THE SECOND HELVETIC CONFESSION (Christianity Catechisms for the common belief of the Reformed churches of Switzerland) - Annotated ORIGIN OF CHRIST

by Heinrich Bullinger

The First Helvetic Confession of 1536 had been drawn up by Heinrich Bullinger, Martin Bucer, and Leo Jud for the German-speaking Swiss Cantons. It was an attempt to reconcile Lutheran and Zwinglian views before the spread of Calvinism. Thirty years later, commissioned by Friedrich III, Bullinger drew up a lengthier and more thoroughly Calvinistic confession. It became widely used among Swiss Reformed churches, as well as Reformed churches in Hungary, Poland, Scotland, and France.

The Second Helvetic Confession was also included in the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.'s Book of Confessions, in 1967, and remains in the Book of Confessions adopted by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Genres: Theology, Christian

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Heinrich Bullinger was a Swiss reformer, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Zurich church and pastor at Grossmünster. A much less controversial figure than John Calvin or Martin Luther, his importance has long been underestimated; recent research shows that he was one of the most influential theologians of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I do not serve in a context that pays a lot of attention to historic creeds, I have not done so. That is unfortunate. Reading this confession was an excellent exercise. There are several things that I appreciate about this confession they include:
1. It is clear and concise. The language of this confession is simple and easily understood and, at the same time, it expresses the profound truths of the Christian faith.
2. Biblical citations are included in their entirety and not just the reference. This makes the confession a kind of "stand-alone" systematic theology and it could be studied as such.
3. The author (Heinrich Bullinger) appears to have been versed in the Church Fathers, especially Augustine, and often cites them. Although he wrote relatively early in the Reformation, he is not introducing a "new" faith. He demonstrates its continuity with the Church of the Fathers.
3. The confession covers not only the "fundamentals" of the faith but addresses some of the issues that are perennially present in Christian reflection. I especially appreciated this aspect of the confession. So, for instance, matters like whether one should make images of God and/or Christ, a proper perspective on the arts, temptation in regard to predestination, etc. are specifically addressed. Thus readers of the confession are provided direction with respect to questions that Christians face from generation to generation. This is very helpful.

This confession alone would make an excellent textbook of systematic theology. There are, of course, some matters that I see differently from the author, but anyone who reads or uses this confession will be greatly benefited.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is pretty good, though it is far too detailed in places for a confession of faith. I do not subscribe to its view of holy days nor to its eschatology.

[Peter Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never read through this standard before. It was joy to read. It felt longer than either the Westminster or Belgic, though I did not compare them for work count. It contains some chapters and explanations those do not. For example, it has a section on catechizing children, the proper role of ministers, and few other topics that may be tangentially address in other confessions, but are more thoroughly addressed here. I did disagree with some stuff, in particular the phrase "ever-virgin" in reference to Mary, which has no Biblical support. But overall it was a helpful read that should be referred to by reformed Christians on a regular basis.

[Sz. Balázs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Powerful beginning but fell off in the second half.