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Westphal, Joachim

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Westphal, Georg Christian Erhard

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a zealous and uncompromising Lutheran polemic and Flacianist, was born at Hamburg in 1510 or 1511. He was educated at Wittenberg under Luther and Melancthon, and elsewhere, and after various vicissitudes settled, in 1541, as pastor in his native city. When the disputes consequent on the Leipsic Interim broke out, he united with Flacius and his party, and published his first work, against Melancthon and Wittenberg, under the title Hist. Vituli Aurei Aaronis Exodus 32 ad Nostra Tempora et Controv. Accommodata (Magdeb. 1549). A second work incident to the Adiaphoristic controversy, and discussing the advisability of allowing the adiaphora as a lesser evil than rejecting them, issued from his pen in the following year, entitled Explicatio Generalis Sententice quod e duobus Malis Minus Eligendum sit, ex qua, Qui'vis Eruditus Intelligere Potest quod in Controv. de Adiaph. Sequendum aut Fugiendum sit. In the Osiandrian disputes he was associated with Johann Aepin in the judgment returned by Hamburg, etc., theologians to duke Albert of Prussia on Osiander's doctrine of justification (Magdeb. 1553). It is also probable that in the Majoristic controversy he composed the harsh opinion of the Hamburg theologians respecting Major's doctrine of the necessity of good works to salvation. His principal field of battle, however, was the sacramental dispute, in which he defended extreme Lutheran orthodoxy against Swiss and Philippist latitudinarianism. Peter Martyr had denied the bodily-presence of Christ in the elements of the Lord's supper, at Oxford, 1549, and Calvin and Farel avowed similar views in the Consensus Tigurensis of that year, issued by them in conjunction with the clergy of Zurich. An extract from Martyr's lectures was soon afterwards published (Tiguri, 1552) by J. Wolphius, in which the editor claimed that Luther's doctrine of the Lord's supper, had been thoroughly destroyed. Westphal at once issued in reply, and also as an attack upon the Philippists, who agreed more nearly with the Swiss than the Lutheran view, a Fariago Opinionum de Caena Domini, etc. (Magdeb. 1552). In 1553 he repeated the effort by publishing Recta Fides de Cana Domini ex Verbis Apostoli Pauli et Evangel. (ibid.). At this juncture Mary of England had expelled the congregation of French and Netherlandish exiles formed by John I Lasco in London, and they were seeking a refuge in North. Germany, which was everywhere denied them. Westphal held a disputation with Micronius, one of their preachers, and was exceedingly zealous in opposing them. In. 1554 he published a third book against the Reformed doctrines of the sacrament under the title Collectanea Sentent. D. Aurel. Augustin. de Caena Domini, etc., in which he tried to show that the Swiss view has no support in the utterances of Augustine. This work, reinforced by indignation growing out of the author's treatments of a Lasco and his Reformed adherents, drew out a reply from Calvin, under date of Nov. 28,1554 (Defensio Sanae et Orthodoxae Doctr. de Sacrament. etc.), which was written in a style of proud and haughty depreciation of the adversary it was designed to demolish. A rapid interchange of writings followed, in the course of which Lasco, Bullinger, and Beza became involved in the dispute. As a final effort, to defeat his opponents, Westphal wrote to various churches in, Lower Saxony to unite them in. a league against the Switzers, and received from many of them statements of their belief, which he published under the title Confessio Fidei de Eucharistiae Sacramento, etc. (Magdeb. 1557). The leaders of the strict Lutheran party, e.g. Brentius, Andrea, Schnepf, Paul von Eitzen, etc., also came to his support. After 1560 Westphal withdrew from the arena of religious controversy. He acted as superintendent of Hamburg from 1562 to 1571, and in the latter year was appointed to that office. He died Jan. 16, 1574; See the Corpus Reformaoraum (ibid. 1840-42), ed. Bretschneiderj vol. 7:8:9; Gieseler, Kirchengesch. (Bonn, 1853), 3, 2,1; M ller, Flensburg. Cinbria Literata (Hanau, 1744), p. 641-649; Herzog, Real-Encyklop. s.v.