THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
in August to Berlin. From there he recalled his complaints and at Luther's demand prepared a letter of retraction. For a time he modified his views to some extent so that they approximated in a measure to those of Luther; but Luther's distrust was not removed, nor was Agricola reallyconvinced of error.
After Agricola it was especially Jakob Schenk, court-preacher of Duke Henry and the Reformer of Freiberg, who came under suspicion of Antinomianism ; he is said to have declared that " all who preached the law were possessed with the devil; do what you will, if you only believe,
you are saved," and "to the gallows with Moses !" An inquiry instituted against him (June, 1538) ended in his being called by the Elector 4. Jakob to Weimar as court-preacher. In 1541
Schenk. Duke Henry summoned him to Leipsic as preacher and university lecturer, but council, clergy, and theological faculty were all strongly opposed to him. Objection was made to the publication of his sermons, and they were found in several points to be at variance with the Augsburg Confession. In the indictment appears the old charge of antinomian doctrine, resting, indeed, on very slight foundations. In 1543 he finally left the duchy. The contents of his published writings furnish no adequate basis for calling him an Antinomian. But there is no doubt that his sermons erred repeatedly in that direction.
In connection with the Majoristic dispute over the necessity of good works, Luther's pupils, Andreas Poach of Erfurt and Anton Otho (Otto) of Nordhausen denied that the law had any significance whatever for believers,
5. Later and thus arose the dispute de tertio
Contro- wsw legis. Otho directed his conten-
versies. tion immediately against Melanchthon, though the latter had merely repeated Luther's statements. Against Otho and those of similar views arose several leaders, in particular Morlin and Wigand. On the other hand, Melanchthon and his more immediate school was accused of antinomian doctrine in declaring the gospel to be the proclamation of repentance.
The Formula of Concord fixed the terminology of the whole matter by deciding that the law was a special revelation teaching what is 6. Settle- just and pleasing in the sight of God, ment of the and refuting whatever is opposed to Controversy, the divine will; while the gospel, on the other hand, taught what it was necessary to believe, especially the doctrine of forgiveness of sin through Christ. All that pertained to the punishment of sin belonged to the preaching of the law, though it was conceded that it might be said the gospel discoursed of repentance and the remission of sin, if gospel were understood to mean the sum of Christian doctrine. The preaching of the law became effective to a consciousness of sin only when the law was spiritually expounded by Christ. (G. Kawerau.)
2. The Antinomian Controversy in New England: The Puritans of New England, following in the footsteps of Calvin and Knox, were theocratic in their ideas of Christianity and were in-
clined to make the legalistic system of the Old Testament their model. The enforcement of rigorous regulations pertaining to every department of life (strict observance of Sunday as Sabbath, regular attendance at church, avoidance of every form of frivolity in dress or demeanor) provoked reaction here as it had done in Geneva. Mrs. Anne (Marbufy) Hutchinson (b. in Lincolnshire 1590 or 1591; married about 1612 to William Hutchinson of Alford, Lincolnshire), who had been under the ministry of John Cotton (q.v.) at Boston, Lincolnshire, had imbibed antinomian views, probably from Familists, and, on her arrival in New England (whither she followed her eldest son, Edward, arriving in Sept., 1634), while she continued to enjoy the ministrations of Cotton, now pastor of the Boston (Mass.) church, soon began to express in strong language her aversion to the preaching of a " covenant of works " in contradistinction to a " covenant of grace," by most of the Massachusetts preachers. She regarded Cotton as a preacher of a " covenant of grace," and he was no doubt considerably influenced by her views; when the agitation of the question seemed likely to wreck the colony, he found difficulty in convincing the dominant party of the soundness of his opinions. Rev. John Wheelwright, Mrs. Hutchinson's brotherin-law, a Cambridge graduate (arrived in New England May, 1636), accepted her views. Sir Henry Vane (arrived Oct., 1635; chosen governor May, 1636; see Vane, Sir Henry) became a zealous advocate of the " covenant of grace." Mrs. Hutchinson expounded her views to large gatherings of women, who twice a week resorted to her house, and thus propagated them widely. She claimed that after a year of prayer it had been revealed to her that she had trusted in a covenant of works; under like divine impulse she had come to New England, there being no one in England that she durst hear. She was the daughter of an English clergyman and combined considerable theological information and argumentative effectiveness with a steadfastness and persistence worthy of a better cause. Like most religious reformers of the time she had wrought herself into the conviction that the few dogmas she held represented the whole truth and that all other teaching was diabolical and abominable. The chief opponents of Mrs. Hutchinson were John Wilson, pastor of the Charlestown church, Hugh Peters, pastor of the Salem church, and John Winthrop (qq.v.). In Dec, 1636, the ministers censured Vane as responsible for the hurtful agitation, and sought to convince Mrs. Hutchinson of her errors. The Boston church of which Vane was a member undertook to censure Wilson , but could not secure the required unanimity, and Cotton was content publicly to admonish him. In Jan., 1637, Wheelwright, in a sermon, denounced the " covenant of works " people as " antichrists " and thus added fuel to the flames. In March the Court by a majority vote censured Wheelwright, and, in the gubernatorial election in May, Vane was defeated and Winthrop was elected. Coercive measures soon removed the disturbing element from Massachusetts. Vane returned to England. Wheelwright founded the town of