Martin Bucer (Cascade Companions) - Donald McKim & Jim West - A Review


MARTIN BUCER: An Introduction to His Life and Theology(Cascade Companions). By Donald K. McKim and Jim West. Foreword by Jon Balserack. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2023. Xxi + 142 pages.

                When we think of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century the names of Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and perhaps Cramner come to mind. If the Anabaptists are at all on our radar, perhaps we might add Thomas Müntzer or Menno Simons. Those who sought to engage in the Reformation process were much larger than this small number of well-known names. They took different positions and angles, but what became the larger Protestant movement is influenced by this larger community of reformers. Among them is Martin Bucer. His name might not be as well known, but the Reformer of Strasbourg, in what is now France, played an important role in the progress of reform. In many ways, he sought to be a mediating figure, especially between Luther and Zwingli. While Bucer is known for his work in Strasbourg, those of us interested in the English Reformation know of his important contributions to the reforming work under Edward VI by Thomas Cranmer. So, who is Martin Bucer and what are his theological views?

                In search of answers to these questions, we have before us the work of Donald McKim and Jim West. Their contribution to the Cascade Companions series briefly introduces us to the life of Martin Bucer and his theology. The two authors of this book previously contributed the volume in the series focusing on Ulrich Zwingli's successor at Zurich, Heinrich Bullinger. This volume on Bucer serves as a companion to the Bullinger book, as the two of them were active in their reforming work at the same time.

                Before getting into the contents of the book, we need to know something about the two authors. Donald McKim is a former seminary dean, professor of theology, and executive editor for Westminster John Knox Press. I first came into contact with his work in seminary, as we read his co-authored book with my professor at the time Jack Rogers Authority and Interpretation of the Bible: An Historical Approach. I have read and reviewed a number of his books since then. His coauthor is Jim West, the pastor of Petros Baptist Church (Tennessee) and a well-known blogger on matters of the Bible and theology. This is the second volume, as noted above, that the two authors have worked on together.

                Martin Bucer is a figure whose name might be familiar to some, but we might not know why. Since this is a relatively brief book, there is much more to say. However, McKim and West provide us with a helpful overview of his life and work. The chapter that speaks to Bucer’s biography is only eighteen pages in length, but they provide us with enough information to get a sense of his importance while inviting us to dive deeper. Because of my own interest in his contribution to the sacramental and liturgical thought of Thomas Cranmer and the English reformers, I would have liked to see more on this portion of his life. The author’s main purpose in writing this book is to introduce the reader to Bucer’s theological positions, starting with Scripture, moving on to God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Sin and Salvation, Church and Ministry, Word and Sacraments, The State and Last Things.

                The Martin Bucer who appears in this book is what we might call an ecumenist. He was present at the Marburg Colloquy where Luther and Zwingli faced off on the Eucharist. In that Colloquy Bucer sought to mediate between the harder edge positions of Luther on one hand and Zwingli on the other. Though unsuccessful, he provided resources, including confessions that offered a middle way that others would take. He was also involved in gatherings at Speyer and Augsburg where Reformation positions were debated. While he was present at several important gatherings, often providing mediating confessions. It was as one of the primary reformers at Strasbourg that he made his name. He stayed at Strasbourg until he was ejected from his position in the church (he served as the pastor of St. Thomas’ Church) for opposing the decrees of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, that were designed to give Roman Catholics more privileges in Strasbourg. We learn in several places, but especially in chapter nine where he talks about the State and Last Things (Bucer wrote very little on eschatology, but essentially took a traditional Reformed position) that when it comes to the church’s relationship to the state, he assumed as most of the Reformers did, that reform of the church was a partnership between the two. Thus, his success in Strasbourg was due in large part to the partnership with the governing authorities, even as his downfall came as a result of his break with the state.

                We learn in the Introduction and Chapter 1 (“Martin Bucer’s Life”) that Bucer was born in 1491 in an Alsatian village but we know little of his family other than Bucer’s father was intent on making sure that he got an education. With that in mind, in 1507 Bucer decided to enter the Dominican Order, which allowed him to further his education at the universities at Heidelberg and Mainz. Then in 1516, a year before Luther issued his Ninety-Five Theses, Bucer was ordained a priest at Mainz. At the time of Luther's declaration, Bucer was pursuing a doctorate at Heidelberg, however, he didn’t complete the degree. One of the contributing factors in Bucer's eventual conversion to the Reformation position was his encounter with Luther at Heidelberg. It was there at Heidelberg that he witnessed Luther debate a Dominican scholar and found Luther's position convincing. Besides his education as a Dominican and his encounter with Luther, Bucer was also influenced by the Humanism of Erasmus, which called for a return to the sources. As a result of these influences, especially Luther and Erasmus, Bucer sought to root his own beliefs in Scripture. He decided to leave the Dominican order in 1520, receiving his final release from monastic vows in 1521. A year later he got married and by 1523 he was in Strasbourg, where he obtained a position as chaplain to a Lutheran pastor named Matthew Zell, who had gained influence on the City Council (Strasbourg was at the time a free imperial city). This new position gave Bucer room to begin his writing career and begin his career as the Reformer of Strasbourg. In that position at Strasbourg, he contributed to the spread of the Reformation, participating in various gatherings, writing confessions of faith, and nurturing other rising reformers. Among those who spent time in Strasbourg and were nurtured in their reforming understandings during his tenure was John Calvin. After he ran afoul of the Emperor and the City Council over the greater inclusion of Roman Catholics, Bucer fled to England where he would spend the remainder of his life serving as Professor of Divinity at Cambridge.

                In reading this Companion what we discover is that for the most part, there is nothing altogether unique about Bucer's theological work. While he sought, along with Melanchton, to mediate between Lutherans and Reformed positions he lived within the Reformed camp. His goal in his ministry was to find a way to bring non-Catholic Christians together so that they might provide a united front against Roman Catholicism. Despite his efforts to find a mediating position, the leading figures of the Reformation, including both Luther and Zwingli (and Zwingli’s successor, Bullinger) remained committed to their positions and would not follow Bucer’s vision of a path to unity. Nevertheless, he remained committed to this vision throughout his life.

                One area where Bucer contributed significantly to the debates of the era had to do with his contributions to the discussions of the theology of the Lord's Supper. Due to his participation in the Marburg Colloquy, which pitted Luther and Zwingli against each other, Bucer's attempt at finding a mediating position on the Eucharist did bring the two sides closer together. While he was closer to Zwingli, he influenced future conversations as to the nature of Christ’s presence. For Bucer Christ was not present in the elements (thus in line with Zwingli) but he insisted that Christ was spiritually present in the event of the Eucharist. McKim and West give us an introductory discussion of this view on Bucer’s part, but I wished they had given more attention to Bucer’s Eucharistic theology since it is my understanding that Bucer influenced Thomas Cranmer’s more mature thought. Bucer arrived at Cambridge in 1549 after Cranmer published his first Prayer Book but before the second Book of Common Prayer was published in 1552. It was this latter liturgy that moved more fully toward the Reformed position, especially on the nature of Christ’s spiritual presence. As a historian of the English Church, especially of the eighteenth-century church, when some in the Church of England sought to return to the more Catholic 1549 Book of Common Prayer, information as to Bucer’s influence on the 1552 eucharistic liturgy would have been helpful.

                Martin Bucer might not be the best-known Reformer but he was surely an important figure whose influence was widely felt. He influenced John Calvin and Thomas Cranmer. He wrote confessions of faith designed to demonstrate to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V that the Reformed position was not heretical. He sought to provide the foundation for unity across the Reformation position. Having this brief Cascade Companion helps bring to light the importance of Martin Bucer’s contribution to the Reformation. We can be appreciative to Donald McKim and Jim West for bringing to light Bucer’s life and theology in their Martin Bucer: An Introduction to His Life and Theology. Their work in this Cascade Companion brings to our attention this often-neglected Reformer and gives us the incentive to learn more about Martin Bucer’s life and work. The brevity of the book, of course, leaves us wanting to learn more. That is to be expected and desired. 

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