Reference Needed ... on the Material Principle of the Reformation.

Hi everyone,

Sorry to ask ... but my Logos library (and the Internet) has failed me. Everyone says that Melancthon called "justification by faith alone" the "material principle" or "material cause" of the Reformation. But I have been unable to find out where.

Can anyone with a bigger Logos library find the reference to this in one of Melancthon's works? It would be much appreciated.

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Ken McGuire

Hi everyone,

Sorry to ask ... but my Logos library (and the Internet) has failed me. Everyone says that Melancthon called "justification by faith alone" the "material principle" or "material cause" of the Reformation. But I have been unable to find out where.

Can anyone with a bigger Logos library find the reference to this in one of Melancthon's works? It would be much appreciated.

It is quite Traditional in Lutheran circles to describe Justification by Faith as the Material Principle. However, I am not aware of anyone who has actually found an example of Lutherans using this terminology before the 19th Century. A quite extensive article on this by Erik M. Heen is in the Lutheran Quarterly, vol 17 (2003) pg. 329-354.

SDG

Ken McGuire

Todd Phillips

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/406644#Comment_406644

It is quite Traditional in Lutheran circles to describe Justification by Faith as the Material Principle. However, I am not aware of anyone who has actually found an example of Lutherans using this terminology before the 19th Century

In support of that, the Encyclopedia of Christianity says:

"Schleiermacher’s disciple and successor A. Twesten (1789–1876) introduced the idea of the two principles of Protestantism (1826), which became fixed when A. Ritschl (1822–89) adopted it in 1876. Holy Scripture was now the formal principle, and justification by faith the material principle."

Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley, vol. 4, The Encyclopedia of Christianity (Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leiden, Netherlands: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 2005), 395.

Rick

The closest thing that I could find dealing with anything close to this was Melancthon and predestination at the commencement of the reformation by Arminius.

David P. Moore

The best I could find in my library is this, from Reformation and Revival Volume 6, 3:

"This Protestant movement was firmly grounded in the material principle of sola fide, so-called by Philip Melancthon. The Pauline doctrine of justification by faith alone, powerfully revived in the life of the church, set off a movement of God which changed the religious landscape forever. It is time modern church leaders reconsidered the power of this truth. If it were unleashed again the consequences would undoubtedly amaze us."

I know it still doesn't help much.

Blair Laird

Dont have Melancthon works however I did pull these up by a search on "material principle" NEAR reformation

3733.Library Results.docx

Stephen Paynter

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/406891#Comment_406891

Thank you everyone who looked, and replied. It is clearly one of those things that everybody knows, but nobody has checked. Grrr ... the painstaking academic in me is frustrated!

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/406891#Comment_406891

however I did pull these up by a search on "material principle" NEAR reformation

Changing NEAR to WITHIN 12 WORDS added 2 more results:

Keep Smiling [:)]