Balthasar Hubmaier as a Scholastic Anabaptist Theologian

Balthasar Hubmaier (1480-1528) was an influential German reformer, and yet his theological education and his doctrines of the human and divine wills have not received much attention. This dissertation expands upon the usual portrayal of Hubmaier’s theological development in light of these lesser-known areas. It argues that even after his conversion, Hubmaier continued to employ the scholastic training he received between 1503 and 1516, as shown in his 1527 treatises on the free will.

The first chapter reconstructs Hubmaier’s studies at the University of Freiburg based on archival research and finds that he received a fairly traditional education in medieval scholastic theology, but his education was not limited to the via modernaas commonly assumed. The second chapter reexamines Hubmaier’s doctrines of the human and divine wills along with the majority argument that he mainly relied upon Erasmus’ 1524 De libero arbitrio. It finds that Hubmaier was aware of the Erasmus/Luther debate and that he agrees with Erasmus on several major points. However, Erasmian influence is primarily seen in the exegesis of Hubmaier’s second treatise on the will. On the basis of the preceding chapters, the third chapter examines Hubmaier’s ongoing employment of medieval scholastic theology. By considering his doctrines in conversation with several of the scholastic sources he knew best, including Lombard’s Sentences, Aquinas’ Summa, Scotus’ Ordinatio, Biel’s Collectorium, and Eck’s Chrysopassus, we see much more clearly how Hubmaier responds to the medieval discussion on the human and divine wills and what he retains or rejects from his university training. We conclude that he maintains several scholastic teachings including the Christological subsistence theory, Biel’s concept of an “indifferent” free will, and the distinction between God’s potentia absolutaand potentia ordinata. At the same time, Hubmaier deliberately tests scholastic doctrines against his personal scriptural interpretation, often simplifying or rejecting the parts of the scholastic discussion he deems to be less scripturally supported. In sum, Hubmaier’s treatises on the free will offer a rare example of how medieval scholastic theology is transmitted and transformed among sixteenth-century reformers.