Framing the Magisterial Reformation from a Lutheran Perspective

https://issuesetc.org/2026/05/25/the-uniqueness-of-the-lutheran-reformation-dr-jordan-cooper-5-25-26-1452-encore/

For the most part I appreciate Jordan Cooper and the work he does. Despite my many differences with him on questions of doctrine and Scriptural interpretation, I appreciate his spirit and the careful and conscientious way in which he approaches theological questions. In terms of being an ambassador for Confessional Lutheranism, there is no one better that I'm aware of.

However on this point concerning the uniqueness of the Lutheran Reformation and the way he frames it as a 'Traditional' or 'Conservative' Reformation as opposed to being 'Radical', I must disagree. But the debate itself is interesting and informative.

Appropriating the Waldenses (I)

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/church-history/article/waldensianism-before-waldo-the-myth-of-apostolic-protoprotestantism-in-antebellum-american-anticatholicism/0A7BA2B1A7B2B890E8A2A2622E710EC3

For obvious reasons this article on Waldensian Historiography captured my attention and I was thinking of Philip Schaff long before his name emerged in the article.

Romanticism took on many hues during the 19th century and while American Protestants poured most of their energy into crafting the narrative about the Mayflower Pilgrims or Pilgrim Fathers, they were not alone. Hostility to Roman Catholicism generated other historical debates over Church History and Protestants from the US and the UK, to France and beyond wanted a piece of the Waldensians.

Musing on The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance and Forty Years that Shook the World (II)

All things considered, I don't disagree with Wyman's general narrative regarding the rise of the modern West and how it surpassed previous super-power states and cultures like that of the Ottoman Empire.

But rather than celebrate Capitalism and the way it has reshaped the world, I would offer some different narratives to consider.

Musing on The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance and Forty Years that Shook the World (I)

Patrick Wyman's The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance and Forty Years that Shook the World (published in 2021 by Twelve) focuses primarily on the years1490-1530. He argues this period was critical for understanding the modern world as the West moved through these four decades of transition.

In the process of surveying some of the main historical events of this period, he teases out key cultural markers that (he argues) set the stage for the coming period and the world we know today.

Saving Christendom by Repackaging the Roman Beast

https://americanreformer.org/2023/10/providence-and-empire/

This unfortunate article was reposted at The Aquila Report and there seems to be more and more of this sort of thing as of late. The whole of theology (and even thought) is increasingly subordinated to the concerns and interests of Dominionist ideology and hence the growing concern with political and cultural thinking. Ironically, the more these 'civilisation' paths are pursued, the more readers are likely to turn to Rome as in many respects the narratives of the Magisterial Reformation and its legacy begin to collapse. And so in that regard one might say that such articles are doubly pernicious.

Lying Missionaries and Brutalised Victims of Their Times: A Revisionist Historian Spins the Gnadenhutten Massacre

When sections of the American public were forced to admit that it was American soldiers that committed the horrific massacre at My Lai in 1968, some attempted to justify their actions on account of their brutalisation. In other words, the sheer brutality and normalised violence that characterized their setting dehumanized the soldiers and thus, their culpability was at least in part lessened. They too became victims as it were and instead of being punished and answering to justice they were to be pitied and forgiven.

Norwich's History of the Papacy

Having recently finished Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy, by John Julius Norwich (first published in 2011), I must say I was in the overall – disappointed. My hopes were already diminished as I have interacted with some of his other works and found him to be wanting. This book was no exception. There were numerous errors and I found his analysis frustrating at many points. I wanted to give him another try as the nature of the volume intrigued me. He writes about topics that greatly interest me but there's something a bit off about his approach and degree of acumen.

Richard Bennett on the Waldensians

The former Irish Roman Catholic priest Richard Bennett (1938-2019) has always been a figure of sympathy and respect in my book. He was so thankful to have been released from the bondage and false Christianity represented by Rome. His sincerity was palpable and it was almost impossible not to empathize with him and his emotional response to his deliverance from that bondage.

Finding Meaning in History and the Dangers of Historicism

Following recent Christian discussions on historiography, it was inevitable that criticism directed at Historicism would eventually be put on the table. In this case the reference is to the argument for inevitable historical processes that govern human development and progress. Following in the footsteps of thinkers like Hegel, the philosopher studies these processes and by understanding them, a right view of history can be developed and with it a coherent political theory and strategy.

Chiliasm, Totalitarian Cults, and The Pursuit of the Millennium

After many years I finally found the time to read Norman Cohn's The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages first published in 1957. For all the attention this book has received I was quite disappointed.

Cohn's thesis rests on a cobbled together narrative that confuses popular impulse and superstition with religious conviction. He tries to argue that various utopian and chiliastic movements of the medieval period were the cultural and ideological precursors of twentieth century Nazism and Communism.

The Consecration of Russia and Fatima

Under the banner of co-belligerence, Evangelicals continue to deepen their ties to Roman Catholicism and openly work alongside elements within its larger order in pursuit of their political goals and aspirations. As Catholicism represents a spectrum every bit as broad as what is found under the definition of 'Protestantism', it is the Traditionalist Catholics (so-called) who are the natural allies of the Evangelical sphere – as they too labour to turn back the cultural clock. And while their conceptions of 'Christian America' or Christendom are different, they are united with Evangelicals in opposing secular humanism.

Siemon-Nietto on Vietnam: No Wisdom Gained

http://uwesiemon.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-wrong-side-won.html

I have written before about Uwe Siemon-Nietto who is a semi-frequent guest on Lutheran Public Radio's Issues Etc. Along with John Warwick Montgomery, Siemon-Nietto often provides what might be described as the view from Europe.

A Final Appeal: The First Reformation Applied to the Contemporary Context (Part 1)

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XVII)

The time is now.

These essays have attempted to survey Church history and re-cast it in a narrative frame at odds with the often tight, packaged, and frankly sometimes disingenuous renderings provided by denominational partisans and the advocates of Christendom – or the fiction that is often referred to as Judeo-Christian civilisation. This revisiting and questioning of common Protestant and Evangelical narratives of Church History is essential if one is to understand and navigate the present context.

The Legacy of the Second Constantinian Shift and the Threat of Secularism

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XIII)

Not all among the Czech Brethren and Waldensians greeted the Magisterial Reformation with joy. Some were alarmed and not a little put off by some of the ideas which they believed were being forced upon them by the Reformers. There was (at least in the case of the Cottian valleys) a degree of resentment with regard to the patronising attitude which they encountered from Guillaume Farel and what would become the Calvinist wing of the Reformation.

Waldensian Historiography

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (VIII)

The question of Waldensian placement becomes complicated as they transcend the three epochs we're touching upon – the pre-Schism First Reformation, the post-Schism shift and fragmentation, and finally the Magisterial Reformation.

The Oracular Mark and Historiography

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (IV)

The following is by no means exhaustive but it is my hope that it provides an alternative (or at least a working alternative) basis for a metanarrative to Church History. While I've been critical of the aforementioned narratives the concept of a metanarrative itself is not invalid – even while it has its dangers. Painting with a fairly broad brush I hope to establish some principles that will (in the most general of terms) provide a framework for an alternative view that some will identify as a kind of Third Way – a positive narrative that avoids the traps and pitfalls of both Roman Catholicism (and by implication Eastern Orthodoxy) and Magisterial Protestantism.

Metanarratives of Church History: Mercersburg, Confessionalism, and Landmarkism

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (III)

Nevin imposes a theological paradigm and metanarrative on his reading of Church History but ignores the fact that the New Testament repeatedly and forcefully warns of apostasy and appeals to the Old Testament as a pattern which is replete with examples of corruption, defection and compromise. In other words the Scriptures all but told us to expect this course in terms of the history of the Church and yet Nevin's progression paradigm has no room for it.

Testimonies of Early Dissent

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (II)

In his Early Christianity series, Nevin goes on to attack figures like Aerius, Jovinian and Vigilantius – all 4^th century dissenters treated by his colleague Philip Schaff in vol. 3 of his History of the Christian Church.

Nevin argues these figures and groups were aberrations and represented no serious opposition to the post-Constantinian changes – but we cannot accept this verdict.

Nevin's Early Christianity

Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (I)

The study of Church History is one dominated by narratives. For some it's a question of progress, a narrative of the application of principles, the expansion of the Kingdom in the form of Christendom and for others it's a story of remnant groups persevering in the face of apostasy and relentless persecution. Needless to say variations of the former model have proven to be far more popular and marketable.

Mythical Animals, Secular Analysis of Religion and the Anti-Sacral Uniqueness of New Testament Christianity

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/darmstrong/the-bible-and-mythical-animals

The King James translation erred in some of its translation choices, particularly with regard to animals and beasts that the translators were unfamiliar with. The cockatrice and unicorn are but a couple of well known examples, and their usage has generated some confusion among readers. In some cases the use of fantastical creature nomenclature has engendered mocking and ridicule from both within and without the Church.