 19, 1975): 6–7, 27. Verduin wrote anonymously three times as the “Dispersion” on the editorial page of The Banner. See the reference to this fact in “Just Between Us,” The Banner 110.44 (November 14, 1975): 2.

Leonard Verduin (writing as “Dispersion”), “Letters to ‘The Church That is in Babylon’ (2),” The Banner 110.38 (October 3, 1975): 6–7.

“Under Which ‘Sign’?,” The Banner 110.42 (October 31, 1975): 3.

Leonard Verduin (writing as “Dispersion”), “Letters to ‘The Church That is in Babylon’ (3),” The Banner 110.43 (November, 7, 1975): 10–11.

“Mistletoe,” The Banner 110.48 (December 12, 1975): 3.

“Lariat,” The Banner 111.8 (February 20, 1976): 3.

“Vinegar,” The Banner 111.10 (March 5, 1976): 3.

“Wildebeest,” The Banner 111.18 (April 30, 1976): 3.

“Review of ‘Anabaptists—Four Centuries Later,’ by J. Howard Kaufman and Leland Harder (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1975),” Calvin Theological Journal 11.1 (April 1976): 95–102.

“Sect,” The Banner 111.21 (May 21, 1976): 3.

“Discrimination,” The Banner 111.24 (June 11, 1976): 3.

“Tenses,” The Banner 111.27 (July 2, 1976): 20.

“Mogollon Rim,” The Banner 111.30 (July 23, 1976): 3.

“These My Brethren”: Who are They? (Readers Respond),” The Reformed Journal 27.7 (July 1977): 5–7.

“The Heritage of Pietism,” The Banner (July 29, 1977): 4–6.

“Review of ‘Kingdom, Cross, and Community: Essays for G. F. Hershberger,’ by J. R. Burkholder and Calvin Redekop (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1976),” Calvin Theological Journal 13.1 (April 1978): 60–65.

“Review of ‘Continental Pietism and Early American Christianity,’ by F. Ernest Stoefler (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1976),” Calvin Theological Journal 13.1 (April 1978): 65–67.

“The Career of a Creed,” The Banner 115.12 (March 1980): 14–?

“To see what he would call them,” Banner 116 (February 2, 1981): 14–15.

“A third way (book review),” Banner 116 (February 16, 1981): 16.

“The roots of ‘heresy’: A Review of ‘Dutch Anabaptism: Origin, Spread, Life, and Thought (1450–1600),’ by Cornelius Krahn (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1968),” The Reformed Journal 31.11 (November–December 1981): 32–33.

“Panel Discussion on The Christian and Social Responsibility” (6-3-1981). Seminary Events 206 (audio recording).

“Why be a Mennonite?: A Review of ‘An Introduction to Mennonite History,’ ed. Cornelius J. Dyke (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1967),” The Reformed Journal 32.3 (March 1982): 25.

“A Review of ‘De Fryske Minnisten en Harren Sosiëteit,’ by J. S. Postma (Franeker: T. Wever Publishing House, 1980),” Mennonite Quarterly Review (April 1983): 167–168.

“In Tryst with Luna,” The Banner 118.28 (August 1, 1983): 16.

“A Review of ‘Dopers-Calvinistisch Gesprek in Nederland,’ ed. H. B. Kossen, et al. (The Hague: Boekencentrum, 1982),” Mennonite Quarterly Review 58.3 (July 1984): 320–321.

“CRC: Hewn from the Rock,” The Banner 8, vol. 119, no. 36 (October 1984): 8–9.

“In His Image,” The Reformed Journal 35.5 (May 1985): 9–12.

“Readers Respond: Why Christians Should Feel Alone,” The Reformed Journal 37.7 (July 1987): 7–8.

“Did the Advent Abort?” The Reformed Journal 37.12 (December 1987): 10–12.

“A Review of ‘Mennonite Identity: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives,’ ed. Calvin Redekop Lanham, MD (University Press of America, 1988),” Calvin Theological Journal 24.1 (April 1989): 188–190.

“More on Judeopathy,” Perspectives 7.6 (June 1992): 10–11.

V. Miscellaneous writings

“Notes on Anabaptist Origins,” Unpublished paper in box 41, folder 4. Herald S. Bender Papers, Archives of the Mennonite Church USA, Goshen, Indiana.

“The Early History of the Text of the Belgic Confession,” box 579, folder 2, Papers of the Belgic Confession Translation Committee, CCA.

“Minority Report,” box 579, folder 5. Papers of the Belgic Confession Translation Committee, CCA.

Verduin to John C. Wenger, Nov. 18, 1947. Box 12, folder 32. Wenger Papers, Archives of the Mennonite Church USA, Goshen, Indiana.

For many other miscellaneous writings, see here (click).

Nathaniel Appleton (1693–1784) on the Will of God and the Death of Christ

Appleton wrote:

But then, I would go on further to say, that God wills the Salvation of all Men, as he has done and is doing those Things which indicate such a Willingness, or are outward, open, and manifest Tokens of his Willingness that all Men should be saved. As particularly,

1. In the all sufficient Saviour he provided for sinful Man.

God did not provide a Saviour who was able only to save a few of the fallen Race; but One who was able to save every Son and Daughter of Adam. I am not now considering the Extent of Christ’s Redemption, as to the divine Intention and Design, or as to the real Event of it; for this is a secret Thing, and belongs not to us, but to God. But what I am now considering, is the Extent of his Merits, and of his Power; and considered in this Respect, it is universal. Of such infinite Virtue are the Merits of Christ’s Blood, that it is sufficient to take away the Sin of the whole World. If every Man in the whole World should be saved, there would not need any other Sacrifice than Christ has already made of himself; and therefore with Respect to the Sufficiency of Atonement, Christ may be said to have died for all; to have tasted Death for every Man; and to be the Propitiation for our Sins, and not for ours only, but for the Sins of the whole World. Moreover there is not only such a Sufficiency of Merit in Christ, but a Sufficiency of Power: For all Power is given to him in Heaven, and in Earth: That as his Blood was sufficient to wash away the Guilt of the whole World; so his Power is sufficient to subdue the strongest Habits of Sin, and bring us over to a willing Subjection to him, and to his Gospel. So that there is every Thing in him necessary to render him a complete All-sufficient Saviour to the whole World of Mankind: Surely He is able to save to the uttermost. And now this may be considered as a Token of God’s Willingness that all Men should be saved: For when God has provided a Saviour able to save the whole World; what are we led to argue from thence, but that God is willing that all should be saved? Who can think that God is unwilling to have the Malady healed, for which he has been at infinite Cost to provide a sovereign Remedy? And that when he has spread a Plaister large enough for the whole Sore, he should be unwilling to have it applied?

Nathaniel Appleton, How God wills the salvation of all men; and their coming to the knowledge of the truth, as the means thereof. Illustrated in a sermon from I. Tim. ii. 4. Preached in Boston, March 27. 1753. at the ordination of the Rev. Mr. Stephen Badger, as a missionary with a special reference to the Indians at Natick.: Published at the unanimous desire of the ecclesiastical council convened on that occasion; and of other hearers. (Boston: Printed and sold by S. Kneeland Queen-Street, 1753), 7–8. Henry Scudder (c.1585–1652) sounds similar when he said, “And it was so intended by Christ, that the plaster should be as large as the sore, and that there should be no defect in the remedy, that is, in the price, or sacrifice of himself offered upon the cross, by which man should be saved, but that all men, and each particular man, might in that respect become salvable by Christ.”

Bio:

Appleton, Nathaniel, 1693–1784.
Born, 1693; graduated at Harvard, 1712; ordained to the Ministry, 1717; Fellow of Harvard, 1717–1779; died, 1784.

Nathaniel Appleton, D.D., Fellow of Harvard, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, December 9, 1693. He studied at Harvard, where he received his Master’s degree in 1712, and then studied theology. His ordination to the Ministry took place October 9, 1717, and he succeeded the Rev. William Brattle as Congregationalist minister in Cambridge. He was an able preacher and ranked among the foremost theologians of the day. For sixty-two years, 1717–1779, he was one of the Corporation of Harvard, and occupies an honorable place among the Fellows of that Institution. Some of Mr. Appleton’s sermons were published prior to his death. He died in Cambridge, February 9, 1784.

Universities and Their Sons: History, Influence and Characteristics of American Universities with Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Alumni and Recipients of Honorary Degrees, ed. Joshua L. Chamberlain (Boston: R. Herndon Company, 1899), 2:134.

Nathaniel Appleton (1693–1784), of Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of John Appleton and Elizabeth Rogers, was born in Ipswich and was an American Congregationalist minister. He was the nephew of President Leverett of Harvard and a graduate of Harvard. He was also chaplain of the 1st Provincial Congress of Massachusetts and minister of the First Church in Cambridge for sixty-six years. His meeting-house opened its doors and extended its kind offices to the soldiers mustered around it; There the 1st and 2nd Provincial Congress of Massachusetts convened, October 17, 1774, and February 1, 1775; there Washington and his officers worshiped; there the Constitution of Massachusetts was framed in 1779.

A Brief Biography of Ezekiel Culverwell (ca.1554–1631)

Since there isn’t a biographical sketch of Ezekiel Culverwell on the Internet yet (not even on Wikipedia), I thought I would fill that gap with this quote from Puritans and Puritanism in Europe and America: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia:

Culverwell, Ezekiel (ca.1554–1631)

Church of England clergyman and a leading member of the conference movement. Culverwell was born in London, son of Nicholas Culverwell. He was part of a network of puritan leaders. His eldest sister, Elizabeth, was the mother of William Gouge. Two younger sisters, Ceclilia and Susan, married respectively Laurence Chaderton and William Whitaker. His eldest brother, Samuel, married a daughter of Thomas Sampson.

Culverwell graduated from Oxford in 1573, proceeding M.A. in 1577. Ordained in about 1585, he became chaplain to Robert, the third Lord Rich, at Little Leighs, Essex, and preacher at nearby Felsted. He joined the conference of ministers led by George Gifford, which met in and around Braintree, in the process becoming a friend of the clergyman Richard Rogers, who frequently mentions him in his diary. It seems likely, therefore, that he stood godfather to Ezekiel Rogers.

Although his nonconformity soon drew the fire of John Aylmer, bishop of London, Culverwell was in 1592 instituted by Aylmer as rector of Great Stambridge, Essex. In 1598 he married, as his second wife, Winifred Barefoot (née Hildersham), possibly the sister of Arthur Hildersham, and was thereafter accepted as a member of the influential Barrington-Hildersham connection. In one of his three extant letters he addressed Lady Joan Barrington as “cousin.”

Following the death of Arthur Dent in 1603, he saw Dent’s last work, The Ruine of Rome, through the press, adding a dedicatory epistle to Lord Rich. In 1605 at Great Stambridge, he solemnized the marriage of Mary Forth to John Winthrop, the future governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who later acknowledged that it was Culverwell’s ministry that had converted him to “true religion.”

After many citations before the London consistory court following the implementation of the Constitutions and Canons of 1604, Culverwell was deprived of Great Stambridge by the High Commission in 1609 for his continued refusal to observe the ceremonies of the Church of England. Evidently spending the rest of his life in London, he maintained contact with Winthrop and was a friend and correspondent of such leading Calvinist theologians as John Burgess, John Dod, Richard Sibbes, and James Ussher. In his Treatise of Faith (1623; 8th ed. 1648), the most important of his handful of published works, he sought to modify the doctrine that Christ died only for the elect. When Alexander Leighton [1568–1649] accused him of Arminianism in A friendly triall of the Treatise of Faith (Amsterdam, 1624), Culverwell issued a spirited defense—A briefe answere to certain objections against the Treatise of Faith (1626)—affirming his adherence to the decrees of the Synod of Dort.

Culverwell was buried in the parish of St. Antholin, London, on 14 April 1631, having made a brief will in July 1630. Among his bequests was one to young Ezekiel Cheever, presumably another godson: £10 and a third of all his Latin books. Culverwell’s influence on Gouge, Winthrop (recipient of two [of] his extant letters), Cheever and, perhaps, the family of Richard Rogers earns him an honorable place in the dispersal of the “puritan” tradition of English Calvinism.

Brett Usher, “Culverwell, Ezekiel,” in Puritans and Puritanism in Europe and America: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia, ed. by Francis J. Bremer and Tom Webster, 2 vols. (Santa Barbara, Ca.: ABC-CLIO, 2006), 1:69–70. Barker also noted that William Gouge’s mother was a sister of Samuel and Ezekiel Culverwell (William Barker, Puritan Profiles: 54 Influential Puritans at the Time when the Westminster Confession was Written [Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, UK: Mentor, 1999], 38, 121).

George Petter (d.1661) on Christ's Love for the Rich Young Ruler

Quest. How could Christ love him [the rich young ruler in Mark 10:21], seeing he was a close hypocrite, and addicted to couvetousnesse, as he afterward shewed himself to be, by going away sorrowful, &c.

Answ. 1. It is not to be understood simply of love to his person; but of his love, liking, and approbation of those good things which he saw to be in him: as, his care to seek after eternal life, his reverent estimation of Christ's Person, his zeal and fowardness in the outward profession of Religion, and care to keep the Commandments (according to his knowledg of them) even from his youth: as also his teachableness, in that he asked, What more he lacked? Matth. 19.

In respect of these good and commendable properties which he saw to be in him, he is said to have looked lovingly upon him: though otherwise, as he was an hypocrite and covetous, he could not truly love his person, but did rather hate and abhor the same.

2. There is a two-fold love of Christ, 1. Common to all men, even to the profane and wicked, as they are men. This moved him to do good to all that came or were brought to him; curing them, &c. 2. Special to his Elect and faithful Disciples and Servants. Here the former is meant.

Observ. 1. That even in mere natural and unregenerate men void of true grace, there may be some good and amiable qualities and properties found: such qualities, vertues, and good things, as may procure love from God and men; I say, not only from men, but from God, and from Christ Jesus the Son of God; that is to say, a kind of common and general love, such as our Saviour here shewed to this young Ruler for the good things he saw in him: as, for his religious care and forwardness not only to know, but to keep the Commandments of God from his Youth, yea, from his Childhood; his civill life and care to refrain gross sins; as also his tractableness and readiness to learn of Christ, &c. These and the like good, and amiable qualities, and Civill or Moral vertues may be, and often are, found in such as are but meer natural men, void of all truth of sanctifying grace, yea, in such as are profane and wicked. In some of the wicked Kings of Israel were some good things found; which were in themselves pleasing to God: as in Ahab, his outward humiliation of himself by Fasting, &c. upon the Prophets threatning of him. 1 King. 21. 29. So in Jehu, there was a kind of zeal in Gods cause, in cutting off the whole Idolatrous house of Ahab. See 2 King. 10. 30. In the Scribes and Pharisees there were many civill vertues, and good things to be found; as their zeal and forwardness, and strictness in outward duties of Religion, and their care to refrain gross sins before men; as we may see by him, Luke 18. 11. In wicked Judas there were many good properties and vertues, else our Saviour would never have chosen him in to the number of his Apostles. So in Herod, Mark 6. 20. yea, who knows not, that even amongst the Heathen were many which excelled in some Moral and civill vertues, of external Justice, Temperance, Prudence, Fortitude, Chastity, &c. as Socrates, Cato, Aristides, Fabricius, &c. Rom. 2. 14. The Gentiles which have not the Law, do by nature the things contained in the Law, &c...

Use. For admonition to all Christians and Professors of Religiion to take heed of resting in this, that they have some good qualities, or vertues in them, which are amiable or praise-worthy in themselves before God and men; but above all, to labour for the true Sanctifying Grace of Gods Spirit, and for the power of Religion and godliness, without which all their Morall or civill vertues, though never so good in themselves, shall do them no good at all. Though thou hast never so many good civill vertues, or amiable qualities, &c. yet if thy heart be not yet truely changed, and purged by Faith in Christ, thy person is odious to God; and all the good things and vertues in thee, though in themselves they be good and amiable, and such as God commandeth and alloweth for the matter of them; yet as they come from thee being out of Christ, they are no way pleasing, but abominable to God. Therefore first cleanse the Fountain, and make the Tree good, that the fruit may be truely good, &c.

Observ. 2. We may bear a kind of love to the persons of natural and unregenerate men, void of true Sanctifying Grace; though not simply, as they are void of Grace; yet in respect of those common gifts, and good things which we see to be in them; as in regard of the good parts or gifts of nature which God hath bestowed on them; as sharpness of Wit, Memory, Strength, or Comeliness of body, &c. or in regard of their Learning or knowledg in Arts and Tongues; or in regard of those Moral or Civill vertues which are in them, &c. In these respects, and for these good things, or common gifts of God in them, we may love and affect them, though not with that speciall and singular love which we owe to the Saints of God; yet with an inferior and common kind of love, in respect of the common gifts and graces of God which are in them.

Reas. We ought to love and esteem well of the gifts of God wheresoever we find and take notice of them, and therefore even in natural and unregenerate persons. See Jam. 1. 17. and in respect of these gifts and good things in them which come from God, we may be affected with a kind of love to them, and shew the same by tokens and testimonies thereof, as our Saviour did to this young man, by looking amiably upon him. Gal. 6. 10. Let us do good unto all, &c. Now doing of good is a fruit of love; therefore we are to shew a kind of love to all men; even to such as are but natural men, &c. 1 Pet. 2. 17. Honour (or esteem) all men. This cannot be without love, in respect of the good things that are in them: Samuel shewed much love to Saul, though a wicked man, by praying for him, and mourning for him, when for his sin of disobedience he was rejected of God from being King of Israel, 1 Sam. 15. 1. It grieved Samuel, and he cryed to the Lord all night. And though the Lord do blame Samuel for mourning for him, chap. 16. ver. 1. yet not simply for mourning, but for mourning so much and so long for him.

Caution. We are so to shew love to natural and unregenerate men for the good things in them, that withall we be carefull not to shew any love or liking to their sins and corruptions, or to countenance them therein. Distinguish between their persons, and the good things in them; and between their sins and corruptions.

Observ. 3. If our Saviour Christ loved this young man for his Religious care and forwardness to keep the Commandments of God from his youth; and though it were but an external obedience, as appeareth by comparing these words with the former; then on the contrary, he cannot but hate and abhor such as are careless, negligent, and unconscionable this way. He cannot but hate such as are profane and wicked from their youth, &c. When any begin betimes to obey Gods Commandments even in their youth; this procureth the love of Christ towards them, &c. As on the contrary, profaneness, and disobedience to Gods Commandments in young men and Children, is odious unto Christ, causing him to hate and abhor such.

George Petter, A Learned, Pious, and Practical Commentary Upon the Gospel According to St. Mark (London: Printed by J. Streater, and are to be sold by George Sawbridge, at the Bible on Ludgate-Hill, 1661), 740–741.

Bio:
John Petter (1661/2–1700) has some biographical information about George Petter in the Preface to this work. He says:

• Petter was born in Kent, in the Lath of Scray, in the Hundred of Selbrittenden, in the Parish of Sandhurst near Newenden.

• He went to the University of Cambridge about the sixteenth year of his age, and was admitted into Trinity College, under the Name and Tuition of Mr. Simon Aldrich.

• Entered ministry about the age of 24, being placed in the Rectory of Bread, not far west from Winchelsey, in the County of Sussex, where he spent the remainder of his life, being pastor of that people 44 years.

• He preached in several of the Psalms, the whole 53rd chapter of Isaiah, the prophet Zephaniah, Ephesians, the first epistle to the Thessalonians, James, Jude, entirely and completely. He also had sermons on the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Decalogue, and Sacraments.

• Of his passing, he says, "The Disease which made its Preparative Assault upon him, was an Arthritical Distemper in one of his Shoulders, the pain whereof increasing more and more upon him, at length reduced him to a fatal consumption, of which he died in the 68th year of his age."

Joel Beeke on Jeremias Bastingius (1551–1595)

This post is meant to supplement the Calvin and Calvinism entry on Bastingius.

Bastingius, Jeremias (Dutch, Bastinck; 1551–1595), Dutch Reformed theologian best known for his exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism. Bastingius was trained by several prominent second-generation Reformers. He studied in Heidelberg under Zacharius Ursinus in 1573, where Peter Dathenus was his roommate, and in Geneva under Théodore de Bèze in 1574, where he boarded with Lambert Daneau. He also received instruction from Kaspar Olevianus and was graduated under Girolamo Zanchi as doctor in theology in Heidelberg (1575–1576).

His reputation was such that he was called in 1578 to Antwerp, the most prominent of the Low Countries' Reformed churches at the time. During his Antwerp pastorate (1578–1585) Bastingius enjoyed the confidence of the Dutch churches. When the provinces of Holland and Zeeland drafted a church order without involving the Reformed churches officially, Bastingius was still consulted privately by the provinces. With Jean Taffin he gave counsel to the Walloon ministers concerning this matter. Bastingius was consulted by Gaspar van der Heyden prior to his publication of a revised version of the Heidelberg Catechism in 1580. Consequently, the National Synod of Middelburg decided that Bastingius, in cooperation with Classis Walcheren, should compose exegetical studies (Exegemata) related to the catechism.

After the fall of Antwerp (1585), Bastingius settled temporarily in Zeeland. Shortly thereafter he accepted a call to Dordrecht (1585), where he remained for eight years. Here his renowned exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism was published in Latin, In Catechesim religionis Christianae, quae in Ecclesiis et scholis, tum Belgii tum Palatinatus traditur, exegemata, sive commentarii (1588). This popular work reflected the influence of Ursinus and Zanchi, as well as Calvin, to whom he refers more than thirty times. Several translations followed: an English text in 1589 (six reprints between 1592 and 1617), a Dutch version in 1591 (seven new editions printed by 1762), and a German translation in 1596. Bastingius himself translated it into Flemish. This work motivated the Synod of Friesland to express deep appreciation for Bastingius’s “faithful labors toward the edification of the church of Christ.”

Bastingius was a careful exegete. He preferred Calvin’s hermeneutics over Melanchthon’s, as he felt Calvin strove for a method that did justice to the context of all scripture. Consequently, Bastingius persuaded Daneau to publish his Methodus Sacrae Scripturae tractandae in 1579.

Bastingius was a leading figure in ecclesiastical assemblies. Numerous times he was a member of the moderamen of his classis; he represented his provincial or particular synod at the National Synod of 1587; and he served as president (1588) and assessor (1592) of his particular synod. Though he embraced strong Calvinistic convictions, he showed remarkable tolerance for those who embraced different persuasions from his own. His congenial and peace-loving disposotion explains why his circle of friends included men such as Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Johannes Wtenbogaert, and Gerardus Joannes Vossius.

Soon after his appointment to the board of regents of the University of Leiden (1593), Bastingius was honorably dismissed in 1595, as he lacked the firm hand required to guide the students. Subsequently he was appointed professor of theology. He never functioned as such, however, since shortly after his appointment he died at the age of forty-four.

Joel Beeke, “Bastingius, Jeremias,” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, ed. Hans J. Hillerbrand, 4 vols. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), 1:127–28.

Rudolf Gwalther (1519–1586) on Christ’s Death for All

I underlined the questionable words in the above picture.

Again, when he commends the preaching of the Gospel to his Apostles, he will first have repentance to be taught, next after which, he will have remissions of sins to be joined. Therefore Peter [in Acts 2] does not without a cause proceed in this order, that speaking of the death of Christ, he first proves his hearers to be guilty, and to be the authors [auctors?] thereof. And so it is necessary to have Christ's death preached in these days, that all men might understand the Son of God died for their sins, and that they were the authors [auctors?] thereof. For thus it shall come to pass, that men shall learn to be sorry [sorye?] in their heart for their sins, and shall embrace the salvation offered them in Christ with the more fervency of faith.

Rudolf Gwalther, A Hundred Threescore and Fifteen Homilies or Sermons Upon the Acts of the Apostles, trans. John Bridges (London: Henrie Denham, 1572), 108. I have taken the liberty to modernize the English.

Biographical Information:

Gwalther, Rudolf (also Walther, Walthard, Gualther; 1519–1586), third Antistes (or Bishop) of the Reformed Church of Zurich, following Bullinger and Zwingli in that office. Gwalther was Bullinger’s student at Kappel in 1528, and later, upon taking up residence in Bullinger’s house in Zurich in 1532, came to be treated almost as a son. In 1537 Gwalther traveled to England, and from 1538 to 1541, with a scholarship from Zurich, he studied at Basel, Strasbourg, Lausanne, and Marburg. He attended the Colloquy of Regensburg with the theologians from Hesse in 1541, where Calvin was also present. Upon returning to Zurich in 1541, Gwalther married Regula Zwingli, the daughter of the reformer, who also was a resident in the Bullinger household. After her death in 1565, he married Anna Blarer. In 1541 Gwalther became pastor at Schwamendingen. The following year he succeeded Leo Jud as pastor of Saint Peter’s church in Zurich. For more than thirty years he worked closely with Bullinger until the latter's death in 1575. In his Testament, Bullinger named Gwalther his successor.

As the leader of the Zurich church, Gwalther defended the Zurich version of the Protestant faith, especially against the Lutheran authors of the Formula of Concord. He was instrumental in developing good relations between the Zurich church and other Reformed churches in Europe. He had many contacts in England, where he was very influential, particularly as an advocate of the Zurich model of the state church. Gwalther’s son, Rudolf, received a master of arts degree from the University of Oxford in 1574, and Gwalther regularly corresponded with English bishops and others.

Gwalther’s works include Latin homilies on all the gospels, as well as on Acts of the Apostles, Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, and the twelve minor prophets. He also edited three volumes of the works of Zwingli and translated many of Zwingli’s German works into Latin. Gwalther’s famous work on the Antichrist (Der Endtchrist, 1546) was translated into several languages. He wrote poems and two works on metrics. He even tried his hand at drama (Nabal comoedia sacra, 1562). After his death his sermon notes on Esther, Isaiah, Psalms 1 to 94, and on all the books of the New Testament except Revelation were published.

J. Wayne Baker, “Gwalther, Rudolf,” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, ed. Hans J. Hillerbrand (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), 2:203.

Gualter, Rodolphus, son-in-law of Zwingli, and one of the first Swiss Reformers, was born at Zurich Nov. 9, 1519, succeeded Bullinger as pastor, became superintendent at Zurich in 1575, and died Nov. 25, 1586. His commentaries are highly esteemed and rare, viz. Homiliæ cccxi in Matthæum (Zurich, 1590–96, 2 vols. fol.):―Homil. clxxv in Acta (Zurich, 1577, fol.). He wrote also a strong anti-papal treatise, Antichristus (Zurich, 1546, 8vo). A complete edition of his works appeared at Zurich in 1585 (15 vols. 8vo).―Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Généale, xxi, 810; Winer, Theol. Literatur, ii, 555; Darling, Cyclop. Bibliographica, i, 1350.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, eds. John McClintock and James Strong (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1981), 3:1024.

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