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Faith in the Time of Plague
We often hear the Covid-19 pandemic described as “unprecedented”, yet for Christians of earlier times, plague was nothing new. For generations, Church leaders regularly faced the sorts of ethical questions that still prove divisive today.
Selecting from the great “plague writings” of the historic church, Todd M. Rester and Stephen M. Coleman have translated and assembled a one-of-a-kind anthology. The wisdom of the past collected in this book offers much needed and trustworthy illumination for pastors, leaders, and laypeople in times of crisis and uncertainty.
Many of the works appearing in Faith in the Time of Plague have never been available in English until now. Included in this volume are the writings of Martin Luther, Theodore Beza, Ulrich Zwingli, Cyprian of Carthage, Zacharias Ursinus, Gijsbert Voetius, and many more.
Introduced by Peter A. Lillback, Faith in the Time of Plague also includes a Foreword from Mayo Clinic Virologist, Dr. Gregory A. Poland.
Selecting from the great “plague writings” of the historic church, Todd M. Rester and Stephen M. Coleman have translated and assembled a one-of-a-kind anthology. The wisdom of the past collected in this book offers much needed and trustworthy illumination for pastors, leaders, and laypeople in times of crisis and uncertainty.
Many of the works appearing in Faith in the Time of Plague have never been available in English until now. Included in this volume are the writings of Martin Luther, Theodore Beza, Ulrich Zwingli, Cyprian of Carthage, Zacharias Ursinus, Gijsbert Voetius, and many more.
Introduced by Peter A. Lillback, Faith in the Time of Plague also includes a Foreword from Mayo Clinic Virologist, Dr. Gregory A. Poland.
- GenresTheologyChristian Living
361 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 27, 2022
What can we learn from plagues and pandemics of the past? Faith in the Times of Plague is an anthology of writings by Reformers and Reformed orthodox theologians during their times of plague. Treatsies, hymns and prayers are included by Beza, Voetius, and Zwingli, and Luther. This is an excellent academic book with a background in church history.
Wisdom and Theology
Full of wisdom and theological acumen, the authors saw God’s sovereign hand behind plague and disease. And even when medical advances in technology were limited, they shared the special burden to care for members of the church. Plague and disease were expected.
What this book changed in me was to see our modern plagues and pandemics as a spiritual issue. With my background in healthcare, I am quick to jump to practical conclusions. What I needed to see is that it is our souls that need caring for, and our Chief Shepherd is the only one who can comfort.
Opportunities and Responsibilities
I learned that plague and disease shaped the ministries of pastors and congregational life of the early modern church. This book allowed me to see the courageous leadership of my Reformation heroes in a new and exciting way. And I saw how God keeps his church, preserving her throughout the ages.
There are unique opportunities and responsibilities that come with ministering in a time of plague. I look forward to seeing how our faith will form and souls will be sanctified under such intense pressure. Undoubtedly in God’s providence, he has prepared us for good works in such a time as this.
Faithfulness and Resilience
This book serves as a testament to God’s faithfulness and the resilience of his church in the darkest of days. Final deliverance will come for our frail and failing bodies. Death and sickness will be no more. And with Christ as our Chief Physician, we will ask: “Death where is thy sting?”
I received a media copy of Faith in Times of Plague and this is my honest review.
Wisdom and Theology
Full of wisdom and theological acumen, the authors saw God’s sovereign hand behind plague and disease. And even when medical advances in technology were limited, they shared the special burden to care for members of the church. Plague and disease were expected.
What this book changed in me was to see our modern plagues and pandemics as a spiritual issue. With my background in healthcare, I am quick to jump to practical conclusions. What I needed to see is that it is our souls that need caring for, and our Chief Shepherd is the only one who can comfort.
Opportunities and Responsibilities
I learned that plague and disease shaped the ministries of pastors and congregational life of the early modern church. This book allowed me to see the courageous leadership of my Reformation heroes in a new and exciting way. And I saw how God keeps his church, preserving her throughout the ages.
There are unique opportunities and responsibilities that come with ministering in a time of plague. I look forward to seeing how our faith will form and souls will be sanctified under such intense pressure. Undoubtedly in God’s providence, he has prepared us for good works in such a time as this.
Faithfulness and Resilience
This book serves as a testament to God’s faithfulness and the resilience of his church in the darkest of days. Final deliverance will come for our frail and failing bodies. Death and sickness will be no more. And with Christ as our Chief Physician, we will ask: “Death where is thy sting?”
I received a media copy of Faith in Times of Plague and this is my honest review.
December 28, 2021
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S FAITH IN THE TIME OF PLAGUE ABOUT?
The Editors describe the book like this:
There are also two appendices, On Mortality by Cyprian of Carthage—a work that multiple authors in the main texts refer to (and likely shape even those who don't) and the section Prayer and Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer—an application of all the theology of the main texts.
PART 1: VARIORUM TRACTATUS THEOLOGICI DE PESTE
The various works in part one are careful, methodical, Scriptural, and thorough—they cover all the bases. The treatise by Beza seems to both reflect the thinking of the rest of the Reformation as much as it shapes everything that comes after (or at least everything in the book).
Some parts of this took some work to get through, but it was worth it.
PART II: REFORMATION AND POST-REFORMATION PLAUGE WRITINGS
For me, this part of the book (roughly a third) was the most rewarding. Luther's Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague covered most/all of the points in Part I, but in a pithier and more digestible fashion. Which is what you expect from Luther, right?
Zwingli's Plauge Hymn is great. I really don't know what else to say.
The most moving, the most personal entry in the volume is John Rawlet's A Letter to my Mother is clearly part of that preparation for death mentioned in the post last week. In this printing, it's an eleven-page letter* written by an Anglican minister in London sure he was soon to contract the plague and die. He was wrong about contracting the plague and never sent the letter—but he was ready for it.
* Hard to fathom in the age of texts, tweets, and email.
AN UNIMPORTANT OBSERVATION
I'm pretty sure I've never run into the word "licit" as often as I have in this work. Like most people (especially those who read a lot of Crime Fiction), I run across "illicit" all the time. But "licit"? Almost never.
Maybe it's a quirk of the translators, but I doubt it. It's just refreshing to see the word—and it's one I'm going to try to use more often.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT FAITH IN THE TIME OF PLAGUE?
One thing that struck me was how often these Reformation authors appealed to earlier theologians (like Cyprian). But largely not about plagues or other diseases. Instead, it was how they approached the response to persecution—could believers flee from it, or do they have to run toward it or simply wait for it? Both persecution and disease come from the Lord—as both trial and result of sin.
I have to say, I'm not sure I'd have approached it that way before.
Those looking for easy answers to "how would the early Church or Reformers" deal with COVID-19 (or the like)", will be disappointed. There are no quick and easy answers here. But this can remind readers that the Church has been through similar—and worse—times before. She likely will again. There have been careful, pastoral responses to it in the past, and that can be true again. We don't have to have a snappy, one-size-fits-all approach at the first sign of trouble, but we are called to gracious, Christ-honoring, people-serving responses.
These are some excellent examples of how to do it. This isn't the easiest, breeziest thing I've read this year—it might even be the furthest from it. But it's an invaluable resource and I'm glad Westminster Seminary Press brought it to us.
---
The main point? Two rocks must be steered clear of: stupid boldness and exceedingly vicious fear. On the first, one does those things that while we fear nothing—would often lose ourselves and others. On the second it happens that as we would look to our own life, we would desert the work of Christ. Therefore, let us fear what can happen if we fail to avoid those evils. But let us be confident in the Lord and let us remain as steadfast as possible—even to the point of death—in our calling and in the work of Christ.
WHAT'S FAITH IN THE TIME OF PLAGUE ABOUT?
The Editors describe the book like this:
The body of extant plague writings is vast and much of it remains unavailable in English. The selections in this book were determined to a great extent by the treasures that came to light in translating the 1655 pamphlet Variorum tractatus theologici de peste, which makes up Part I of the book. This collection of tracts is an unparalleled Post-Reformation treatment of the plague, from pastoral and scholarly points of view. Part II consists of those Reformation and Post-Reformation works that Beza, Rivet, Voetius, and Hoornbeeck [the authors in Part I] engaged with frequently (Zanchi, Abbot, and Ursinus). Alongside those pieces are additional contemporary works that we felt would be especially useful for pastors, scholars, and interested readers to have available in book form (Zwingli, Luther, Lavater, and Rawlet), and which give the reader a more complete picture of the Reformed tradition's branch of plague writings. Each of these eleven authors addresses the unique questions posited by the plague in distinct ways, yet each does so by definitively Reformed methods—grounded in Scripture, historically informed, and always with the issue of faith in Christ at the forefront.
There are also two appendices, On Mortality by Cyprian of Carthage—a work that multiple authors in the main texts refer to (and likely shape even those who don't) and the section Prayer and Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer—an application of all the theology of the main texts.
PART 1: VARIORUM TRACTATUS THEOLOGICI DE PESTE
The various works in part one are careful, methodical, Scriptural, and thorough—they cover all the bases. The treatise by Beza seems to both reflect the thinking of the rest of the Reformation as much as it shapes everything that comes after (or at least everything in the book).
Some parts of this took some work to get through, but it was worth it.
PART II: REFORMATION AND POST-REFORMATION PLAUGE WRITINGS
Others sin on the right hand. They are much too rash and reckless, tempting God and disregarding everything which might counteract death and the plague. They disdain the use of medicines; they do not avoid places and persons infected by the plague, but lightheartedly make sport of it and wish to prove how independent they are. They say that it is God's punishment; if he wants to protect them he can do so without medicines or our carefulness. This is not trusting God but tempting him. God has created medicines and provided us with intelligence to guard and take good care of the body so that we can live in good health.
For me, this part of the book (roughly a third) was the most rewarding. Luther's Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague covered most/all of the points in Part I, but in a pithier and more digestible fashion. Which is what you expect from Luther, right?
Zwingli's Plauge Hymn is great. I really don't know what else to say.
The most moving, the most personal entry in the volume is John Rawlet's A Letter to my Mother is clearly part of that preparation for death mentioned in the post last week. In this printing, it's an eleven-page letter* written by an Anglican minister in London sure he was soon to contract the plague and die. He was wrong about contracting the plague and never sent the letter—but he was ready for it.
* Hard to fathom in the age of texts, tweets, and email.
AN UNIMPORTANT OBSERVATION
I'm pretty sure I've never run into the word "licit" as often as I have in this work. Like most people (especially those who read a lot of Crime Fiction), I run across "illicit" all the time. But "licit"? Almost never.
Maybe it's a quirk of the translators, but I doubt it. It's just refreshing to see the word—and it's one I'm going to try to use more often.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT FAITH IN THE TIME OF PLAGUE?
One thing that struck me was how often these Reformation authors appealed to earlier theologians (like Cyprian). But largely not about plagues or other diseases. Instead, it was how they approached the response to persecution—could believers flee from it, or do they have to run toward it or simply wait for it? Both persecution and disease come from the Lord—as both trial and result of sin.
I have to say, I'm not sure I'd have approached it that way before.
Those looking for easy answers to "how would the early Church or Reformers" deal with COVID-19 (or the like)", will be disappointed. There are no quick and easy answers here. But this can remind readers that the Church has been through similar—and worse—times before. She likely will again. There have been careful, pastoral responses to it in the past, and that can be true again. We don't have to have a snappy, one-size-fits-all approach at the first sign of trouble, but we are called to gracious, Christ-honoring, people-serving responses.
These are some excellent examples of how to do it. This isn't the easiest, breeziest thing I've read this year—it might even be the furthest from it. But it's an invaluable resource and I'm glad Westminster Seminary Press brought it to us.
January 26, 2022
To be clear, this had a lot of very good admonition in it. But because it was written for the educated of the day, it was primarily aimed at ministers and while I appreciated the balanced views (for the most part) it was pretty uniform so got very repetitive. If I could sum up, I would say that the general view is that a) we must turn from our sin and use the opportunity to repent, b) the plague is contagious and it is lawful to use means to try to escape death, c) ministers should stay with the flock, but members of the flock could certainly flee to another city as long as they weren't doing it out of excessive fear, but prudent caution d) there are ditches on both sides.
It was helpful to see that the same stupid extremes we see during the COVID-19 pandemic are nothing new. There were those in those times that claimed the plagues weren't really that bad, or they weren't contagious, and others that fled and abandoned all their responsibilities at the first hint of sickness.
Zanchius summed it up when he said "two rocks must be steered clear of: stupid boldness and exceedingly vicious fear. On the first, one does those things that---while we fear nothing---would often loser ourselves and others. On the second it happens that as we would look to our own life, we would desert the work of Christ. Therefore, let us fear what can happen if we fail to avoid those evils. But let us be confident in the Lord and let us remain as steadfast as possible---even to the point of death---in our calling and in the work of Christ."
Zanchius' point about the minister needing to not spend himself on just the sick, but preserve his health for the well, was a very good one. I think a lot of Reformed cared so much for the sick that they put their own lives in danger and risked (or sometimes actually caused) damage to the rest of the flock. Designating those to minister to the sick might be a better route.
I found Bullinger and Zanchius to be the most nuanced and helpful, and there were also some good thoughts on preparing one's self to die well. But in general I found it repetitive and I would have been interested in some more issues, like can the civil magistrate close churches for a time, what is the role of the magistrate? It focused primarily on the role of the pastor and the people.
It was helpful to see that the same stupid extremes we see during the COVID-19 pandemic are nothing new. There were those in those times that claimed the plagues weren't really that bad, or they weren't contagious, and others that fled and abandoned all their responsibilities at the first hint of sickness.
Zanchius summed it up when he said "two rocks must be steered clear of: stupid boldness and exceedingly vicious fear. On the first, one does those things that---while we fear nothing---would often loser ourselves and others. On the second it happens that as we would look to our own life, we would desert the work of Christ. Therefore, let us fear what can happen if we fail to avoid those evils. But let us be confident in the Lord and let us remain as steadfast as possible---even to the point of death---in our calling and in the work of Christ."
Zanchius' point about the minister needing to not spend himself on just the sick, but preserve his health for the well, was a very good one. I think a lot of Reformed cared so much for the sick that they put their own lives in danger and risked (or sometimes actually caused) damage to the rest of the flock. Designating those to minister to the sick might be a better route.
I found Bullinger and Zanchius to be the most nuanced and helpful, and there were also some good thoughts on preparing one's self to die well. But in general I found it repetitive and I would have been interested in some more issues, like can the civil magistrate close churches for a time, what is the role of the magistrate? It focused primarily on the role of the pastor and the people.
March 8, 2022
It is stunning how little behind us these shepherds were in dealing with a plague scientifically and how far ahead of us they were in dealing with it spiritually.
A worthwhile read for these days.
A worthwhile read for these days.
December 14, 2021
A collection of Protestant (mostly Reformed) theological writings making sense of life during plagues. Some really get into the nitty-gritty of theology, asking how God's purposes relate to plagues: is it a punishment from God? Some really get into the practical side of things: how to face death, is it okay to flee from a plague, what are our responsibilities towards our neighbors?
The book is dense. And some will find it overwhelming in terms of data. But I found it to be extremely helpful to help show how Reformed Christians should think about such things. It is in fact not the case that they just stood around saying, "Carry on and stop being afraid of death."
This book is the kind of thing we need during Covid. Hopefully many will consult it.
The book is dense. And some will find it overwhelming in terms of data. But I found it to be extremely helpful to help show how Reformed Christians should think about such things. It is in fact not the case that they just stood around saying, "Carry on and stop being afraid of death."
This book is the kind of thing we need during Covid. Hopefully many will consult it.
November 30, 2021
I read half of the essays/sermons and enjoyed them all. Ministered to me and spoke into some of the big questions of covid-times, all the while helping me avoid chronological snobbery.
May 16, 2024
This book is a selection of Reformers who wrote about the plague, during a time when plagues were rampant and particularly lethal. The selected authors mostly shared and repeated similar opinions about such things as the ethics of fleeing or avoiding a plague - whether as a lay person, minister, government official, or doctor - and the origins of plague.
September 23, 2022
I am just beginning to read this book. It appears to be treasure for the times in which we are living. Book completed many helpful points. Good during a Plague or any time of suffering or death.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews