Franck, Sebastian

Abstract

Sebastian Franck (1499–1542) was a writer of moral and spiritual treatises and a Christian theologian during the Reformation. He trained to become a Catholic priest but ultimately became involved in the Protestant movement as an independent thinker and theologian. His unique approach to the central doctrines of Christianity deviated from and criticized Catholic, Lutheran, Anabaptist, and Calvinist teachings and brought him into frequent conflict with religious and civil authorities in several cities in which he lived. His most influential and controversial books were Chronica, Zeitbuch und Geschichtsbibel (Strassburg, 1531), Paradoxa (Ulm, 1534), and Das Kriegsbüchlein des Friedens (1539). Franck’s theological writing was marked by a radical, independent, and subjectivist perspective in which he attempted to draw universal connections between the believers of all religious traditions and legitimize their faith traditions.