The Reformation and the Emergence of Protestant Orthodoxy

Abstract

Abstract Out of several medieval elements emerged profound changes in defining ‘Christian’ belief and practice, as Luther, Zwingli, and other reformers formulated their forms of fundamental Christian topics in the early sixteenth century. These topics included sin and natural human potential, human righteousness, the authority of Scripture and of tradition, the sacraments, the church, and public ministry. The method of teaching and formulating theology also changed, initially rejecting Aristotelian forms on many levels, but gradually restoring elements of his system, in order to facilitate methodical theological investigation, pedagogy, and exchange of ideas among the confessional groups. Late-seventeenth- and early-eighteenth-century theologians, including the progeny of the Reformation, significantly altered the presuppositions underlying theological pursuit, so that subsequent theological enterprise depended ever less on Reformation thinking.