Papers by Joshua Caleb Smith
The Science of the Supernatural in Early Modern Europe
An analysis of how Hermann von Kerssenbrock deploys supernatural vs. materialistic explanations o... more An analysis of how Hermann von Kerssenbrock deploys supernatural vs. materialistic explanations of the events of the Münster Rebellion as portrayed in his "Narrative of the Anabaptist Madness." (Forthcoming chapter in "The Science of the Supernatural in Early Modern Europe," edited by Kathryn A. Edwards)
The World's Greatest Religious Leaders: How Religious Figures Helped Shape World History,, 2018
An encyclopedia entry on John Calvin, the Genevan reformer.
Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation, 2017
An encyclopedia article about Jacob Arminius, the Dutch reformer and center of the Arminianism co... more An encyclopedia article about Jacob Arminius, the Dutch reformer and center of the Arminianism controversy.
Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation, 2017
An encyclopedia article about Peter Martyr Vermigli, the Italian born reformer most noted for his... more An encyclopedia article about Peter Martyr Vermigli, the Italian born reformer most noted for his tenure at Cambridge University.
Conference Presentations by Joshua Caleb Smith
As the prince-bishop’s siege of Münster dragged into another day, one man’s betrayal of the Anaba... more As the prince-bishop’s siege of Münster dragged into another day, one man’s betrayal of the Anabaptist forces brought the rebellious kingdom to a sudden end. A city burger named Heinrich Gresbeck was nearly killed when he slipped outside the walls he had been defending and approached the enemy lines. Fortunately for Gresbeck and, subsequently, the prince-bishop, the soldiers took him captive instead. While confined by the Catholic forces, Gresbeck divulged information about Münster and its defenses that enabled the prince-bishop’s army to invade the city and overpower its defenders.
A few years after the kingdom’s fall, Gresbeck penned an account of the radical Anabaptists’ takeover and sixteen-month-long rule. The manuscript, titled Summarische Ertzelungk und Bericht der Wiederdope und wat sich binnen der stat monster in westphalen zugetragen im jair MDXXXV, was the only one to come from someone who had experienced the entirety of the Anabaptists’ rise to power.
My paper examines how Gresbeck, in his account, factors supernatural forces into his retelling of the Anabaptist Kingdom. My central question is, To what extent was the Kingdom of Münster the result of God’s judgment, the devil’s activity, or ordinary human foolishness? I argue that Gresbeck primarily depicts the kingdom as a work of the devil. Satan and his demons possessed the rebellion’s foreign(!) leaders and led the native Münsterites astray. This conclusion sheds light both on this lesser-known account of the Kingdom of Münster and also the way that supernatural forces were integrated into this early-modern German’s view of the world.
In the mind of one of the early Baptist’s most prominent leaders, the signs of the Lord’s judgmen... more In the mind of one of the early Baptist’s most prominent leaders, the signs of the Lord’s judgment against England were everywhere. An army of toads sitting upon a mayor’s lawn, a whirlwind whipping across the countryside, an earthquake shaking the stones from the church towers and causing their bells to ring out, all these and more communicated the words of God. One merely had to have the ears to hear and the eyes to see. Most Baptist leaders, however, distanced themselves from the interpretation of such events.
This paper contrasts one early Baptist leader’s full embrace of prodigies with the silence of his peers. Henry Jessey, a pastor in the influential “JLJ” church, utilized prodigies in his polemical battle against the Church of England and the nation in general. Jessey wrote an entire book interpreting various events that, in his mind, showed God’s pending judgment on England, namely, The Lords Loud Call to England: Being a True Relation of some Late, Various and Wonderful Judgments, or Handy-Works of God… Despites Jessey’s influence, an examination of The Baptist Bibliography, an extensive bibliography of early Baptist writings compiled by Edward Starr, shows a marked absence of other works that embrace prodigies as Jessey does. This paper identifies how Jessey’s book fits with the particularly fervent apocalypticism that was tied to the monarchy’s restoration and also suggests why other Baptists did not follow this influential leader in using prodigies in their writing.
Münster was in flames, and in the smoke wafting toward Wittenberg, Martin Luther caught the unmis... more Münster was in flames, and in the smoke wafting toward Wittenberg, Martin Luther caught the unmistakable scent of hellfire. When the Anabaptists took over the city of Münster in 1534-35, Luther followed the reports as closely as anyone. The German reformer never wrote a treatise about the events himself, but he did write the prefaces to two different publications which concerned them. The one was Urbanus Rhegius’ theological refutation of the Anabaptists’ published confession. The other was a news-like report of the events transpiring at Münster called “Neue Zeitung.”
In those prefaces, Luther makes frequent reference to demons. For Luther, Satan and his minions had taken over Münster. This demonization seems natural, especially from the often-aspersive Luther, but perhaps readers pass over his diabolic accusations too quickly. This paper takes as its central question: how did Luther memorialize the interplay of dark spiritual forces with divine and human agency in the events of Münster?
I take the prefaces as objects of communal memory, establishing an interpretive narrative which worked its way into Lutheran hearts and minds. This essay concludes that, in the prefaces concerning Münster, Luther collapses human, demonic, and divine agency into one contiguous whole of God’s agency. While Luther often portrays himself as a participant in the great battle between Satan and God, ultimately his belief in the total sovereignty of God determines the way he interprets the events in Münster for the sake of the community’s’ memory.
As the first generation of Protestant leaders died, the theological disruption they had caused co... more As the first generation of Protestant leaders died, the theological disruption they had caused continued unabated. New voices arose to fight what were often the same battles, increasing the scope and nuance involved in the theological turbulence. One of the most prominent instantiations of this ongoing conflict involved the Catholic scholar Robert Bellarmine and Anglican scholar William Whitaker. Bellarmine published his Disputationes de controversiis christianae fidei in order to provide a fulsome theological rebuttal of Protestantism. Whitaker responded with his own disputation, Disputatio de sacra scriptura. In his work, Whitaker addresses Bellarmine’s claims explicitly and systematically. This paper will focus on Whitaker’s response to Bellarmine’s comments on Protestant interpretation of scripture, specifically in reference to the fourfold sense known as the quadriga. It will demonstrate that Whitaker does not clearly distinguish between typology and anagogy and argue that this lack of clarity is consistent with his polemical context and goal, the overlap between typology and the spiritual senses, and the tradition’s lack of well-developed distinctions. This conclusion exposes one of the ways Protestants attempted to transform, but not abandon, the fourfold sense of scripture which had come to dominate European Christianity in the medieval era.
In this paper, I examine the vernacular discourse in England regarding how the events of Münster ... more In this paper, I examine the vernacular discourse in England regarding how the events of Münster were portrayed, as either the work of devils or the folly of humans. I argue that Münster was interpreted in predominantly natural terms with satanic and demonic activity relegated to the background as the assumed source of heresy. With a single exception, satanic action, when it is acknowledged at all, is conceived of as a vaguely defined promotion of heresy. This reveals how English writers and translators used the events of Münster primarily to discourage any ideas of religious revolt, but also hints at the way they conceived of demonic action itself.
In this interactive session titled “Engaging Across Disciplines: An Interdisciplinary Response to... more In this interactive session titled “Engaging Across Disciplines: An Interdisciplinary Response to ‘Who is Mary of Nazareth?’” representatives of various disciplines inside of religion interact about a central topic - the person of Mary of Nazareth. The other panelists include Amanda Brobst-Renaud, Rebecca Poe Hays, and (the panel organizer) Rachel Toombs. In my paper, I turn this question to early modern Europe and the lens of religious history. Asking “Who is Mary of Nazareth?” as a historian requires, first and foremost, specification as to whom exactly the question ought to be posed. Drawing from the extensive secondary scholarship, this paper will examine the shifting understanding of the mother of Christ among early modern Europe and demonstrate how one's selection of sources and degree of historical suspicion can change the answer, sometimes dramatically.
The stars spoke much in the 16th century. Humanism’s exhumation of classical texts and learning r... more The stars spoke much in the 16th century. Humanism’s exhumation of classical texts and learning refreshed scholars in the art of astrology, which had never quite died out in the medieval era. While the reformers had various reactions to this development, this paper examines the debate, played out in ink, between Mellin de Saint-Gelais and John Calvin over astrology. Calvin opposed Mellin’s Advertissement sur les jugemens d’Astrologie, ̀a une studieuse Damoyselle with his Advertissement, an Advertissement contre l’Astrologie Judiciare. In line with the “de-mythologizing” often ascribed to the Reformed tradition, Calvin’s treatise dismisses astrological forecasts and horoscopes as inappropriate for the children of God. Yet, while Calvin’s Advertissement may be used to support the de-mythologizing claims and paint Calvin as a modern at first glance, closer examination betrays his more nuanced and distinctly early-modern position. This paper shows that, in line with his early modern context, Calvin leaves room for a limited effect of the stars on humanity. Stars have a “natural” effect on those born under them, an effect which goes beyond any modern sense of natural. Moreover, Calvin does not dismiss the communicative nature of wondrous events like irregular comets. Special signs may indeed provide an accurate warning of God’s pending judgment. With proper attention given to his acceptance of wondrous events and the qualified power of the stars, Calvin may rightly be placed back into the era of which he was a part.
This paper investigates the ways in which Hermann von Kerssenbrock used the supernatural in his N... more This paper investigates the ways in which Hermann von Kerssenbrock used the supernatural in his Narrative of the Anabaptist Madness. Kerssenbrock described and interpreted the portents by which the city of Münster was warned of its impending doom. Epidemics, celestial signs, bloody specters, and even a large beached fish all pointed to the coming destruction the Münsterites failed to recognize. Later in the narrative, however, he dismisses supernatural events claimed by the citizens of Münster. This paper thus examines how Kerssenbrock differentiated between legitimate and illegitimate supernatural occurrences and how he leverages this differentiation in his account of the Münster madness.
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Papers by Joshua Caleb Smith
Conference Presentations by Joshua Caleb Smith
A few years after the kingdom’s fall, Gresbeck penned an account of the radical Anabaptists’ takeover and sixteen-month-long rule. The manuscript, titled Summarische Ertzelungk und Bericht der Wiederdope und wat sich binnen der stat monster in westphalen zugetragen im jair MDXXXV, was the only one to come from someone who had experienced the entirety of the Anabaptists’ rise to power.
My paper examines how Gresbeck, in his account, factors supernatural forces into his retelling of the Anabaptist Kingdom. My central question is, To what extent was the Kingdom of Münster the result of God’s judgment, the devil’s activity, or ordinary human foolishness? I argue that Gresbeck primarily depicts the kingdom as a work of the devil. Satan and his demons possessed the rebellion’s foreign(!) leaders and led the native Münsterites astray. This conclusion sheds light both on this lesser-known account of the Kingdom of Münster and also the way that supernatural forces were integrated into this early-modern German’s view of the world.
This paper contrasts one early Baptist leader’s full embrace of prodigies with the silence of his peers. Henry Jessey, a pastor in the influential “JLJ” church, utilized prodigies in his polemical battle against the Church of England and the nation in general. Jessey wrote an entire book interpreting various events that, in his mind, showed God’s pending judgment on England, namely, The Lords Loud Call to England: Being a True Relation of some Late, Various and Wonderful Judgments, or Handy-Works of God… Despites Jessey’s influence, an examination of The Baptist Bibliography, an extensive bibliography of early Baptist writings compiled by Edward Starr, shows a marked absence of other works that embrace prodigies as Jessey does. This paper identifies how Jessey’s book fits with the particularly fervent apocalypticism that was tied to the monarchy’s restoration and also suggests why other Baptists did not follow this influential leader in using prodigies in their writing.
In those prefaces, Luther makes frequent reference to demons. For Luther, Satan and his minions had taken over Münster. This demonization seems natural, especially from the often-aspersive Luther, but perhaps readers pass over his diabolic accusations too quickly. This paper takes as its central question: how did Luther memorialize the interplay of dark spiritual forces with divine and human agency in the events of Münster?
I take the prefaces as objects of communal memory, establishing an interpretive narrative which worked its way into Lutheran hearts and minds. This essay concludes that, in the prefaces concerning Münster, Luther collapses human, demonic, and divine agency into one contiguous whole of God’s agency. While Luther often portrays himself as a participant in the great battle between Satan and God, ultimately his belief in the total sovereignty of God determines the way he interprets the events in Münster for the sake of the community’s’ memory.
A few years after the kingdom’s fall, Gresbeck penned an account of the radical Anabaptists’ takeover and sixteen-month-long rule. The manuscript, titled Summarische Ertzelungk und Bericht der Wiederdope und wat sich binnen der stat monster in westphalen zugetragen im jair MDXXXV, was the only one to come from someone who had experienced the entirety of the Anabaptists’ rise to power.
My paper examines how Gresbeck, in his account, factors supernatural forces into his retelling of the Anabaptist Kingdom. My central question is, To what extent was the Kingdom of Münster the result of God’s judgment, the devil’s activity, or ordinary human foolishness? I argue that Gresbeck primarily depicts the kingdom as a work of the devil. Satan and his demons possessed the rebellion’s foreign(!) leaders and led the native Münsterites astray. This conclusion sheds light both on this lesser-known account of the Kingdom of Münster and also the way that supernatural forces were integrated into this early-modern German’s view of the world.
This paper contrasts one early Baptist leader’s full embrace of prodigies with the silence of his peers. Henry Jessey, a pastor in the influential “JLJ” church, utilized prodigies in his polemical battle against the Church of England and the nation in general. Jessey wrote an entire book interpreting various events that, in his mind, showed God’s pending judgment on England, namely, The Lords Loud Call to England: Being a True Relation of some Late, Various and Wonderful Judgments, or Handy-Works of God… Despites Jessey’s influence, an examination of The Baptist Bibliography, an extensive bibliography of early Baptist writings compiled by Edward Starr, shows a marked absence of other works that embrace prodigies as Jessey does. This paper identifies how Jessey’s book fits with the particularly fervent apocalypticism that was tied to the monarchy’s restoration and also suggests why other Baptists did not follow this influential leader in using prodigies in their writing.
In those prefaces, Luther makes frequent reference to demons. For Luther, Satan and his minions had taken over Münster. This demonization seems natural, especially from the often-aspersive Luther, but perhaps readers pass over his diabolic accusations too quickly. This paper takes as its central question: how did Luther memorialize the interplay of dark spiritual forces with divine and human agency in the events of Münster?
I take the prefaces as objects of communal memory, establishing an interpretive narrative which worked its way into Lutheran hearts and minds. This essay concludes that, in the prefaces concerning Münster, Luther collapses human, demonic, and divine agency into one contiguous whole of God’s agency. While Luther often portrays himself as a participant in the great battle between Satan and God, ultimately his belief in the total sovereignty of God determines the way he interprets the events in Münster for the sake of the community’s’ memory.