Despite claims that
Zwingli was influenced by Luther in developing his reformed ideas, look at what
Zwingli declares in Article 18 of “The Defense of the Reformed Faith”:
“Before anyone in this
area had even heard of Luther, I began to preach the gospel of Christ in 1516
so that I never entered the pulpit without looking up the words which were to
be read in the mass that day and expounding them on the basis of scripture…
When I began to preach
in Zurich in 1519 I indicated to the honourable gentlemen of the Chapter hos I
intended to preach on the gospel of Matthew, God willing, without any human addenda
and without any hesitancy or wavering because of counter arguments. At the
beginning of that same year (for I reached Zurich on St John the Evangelist
day), no one in our midst knew anything of Luther, except that he had said
something concerning indulgences, which did not teach me anything new since I
had been informed earlier that indulgences were a fraud and false appearance. I
had learned this from a disputation with Thomas Wyttenbach of Biel, mylord and
faithful teacher had engaged in Basel some time ago, though I was not present
at the time. Consequently Luther’s writing at the time did little to help me in
my preaching on Matthew. Nonetheless, everyone eager to hear the word of God
came hurrying to my expositions so that I was quite surprised myself…
For who has equipped
me to preach the gospel and to preach from the writing of one evangelist from
beginning to end? Did Luther? I started preaching the gospel before I had ever
heard Luther’s name mentioned and in order to prepare for the same time I
started to learn Greek some ten years ago so that I might learn the teaching of
Christ from its original sources. How well I have mastered Greek, I let others
judge. However, Luther, whose name I did not know for another two years, had
definitely not instructed me. I followed holy scripture alone. But the papists
burden me and others with such names from sheer malice, as I have stated
earlier, saying, ‘You must be Lutheran for you preach just as Luther writes.’
My answer is: ‘I preach the word of Christ: why do you not take me to be a
Christian as well?’ They practice sheer malice…
By the same token, I
do not wish the papists to call me Lutheran; for I did not learn the teachings
of Christ from Luther but from the very word of God. If Luther preaches Christ
he does the same thing as I do, though, God be praised, through him a far
greater number of people are led to God than through me and others (whose
measure God increases and diminishes as he pleases). So far I do not wish to
bear no other name than that of my captain Christ: whose foot soldier I am. He
shall give me the orders and pay, as he sees fit. I hope that some will
understand by now why I do not wish to be called Lutheran even though I esteem
Luther as highly as any other person. Accordingly I testify before God and all
people that all my life I have not written a single word to him nor has he
written to me.”
