Luther's Understanding Research Articles

The Networking of Differences That Makes a Difference: Theology and the Unity of the Church

Abstract: What does the church mean when it confesses through the Creeds its oneness? My aim is to reflect on how and why theology needs to bring to the fore a hidden dimension in the discourse on the unity of the church, that is, its tendency to fall into a “solid” and “totalizing” disciplinary technology, i.e., an ideology. I will approach the theme following these basic theological pointers: (a) a biblical primary symbol as it emerges to unveil a new existence and practice—Paul's metaphor of the body in 1 Corinthians 12; (b) a secondary symbol through which the church understood itself to be lodged—the trinitarian understanding of being as a communicative relationship; (c) the regulative principle of law and promise as guiding a discursive practice that supports different levels of decentering and centering that signals a breakthrough of the eschaton—Luther's understanding of law and gospel. These overlapping theological dimensions allow a different metaphorization of the oneness and unity of the church.

Das lutherische Verständnis von Bekenntnis und die Frage nach einer möglichen Rezeption der Barmer Theologischen Erklärung durch die lutherischen Kirchen

Abstract The author explicates the Lutheran understanding of confession of faith. She accentuates its function of orienting the church's preaching, administration of sacraments, and teaching as well as its social conformation towards the gospel of Christ. With regard to this structuring function, the Lutheran confession differs from any topical confession of faith in various concrete situations. On the basis of the Lutheran understanding of confession the author asks whether and under which conditions a reception of The Theological Declaration of Barmen (1934) as an authoritative text for the teaching and living of the Lutheran churches is possible - even more: appropriate. The cause for this essay is the afresh discussion of the Barmen Declaration's significance for the Lutheran churches as it is currently conducted with respect to the merger of three regional churches (Landeskirchen) to the 'Nordkirche', as well as the debate on the relationship of Scripture, confession and church within the GEKE.

Martin Luther's understanding of God's two kingdoms. A response to the challenge of skepticism. By William J. Wright. (Texts and Studies in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought.) Pp. 208. Grand Rapids, Mi: Baker Academic, 2010. $22.99 (paper). 978 0 8010 3884 6

Martin Luther's understanding of God's two kingdoms. A response to the challenge of skepticism. By William J. Wright. (Texts and Studies in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought.) Pp. 208. Grand Rapids, Mi: Baker Academic, 2010. $22.99 (paper). 978 0 8010 3884 6 - Volume 62 Issue 3

Luther's Understanding of Imputatio in the Context of his Doctrine of Justification and Its Consequences for the Preaching of the Gospel

AbstractThis article deals with the problem of how to understand the notion of imputatio within Martin Luther's doctrine of justification, which for Luther is both necessary and sufficient. The author shows that Luther interprets imputatio in a threefold way: by outlining (1) the non‐imputation of sin, (2) the imputation of faith as righteousness, and (3) the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the sinner. Interpreting imputatio in this particular way, Luther maintains his view of Christian faith as a communicative, dynamic and changeable reality which is crucially dependent on communication. For that reason, Luther's understanding of justification cannot be considered without his understanding of preaching the gospel, in which the gospel of Christ is communicated to individuals. Thus in the preaching and the hearing of God's word, imputation is taking place in the communication of the gospel, mirroring the communicative structure of faith's reality itself.

What Will I Do Next? Discerning God's Callings for Retirement

Written from a Christian perspective and intended primarily for a mainline Protestant audience, this article explores the value of the classical Reformation doctrine of vocation for older adults preparing for or moving deeper into retirement. It outlines principles from a Protestant (primarily Lutheran) understanding of vocation that most clearly inform a theology of retirement and proposes a theology of vocation for retirement that takes seriously the gifts and challenges of aging and that will help elders discern their callings from God as they age.

Prospero Humiliated: Protestant Theology in The Tempest

The storm that opens Shakespeare's The Tempest is natural by all accounts until the start of the second scene. The Master, the Boatswain, and all the cast and crew aboard King Alonso's ship battle against what appear to be natural forces, real movements of the sky and the sea. As is revealed in the second scene, however, reality is not always what it seems. Shakespeare's cunning turn of natural to supernatural sets the stage for a play that will dive deep into the foaming, seething waves of England's seventeenth-century religious debate. The complexity of Prospero's character is at the heart of this play, and the magician's power, his humiliation and his redemption are the subjects of this article. The understanding of redemption that I will operate under has been drawn from Reformation theology, and while I draw from John Calvin and William Perkins at times, I take an especially close look at the writing of Martin Luther. Martin Luther's understanding of theology, his phraseology, his favourite metaphors, and his translation and accompanying interpretation of the gospel were accessible to the people of Shakespeare's England. While I do not seek to prove that Shakespeare is a Lutheran or that he has an affinity for Luther's doctrine, I am convinced that a careful study of The Tempest will reveal that Luther's “gospel for the masses”, and particularly Luther's understanding of Christian redemption, are worked out within the conflict of the play.

Christ's Mediation and the Holy Spirit: The Dynamic of Worship in Luther and Calvin

Not on our own account, but on account of Christ's vicarious response and priesthood, is our worship made efficacious by the Spirit. This article seeks to show that despite the differences in their Eucharistic theologies and usage of the doctrine of the communicatio idiomatum , the mediation of Christ and the pneumatological dynamic of the Spirit foment both Luther's and Calvin's understanding of true worship.

Synden – dogmatisk forstått

In her doctoral dissertation Kirsten Busch Nielsen argues that the understanding of sin in the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is based on the idea that the power of sin is broken in Jesus Christ. This idea is explored by a differentiated understanding of sin as transgression, as limitation and as limited in Christ. Through her thorough and thought provoking study of Bonhoeffer’s concept of sin Busch Nielsen makes a significant contribution not just to Bonhoeffer-research, but also to theological dogmatics. The study is however primarily focused on the early and late writings of Bonhoeffer, and for this reason important aspects of Bonhoeffer’s works in the 1930s are neglected. One misses above all a discussion of how Bonhoeffer’s biblical interpretations relates to his understanding of the concept of dogmatics. Her separation of dogmatics and ethics may also be questioned, not least from the point of view of Bonhoeffer himself. According to Busch Nielsen, Bonhoeffers moved significantly towards Karl Barth in his late works, but important traces of a more Lutheran understanding of simul iustus et peccator and Luther’s understanding of subiectum theologiae are overlooked.

Marriage as Discipleship: Luther's Praise of Married Life

Abstract: This article reviews the Luther's evangelical understanding of sexuality and marriage and its theological roots. Marriage is a demanding vocation. But while Luther speaks honestly about the perilous and painful challenges of marriage, he is also sensitive to the delights of love and courtship, giving beautiful expression to the joys of marriage.

Should We Dispense with Sola Scriptura? Scripture, Tradition and Postmodern Theology

Abstract: This essay deals with Kevin Vanhoozer's warning that the central attention that sola scriptura had once enjoyed is being paid instead to a sola traditio principle in postmodern theology. It argues that the emphasis on tradition does not necessitate a dispensation with sola scriptura. It points to Martin Luther's and Friedrich Scheliermacher's understanding of the role of Scripture in faith, and to Hans‐George Gadamer's hermeneutic understanding of tradition, to show that the original content of sola scriptura proves its principal value for today's interest in the tradition(s) of performance in the church. Sola scriptura both takes the text and its enactment into consideration and postulates that neither Scripture nor tradition alone work as a criterion for doing theology.

Did Paul Get Luther Right?

Abstract: Did Paul and Luther proclaim the same gospel? Although Luther's understanding of the work of Christ and his idea of the “joyous exchange” between Christ and believers reflect many ideas that are foreign to Paul's thought, both agree on the heart of the gospel, namely, that justification is by faith alone, since “faith alone fulfills the law.” In Christ God graciously accepts sinners just as they are, so that as they live out of faith, trusting solely in God for forgiveness and new life, they may become the righteous people God desires that they be, not for God's sake, but for the sake of human beings themselves.

Die Schlüssel des Himmelreichs. Luthers Interpretation von Matthäus 16,19 in seiner Auseinandersetzung mit dem Papsttum

Luther took great trouble to comprehend the sense of Jesus' promise to Peter, that he would give him the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:19), and through this to unravel the imagery. His horizon focussed increasingly in this question on his clash with the papacy which was indeed existential for him. Luther developed the concept of an Office of the Keys, which described his own reformatory position as an alternative to the papacy: the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins as epitome of the gospel in strict concentration on Word and faith. However, he was not successful in backing up his outline sufficiently in exegetical and practical or ecclesiastical terms. This becomes evident, for example, in that the Lutheran tradition did not adopt Luther's understanding of this text, but instead went other ways, without achieving a clear conception. Exegetical observations on the basic text in Matthew allow a starting point which is not orientated on a confessional confrontation, but attempts to understand the text in the light of the situation in which the Jewish-Christian congregation found itself in the lifetime of the evangelist.

Macht über sich selbst? Der Mensch und die »Mächte« bei Luther. Aspekte theologischer Anthropologie

This paper offers a contribution to theological anthropology. It investigates the anthropological meaning of discourse on powers within the context of Luther's understanding of the power of God. The interpretation is based on selected writings by Luther from the period from 1519 to 1525. The outcome suggests that as beings-in-relation human beings are themselves in their striving for self-fulfilment the entrance gate for powers over which they have no control. Among these are the power of images and the power of recognition. Their disempowerment depends on a change in the understanding of fulfilment. The paper attempts to offer a contribution towards the topic of enlightenment and demythologization on the basis of the gospel.

Worship as Radical Reversal in Martin Luther's Theologia Crucis

Worship, grounded in Luther's theology of die cross, is understood as a radical reversal in which God alone must begin and lay the first stone, without any entreaty or desire of the creatures. God is the causative agency of our responsive worship of him. Yet it is nor by our response, but through Christ's efficacious response imputed to us through the Holy Spirit that our worship reaches the heavenly sanctuary. Worship then, is a performative action in which God is both subject and object. In addition, hearing God's Word via human speech (preaching), an instrument of divine power, and taking it to heart, is worship at its highest. This essay offers a systematic presentation of Luther's understanding of worship.

The Way of Salvation in Luther's Theology: A Feminist Evaluation

Abstract: Luther's understanding of salvation can be summed up with the phrase “justification by grace through faith.” The doctrine of justification is the focal point for all theological categories in Luther's theology, including salvation. That said, this article examines various ways grace or salvation is understood to be conveyed in Luther's theology through: the cross, the resurrection or through God's election and covenant with humankind. Throughout the article, it evaluates these foci for salvation in terms of their ability to speak gospel to women's lives today. In particular, it evaluates the appropriate usage of Luther's epistemology of the cross.

Luthers trinitarische Theologie des Heiligen Geistes (review)

Luthers trinitarische Theologie des Heiligen Geistes. By Pekka Karkkainen. [Veroffentlichungen des Instituts fur Europaische Geschichte/Abteilung Abendlandische Religionsgeschichte, Band 208.] (Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 2005. Pp. viii, 208. euro34.80.) A new picture of Luther is thankfully emerging as the result of detailed studies, among them Pekka Karkkainen's book Lutbers trinitarische Theologie des Heiligen Geistes, on Luther's thought as contextualized in late-medieval nominalist theology and philosophical theology. The choice of the Trinity, and in Karkkainen's case the Holy Spirit as related to the Trinity, lends itself to the study of Luther's rich understanding of the knowledge and the experience of the triune God, as well as to the analysis of characteristic themes in Luther's thought-e.g., the relation of law and gospel-as those themes are interwoven with classical doctrines. Karkkainen's study is representative of this new line of scholarship on Luther, heralding the growing consensus that Luther cannot be studied without paying careful attention to the distinct influences on his thought by his teachers Trutfetter and Usingen, particularly their connotation theory (p. 43), by the metaphysical and language-philosophical issues of the via moderna represented by Ockham, d'Ailly, and Biel, and by the precise doctrinal questions posed by Lombard in his Sentences. Luther must be studied, as Karkkainen demonstrates, with the full critical apparatus of late-medieval thought at one's disposal in order to understand the distinctions and predications that Luther makes when articulating doctrinal claims, as weE as the way in which his thought is deeply informed by philosophical-theological issues. Karkkainen's study begins with a description of the historical trajectory of trinitarian theology from significant proponents in the Middle Ages (e.g., Aquinas, the Victorines), and ending with d'Ailly and Biel. Karkkainen effectively shows Luther's thought on the Trinity to be a development of the tradition in Western theology that reaches back to Augustine's psychological model, rather than a break from it. Luther's vast corpus is organized chronologically in three parts: the early marginal notes to Lombard's Sentences, the biblical commentaries from 1513 to 1520, and the various writings-sermons delivered primarily at Pentecost, catechetical material, and disputations-until his death in 1546. By this seamless historical order the argument is made that Luther develops features of his understanding of the Trinity from his earliest days as a student, particularly that he considers the Spirit in full view of the complexities of trinitarian-theological themes. …

Martin Luther and Buddhism: The Aesthetics of Suffering (review)

Reviewed by: Martin Luther and Buddhism: The Aesthetics of Suffering Paul O. Ingram Martin Luther and Buddhism: The Aesthetics of Suffering. By Paul S. Chung. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002. 434 pp. As a member of the Lutheran community (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), I am struck by the fact that Lutheran theologians—referred to as "teaching theologians" when employed by Lutheran seminaries—seem little interested in religious pluralism in general and interreligious dialogue in particular. There are important exceptions, of course, one being Donald Luck of Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Ohio. And the most intense and coherent dialogue between Christians and Muslims now taking place in the United States is located at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. But by and large, Lutheran theology seems unengaged with the realities of religious pluralism. Rather than dialogue, "missionology" is the focus of most Lutheran theological encounter with the world religions, which means that most Lutheran conversation with religious pluralism is best characterized as monologue. It's different for most Lutherans sitting in the pews of local congregations. Most lay persons understand that they must live their faith contextualized by their religiously plural neighborhoods. Lutheran laity are interested the religious practices and worldviews of their neighbors because they are in contact with their neighbors everyday. They desire to meet and know the religious "other" not as "other," but as fellow human beings seeking to live in community. My distinct impression, gained [End Page 235] from teaching adult education courses in local congregations (mostly Lutheran and other mainline denominations), is that Christian lay people are usually miles ahead of their pastors, denominational leaders, and teaching theologians in their encounter with the realities of religious pluralism and their desire for dialogue. For these reasons, Paul S. Chung's book, Martin Luther and Buddhism, is important, and I hope it will be the beginning of specifically Lutheran dialogue with the Buddhist tradition. Again, as a Lutheran, I can only say, "It's about time." Chung's goal is twofold: (1) engaging in critical dialogue with the theology of Martin Luther, and (2) Asian pluralistic theology of religions. Specifically, the author, himself a Korean Lutheran pastor and theologian, places Luther's theology of the Cross in dialogue with Buddhist understanding of suffering (duh.kha). His thesis is that what Christianity and Buddhism have in common is their understanding of suffering, albeit each tradition having different approaches and "solutions" to universal suffering. Accordingly, rereading Luther's theology of the Cross in dialogue with Buddhism's take on suffering, its causes, and its resolution is the center of Chung's hermeneutical approach to Luther. Surely, Chung is on the right track. Buddhism's focus on the experience of universal suffering and its resolution is one of its defining features. Chung's reason for placing Luther's theology of the Cross in dialogue with Buddhism lies mainly in the fact that Luther focused on the suffering of God on the cross incarnated in the suffering of the historical Jesus, which he placed in direct contrast to the "theology of glory" of medieval scholastic theology. Chung's claim is that Luther's understanding of divine suffering is a "liberation theology" that needs be contextualized by contemporary struggle for social, economic, ecological, and women's liberation from systemic structures of injustice. Because justice issues are not religion-specific, Luther's theology of the Cross in socially engaged dialogue with Buddhism should be a source of liberation for both Christians and Buddhists. Chung's work stands in a long line of Asian Christians seeking to translate Christian teachings and practices into the religious traditions foundational to Asian cultures, in Chung's case Korean Buddhism and, to some degree, Confucianism. One immediately thinks of Aloysius Pieris's dialogue with Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Seiichi Yagi and Masaaki Honda's appropriation of Mahayana doctrines in their attempts to relate Christian faith to Japanese cultural experience, or Raimundo Panikkar's interpretation of Christian faith through the lenses of Hinduism and Buddhism. All ofthese theologians note that Anglo-European intellectual and cultural traditions are not easily translatable into Asian cultural experience. Because Western forms of Christian tradition are foreign to Asian cultural values...

The Development of Doctrine: A Lutheran Understanding and its Ecumenical Application

AbstractIn this essay, a Lutheran understanding of the development of doctrine is developed, in contrast with what George Lindbeck calls ‘historical situationalism’, the limitations of which are analysed. While the final authority of doctrine is a function of its evangelical content, a particular historical development of church teaching can possess a subordinate, distinct, formal authority as an authoritative sign of the material authority of its content. Such developments of doctrine can be irreversible. This understanding is placed in relation to the most prominent doctrine on the development of doctrine, the Catholic teaching on papal infallibility. The comprehensive narrative of the Western church’s struggle over authority since the late Middle Ages should be seen as including both Catholic and non-Catholic developments and as still unresolved.

Chalcedonian Christology and beyond: Luther's understanding of the Communicatio Idiomatum

Luther, Zwingli and Calvin are in full accord with the Chalcedonian definition of Christ as one person in two natures, which are united unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly and inseparably. The main point of disagreement among them concerns the usage of the so‐called communicatio idiomatum. Luther refers to this mainly in his disputes with other theologians such as Nestorius and Zwingli, whereas when he engages in constructive theology or in biblical interpretation, it seems that he does not use it. He could use it because he found it to be in harmony with his own Christological thinking which, he believed, was rooted in the Bible. The doctrine is, for him, an ontological deduction from the cross and the incarnation. The primary purpose of this article is to see how Luther understood the Christological predication, and only in a limited scope bring him in conversation with Zwingli's and Calvin's understanding. Although the traditional interpretation, that the properties of Christ's two natures are communicated to the concretum of his person, predominates in Luther's thought, he went beyond it, affirming a real communication between the two natures. The logic of his usage of the doctrine of the communication of properties enables Luther to move beyond Chalcedonian understanding of Christology, and also sets him apart from the Reformed tradition. Special attention will be given to Luther's usage of the doctrine in relation to the passibility motif, demonstrating that the human idiomatum of suffering and dying belong to God's very being.

Gott von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit. Luthers Trinitätsverständnis

In this essay, the author proposes and makes use of the genre-language methodology to investigate Luther's understanding of the Trinity. The differential between res and verbum is crucial for seeing how Luther uses reason, illuminated by faith, to investigate the Trinity, particularly the inner Trinity. On the one hand, medieval philosophical tools (semantics, logic, metaphysics) are applied to determine the trinitarian res; on the other hand, the res is related to the soteriologically determined verbum. Representative texts from three genres, the disputatio, the hymn and the sermon, are studied. The inner Trinity in eternity is discussed in terms of its propositional truth and as the beginning of a narrative, that is plotted by sites of speech revealing each trinitarian person.