320 Book Reviews
Johann Gerhard edited by Benjamin T. G. Mayes and Heath R. Curtin
Theological Commonplaces: On Original Sin, On Actual Sins, On Free Choice. Saint
Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2014. Pp. xv + 367. Hb, $59.99.
A good measure to comprehend the enormous impact of the anti-Protestant
writings of the Jesuit Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621) is to observe how much
energy his confessional opponents poured into refuting his works. Concordia
Publishing House’s monumental project to translate Johann Gerhard (1583–
1637)’s massive Theological Commonplaces (Loci theologici, 1610–25) into
English provides a wealth of materials to all researchers interested in the inter-
confessional polemics in Reformation Europe, as these volumes are the com-
pendium of the Protestant refutations of the Roman Catholic doctrines
composed by the best dogmatician of Lutheran Orthodoxy. This volume, origi-
nally published in 1611 (Locorum theologicorum [...] tomus secundus, Jena:
Tobias Steinmann), covers the Commonplaces 12 to 14 of Gerhard’s classic,
focusing on the controversial issues of original and actual sins and free choice
of humankind. From the very first chapter of this work, it becomes clear that
the primary aim of the brilliant Jena theologian is to present a thorough coun-
terattack to Bellarmine’s doctrinal claims in his Controversies (1586–93) and to
prove that his opponent’s theological understandings show his Pelagian
deviation.
The Commonplaces 12 discusses the cause, nature, and effects of Adam’s
fall. Though he has critically quoted Bellarmine’s words in earlier sections,
Gerhard launches his first frontal attack on Bellarmine’s thesis with the ques-
tion “What was the first sin of the first human beings?” (15). The ensuing argu-
ment demonstrates the meticulous style of Gerhard’s polemic. Faithful to
Luther’s tradition, Gerhard insists that defection from God’s word was the first
sin of humankind, and criticizes Bellarmine’s view that pride was the first
transgression. In order to prove his point, Gerhard argues that the scripture
verses and the church fathers’ statements quoted in Bellarmine’s thesis are not
contrary to the Lutheran stance (16–18). Then he turns to his opponent’s ratio-
nal arguments that “the end of man in evil acts is his own excellence, which is
the object of pride and thus not of faithlessness.” Claiming that “following the
simplicity and perspicuity of Moses’ text” he does not try to comprehend the
true intent of Adam but to focus on its execution, Gerhard reiterates his view
that “the first act of commission or of execution was faithlessness or departure
from God’s Word” (18). Picking up Bellarmine’s counterarguments one by one,
he adds refutations to each, buttressing his claims with quotations from
Augustine, Tertullian, Irenaeus, and others. (The writings of the fathers always
provide Gerhard with the most important weapons against his opponents.)
journal of jesuit studies 3 (2016) 279-368
Book Reviews 321
But these arguments on the first sin of humankind are a mere introduction to
his chief agenda: to connect Bellarmine with Pelagianism.
Throughout the rest of the volume, Gerhard employs every opportunity to
point out the unorthodox elements (or, more precisely, the elements which can
be interpreted as unorthodox) in the Jesuit theologian’s writing. For him,
Bellarmine’s view that Adam’s sin was imputed by God to his descendants, and
his definition of original sin as “a habitual aversion” to God show his “minimiz-
ing the hideousness of original sin in many ways” (55). Rejecting Bellarmine’s
emphasis of voluntary nature of actual sins (because it can be argued that
infants are sinless as they cannot commit sin voluntarily), Gerhard presses his
own definition of sin as “lawlessness” in Commonplaces 13, which examines the
nature, category, and effects of actual sins. In this part, Gerhard presents lengthy
arguments on the problem whether concupiscence in a believer is sin because
it highlights the contradictions which can be observed in some of Bellarmine’s
own statements. The Jena professor triumphantly quotes his opponent’s state-
ment that the rebellion of the flesh should not be called sin, “but the punish-
ments of sin and defects following from the material, just as rust is related to an
iron knife,” as a manifest sign that he fell into the Pelagian error (164–65).
In the third part of the volume, Commonplace 14, is on the freedom of
choice remaining in humankind after the fall. Naturally, the main issue of the
section is whether humankind can cooperate with God’s grace in the process
of conversion, and it gives Gerhard ample opportunities to denounce the posi-
tion of the Jesuit (while rejecting the Calvinist idea of the absolute decree).
Bellarmine’s stance is summarized in his interesting parable of “a man sailing
to the Orient”—the story appropriate for the age of overseas explorations: “Let
there be a man who needs to sail to the Orient, and yet is unwilling to do this;
then let someone come to him and finally persuade him with many proffered
reasons and make a willing person out of an unwilling one. Then, when the
second person perceives that the first is willing to sail, he gets him a ship,
money, and the rest of the supplies necessary for those who sail” (259). This
suggests that a person, responding to persuasion and inspiration of divine
grace, can cooperate with God in the first act of conversion with his own natu-
ral powers. For Gerhard, in order to overcome the bondage of original sin, one
needs new powers to will, given by Holy Spirit. “The will needs not just persua-
sion but also change, not just healing but also renewal, not an exterior beating
but an interior drawing” (260). Thus the parable shows that “Bellarmine does
not yet extricate himself from the nets of Pelagius” (261).
Gerhard rightly points out a number of inconsistencies in Bellarmine’s
work, but did he properly grasp the subtle arguments of the Jesuit theolo-
gian? Because he tried to point out all the problematic lines which appear in
journal of jesuit studies 3 (2016) 279-368
322 Book Reviews
Controversies, we receive an impression that “the church father of Lutheran
Orthodoxy” often gets lost in the wood, as he is focusing too strongly on each
tree. Nonetheless, his passion to pinpoint all the logical problems of the
Jesuit polemist shows the threat he felt from his worthy opponent. Though
his attack is relentless, we cannot miss that Gerhard tried to be fair to
Bellarmine, often acknowledging that he can accept some of the claims
which his enemy made. In one argument about free choice, Gerhard even
expresses his frustration that “[t]his childish game of Bellarmine is unworthy
of his intelligence” (262), which suggests his high regard of the capability of
his opponent.
This precious volume allows readers an interesting glimpse into the dra-
matic world of confessional struggles, especially the profound sense of the cri-
sis provoked by the Jesuit counterattack to the Lutheran Reformation. A
glossary with forty theological words, a person index, a scripture index, and a
bibliographical list of the works cited (including those used by Gerhard him-
self), also provide valuable help to researchers.
Ken Kurihara
Union Theological Seminary
kuriken@abox8.so-net.ne.jp
DOI 10.1163/22141332-00302006-13
journal of jesuit studies 3 (2016) 279-368
