Page 224

Page 224

Synergism THE- NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG 224 Synesiue version is possible only as. an inner divine act. Dead through the law, man is " resuscitated by the word of grace." Faith is originated by " the Spirit of God renewing and illuminating " the human heart. To say that the beginning of repentance is in man, would be inverting the order; man turns to God on the ground that God first turns to man. Melanch thon later modified this view, first, by relinquishing the deterministic conception of the doctrine of pre destination (Scholia on Colossians, 1527). The special properties of the nature with which God en dowed man in distinction from the other creatures are " reason " and " choice." The natural man is capable of a " carnal and civil righteousness." The thought of God as the author of sin formerly not avoided is now repudiated. In the Commentary on Romans (Wittenberg, 1532) he teaches the universal ity of divine grace, and shuns all closer investiga tion of the mystery of divine election. Melaneh thon now regards the pity of God as the cause of election, but recognizes in non-rejection a negative cause of acceptance. The development of his doc trine of free will and conversion gains momentum with his growing desire to understand the act of di vine grace at the same time as a psychological proc ess in the human consciousness and will, consist ently with his explanations of the mental powers presented in his commentary on the Ethics of Aris totle (1529) and in De anima (1540). Besides, there was his practical motive to make man responsible for his own salvation. With respect to the former, the will is the formal power which responds, either by willing, not willing, or neutrality, to the sub jects manifested by the intellect; it may follow the beckoning of the desires or the admonitions of the reason. The will produces nothing original, but assumes an attitude toward what approaches .it. This power was not lost through original sin. Like wise, when the grace of God contained in his Word draws nigh, and, through the hearing of it, the Holy Spirit enters man and produces the spiritual effects of repentance and faith, there yet remains to the will the alternative attitude of acceptance or re jection. In this sense Melanchthon mentions the " three concurrent causes of good actions" in re generation: " the Word, the Holy Spirit, and the will, not absolutely inert, but struggling against its own infirmity." In this sense he lets the definition of Erasmus hold: " Free will is the power of apply ing oneself to grace." This synergism was taught in the Leipsic Interim, which affirmed among other things that God does not deal with man as with a block, but The Leipsic so regenerates him that his will coop Interim. crates. Matthias Flacius (q.v.) pro fessed to divine in those words a pa pistical meritum de congruo and a fragment of free will. Johann Pfeffinger published Melanchthon's doctrine in two disputations: De libertate voluntatis humance (Leipsic, 1555); and De libero arbitrio (1555). The concurrent. active causes are " the Holy Spirit moving through the. Word of God, the mind in the act of thinking, and the will not resist ing, but complying whenever moved by the Holy Spirit." If the attitude of man were ut status when the Holy Spirit has kindled reason, will, and feel-

ing, then there would be no inner struggle to secure faith; if man was idle or " purely passive," then the distinction between pious and impious, elect and non-elect, as well as the impartiality and justice of God, would disappear. " Therefore, there was in us -some cause why some assent and others do not assent." Pfeffinger's doctrine was renounced by V. Strigel and by Nikolaus von Amsdorf (q.v.), who opened the attack (1558) with a rude misrepiesentation as if Pfeffmger had asserted that " man could adapt and prepare himself by' free will from his natural. powers for the reception of grace with= out the gift of the Holy Spirit."

To the defense of Pfeffinger,. Flacius replied in Refutatio, published in Disputatio de originali peceato· et libero arbitrio, pp. 367 sqq. (Weimar 1560). He appealed to the words of Luther and further asserted that in regeneration, when the

Conflict . old man " is made into a new creature,"

with he is worse.than a block.or stone inasFlacius. much as ho is not. only passive but contrary, resisting, . or hostile toward