Simul: Inquiries into Luther's Experience of the Christian Life ed. by Robert Kolb, Torbjörn Johansson, and Daniel Johansson

Abstract

Reviewed by: Simul: Inquiries into Luther's Experience of the Christian Life ed. by Robert Kolb, Torbjörn Johansson, and Daniel Johansson Ronald K. Rittgers Simul: Inquiries into Luther's Experience of the Christian Life. Edited by Robert Kolb, Torbjörn Johansson, and Daniel Johansson. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2021. 270 pp. The central argument of this volume is that "simul grasps the essence of Luther's theology, at the same time as it broadens the perspective and goes beyond the traditional solas. Simul takes you directly to the heart of Lutheran theology, justification by faith alone, at the same time as the concept constitutes a thought pattern which is a characteristic feature of much of Lutheran theology" (9). The volume grew out of four annual conferences at the Lutheran School of Theology in Gothenburg, Sweden that addressed the theme of simul as part of its preparations for the celebration of the Reformation's 500th anniversary. The conference organizers were especially interested in showing how simul "unites systematic-theological, historical, and exegetical perspectives" (9). After an introduction by the editors, the volume is divided into three sections: Luther, The Lutheran Tradition, and Exegetical Perspectives. In the "Luther" section, Oswald Bayer argues that while Luther likely coined the phrase simul iustus et peccator, he never saw it as central to his Reformation discovery. In fact, the phrase was not accorded this central status until the twentieth century. Still, Bayer affirms the phrase's importance for Luther's theology, arguing that it was part of the Reformer's larger move away from Scholastic substance-theology to Reformation relationship- and promissio-theology. Erik Herrmann argues that the "geistige Welt" of the Old Testament profoundly shaped Luther's theology—he was not simply a Paulinist. According to Herrmann, "in the Old Testament Luther found the paradoxical simul of his theology" (53) and thus preached most frequently on the Old Testament because he saw "the simul of human existence" as its great theme (60). Robert Kolb shows how Romans 7 was the locus classicus for Luther's simul-thinking, arguing that it directly informed his pastoral care of despairing Christians. The reformer urged such Christians to trust "in the priority of God's re-creative Word" to find consolation in their sinner-saint existence (68). [End Page 92] Roland Ziegler discusses the importance of the simul-formula for Luther's theology of the Lord's Supper, showing how multiple simultaneities inform this theology: bread and wine are also body and blood, both spiritual and oral eating take place, and both past and future are joined in the sacrament, which itself is based on the simul of Christ's human and divine natures. Mark Mattes revisits his important argument in Martin Luther's Theology of Beauty (2017), arguing that "Christians are not only simultaneously righteous and sinful, but also beautiful and ugly at the same time" (104). Christians' beauty, however, is a received beauty, a gift of God's beauty, that is always hidden under its opposite in cross and suffering. In the "Lutheran Theology" section, Timothy Wengert demonstrates the importance of the simul-formula for Melanchthon, persuasively arguing that it was "the lynchpin of his theology throughout his life," and that it directly informed his opposition to the controversial soteriologies of Johannes Brenz and Andreas Osiander (126). Jakob Valdemar Olsen discusses the influence of Luther's simul-thinking on Søren Kierkegaard, especially on the latter's view of human existence as defined by paradox and contradiction. For Kierkegaard, "a human being is seen as a relational being full of tensions" (158), something Olsen connects to Luther. Harald Jung explores how the simul contributed to social and economic theory in post-World War II Germany and how it can do the same today, helping societies avoid both utopian and quietistic impulses. Bernd Wannenwetsch seeks to recover the simul of Luther's two regiments teaching for contemporary use, rescuing it from distortions in the modern period, especially under the Nazis. In the "Exegetical Perspectives" section, Tim Saleska draws on Luther-style paradox to interpret Exodus 34:6–7, arguing that this approach allows one to deal honestly with the contradiction it contains—God is merciful and...