ABSTRACT
Following the initial enthusiasm of the Reformation, Protestant theology entered into a scholastic period. Scholasticism placed a very great emphasis upon logic and rhetoric, upon sharp and clear definitions as a means to truth and as a way of eliminating theological controversy. It was also a method of defense against the theology of Roman Catholicism, but this was secondary to the internal development of the theology itself. The clearest expression of scholasticism in Reformed theology is found in the Helvetic Consensus Formula, which was written by John Henry Heidegger of Zurich at the request of the Swiss Diet. The Consensus deals especially with the theology of Saumur, a liberalized Calvinism. It is best known for its contention that the Hebrew vowel points were inspired. The creed was used in Switzerland for half a century and then fell into disuse.
