Cipriano de Valera: A Spanish Reformer, Part 2

This is the second post in a series. Access prior posts below:

Cipriano de Valera: A Spanish Reformer, Part 1 published September 20, 2011

Apart from the Reina-Valera Bible (1602) and his one-volume work Two Treatises on the Pope and on the Mass (1588), it appears his third most popular work was A Treatise to Confirm the Captives of Barbary (1594). The short biography I found on Valera had this to say about it:

In 1594 he printed a treatise addressed to the Spanish prisoners in Berbery, among whom there had been an evangelical revival. Valera, wishing to strengthen their faith against Popery [Roman Catholicism] and Mahometanism [Islam], expounds to them the doctrine of the Bible, and also refers to the three œcumenical symbols. He exhorts them to show a model life to the heathens. And pray for Spain, he says at the end. (153).

During this time Spain was under constant threat both from the Ottoman Empire and from Barbary (or Berbery) Pirates. Some Spaniards had been captured by the Muslims and Valera heard of their plight. He wrote to them to encourage them in the midst of their current suffering at the hands of both the Papists and Islamists.

The three ecumenical symbols Valera refers to are the Apostles’ Creed (called simply “the Creed”), the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. This section of his letter deals with Trinitarian themes and he calls them to appropriate the faith as their own, unlike their enemies who simply state “we believe what the Church believes” without really knowing or holding to such doctrines.

As I looked for the reference about praying for Spain I became enamored with Valera’s writing. It reminds me of the language of Paul’s letters and Peter’s letters—due largely in part because it is dripping with Scripture. His language is both beautiful and surprisingly easy to translate. I’ve not found an English translation, so I translated it myself:

Pray for our Spain and principally for the king and for all those who have [charge over] the government of the republic, that God give them the grace to read and meditate on the Holy Scripture, without knowledge of which it is impossible for them (as by the same Scripture and by the ancient doctors we have already sufficiently covered) to do their duty, nor for their subjects to be well-governed in the true fear of God: pray also for me. …

I truly remember you in my prayers, asking the Father of mercies to add to your faith, give you patience in your afflictions and captivity, make you firm in the confession of His name, and enrich you with His spiritual gifts, so that when the Lord comes to judge the living and the dead He might find you as such, having made you as such, saying: Come, blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

To the one who, with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns eternally, be glory and honor forever. Amen.

[translation, paragraphing, and minor punctuation mine]

Had the Reformation caught on in Spain I have no doubt that we would be reading his writings just as much as those of Calvin, Luther, and others. It is my hope that as more Hispanics come to faith in Christ they will develop a holy curiosity about their faith heritage. As they study and learn, they will write and share. And who knows? Perhaps in our day we may see the English speaking peoples introduced to these forgotten Reformers who were willing to lose everything for the sake of gaining Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Resources:

I have a longer section of the Valera’s treatise translated into English on sbcIMPACT!

Sources:

Boehmer, Edward & Benjamin B. Wiffen. (1904). Bibliotheca Wiffeniana: Spanish Reformers of Two Centuries from 1520. Karl J. Trübner: Strassburg. Google Books. Digitized May 15, 2008.

Cipriano de Valera. (1854). Tratado para Confirmar en la Fe Cristiana a los Cautivos de Berbería. Reformistas Antiguos Españoles, Tomo VIII. I.R. Baroja. Google Books. Digitized Jul 3, 2008.

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Book Review: Heretics for Armchair Theologians

I just finished reading Heretics for Armchair Theologians. I like to joke that only hyper-judgmental people would read a book about heretics. Yet it is important to learn about and understand why certain teachings were considered at best deficient and at worst soul-condemning.

The authors, Justo L. Gonzalez and Catherine Gunsalus Gonzalez, do a pretty good job of explaining the various views and historical development in a way that is educational, entertaining, and funny. Justo Gonzalez is a well-known historian, so he can write rather informally because he knows his material.

Though the book was enjoyable, I was quite alarmed by the authors’ worldview. They view Christian belief (doctrine) as somewhat dynamic, frequently stating that what we believe today is not what the early Christians believed. This is very misleading. While Paul may not have explained the Trinity in his writings, the concept was definitely there. There’s a difference between organizing/categorizing our beliefs and developing brand-new beliefs foreign to the Bible. The authors’ seem to be intending to justify the latter.

Likewise, they are quick to argue that the heretics themselves were basically “good” people and devout Christians. Yet denying the divinity of Jesus (Ebionism) or denying His humanity (Docetism) is not merely an off-kilter belief but a denial of the true gospel.

For those well-grounded in their faith and the reliability of it, this book would serve as a humorous brush-up on early Christian history and the challenges the early church faced. As a historian, Justo Gonzalez is great at presenting the facts and accurately describing the various views. It’s when the authors’ add their own opinions on the validity of those views that things stray from orthodoxy and into the very territory this book is about—heresy.

Recommended books:

Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine by Gregg Allison

Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church by Michael Haykin

Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction by Brian Litfin

Book Review: Seeing the Unseen

T.W. Hunt’s Seeing the Unseen, contains less than a hundred pages of printed material and looks more like a small companion to a much larger volume. Unfortunately no such volume exists. Yet despite its size, the author left me with much to think about after I turned the last page.

Hunt’s goal is to get his readers to grow a new awareness of God through faith mediated by prayer. At first I found the book difficult to read and enter into until I realized the philosophical bent of the author. Though he mentions various philosophies from the start, I didn’t realize he was writing on a philosophical level. I should have seen it sooner, but not being a student of philosophy, his use of arcane terms and Aristotelian concepts put the reading at a much higher level than I anticipated from a work less than a hundred pages long.

On the plus side, the work accomplished its goal in me, as I did find myself stopping and praying and pondering the things of God more so than usual (much to my admitted shame). His discussion on the Trinity is both concise and accurate, though he does get into some unnecessary and off topic speculation as to why it was the Son who became incarnate rather than the Father or the Spirit. Must we have a reason for everything?

Though I found the book enjoyable and meaningful, I wouldn’t recommend it to most people I know because of the philosophical approach is beyond what most of us read. That and the size. Concise, yes, but a list price of $9.99? I don’t know.

To buy the book, visit Amazon.com.

To read a sample chapter, visit NavPress (direct link).

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."