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Theological Commonplaces
On the Nature of God and on the Trinity
This Theological Commonplaces series presents the first-ever English translation of the monumental Loci Theologici of Johann Gerhard. One of the premier theologians of the seventeenth-century period of Lutheran Orthodoxy, Gerhard addresses the doctrines of the Christian faith with great detail and clarity. In an accessible style, Gerhard interacts with the writings of the church fathers, medieval theologians, Luther and his contemporaries, and the Catholic, Reformed, and Unitarian theologians of his day. This series remains a classic of Lutheran theology and offers contemporary church workers and researchers a wealth of material on the distinctives of Lutheran doctrine and exegesis. On the Nature of God and on the Trinity addresses God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as Gerhard explores the divine names, God's existence, the divine essence, and the mystery of the Trinity. As Gerhard makes the argument for the Trinity, he turns repeatedly to Holy Scripture as his source of doctrine. He interacts with the writings of the ancient church fathers as they sought to formulate the doctrine of the Trinity, but he points out the various heresies that have arisen and responds to them. He specifically addresses the arguments of the Socinians (Unitarians) concerning the Trinity.
- GenresTheology
484 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2007
About the author
Johann Gerhard
215 books13 followersJohann Gerhard was a Lutheran church leader and Scholastic theologian during the period of Orthodoxy.
At the age of fourteen, during a dangerous illness, he came under the personal influence of Johann Arndt, author of Das wahre Christenthum, and resolved to study for the church. He entered the University of Wittenberg in 1599, and studied philosophy and theology. A relative then persuaded him to change his subject, and he studied medicine for two years. In 1603, he resumed his theological reading at Jena, and in the following year received a new impulse from J.W. Winckelmann and Balthasar Mentzer at Marburg. He graduated in 1605 and began to give lectures at Jena, then in 1606 he accepted the invitation of John Casimir, Duke of Coburg, to the superintendency of Heldburg, today Bad Colberg-Heldburg, and mastership of the gymnasium; soon afterwards he became general superintendent of the duchy, in which capacity he was engaged in the practical work of ecclesiastical organization until 1616, when he became the senior theological professor at Jena, where the remainder of his life was spent.
Here, with Johann Major and Johann Himmel, he formed the "Trias Johannea." Though still comparatively young, Gerhard was already regarded as the greatest living theologian of Protestant Germany; in the "disputations" of the period he was always protagonist, and his advice was sought on all public and domestic questions touching on religion or morals. During his lifetime he received repeated calls to almost every university in Germany (e.g. Giessen, Altdorf, Helmstedt, Jena, Wittenberg), as well as to Uppsala in Sweden. He died in Jena.
His writings are numerous, alike in exegetical, polemical, dogmatic and practical theology. To the first category belong the Commentarius in harmoniam historiae evangelicae de passione Christi (1617), the Comment, super priorem D. Petri epistolam (1641), and also his commentaries on Genesis (1637) and on Deuteronomy (1658). Of a controversial character are the Confessio Catholica (1633–1637), an extensive work which seeks to prove the evangelical and catholic character of the doctrine of the Augsburg Confession from the writings of approved Roman Catholic authors; and the Loci communes theologici (1610–1622), his principal contribution, in which Lutheranism is expounded "nervose, solide et copiose," in fact with a fulness of learning, a force of logic and a minuteness of detail that had never before been approached.
The Meditationes sacrae (1606), a work expressly devoted to the uses of Christian edification, has been frequently reprinted in Latin and has been translated into most of the European languages, including Greek.
At the age of fourteen, during a dangerous illness, he came under the personal influence of Johann Arndt, author of Das wahre Christenthum, and resolved to study for the church. He entered the University of Wittenberg in 1599, and studied philosophy and theology. A relative then persuaded him to change his subject, and he studied medicine for two years. In 1603, he resumed his theological reading at Jena, and in the following year received a new impulse from J.W. Winckelmann and Balthasar Mentzer at Marburg. He graduated in 1605 and began to give lectures at Jena, then in 1606 he accepted the invitation of John Casimir, Duke of Coburg, to the superintendency of Heldburg, today Bad Colberg-Heldburg, and mastership of the gymnasium; soon afterwards he became general superintendent of the duchy, in which capacity he was engaged in the practical work of ecclesiastical organization until 1616, when he became the senior theological professor at Jena, where the remainder of his life was spent.
Here, with Johann Major and Johann Himmel, he formed the "Trias Johannea." Though still comparatively young, Gerhard was already regarded as the greatest living theologian of Protestant Germany; in the "disputations" of the period he was always protagonist, and his advice was sought on all public and domestic questions touching on religion or morals. During his lifetime he received repeated calls to almost every university in Germany (e.g. Giessen, Altdorf, Helmstedt, Jena, Wittenberg), as well as to Uppsala in Sweden. He died in Jena.
His writings are numerous, alike in exegetical, polemical, dogmatic and practical theology. To the first category belong the Commentarius in harmoniam historiae evangelicae de passione Christi (1617), the Comment, super priorem D. Petri epistolam (1641), and also his commentaries on Genesis (1637) and on Deuteronomy (1658). Of a controversial character are the Confessio Catholica (1633–1637), an extensive work which seeks to prove the evangelical and catholic character of the doctrine of the Augsburg Confession from the writings of approved Roman Catholic authors; and the Loci communes theologici (1610–1622), his principal contribution, in which Lutheranism is expounded "nervose, solide et copiose," in fact with a fulness of learning, a force of logic and a minuteness of detail that had never before been approached.
The Meditationes sacrae (1606), a work expressly devoted to the uses of Christian edification, has been frequently reprinted in Latin and has been translated into most of the European languages, including Greek.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 20, 2019
This is the second volume of Gerhard that I've read - and sadly I did not enjoy this as much as the first. It continues two works: "On the Nature of God" and "On the Trinity".
The first work I was surprised at how scholastic this was - more like Aquinas than Luther. Whereas Luther concentrates on God revealed on the Cross, Gerhard is concerned with a full scholastic examination of God. Whilst this is interesting, having read similar things before I found it a little "dry". He also seems to go out of his way to criticise the Calvinists at every opportunity. Now I don't know what 17th Century Calvinism was like in Germany - but Gerhard seems to make genuine and correct theology a very small group...
I continue to enjoy works on the Trinity, so this volume started well for me - but then I was taken a bit by surprise by Gerhard's apparent insistence that a correct understanding of the Trinity is required for Salvation. Followed by his gymnastics to show how this is the case throughout Scripture and Church History. I found this very difficult to read...
So will probably take a bit of a break from Gerhard and move on to Arndt :)
The first work I was surprised at how scholastic this was - more like Aquinas than Luther. Whereas Luther concentrates on God revealed on the Cross, Gerhard is concerned with a full scholastic examination of God. Whilst this is interesting, having read similar things before I found it a little "dry". He also seems to go out of his way to criticise the Calvinists at every opportunity. Now I don't know what 17th Century Calvinism was like in Germany - but Gerhard seems to make genuine and correct theology a very small group...
I continue to enjoy works on the Trinity, so this volume started well for me - but then I was taken a bit by surprise by Gerhard's apparent insistence that a correct understanding of the Trinity is required for Salvation. Followed by his gymnastics to show how this is the case throughout Scripture and Church History. I found this very difficult to read...
So will probably take a bit of a break from Gerhard and move on to Arndt :)
Displaying 1 of 1 review