Early life Agricola was born at
Eisleben, Almost immediately, however, a controversy, which had been begun ten years before and been temporarily silenced, broke out more violently than ever. Agricola was the first to teach the views which Luther was the first to stigmatize by the name
Antinomian, maintaining that while non-Christians were still held to the
Mosaic law, Christians were entirely free from it, being under the gospel alone. (See also:
Law and Gospel). The controversy made the two theologians break apart. Philip Melanchthon taught that it was necessary to do good works, but they were an outgrowth of faith and not the reason for receiving forgiveness. Agricola felt that Melanchthon's view of the law was at odds with Luther's. Agricola felt there was no need for the law after justification, possibly ignoring the idea that someone could still fall from faith. This may be closer to the Calvinistic view of "
Once saved, always saved".
Restoration and later life As a consequence of the
bitter controversy with Luther, in 1540 Agricola left Wittenberg secretly for Berlin, where he published a letter addressed to
Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, which was generally interpreted as a recantation of his prior views. Luther, however, seems not to have so accepted it, and Agricola remained at Berlin.
Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg, having taken Agricola into his favour, appointed him court preacher and general superintendent. He held both offices until his death in 1566, and his career in Brandenburg was one of great activity and influence. Along with
Julius von Pflug,
bishop of Naumburg-Zeitz, and
Michael Helding, titular
bishop of Sidon, he prepared the
Augsburg Interim of 1548, a proposed settlement under which Protestants would accept all Catholic authority, being permitted to retain the Protestant teaching on
communion under both kinds and married clergy, but otherwise compelled to accept Catholic doctrine and practice, including the rejection of
justification by faith alone. From that time, he was an outcast among Protestant theologians. It was an irony that one of the most radical Reformers ended his life viewed as having capitulated to Catholics. He endeavored in vain to appease the
Adiaphoristic controversy. He died during an epidemic of
plague on 22 September 1566 in Berlin. ==Writings==