Martyrs 22i: Diaz- awakened by Luther; "can't hold back tears"; Annotations / Sources

      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.

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The Martyrs of the Evangelical Lutheran Church

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.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Footnote for Dr. Robert Kolb  *)  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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

I'm not quite done yet with this dear Spanish Lutheran martyr, for his story provides a picture that I could not resist using for today's LC-MS – in the next Part 22j... (Next martyr in Part 23a)

Martyrs 14: Johann Herrgett-bookseller, a Lutheran

[2018-03-25: fixed broken link(s)]
      This continues from Part 13 (Table of Contents in Part 1a and Part 1b) publishing the book of Hermann Fick on the martyrs of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. — Part 14 presents the essay on Johann Herrgett (or Herrgott), a bookseller. This martyrer was mentioned in Walther's essay on Voes and Esch, but a more detailed account is given below.
      There are some reports on German websites (here and here) that purport to associate Herrgett's martyrdom with some ties to Müntzer and the Anabaptist movement.  Even Philip Schaff seems to follow this notion (search "John Herrgott").  I suspect these are strained attempts and speculative, and probably at best would reflect a confusion on Herrgett's part.  And so I will take C.G. Hofmann's report, the source that Fick used for his book, as authoritative – that Herrgett was indeed martyred as a Lutheran.  Both Fick and C.F.W. Walther judged this to be the case – these two did not accept all the so-called "Church History" emanating from Germany.  —
      Luther distinguishes false "martyrs" from the true ones in his day:

The factious spirits, Anabaptists, etc,  are therefore the most obstinate in that they believe themselves to be vain martyrs, where they are not permitted to have their raging and raving. (StL ed., vol. 10, para. # 76, col. 899, ; not in Am. Ed.)

Some highlighting added hyperlinks added for reference.

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The Martyrs of the Evangelical Lutheran Church

by C.J. Hermann Fick
(tr. by BackToLuther)

XIV.

Johann Herrgett.

"And if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all."

(Phil. 2:17)

As Doctor Luther publicly disputed with Dr. Eck at Leipzig in 1519 on several important doctrines of the Christian faith and also once preached, he converted so many from the papal darkness to the blessed light of the Gospel.  This lover of truth dared, in 1524, on the Saturday after Easter, to file a petition with the city council: "that the Council may in one of the churches of the city call Mr. Andreas, who preaches in the convent of St. George in front of St. Peter's gate, and summon him as preacher. The citizenry would give him the salary.  Mr. Andreas was a man who preached God's Word pure and clear, giving rise to no turmoil and always urged obedient toward the authorities."  This petition was signed by 104 citizens by name.  The Council sent the petition to Duke George; but this popish tyrant struck off everything completely and let the citizens know that they had enough preachers, and it was not up to them to elect preachers to their liking.

So the hope of Leipzig was destroyed for the free exercise of religion.  For God had decided in Leipzig first that the evangelical Lutheran doctrine would be sealed with the blood of the holy martyrs before they triumphed publicly over the papacy.  The above-mentioned incident was the one that opened the Duke’s eyes.  He saw that in Leipzig were more followers of the evangelical teachings of Luther than previously believed, and that all his prohibitions notwithstanding the pure religion had been rooted in the hearts of the citizens of Leipzig.  Therefore he attacked it as a faithful servant of the Roman Antichrist with all violence, to exterminate this doctrine from Leipzig.  The first one on which he had enforced a bloody judgment was Johann Herrgett, a Leipzig bookseller. On pain of severe punishment the Duke had forbidden [page 115] Luther's writings and to buy or sell his translation of the New Testament.  But the dear Herrgett obeyed God rather than men.  He had brought all sorts of Lutheran books to Leipzig and sold them secretly.  This secrecy was betrayed.  The Council of Leipzig quickly insured themselves,  putting  him into prison and interrogating him.  And after he was sufficiently convicted, he was transferred to the command of Duke Georg in Leipzig where at the public market before the town hall he was brought from life to death by the sword.  The Lutheran books they found from him were publicly burned in the market.  Certainly Herrgett could easily have saved his life by denial, but as a faithful witness of the Lord Jesus, he was delighted to be offered upon the sacrifice and service of our faith, and thereby to praise the Lord.

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Annotations.

14. Herrgett. Others write his name Herrgott. Source: M. C. G. Hofmann's ausführliche  Reformations-Historie der Stadt und Universität Leipzig. Leipzig 1739 p. 184.

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"The Lutheran books they found from him were publicly burned in the market.." 

– Herrgett died as a Lutheran. —  In the next Part 15 is the account of Nicolaus of Antwerp.

Walther to Philip Schaff: "This you do not teach!" (What?)

Who followed Franz Pieper as president of Concordia Seminary when he died?  Ludwig Fuerbringer.  And Fuerbringer wrote a book in his later years of his remembrances, calling it 80 Eventful Years; Reminiscences of Ludwig Ernest Fuerbringer.  I have spoken before about President Fuerbringer and the sad fall of the Missouri Synod during his tenure.  But in his "reminiscences", he reported the following about C.F.W. Walther and a certain well-known church historian (pages 87-88):

Walther was very interesting when he had guests at his table. ... I remember that one day Dr. Philip Schaff, the well-known church historian and Re­formed theologian and founder of the American Society of Church History, at that time professor in Union Theological Seminary in New York, called on him. At the close of his [page 88] visit Walther showed him through our new Seminary build­ing, and I had occasion to note that the conversation was quite animated. But also on such occasions Walther never failed to testify. I do not know what was under discussion, but I heard Walther say very emphatically: “Das lehren Sie eben nicht,” this you do not teach. And finally I saw that he escorted Dr. Schaff to the streetcar and very courte­ously bade him adieu. 

Philip Schaff

As one reads Fuerbringer's account of Walther's exchange with Dr. Philip Schaff, it is quite apparent that Walther, through all his courteous manner, was quite forceful with the unionistic Dr. Schaff.  But what was it that Walther was referring to when he spoke the following words to the widely known "Church Historian" Philip Schaff:

"This you do not teach!"

What was it that Walther charged the great Schaff, the writer of 8 volumes of Church History, with NOT teaching?  Although Ludwig Fuerbringer could not tell us, I will tell you, dear reader.  It was this:

The Lutheran Doctrine of Justification

 That is what all the Reformed DO NOT TEACH ==>> the pure, unconditional Gospel!

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What does this mean?  It means that all the "Church History", all 8 volumes of Schaff's massive work is suspect in its spiritual judgments.  It means that Dr. Philip Schaff is NOT the best source of "Church History" because, as C.F.W. Walther put it to him, "This you do not teach".

And so all true Lutherans should bid "adieu" to the Reformed saying "You left your first love, the love of the Lutheran Church – the pure, unconditional Gospel... this you do not teach"