John T. McNeill, Ph.D.: "The History and Character of Calvinism:" Ch. 5-...

The premise of Swiss worship—necessity of guarantees by Biblical premises, a fruit of his Sixty-seven Conclusions of 1523, showing thus, that he is ahead of Dr. Cranmer and England as an avant-garde theologian. Zwingli denies Ubiquitarianism as unproveable from Holy Scripture. “We teach not an iota that we have not learned from the divine Oraces; and we assert nothing for which we cannot cite as guarantors the first teachers of the Church, prophets, apostles, bishops, evangelists, Bible expositors” (74). Zwingli insisted on Greek and Hebrew Scriptures with both on a table at Synods—he also produced, with the help of others, a Swiss-German vernacular, ahead of the CoE, but in tandem or parallel with Luther’s and Tyndale’s advanced labors. The Swiss diverged from the early humanists by their impressions and sober views of God’s majesty, human depravity, and the great gulf between the Holy God. In this, Zwingli at Zurich and Oecolampadius at Basel predate Calvin of Geneva. As sinners, humans need government. A magisterial and Erastian construct is in play—the state should advance churchly interests and the two worked hand-in-glove in Switzerland, rather than the more severe supremacy of England.

ONE UPSHOT: this handily disarms the hubristic Anglo-Papes-and-Apes with the oft-witnessed churlishness. This disarms the insularism and provides, for the more charitable, another occasion for truth-telling and humor.