This continues from Part 22h (TOC in Part 1a, Diaz TOC in Part 22a) publishing the book of Hermann Fick on the martyrs of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. — Part 22i presents the sources that Pastor Fick used in presenting this history. It is quite extensive and adds more to Fick's history. It shows that Fick was not only a pure Lutheran author, but also an excellent Christian scholar. How wonderful the Internet is now, especially with Google Books and Google Translate, to have access to almost all of these hard to find source books... at our fingertips!
Some highlighting added hyperlinks added for reference.
------------------------------------------------------------
by C.J. Hermann Fick
(tr. by BackToLuther)
XXII.(i)
Juan Diaz.
Annotations / Sources
22. Juan Diaz. Sources: 1. Rabus, Th. 2, p. 273. – 2. Crocius, p. 314. – 3. Seckendorf, Hist. Luth. Lib. III. Sect. 37. – 4. Die ev. lutherische Kirche der ehemaligen Pfalzgrafschaft Neuburg. Ein geschichtlicher Versuch, von G. W. H. Brock, lutherischem Pfarrer, Anhang, p. 195. – 5. Sleidani, comment. pag: 490. – The title of the writing by Senarcle is, according to Schelhorn’s Ergötzlichkeiten aus der Kirchenhistorie und Literatur, p 862, thus in German [translated to English]: True history of the death of the holy man, Juan Diaz, a Spaniard, whom his own physical brother Alfonso Diaz followed the example of the first brother murder by Cain, as another Abel was murdered in a godless manner – by Claudius Senarclaeus, with a preface by Martin Bucer, which has included much information about the current state of Germany. [Google Books or BSB] 1546 in 4. Senarcle gives in this a beautiful testimony of the blessed Diaz as follows from Schelhorn’s Neuntes Stück, p. 863: "I had a familiarity with him in Paris, Geneva, [page VIII] Strasbourg, Regensburg and finally in Neuburg, and can assure the truth that he was so beloved by all people in these places that had some acquaintance with him, so that he could not have been dearer to them than if he had been their own brother. And I count it for my most excellent blessedness that I knew and befriended this dear holy man. But again, when I think that one with such learning and virtue, such piety, went down so unhappily, so I cannot hold back the tears." – That the blessed Diaz came to the knowledge of evangelical truth through Luther's writings has been testified by Dr. Guericke, Handbuch der Kirchengeschichte, vol. 3, p 270 [? error, see pg 246-247, footnote #3, or here for another ref., footnote # 158], which states:... "Juan Diaz, who awakened through Luther's writings during his studies in Paris." – In Schelhorn’s Ergötzlichkeiten, Zehntes Stück, p 996, there is yet the following beautiful letter, which the blessed Diaz had written to Ochino at Neuburg March 22, 1546, only five days before his death. It reads thus: "My father! We have obtained your letter and that of Mr. Musculus, N. and I. And as you, he and you, advise me in fact piously and safely, I say unto you my warmest thanks for your Christian and brotherly sense and advice. However, I think for now this is all for the best, that I consult nothing otherwise than Christ, my Savior, and close my eyes against the world, opening them only for Christ's glory: may the almighty, merciful God grant through the merits His Son that He enlighten me and is my counselor and protector in this matter. Then in the end I have not yet decided, as I expect Mr. Bucer here tomorrow or at most in two days, with whom I will consult in more detail. Meanwhile, I commend myself to your intercession and that of the dear brother Musculus. May it be what the Lord will decide over me, whether I remain, whether I must resign; because you could not believe, if you were not there yourself and heard it with your own ears, with which and how important reasons, that I could almost say a battering ram, my brother assaulted me. But I trust in Christ, that He will give Himself by His grace a happy ending. I will visit you and Musculus soon." –
 |
| Friedrich Hortleder |
Seckendorf mentions still hist. luth. III. sect. 37 from Hortleder a writing by Johann Lange [† 1548, see Erfort history here, recent grave discovery here] about the murder of Diaz which states that Diaz became devoted to the art of printing in Strasbourg, wanting the Bible and other evangelical books translated into Spanish and published in Neuburg; also a price was set on his head by the Pope. But Seckendorf thinks that Lange was in this probably only following rumors spread at that time. Also Lange reported that the blessed Diaz studied theology in Wittenberg, and had been dear to the blessed Luther. But the remaining sources are silent on this point. –
 |
| Caspar Titius |
Titius [portrait here] remarks in his Exempelbuche, p 795 on Alfonso Diaz: “Be it well now that this brother and assassin was persecuted, and duly charged at Innsbruck of committing such a murder of this innocent man, yet he was allowed to get off free (as he was at a papal place), until at last the divine revenge found him and this Cain-like hypocrite Alfonso Diaz, like Cain, fell into despair and hung his mule neck at Trent, and so was a murderer of his own body."
[Caspar Titius - a Lutheran theologian, came to be known for his practical theology.]
= = = = = = = = = = = = End of Juan Diaz history = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = There are other accounts of Diaz on the Internet:
- Englishman John Scott wrote another relatively good history of Juan Diaz in his book >> here, << pgs 316-321. This is of course in English, and from the year 1833, demonstrating that even in England, the Lutheran Reformation had a good name in some corners of that country.
- Philip Schaff's brief flawed account of Diaz here – proving once again that Church History from Reformed theologians is always suspect.
I promised a footnote for Dr. Robert Kolb (emeritus), who would have us take him to be a great scholar of Luther and the Lutheran Reformation:
*) Footnote: Robert Kolb reports of Diaz and Malvenda at Regensburg in this way:
This introduces the drama of the death of Diaz, Bucer's and Senarcleus's mutual friend, at Regensburg in 1546, at the time of the imperial diet there. Rabus quotes Diaz's confession before the imperial ecclesiastical counselors, Peter Malvenda and Peter de Soto. Juan's brother Alphonso, an imperial official at Emperor Charles's court, hired a gang of thugs to assassinate Juan because his Evangelical views were embarrassing to his brother. They succeeded in their mission, but were pursued by one Michael Heipffer all the way to Innsbruck. There he had them arrested. Then, "contrary to all justice," they were acquitted and treated as though they had done right.53 The fact that the papal party had approved and used fratricide reinforced one of the chief contentions in Rabus's martyrology—that the foes of the Evangelical movement embodied the forces of the Antichrist.Kolb's very brief synopsis of Juan Diaz shows 2 things:
- that his scholarship is not all that great – it wasn't a "gang of thugs", but also
- the brevity and callousness of his retelling of Diaz martyrdom shows how little Kolb cares for the true Lutheran Reformation – implying that surely Rabus is overstating the case about the Antichrist, at least in relation to today's Papacy.
 |
| from Historia de la muerte de Juán Díaz |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments only accepted when directly related to the post.