During the period of Martin Luther’s challenges to the church, a somewhat parallel yet independent course of reform was taking place in Zurich. This Swiss Reformation led by Ulrich Zwingli was just as convinced as Luther that Scripture should take precedence over traditions, but how that worked itself out was very different. Both were strongly committed to ‘Sola Scriptura’ and both began to question some long standing practices. Zwingli had a freer hand in Zurich than did Luther, and wanted to implement changes slowly in full view of Council. He thought he should preach only as much as the church was ready to absorb, but a group of young radicals, most notably led by Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz and George Blaurock, pressured for immediate compliance to scripture. We will look at only one aspect of this reformation movement; that of Soul Sleep.
While Luther boldly stated that “the notion of the soul’s immortality and endless monstrosities belongs on the Roman dunghill of decretals;”1 the Zurich Brethren never clutched the idea of soul sleep so tightly. They did in fact hold to soul sleep for the intermediate state between death and resurrection, but they didn’t consider the matter a priority.
John L Ruth describes a scene where Zwingli and the radicals are deliberating on ecclesiastical matters: “In general, the trend throughout the day is to declare the mass unscriptural. But Conrad, who is eager to see just how serious the assembly is about carrying out the scriptural teaching, is disturbed when he finds they are about to move on to another topic—purgatory.”2
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Author: Lerman D’Eon
Keywords: Psychopannychia, psychopannychism, soul sleep, sleep of the soul, John Calvin, Calvin, Anabaptists, Anabaptism, Radical Reformation, Reformation, Protestant Reformation, Thomas More, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, Luther, Tyndale, Conditionalism, conditional immortality, Zwingli, Ulrich Zwingli, Michael Sattler, Sattler, immortal soul, immortal soulism, immortality of the soul, life after death, afterlife, after life, intermediate state, hell, Cast to hell, Cast down to hell, Chains of darkness, Damned go to hell, Death, Death state, Departing soul, Departing spirit, Soul in hell, Soul punished in hell, Soulsleep, Spirit in hell, State of the dead, Swiss Brethren
Bible reference(s): Genesis 3:19, Genesis 37:35, Genesis 42:38, Genesis 44:29, Genesis 44:31, Numbers 16:30, Numbers 16:33, Deuteronomy 32:22, 1 Samuel 2:6, 2 Samuel 22:6, 1 Kings 2:6, 1 Kings 2:9, Job 7:9, Job 11:8, Job 14:13, Job 17:13, Job 17:16, Job 21:13, Job 24:19, Job 26:6, Psalms 6:5, Psalms 9:17, Psalms 16:10, Psalms 18:5, Psalms 30:3, Psalms 31:17, Psalms 49:14, Psalms 49:15, Psalms 55:15, Psalms 86:13, Psalms 88:3, Psalms 89:48, Psalms 116:3, Psalms 139:8, Psalms 141:7, Proverbs 1:12, Proverbs 5:5, Proverbs 7:27, Proverbs 9:18, Proverbs 15:11, Proverbs 15:24, Proverbs 23:14, Proverbs 27:20, Proverbs 30:16, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Isaiah 5:14, Isaiah 7:11, Isaiah 14:9, Isaiah 14:11, Isaiah 14:15, Isaiah 28:15, Isaiah 28:18, Isaiah 38:10, Isaiah 38:18, Isaiah 57:9, Ezekiel 31:15, Ezekiel 31:16, Ezekiel 31:17, Ezekiel 32:21, Ezekiel 32:27, Hosea 13:14, Amos 9:2, Jonah 2:2, Habakkuk 2:5, Matthew 5:22, Matthew 5:29, Matthew 5:30, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 11:23, Matthew 18:9, Matthew 23:15, Matthew 23:33, Mark 9:43, Mark 9:45, Mark 9:47, Luke 10:15, Luke 12:5, Luke 16:23, Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31, James 3:6, 2 Peter 2:4, Revelation 1:18, Revelation 6:8, Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14, Baruch 2:17, Baruch 3:11, Baruch 3:19, 2 Maccabees 6:23, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 14:12, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 14:16, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 17:27, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 21:10, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 28:21, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 41:4, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 48:5, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 51:5, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 51:6, Tobit 13:2, Wisdom of Solomon 1:14, Wisdom of Solomon 2:1, Wisdom of Solomon 16:13, Wisdom of Solomon 17:14, 2 Esdras 2:29, 2 Esdras 4:7, 2 Esdras 4:8, 2 Esdras 4:41, 2 Esdras 7:36, 2 Esdras 8:53
Source: “Soul Sleep of the Swiss Brethren,” afterlife.co.nz
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