Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli and Reformation through University Education

Abstract

In theory the steps that needed to be taken to make university education serviceable to the Christian Faith were guided by the following considerations: Salvation by faith alone -faith by scriptures ahne: this meant a text-basedfaith, which presupposed that the text was authentic and unadulterated The university—a reformed university—was given the vital role of providing the preachers of the Word with the appropriate exegetical and rhetorical skills. Luther was primarily a reformer of the university. He was convinced that enabling preachers to preach the pure Word of God through training in biblical humanism was the vital reforming act that could and must be undertaken by human agency, Zwingli developed a similar insight into the connection between higher education and the preaching of the pure Word. The radical, eschatological challenges which both men experienced (Luther in the form of the Wittenberg Movement and the League of the Elect and Zwingli in the form of Anabaptist exclusivism) made them even more determined to achieve Reformation through the university education of the preaching clergy.