- Original name:
- Thomas LĂŒber, Lieber, or Liebler
- Born:
- Sept. 7, 1524, Baden, Switz.
- Died:
- Dec. 31, 1583, Basel (aged 59)
- Subjects Of Study:
- Zwinglianism
- church and state
- excommunication
- Role In:
- Reformation
Thomas Erastus
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Who was Thomas Erastus?
Thomas Erastus (1524â1583) was a Swiss physician and Zwinglian theologian known for his role in the church-state relationship. He became a professor at the University of Heidelberg in 1557 and supported church reforms. Erastus opposed the Calvinist system of church discipline and excommunication, arguing that the state should punish sins in a unified Christian society.
His theses, published posthumously in 1589, advocated for state supremacy in ecclesiastical matters, a doctrine known as Erastianism. He also wrote against superstitions like astrology and alchemy but believed in witchcraft, supporting the death penalty for witches.
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What jobs did Thomas Erastus do?
Thomas Erastus was a Swiss physician and religious figure who held several positions throughout his life.
Erastus's jobs:
* Professor of therapeutics at the University of Heidelberg (1557)
* Professor of medicine in Basel (1580)
* Professor of ethics in Basel (1582)He is also known for his support of church reforms and his opposition to the Calvinist system of church discipline.
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What was Thomas Erastus known for in medicine?
Thomas Erastus was a Swiss physician and religious figure known for his contributions to medicine and his controversial views on church-state relations. He gained recognition as a professor of therapeutics at the University of Heidelberg, where he was known as a skilled physician and teacher.
In addition to his medical work, Erastus is remembered for his opposition to the Calvinist system of church discipline. He argued against excommunication and asserted that the punishment of sins should be administered by civil magistrates in a Christian society. His views on church-state relationships, though not taught by him, led to the coining of the term Erastianism.
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What was his role as a theologian?
Thomas Erastus was a Swiss physician and theologian who supported church reforms advocated by Huldrych Zwingli and became closely associated with introducing Reformed Protestantism into Palatinate. In debates about the Eucharist, he defended the Zwinglian view that Christ's body is only symbolically present in the sacramental bread.
Erastus opposed the Calvinist system of church discipline, arguing that excommunication is unscriptural and that civil magistrates should punish sins in a Christian society. His theses on this topic were published posthumously and reflected in numerous translations. Although he is known for Erastianism, the doctrine that the state is superior to the church, he never taught it.
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What is the 'Erastian' view or belief named after him?
The 'Erastian' view, or Erastianism, is a doctrine asserting the state's supremacy over the church in ecclesiastical matters. Despite being named after Thomas Erastus, the 16th-century Swiss physician and theologian, he never actually advocated for this doctrine.
Erastus opposed excommunication, arguing instead for civil authorities to handle punishments. He believed the state had the right and duty to punish all offenses, both religious and civil, within a unified religious citizenship. The term 'Erastian' emerged later in England around 1643, when Presbyterians used it to criticize those advocating state supremacy.
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How did Thomas Erastus influence church and state relationships in Europe?
Thomas Erastus, a Swiss physician and theologian, is known for Erastianism, a doctrine advocating state supremacy over the church in ecclesiastical matters. However, Erastus himself never explicitly taught this doctrine.
Erastus opposed excommunication, arguing instead for civil authorities to punish offenses, whether ecclesiastical or civil, within a unified religious society. He believed the state had the right and duty to punish all offenses where citizens adhered to a single religion, thus limiting state power in religious matters to a specific area.
His views clashed with Calvinists who sought to implement a church discipline system, leading to controversies and his eventual excommunication. Erastus's theses, published posthumously, influenced debates, particularly in England during the Westminster Assembly of 1643, where they were used to support secular supremacy.
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Thomas Erastus (born Sept. 7, 1524, Baden, Switz.âdied Dec. 31, 1583, Basel) was a Swiss physician and religious controversialist whose name is preserved in Erastianism, a doctrine of church-state relationship that he himself never taught.
A student of philosophy and medicine for nine years, Erastus was invited in 1557 by the elector Otto Heinrich of the Palatinate to be professor of therapeutics in the new faculty of medicine at the University of Heidelberg. There he quickly achieved a favourable reputation as a physician and a teacher. As a supporter of the church reforms advocated by the Swiss theologian Huldrych Zwingli, Erastus became closely associated with the introduction of Reformed Protestantism into the Palatinate during the electorate of Frederick III (1559â76). In debates over the Eucharist, the sacrament deriving from the Lordâs Supper, he defended the Zwinglian view that Christâs body is present in the sacramental bread only symbolically, in contrast to Lutherâs view that his body is really present.
The central controversy in Erastusâ life came to a head after he had opposed efforts by Calvinists in the Palatinate to impose the system of church discipline that had been established by John Calvin at Geneva and elsewhere. When in 1568 a set of theses was presented at Heidelberg by the English Puritan George Withers, who affirmed both the presbyterian system of church government (assemblies of elected representatives) and the practice of excommunication, Erastus drew up 100 theses (later reduced to 75) to refute him. Erastus maintained that excommunication is unscriptural, that the sacraments should not be withheld from anyone genuinely wishing to receive them, and that in a Christian societyâand Erastus explicitly limited his argument in this mannerâthe punishment of sins is in the hands of the civil magistrates. Because the Calvinists had the support of the elector, however, the presbyterian system was established by electoral decree in 1570.
For his opposition to the new order and also for alleged tendencies away from the doctrine of the Trinity toward Unitarianism, Erastus was excommunicated for two years. He was forced to leave Heidelberg when Lutheranism was reinstituted under the elector Louis VI (1576â83). On his return to Basel, he was appointed professor of medicine there in 1580 and of ethics in 1582. The term Erastian evidently came into use first in 1643 in England; Presbyterians used it as a term of abuse for those who urged state supremacy.
The significance of Erastusâ theses, which were published posthumously in 1589 under the title Explicatio gravissimae quaestionisâŠ, was reflected by their numerous translations: in 1659 as The Nullity of Church Censures, in 1682 as A Treatise of Excommunication, and in 1844 in a Scottish edition. Erastus also wrote several medical and scientific treatises in which he attacked such popular superstitions as the belief in astrology and in alchemical transmutation of metals. He himself, however, shared the contemporary belief in witchcraft, which he opposed in his Repetitio disputationis de lamiis seu strigibus (1578; âRepetition of the Disputation Against Witchesâ), a defense of the use of the death penalty against witches and sorcerers.