Luther Studies Research Articles

Gregory of Nyssa’s (Relational) Doctrine of Grace as an Ontology of History in Ecumenical Perspective

The paper shows the relevance of Gregory of Nyssa’s Trinitarian ontology for Ecumenism. In fact, the Cappadocian’s rereading of the relationship between ontology and history makes it possible to combine dynamics and being in his reading of divinization as epektasis. This seems to be relevant from the perspective of Luther studies, as it shows that Tuomo Mannermaa’s interpretation of the Reformer’s thought could be interpreted as relational and not merely dialectical. In the end, it seems that the research on a true theological ontology and the deepening of the theology of history can be useful for a better understanding of Luther’s intention and inspiration in his doctrine on grace.

The Role of Lexical Collocation in Luther’s Translation of עָמָל (ʿāmāl) in Eccl. 1:3

Abstract This article investigates an unexplored facet of Luther’s translation of the Book of Ecclesiastes. It shows how he identified a technical linguistic phenomenon in the Hebrew text known as lexical collocation and how this ultimately shaped a number of his German renderings. This helps to solve an enigma concerning his translation of עָמָל (ʿāmāl) in Eccl. 1:3 in his Deutsche Bibel. This article also illuminates the role of intertexts in Luther’s Bible translation method, demonstrating how he frequently consulted, compared, and ultimately borrowed from multiple texts and languages to formulate his German renderings, far beyond the simple colloquial German of his day—the language of the ‘common man in the market’ and the ‘mother in the home’, which biographers of Luther so often cite. It also furthers the scholarly understanding of certain linguistic aspects of intertextuality which have not been discussed before. Finally, it identifies a number of important implications for Hebrew and German linguistics, Luther studies, and the history of medieval and early modern Bible translation. In short, this research opens up a new window, in an area never before addressed, for studies on one of the most important and influential Bible translators of all time.

Luther’s Works: Companion Volume. Sixteenth-Century Biographies of Martin Luther ed. by Christopher Boyd Brown

Reviewed by: Luther’s Works: Companion Volume. Sixteenth-Century Biographies of Martin Luther ed. by Christopher Boyd Brown Timothy J. Wengert Luther’s Works: Companion Volume. Sixteenth-Century Biographies of Martin Luther. Edited by Christopher Boyd Brown. St. Louis: Concordia, 2018. 728 pp. In 1959 Concordia Publishing House produced a companion volume to Luther’s Works [American edition], written by Jaroslav Pelikan: Luther the Expositor: Introduction to the Reformer’s Exegetical Writings. Not only was that volume extremely limited in scope (focusing chiefly on the Lord’s Supper), it quickly became outdated, especially as the study of Reformation biblical interpretation accelerated in the last quarter of the twentieth century. Now Christopher Boyd Brown has produced a second companion volume, which promises by contrast to serve Luther studies for many years to come. Unlike its predecessor, this volume provides not one scholar’s opinions of Luther but instead new translations of the most important biographical works on Martin Luther from the sixteenth century, the influence of which continues to shape our views of Luther. Accompanied by impeccable notes and a stunning introduction of nearly one hundred pages, this book needs to be on the shelves of anyone interested in the theology and history of Wittenberg’s central reformer. [End Page 472] The book begins with several smaller, early contributions by Luther’s Wittenberg colleagues and friends and concludes with Johannes Mathesius’s large set of sermons (seventeen in all), in which the Wittenberg graduate and pastor in Joachimstal presented a detailed look at many aspects of Luther’s life and career. Readers can now read Luther’s preface to a catalogue of his works, the report of Justus Jonas and Michael Coelius (court preacher to the counts of Mansfeld) on Luther’s last days in Eisleben, the funeral sermon of Johannes Bugenhagen, Philip Melanchthon’s funeral oration, and the latter’s preface to the second volume of Luther’s works from June 1546. Johann Walter, a musician and collaborator with Luther on hymnody and other compositions, produced an interesting and (for modern ears) very different genre of remembering, a sixty-four stanza poem outlining Luther’s life and teaching, “A New Spiritual Song about the Blessed, Precious, and Highly Gifted Man, Dr. Martin Luther, the Prophet and Apostle of Germany.” All these works fill only 100 pages; the remaining 500 pages consist of Mathesius’s sermons. The translations are excellent, including Kevin G. Walker’s highly readable, entertaining rendering of Mathesius’s work. If one reads no other section, the seventh sermon, preached on Shrove Tuesday for Mathesius’s mining congregation, contains selected fables and other stories recounted by Luther, Melanchthon, and Mathesius. This lighter side of the reformers is often lost in today’s biographical works and demonstrates aspects of Luther’s personality easily stifled by overly pious or intellectual approaches. Editor Brown demonstrates his excellent command of sixteenth-century Latin with his translation of the two Melanchthon pieces into remarkably clear and accurate English. The annotations and introduction are of the very highest quality. Brown shows his complete mastery of the secondary literature and, in the case of Melanchthon’s work, proves among other things how relatively little Erasmus figures in those writings, countering a popular (and mistaken) theory of James Michael Weiss regarding the various versions of the funeral oration. He also thoroughly appreciates Melanchthon’s use of rhetorical forms in constructing both the oration and the preface. Throughout, Brown succinctly informs [End Page 473] the reader about historical problems—for example, debates over the posting of the 95 Theses—using recent bibliographical sources. The annotations also help the reader through the thicket of occasionally incorrect renderings of Luther’s biography, especially in Mathesius’s work. Even so, Brown reminds us that Mathesius’s work continues to set the parameters of Luther biographies. (One of the few exceptions to the Mathesius model may be the unique and still valuable contribution of Heiko A. Oberman, Luther: Man between God and the Devil [New Haven: Yale, 1989].) What kind of Luther do we find on these pages? Perhaps the varied answers to this question demonstrate the importance of this collection, as we discover Luther the scholar (and humanist), Luther the...

Martin Luther’s Use of Blended Hebrew and German Idioms in His Translation of the Hebrew Bible

AbstractThis article investigates an uncharted facet of Martin Luther’s Hebrew translation method. It is one of the more fascinating aspects of his translation, which demonstrates both the complexity of how he translated Hebrew and the lasting impact of the Hebrew on his German, neither of which has been fully appreciated by scholars. This article demonstrates how he sometimes blended Hebrew and German idioms in his translation of the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Minor Prophets. It further shows how he used this translation method to convey various linguistic features of the Hebrew language to his German audience. Finally, it shows how this has a number of important implications for Luther studies, Hebrew and German linguistics, and medieval and early modern history.

Education and faith: Luther ideas, German immigration to Brazil and the community-organized schools (19th-20th centuries)

The research aims to analyze, based on the relations between German immigration, Lutheranism and the process of creation of schools, the historical incorporation of ideas on education of Luther and its influence in the south of Brazil, in a period between the second decade of century XIX and the first decades of the twentieth century. The methodology is characterized by documentary research with the use of sources referring to the creation of schools, discussed based on a bibliographic reference that includes Luther texts and studies that deal with the links between religion and schooling. The results highlight the importance attributed to the school by Luther, understanding him as a religious reformer of Education. They show that the creation of schools by groups of German Lutheran immigrants in the Brazilian South is justified by their foundation in Lutheran conceptions. The schools were created so that children and young people could have access to religious principles and overcome the difficulties of living in a cultural environment different from that of the regions of origin. These reasons were reinforced by the absence of primary schools maintained by the government, either in the Empire period or in the first decades of the Republic. It is concluded that community schools founded on the colonies meant responses to the divine call to act in human education in harmony with faith, being understood as a result of Lutheran inspiration.

Theology and Philosophy of Care

Summary This paper explores pastoral care as a common task of all Christians in the light of theology and philosophy of love in contemporary Finnish Lutheran theology. Pastoral care is about taking care of one’s suffering neighbours, which theologically is about love. The so-called Finnish school of Luther studies considered Luther as a theologian of love. Finnish theological ethics has concentrated on interpretation of Luther’s theology. Luther’s concept of love has been reinterpreted by Risto Saarinen with the idea of gift and recognition. Following Saarinen, and Jaana Hallamaa’s ethical theory of agency, the paper illustrates how the Lutheran idea of love can be based on agency, gift giving and reciprocity and so be understood as praxis in terms of Christian life. To conclude, the question of what makes caring Christian in nature, or pastoral care in other words, is explored in the light of faith as trust.

Martin Luther’s Relational Ontology

In the second half of the twentieth century, the overcoming of the infuence of Kant’s philosophy on the interpretation of Luther’s theology gave the impetus to a new shift in the Luther studies. However, it also revealed the importance of the theological intuitions of the Reformer on the current philosophical-theological debate on the possibility of restoring metaphysics and ontology in particular. The study aims to present the ontological dimension and the orientation of some of these intuitions present in Luther’s commentary on the Letter to the Romans. This dimension is determined by his conviction that the revelation of the trinitarian God in Christ has shown the truth of being in general, and of human being in particular, the truth of the fact that this being is structurally related but also of the fact that, in the historical space, this relationship has to bring to date and to augment what is happeniing by means of following the Crucified and Risen Logos of the Creator, and uniting with his Holy Spirit in the communion of believers.

The Trinity and Martin Luther by Christine Helmer

Reviewed by: The Trinity and Martin Lutherby Christine Helmer Joshua C. Miller The Trinity and Martin Luther. By Christine Helmer. Revised edition. Bellingham, Washington: Lexham Press, 2017. 333 pp. While some might not categorize Martin Luther as an inherently Trinitarian theologian, Christine Helmer makes a strong case for precisely that. Helmer’s study of Luther on the Trinity is motivated both by the modern shift toward seeing a speculative interpretation of the Trinity as the starting point of theology and by what she characterizes as a contrasting entrenchment of Luther studies in viewing justification by faith as the center of Luther’s theology (x–xi). In this revised edition, which includes a new preface and updated citations, Helmer looks beyond previous scholarship on the Reformer and formulates her own view of Luther (xi–xii). Throughout, Helmer makes her case for Luther as a speculative Trinitarian theologian from four sources: Luther’s contribution to the doctoral disputation of Georg Major and Johannes Faber (1544), his hymn “Dear Christians One and All Rejoice” (1523) and two sermons preached in 1537 (xi, 1, 40–41). Helmer brings other writings by Luther to bear, but she focuses her research on these texts specifically. In doing so, Helmer asserts that Luther’s theology of the Trinity grows out of and reacts to medieval thought, evidences an overall orthodox and catholic view of the Trinity, reverences the mystery of the Triune God, and identifies the Trinity’s work of salvation as central to understanding the doctrine of the Triune God. Helmer demonstrates careful, if selective, research. Rather than seeing Luther as a forerunner of modern theology, Helmer portrays him in his own time in the history of doctrine. Helmer investigates Luther’s interaction with the views of the Trinity enunciated by William of Ockham, Gabriel Biel, Bernard of Clairvaux, Peter Lombard, Joachim of Fiore, and even Erasmus. In so doing, Helmer demonstrates the depth and breadth of Luther’s theological knowledge and engagement (119–31). Eschewing modern terminology, Helmer speaks not of the immanent Trinity and economic Trinity but of the inner Trinity and the outer Trinity (xiv, 2). She asserts that Luther is concerned not merely [End Page 454]with the outer Trinity expressed through credal declarations concerning God’s salutary revelation in Christ, but also, by appealing to Luther’s hymn, shows how Luther affirms an inseparable connection between the inner and outer Trinity precisely at the point of salvation. Helmer sees Luther’s understanding of the Trinity as one in which God’s saving promise revealed in Christ flows from the eternal speech of the divine persons for the sake of fallen humanity (178–80). While Helmer describes Luther’s theology of the Trinity as speculative, she also demonstrates that its entire trajectory is salutary, with the eternal promise of the inner Trinity unfolding in time and space through the merciful work of the outer Trinity (204–05). Helmer’s work reveals Luther as a Trinitarian theologian whose thought embodies the truth of the one holy catholic and apostolic church. She demonstrates that, for Luther, the inner Trinity and the outer Trinity are the same Triune God, who exists for and reveals himself to sinners in need of his merciful and saving promise. For all this, Helmer’s work should be commended as an example of erudite Reformation scholarship. At the same time, however, the work also evidences shortcomings. One is that Helmer’s scope is limited by the sources with which she engages. Helmer neglects Luther’s biblical lectures and, most importantly, his two catechisms. A study of Luther on the Trinity should engage deeply with these primary sources of his public Trinitarian theology. Furthermore, Helmer disregards the scholarly notion that Luther’s theology is deeply motivated by a pastoral outlook. Helmer portrays Luther as a speculative philosopher rather than a pastoral theologian (xiii). This intentional portrayal of Luther hardly commends itself to pastors and lay Christians today but relegates itself to academics. Moreover, Helmer advocates an agenda, making “her case” for her own Luther who is speculative, philosophical, rationalistic, and Roman Catholic (xi, xiii, 23). Her agenda permeates the entire work. She engages in selective readings of Luther, argues against...

Explorations in Martin Luther's Theology by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

Reviewed by: Explorations in Martin Luther's Theology by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Aihe (Luke) Zheng 超越五百年的影響力：馬丁路德今天仍舊説話. Explorations in Martin Luther's Theology. By Sarah Hinlicky Wilson; translated by Yuan-Wei Liao and Yu-Qin Wei. Taipei: Taosheng Publishing House, 2017. 202 pp. 2017 marked the 500th anniversary of the Reformation movement. Thanks to the tireless efforts of countless scholars, Martin Luther has stepped into more countries than he himself ever knew. How this book came about is a clear testimony to this phenomenon. When Dr. Sarah Wilson, a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, served as an assistant research professor at the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, she travelled to Wittenberg twice a year to teach a course to Lutheran pastors from all over the world. In 2014, one Chinese-speaking pastor was impressed by Wilson's insights and invited her to lecture at his seminary in Taiwan. Later on, this pastor, Dr. Yuan-Wei Liao, served as interpreter during the lectures in 2016 and became the main translator of this book. This truly is a wonderful fruit of the global interest in Luther. The book is divided into three parts, in accordance with Wilson's nine hours of lectures over three days at the China Evangelical Seminary. First, she takes the audience back to the historical context in which Luther launched the Reformation. To describe the magnitude of the breakthrough, Wilson presents two sets of theses by Luther from 1517 and 1518, that is, the Ninety-Five Theses and the Theses on Remission of Sin. The latter, unfamiliar to many, are arguably the more profound. Hence, she takes more time to [End Page 370] introduce them. She then closes the first part with a discussion of Lutheran-Catholic dialogues in recent decades. The second part is clustered around a discussion of Luther's teachings on the distinction between law and gospel. She discusses what it meant theologically, how it should shape Christian exegesis, how it should be taught and lived in the Christian household as seen in Luther's Large Catechism, and the differences between Luther's view of law and the Jewish understanding of the law. The final part focuses on Luther's sacramental theology, particularly his teachings on holy baptism. To Luther, baptism, especially infant baptism, reflects the essence of his well-known Sola teachings, because it is clearly a God-centered act, not dependent on human conditions. Of course, no discussion of the topic of baptism during the Reformation can be complete without reference to the Anabaptists. Thus, she ends with reflections on the Lutheran-Mennonite reconciliation at the Lutheran World Federation assembly in 2010. Although it does not break much new ground within English-speaking scholarship, Wilson's book certainly deserves accolades from its Chinese-speaking audience. Indeed, the substance of the book is scholarly, and yet the presentation is very plain-spoken. That being said, it is a pity that the book is not adequately footnoted due to its lecture-to-book nature. In the infancy of Luther studies among the Chinese, this book is a welcome addition. Through this introductory work, readers can catch a glimpse of the vastness of Luther's teachings. What could prove most helpful to Chinese readers is the concluding section in each part, in which she reviews the relationships between Luther's ideas and those of Catholicism, Judaism, and Anabaptism then and now. Chinese readers, and maybe even English readers, will be enabled better to understand Luther's theology in ecumenical perspective. Wilson's bright insights are now accessible to all Chinese readers. [End Page 371] Aihe (Luke) Zheng International Chinese Biblical Seminary in Europe Barcelona, Spain Copyright © 2019 Johns Hopkins University Press and Lutheran Quarterly, Inc.

True Faith in the True God: An Introduction to Luther's Life and Thought by Hans Schwarz

Reviewed by: True Faith in the True God: An Introduction to Luther's Life and Thoughtby Hans Schwarz Mark Mattes True Faith in the True God: An Introduction to Luther's Life and Thought. Revised and expandededition. By Hans Schwarz. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2015. ix + 295 pp. Amidst the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Hans Schwarz's revision of this work, originally published twenty years ago, offers a fine "primer" into Luther's life and thought. Schwarz notes that his book is not intended to replace the magisterial studies of Bernhard Lohse or Martin Brecht (x). Instead, it is to provide those with little background in Luther studies an entry into the basic vocabulary, grammar, and syntax of Luther's mission and theology. The chief difference between this revision and the original is the addition of three chapters, dealing respectively with Luther's views of education, the economy, and music. The table of contents indicates how Schwarz configures his analysis of Luther. His first chapter is an overview of Luther's life, focusing on the events that triggered the Reformation. He then discusses knowledge of God, the relation between faith and reason, God's divinity, humanity "between God and Satan," the two kingdoms, scripture, law and gospel, church and sacraments, marriage and parenthood, vocation, and the three additional topics mentioned above. Schwarz takes a holistic approach: Luther is not made to fit into a pre-established theological system. Instead, we discover Luther's program of reform as embedded in social institutions and human exchanges, whether of power, wealth, education, or, in the case of music, delight. Similarly, Schwarz does not simply describe Luther's stances but instead helps readers think through them to see how, given his presuppositions, Luther arrived at them. Schwarz notes that Luther affirmed a "natural" knowledge of God, that is, that humans can know something of God through reason in spite of the fact that such knowledge is somewhat subjective, is defaced by sin, and is preliminary to what can be known of God through the gospel (51–53). Only through the cross is genuine knowledge of God to be found. "The cross as the sign of the revelation of God also guards against deceitful imitations. While the majesty of God can easily be counterfeited into a [End Page 87]fantasized image of our own ideas, the cross will not be imitated or distorted by any religion, philosophical speculation, or by our own fantasy" (67). That humans are assailed by the "hidden God" ultimately works for human salvation: "But God does it [assailing] for salvation so that human beings can be freed from their own selves and all self-confidence, and flee to the arms of the merciful God" (118). Schwarz sees no "third use of the law" operative in Luther but, based on the interpretation of law in both catechisms, he says, "The Commandments are hence not only a mirror in which we recognize sin, although they retain this function for the Christian; they are a much-needed and wholesome instruction in that which God expects from us by way of good works … the commandment of God, not the law, provides the Christian with guidance for the right way to live" (169). While disclaiming the late Luther's anti-Judaic ravings, Schwarz ably fits them into the context of the times in which church and state were one and in which blasphemy accordingly is to be denounced (200–201). Schwarz sees no trajectory in history from Luther to the Third Reich, which was itself "a religious, neo-pagan ideology" (201). Luther's push for public education enhanced literacy in Northern Europe, and provided many advantages for Protestant citizens in contrast to Catholic populations (244–45). Luther advocated economic policies that put first the neighbor's well-being, and not greed (264). Finally, while contemporary Westerners struggle less with guilt and more with anomie, Schwarz claims Luther as one who can help us find God to be the "beginning, the center, and the goal of our life if we want to overcome our insecurity and disorientation" (280). My only wish is that this book had a specific chapter devoted entirely to Christology since Jesus Christ...

A Luther for 2017

The history of the Reformation begins, and often ends, with Martin Luther. The history of Luther's biography is a chronicle of the perspectives from which Luther has been approached. Throughout the twentieth century, with few exceptions, his greatness was accepted as being beyond question, with each interpreter offering a new explanation for the Reformer's heroic place in European religious history. Scott Hendrix has been contributing to Luther studies since Luther and the Papacy (1981); his Short Introduction (2010) and an earlier biography (2009) are marked by lucidity and accuracy. His careful work on the little-known Urbanus Rhegius (1489–1541) and other Reformers has brought these significant participants in the expansion of religious reform out of the shadows of historical oblivion. For care with material and clarity of exposition, Hendrix is well positioned to write the American Luther biography of this anniversary year.

L’eredità di Lutero: come si può raccontare la storia politica dello ‘Stato moderno’

Among the multitude of Luther studies, the review takes into account two books: the biography written by Heinz Schilling (Der Reformator Martin Luther 2017. Eine wissenschaftliche und ge­denkpolitische Bestandsaufnahme, Berlin-München: De Gruyter-Oldenbourg, 20142), lately translated in Italian (Martin Lutero. Ribelle in un’epoca di cambiamenti radicali, edizione italiana a cura di Roberto Tresoldi, Torino: Claudiana, 2016) and the Robert von Friedeburg’s recent book Luther’s Legacy. The Thirty Years War and the Modern Notion of ‘State’ in the Empire, 1530s to 1790s, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. The main issue raised by both books concerns the “evergreen” political theme of Luther’s and Lutheranism’s contribution to the formation of the “modern State” in a comparative perspective between German and Italian late-medieval and early-modern historiography.

The New Luther's Works Companion Volume: Contemporary Biography:

The New Luther's Works Companion Volume: Contemporary Biography: Samuel J. Dubbelman You can soon access in one volume English translations of seven important sixteenth-century sources on Luther's life. Editorial work on the new series of Luther's Works: American Edition is now focused on the Companion Volume: Contemporary Biography, edited by Christopher B. Brown and scheduled for a late 2017 release date. The Contemporary Biography volume will be unnumbered, like Jaroslav Pelikan's Luther the Expositor in the original series. It is "contemporary biography" in that it contains sixteenth-century biographical accounts of Luther's life. This brief comment describes the seven documents found in the collection, which reflects a central emphasis of the new series, namely, the turn in Luther studies from depicting Luther as an isolated hero toward reconstructing the important contributions of other people and institutions in Luther's life. The only piece written by Luther himself is the short Preface to the Catalog of Luther's Writings (1533). In this preface Luther reflected on the way that his writing had changed over the prior fifteen years: his early works yielded too much to the papacy, whereas his later writings dealt solely with Christ. In his own defense, Luther enlisted Augustine's claim to have likewise developed his thoughts while writing and teaching. As such, he seems to be responding to opponents who noted inconsistencies in his writing, for example, Johann Cochlaeus and Johann Fabri. The volume includes two important biographical accounts by Philip Melanchthon: his Preface to the Second Wittenberg Volume of Luther's Latin Works (1546), and his Oration at the Funeral of Dr. Martin Luther [End Page 189] (1546). Melanchthon understood his Preface as a fulfilment of Luther's unsuccessful autobiographical attempt due to his untimely death. Melanchthon's emphasis in both the Oration and the Preface is doctrinal: Luther was an inspired teacher and guardian of true doctrine, who came to his insights through diligent study. The fact that Melanchthon's eyes are on doctrine is also clear in that he takes time in a "biography" of Luther to outline four historical stages of doctrinal mutations. In the Oration, Melanchthon places Luther in a privileged list that extends from Adam through the apostles to various church fathers such as Polycarp, Irenaeus, Gregory of Neocaesarea, Basil the Great, Augustine, Prosper of Aquitaine, Maximus the Confessor, Hugh of St. Victor, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Johann Tauler. The most unusual contribution of the volume is Johann Walther's A New Spiritual Song, about the Blessed, Precious, and Highly-gifted Man, Dr. Martin Luther, the Prophet and Apostle of Germany (1564). The hymn consists of sixty-four rhymed stanzas divided into four parts: part one details the rule of the antichrist, who is clearly identified with the papacy; part two describes God's use of Luther, "Mansfeld's rarest treasure," to expose the papacy as the Antichrist; part three entails a summary of Luther's doctrine and achievements; and part four exhorts the listeners to remain thankful for and faithful to Lutheran doctrine. The poetry is beautifully translated and affords a unique look into how "biography" functioned in sixteenth-century religious settings. The volume also includes the Account of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther's Christian Departure from this Mortal Life by Justus Jonas and Michael Coelius (1546). This document is a detailed narrative of Luther's journey from Wittenberg to Eisleben in late January of 1546, the immediate events preceding his death in Eisleben, and the procession of his body back to Wittenberg. The authors emphasize Luther's blessed departure. Jonas and Coelius ask Luther if it is his intent to die in Christ and the doctrines as Luther had preached them. Luther emphatically answers, "Yes" (thus his last word, according to this account). The authors reiterate that Luther did not experience the "pangs of death," but died peacefully. Luther's death is then interpreted through John 8:51, "Truly I say to you, whoever keeps my words will never see death eternally." [End Page 190] Johannes Bugenhagen's funeral sermon A Christian Sermon Over the Body and Burial of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther (1546) is an emotionally charged exposition of 1...

The Distinction Between Law and Gospel as the Basis and Boundary of Theological Reflection by John D. Koch, Jr.

Reviewed by: The Distinction Between Law and Gospel as the Basis and Boundary of Theological Reflectionby John D. Koch, Jr. Joshua C. Miller The Distinction Between Law and Gospel as the Basis and Boundary of Theological Reflection. By John D. Koch, Jr.Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016. 228 pp. The distinction between law and gospel is not merely one locus amongst others in the Lutheran understanding of theology. Instead, it determines the entire enterprise of Lutheran theology. In this volume John D. Koch adopts this viewpoint, defends it from its detractors, and explores the heights and depths of what this distinction means for theological method, justification, sanctification, and eschatology, as well as for life itself. Koch begins with an assessment of the theological situation of the twenty-first century, in which there seems to be some consensus that the doctrine of justification by faith alone should be abandoned in the quest for organic ecumenical unity and the preservation of cultural Christianity (3–5). Against this, Koch argues that justification is the matter upon which the church will fall or stand, and that whether [End Page 450]the church falls or stands is dependent on a proper understanding of law and gospel (25). In advocating for a renewal of the Lutheran sense of law and gospel for the life of the church today, Koch draws from Gerhard Ebeling, Gerhard Forde, and Oswald Bayer. For Koch, a proper understanding of law and gospel is one that takes seriously the reality of what Luther labelled Anfechtungand how it affects the accused sinner. Anfechtungis not merely the attack on conscience that comes through the law. While it includes the law's work of convicting sinners of their sin and demonstrating the need for salvation, Anfechtungalso includes the believer's experience of the contradiction of the gospel. Following Bayer, Koch understands the experiences of evil and suffering in the world as how Anfechtungis experienced, namely, as the contradiction of the comfort that comes from justification by faith. Anfechtungincludes the work of the law, but its parameters are not limited to it (7–8). Following both Bayer and Forde, Koch takes a somewhat functional approach to the understanding of law and gospel. Koch argues that the law and the gospel should both be understood in terms of what they do. On the one hand, the law, through Anfechtung, makes sinners constantly aware of the reality of death and judgment. The gospel, on the other hand, does what it says; it justifies sinners before God and makes them new creatures. Koch responds to many critiques of the Lutheran view of law and gospel and of justification by faith alone, including those by Krister Stendahl, Karl Barth, Ernst Ratzinger, Robert Jenson, David Yeago, and the New Finnish School of Luther studies through its progeny in the United States, Paul Hinlicky and Christine Helmer. Koch carefully and charitably represents these views and then defends the Lutheran view through arguments that are both theologically and historically responsible. Koch's responses to Jenson and Yeago are especially important and warrant attention, as these theologians have consistently argued that the law and gospel theological method leads inexorably to antinomianism and Gnosticism (55–56, 184,197). Responding to these charges, Koch makes a detailed exploration into Forde and Bayer's shared understanding of sanctification as the continual re-creation of the new creature in Christ (158). Koch cites Forde's warning against antinomianism as "fake theology" (185–191) and Bayer's insistence that justification and creation must be [End Page 451]understood in the context of one another and that justification is a return to creation and creatureliness through the sacramental mediation of justification. Koch argues that the errors of antinomianism and Gnosticism are precluded in the views of Forde and Bayer because the law puts works righteousness to death and the gospel opens the sinner as a new creation to God and others (153–159). Koch organizes and articulates well the view of law and gospel he believes to be vital to the life of the church. While his account is theologically faithful and rich, it lacks commentary on a major figure in the law and...

Meilensteine der Reformation: Schlüsseldokumente der frühen Wirksamkeit Martin Luthers ed. by Irene Dingel and Henning P. Jürgens

Reviewed by: Meilensteine der Reformation: Schlüsseldokumente der frühen Wirksamkeit Martin Luthers ed. by Irene Dingel and Henning P. Jürgens Jonathan Mumme Meilensteine der Reformation: Schlüsseldokumente der frühen Wirksamkeit Martin Luthers. Edited by Irene Dingel and Henning P. Jürgens. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2014. 296 pp. plus 34 plates. “Habent sua fata libelli” (69, 138): Every book has its fate, and this book, the fruit of a 2012 conference of the Leibniz Institute of European History (Mainz), considers not only seminal texts from Martin Luther’s early career, but also their fortunes in shaping history. To this end contributors pair off to analyze the given texts, documents, and artifacts from Luther’s early years. Certain essays consider the theological significance and historical impact of the texts whilst partnered essays examine physical examples of these texts as tangible “milestones,” that is, as material objects that have their own stories to tell about the presentation, multiplication, and preservation of aspects of Luther’s Reformation thought. In form and content the reader is confronted with tenets and teachings of the Reformer that made their way into subsequent memory and how they came and stayed there. The reader meets an interdisciplinary and international (though heavily German) cast of contributors pondering and presenting eleven documents from their various areas of expertise. As standard fare from the early Luther, most of the documents and writings selected for analysis will come as no surprise (early lectures, Ninety-five Theses, treatise on Christian freedom, etc.). Two selections, however, distinguish themselves from this corpus of classics: A 1494 version of the Hebrew Bible that was under Luther’s fingers for decades and an incomplete chit on which Luther began to prepare for his second hearing at the 1521 Diet of Worms. In both pieces the reader encounters fresh notes. Even where the menu proves familiar to theological and ecclesiastical historians, simply having Germanists, rhetoricians, book and manuscript experts, along with art, music, social and cultural historians at the table makes for lively conversation. Presentation and analysis of the documents proceeds in chronological order. All contributions carry a general bibliography; most use endnotes, some robustly. Indexes are provided for persons and places. Thirty-four color plates included at the end visually document the media through which history was shaped and memory [End Page 355] made. The plates would be more useful had the editors included reference to digital location instead of just to library holdings. The payoff in breadth of perspective loses something in the consistency of work. A few essays come up rather short, do not really engage pertinent literature, present little of significance that could not be found elsewhere, or manifest some combination of these shortcomings. When something such as citation format is not maintained throughout (see the article by J. Heidrich), the editors bear some responsibility for the dips in caliber. They would also have helped readers by including a list of contributors complete with titles and institutions/positions. On the whole the volume is a praiseworthy undertaking with much laudable work. Scholars involved in Luther studies and Reformation history, along with graduate students proficient in German, will find a valuable interdisciplinary angle on material both common and peculiar. The reading can be downright enjoyable, especially for lovers of old books and prints, which here tell their tales. With Jürgens’ clever style and Dingel’s consistent scholarship, the editors themselves team up for two solid duets. Mackert’s essay shows the value of direct expert analysis of an object like Luther’s 1494 Hebrew Bible. Burnett’s essay pairs nicely with it, unfolding the import of Luther’s Hebrew studies for the Reformation. Highlights include Matsuura’s presentation of the path that the manuscript and print sources of Luther’s lectures on the Psalms took through history, Moulin’s linguistic, graphic, and “paratextual” (118) analysis of given examples of the “Sermon on Indulgences and Grace,” and S. Rhein’s critical presentation of the reception history of Luther’s appearance at Worms in art, film, and literature. Subsequent to 2017 might the Leibniz Institute take another creative angle, inquiring after the later Luther, and perhaps after some of his forgotten legacy...

Otto Scheel (1876–1954). Eine biographische Studie zu Lutherforschung, Landeshistoriographie und deutsch-dänischen Beziehungen by Carsten Mish

Reviewed by: Otto Scheel (1876–1954). Eine biographische Studie zu Lutherforschung, Landeshistoriographie und deutsch-dänischen Beziehungen by Carsten Mish Robert Kolb Otto Scheel (1876–1954). Eine biographische Studie zu Lutherforschung, Landeshistoriographie und deutsch-dänischen Beziehungen. Arbeiten zur kirchlichen Zeitgeschichte 61. By Carsten Mish. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015. 386pp. Theologians are people, too. They are not only enmeshed in their engagement with Scripture and/or the church’s tradition but also in their contemporary context. They share the concerns and desires of their fellow citizens and react as they do to both past and present. This biography demonstrates this embeddedness in culture through the life and writings of Otto Scheel, a prominent Luther scholar and church historian of the first half of the twentieth century. Scheel’s parents bequeathed him the peculiar perspective of people living in borderlands, she a Danish Schleswiger, he a German from the same northern German, southern Danish province. The war between Prussia and Denmark in 1864 brought a sizable Danish-speaking population into Prussian and then German governance, but not without resistance from one side and the intense desire to Germanify the region on the other. Out of this context Scheel became a fervent advocate of German national ambitions and a loyal servant of the Wilhelminen Reich during World War I, when he contributed mightily to the German effort to win the war and expand the empire’s landholdings. [End Page 442] By that time Scheel had acquired a professorship on the theological faculty at the University of Tübingen and become a rising exponent of the classical Liberal theology of Albrecht Ritschl, Adolf von Harnack, and their school of thought. German Liberalism embraced the bourgeois “Cultural Christianity” that gladly and effortlessly supported the expansion of German rule and German thinking. Mish’s extensive archival research enables him to use Scheel to depict precisely how German cultural Liberalism embraced both limited broader participation in the political process and the bourgeois recasting of the Christian tradition in the image of industrializing Germany. During World War I the young Tübingen professor enthusiastically endorsed the war effort, induced, he believed, by Germany’s English and French foes, and contributed actively to support of the imperial German dreams of a greater Germany. Mish does not extensively analyze the course of Scheel’s contributions to Luther studies, including his two-volume biography that appeared during World War I, but he does place his scholarship and more popular writing into their context. Scheel praised Luther as a pioneer of modernity and defended him against Roman Catholic critique but also rejected his understanding of Scripture as “contradictory” and his teaching on the Lord’s Supper as “sub-evangelical.” After 1918 his presentation of Luther accentuated even more his place as a national hero. Alongside his own literary activity, he presided over the Verein für Reformationsgeschichte (Society for Reformation History) from 1931 to 1945. Deeply disappointed by the 1918 defeat of his Fatherland, during the Weimar Republic, Scheel continued to dream of reclaiming his native northern Schleswig from Denmark while encouraging respect for the Danish minority within northern Germany. Scheel took a call to the University of Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein in 1924 as professor of territorial history. Although he later claimed to have been a victim of a National Socialist putsch when he lost the rectorship of the university in 1933 after only a few months in office, he in fact enthusiastically supported his Nazi-sympathizing successor. With Hitler’s accession to power, he quickly accommodated himself to the new national program although he never became rabidly [End Page 443] anti-Semitic as did some of his fellow sympathizers and supporters of National Socialism within the church. James Stayer observed in his study of German Luther research after World War I that in contrast to many who had become “German Christians” on the basis of their Liberal views, (including Scheel and Emanuel Hirsch), Paul Althaus and Werner Elert abandoned their support of Hitler rather quickly after initially enthusiastically supporting the National Socialist promise of a return to traditional German values in reaction to the chaos of the Weimar Republic. Stayer suggests that this happened because Althaus and Elert...

Worship and the Eucharist in Luther Studies

Abstract: In German as well as in international ecumenical discussions Luther's liturgical decision to delete most of the eucharistic prayer and emphasize the words of institution has been regarded as a problematic move. On the other hand, prominent Lutheran theologians continue to argue that this move is theologically sound, and that the ecumenical characterization of the Lord's Supper as the Eucharist is problematic because it stresses the human activity. This paper steers a middle course between these extremes, arguing that Luther's texts also show new possibilities for conceiving the sacrament in terms of thanksgiving and active response.

Luther Studies in Germany—The Presence and Absence of Theology

Abstract: German Luther studies are still affected by the constellation of the years after the Second World War. Gerhard Ebeling's interpretation of Luther continues to frame the discourse. At the same time, in both systematic theology and church history, genuine interest in Luther has waned. There are some approaches that promise change. Some contributions in systematic theology have revealed the complex character of Luther's theology. Luther is becoming more contextualized. Most significant is the study of Luther with a view to medieval piety, especially mysticism.

Introduction: The Future of Luther Studies

Abstract: This article is an introduction to the theme articles published in this issue of Dialog. The articles derive from a workshop held in Helsinki in September 2007. They aim at identifying topics of current research that will continue to be relevant to Luther studies in the future.

Nordic Luther Research in Motion

Abstract: Luther research in the Nordic countries is characterised by both continuation and discussion of its own legacy. Finnish Luther studies have a prominent position here, but are by no means the only actors in Nordic Luther research. Giving an overview of Nordic Luther research in the last decade, the article selects four main topics that have been the focus of special attention: politics and ethics, Communicatio idiomatum and Luther's view on language, Luther as preacher, and Luther and the gift. The article concludes with some comments on the continuing role of creation theology, so strongly emphasised in last century's Scandinavian Luther research.