Extra calvinisticum
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Theextra Calvinisticumis the doctrine that theeternal Son's presence is not limited to his assumed human nature but he maintains his existence also beyond it (etiam extra carnem) perpetually, from the moment of His incarnation.[1]The termextra Calvinisticumwas initially used byLutheransto refer to the use of this concept inReformedtheology. However, the concept is found in the writings of a wide range of pre-Reformation theologians including theChurch Fathers.[2][3]
History of the term
[edit]The termextra Calvinisticum(Latinfor "the Calvinistic beyond/outside" ) is a theologicalterminus technicusgiven byLutheran scholastictheologians around 1620.[4][5]The doctrine is named for and associated withJohn Calvin,but is commonly found in theChurch Fathersand is prominent inAugustine's Christology.[6]E. David Willis demonstrates the existence of this doctrine in the writings ofAugustine of Hippo,Peter Lombard,John of Damascus,Gregory of Nazianzus,Thomas Aquinas,Duns Scotus,Gabriel Biel,andJacques LeFevre d'Estaples.[2]Andrew M. McGinnis furthers the research and demonstrates evidence of the doctrine in the writings ofCyril of Alexandria.[3]
Overview of the doctrine
[edit]TheChalcedonian Definition(AD 451) states the following concerning thehypostatic unionof the two natures of Christ:
One and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.[7]
Some tensions found within the definition's logic would escalate into controversies during theProtestant ReformationasLutheranandReformedtheologians set forth opposing doctrines of the person of Christ. The controversy was mainly concerning the human nature of Christ. For example, how does this inconfused, unchangeable, indivisible, inseparable union relate to the omnipresence of Christ? The Reformed understanding of the relationship between the two natures of Christ and his omnipresence is what is usually called the extra Calvinisticum. The extra Calvinisticum teaches that the eternal Son maintains his existenceetiam extra carnem(also beyond the flesh) during his earthly ministry and perpetually.[1]
This theological distinction is in contrast toscholastic Lutheran Christology.[8]In the theology ofMartin Luther,Jesus Christisomnipresentnot only in his divine nature but also in his human nature, because of the communication of properties (communicatio idiomatum) between those two natures.[9]The Reformed, in contrast to the Lutherans, argued that "the Word is fully united to but never totally contained within the human nature and, therefore, even in the incarnation is to be conceived of as beyond or outside of (extra) the human nature."[10]
James R. Gordon makes a distinction between two versions of the doctrine—the weak and the strong—in the tradition.[11]The weak version simply maintains "that (1) the Son cannot be reduced to Christ’s physical body and (2) there is some form of presence exercised by the Son beyond the Son’s incarnate life in Christ"; and it remains agnostic about thewhatand thehowof the Son’s lifeextra carnem,and it does not make inferences from the fact of the Son’s presence beyond Christ’s physical body to additional theological ramifications of such presence.[11]The strong version of the doctrine makes further theological claims regarding the specifics of thewhatandhowof the Son’s presence beyond the flesh by making the "assertions that (1) the Son is not exhaustively revealed in the person of Christ, (2) the Son simpliciter does not participate in the full range of human experiences of the person of Christ, and (3) the incarnation is contingent to the Son’s life.”[11]
See also
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References
[edit]- ^abK. J. Drake (2021).The flesh of the word: the extra Calvinisticum from Zwingli to early Orthodoxy.Oxford.ISBN978-0-19-756795-1.OCLC1201696045.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^abE. David Willis (1966).Calvin's catholic christology: The Function of the So-called Extra Calvinisticum in Calvin's Theology.Leiden: E.J. Brill. pp. 26–60.OCLC877593839.
- ^abMcGinnis, Andrew M. (2016).The Son of God beyond the flesh: a historical and theological study of the "extra Calvinisticum".Bloomsbury T & T Clark.ISBN978-0-567-66673-4.OCLC957662769.
- ^W. Kreck,Lexikon reformierter Grundbegriffe[Lexicon Reformed Principle] (in German), Reformed Alliance in Germany,retrieved2012-12-06
- ^"Summaries of Doctoral Dissertations",The Harvard Theological Review,56(4),Cambridge University Press:321–334, October 1963,doi:10.1017/S0017816000018903,ISSN0017-8160,JSTOR1508667,S2CID248822657
- ^Richard Muller(2012) [1986].Christ and the Decree(Kindleed.). Kindle location 560–572.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^Grudem, Wayne A. (1994).Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine.Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. p. 1435.ISBN978-1-78974-208-4.OCLC1231011012.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^Carson, Ronald (September 1975). "The Motifs ofKenosisandImitatioin the Work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with an Excursus on theCommunicatio Idiomatum".Journal of the American Academy of Religion.43(3).Oxford University Press:542–553.doi:10.1093/jaarel/xliii.3.542.ISSN0002-7189.JSTOR1461851.
- ^David Peters,The "Extra Calvinisticum" and Calvin's Eucharistic Theology(PDF),p. 5,retrieved2012-12-06
- ^Muller,Richard (1985). "Extra Calvinisticum".Dictionary of Latin and Greek theological terms: drawn principally from Protestant scholastic theology.Baker Book House. p. 111.ISBN978-0-8010-6185-1.Retrieved2012-12-06.
- ^abcGordon, James R. (2016).The Holy One in Our Midst: An Essay on the Flesh of Christ.Minneapolis: Fortress Press.ISBN978-1-5064-0834-7.OCLC993113524.