Ecumenical and Confessional Writings
Ecumenical and Confessional Writings

Author: Edmund Schlink

Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Published: 2022-12-12

Total Pages: 1278

ISBN-13: 3647560758

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Although many writings of Edmund Schlink (1903–1984) have been available in English for several decades, the publication of the new German edition offered a significant impetus for providing a fresh and more accurate translation of them. Matthew L. Becker and his co-translators have consistently translated key terms that occur in all five volumes. Also, they corrected infelicitous and misleading renderings of Schlink's language into English, which more or less happened in all the earlier editions. In this second volume Becker provides the first-ever English translation of Schlink's dogmatics. Representing the culmination of five decades of scholarly work by one of the most important theologians and ecumenists of the twentieth century, Schlink's opus magnum sets forth the "basic features" of Christian doctrine that all Christian churches hold in common. Schlink's Ecumenical Dogmatics thus offers a consistent witness to the living, triune God, who calls sinners to repentance and faith, who acts mightily to save them, and who sends them back into the world to share God's gospel and love in word and deed.

Office and Ordination in Luther and Melanchthon
Office and Ordination in Luther and Melanchthon

Author: Hellmut Lieberg

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780758669698

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"This book is a study of the doctrine of the ministry as found in the writings of Luther, Melanchthon, and the Lutheran Confessions. The author specifically discusses the relationship between the spiritual office and the universal priesthood of believers as well as the question of ordination"--

Lutheran Theology and the shaping of society: The Danish Monarchy as Example
Lutheran Theology and the shaping of society: The Danish Monarchy as Example

Author: Bo Kristian Holm

Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Published: 2018-06-11

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 3647551244

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From different perspectives this book studies the role of Reformation theology in the shaping of Danish society and the social dimensions of Lutheran confessional culture. The book develops an approach making it possible to draw strong conclusion about the social teaching of Luther and its impact on the development of the Danish society. It works on a conceptual level by analyzing the social dimensions of key Lutheran concepts and their translation into the doctrine of the three estates (church, household, and state), and on the level of lived experience of life within these three orders, not at least within the household forming the ideal form also for church and state. Thus the chapters in the book endeavor to connect the social ideas inherent in the Lutheran confession with the social formation of the Danish state from the Reformation into the period of Absolutism. A long mono-confessional situation within the Danish Monarchy makes it possible to study the impact of Lutheranism and the development of a confessional culture within a uniquely long timeframe. The focus is on basic mediums for the translation of Lutheran ideas into social practice: law, primarily connected to marriage and family; and the role of household, both as primary social relations and as basic social and political model. In this way the book offers important insights for theologians, historians, sociologists, and academically anyone interested in the relation between theology and sociality, confession and culture.

We Are All Priests
We Are All Priests

Author: Roger Whittall

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1978715439

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In this book, Roger Whittall argues that Luther's teaching on the common priesthood (the "priesthood of believers") was a persistent element of Luther's ecclesiology and closely related to his understanding of the church as the communion of saints. Whittall's focus is the common priesthood's activity in the Christian community, moving beyond its contested relationship to the church's ordained ministry, or the views that limit its appearance to Luther's early polemical writings. Rather, the common priesthood stands alongside the public ministry. They are equal partners in the church's mandate to receive and speak God's word, to respond in prayer, praise, and joyful service of God's world and all its people. This wide-ranging investigation features later material not often considered in relation to the common priesthood. For Luther "priesthood" was a biblical expression of Christian spiritual life, worship, and service, forming both the personal faith of individual Christians and the corporate nature of the Christian community. Whittall also examines Luther's use of key biblical texts to link church and priesthood through the themes of unity and community, equality, and participation. Understood in this way, this priesthood still speaks powerfully to the identity and mission of the church today.

Called and Ordained
Called and Ordained

Author: Todd W. Nichol

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2004-03-15

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 1592445810

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What is ministry? And how are we to understand the distinctive ecclesiastical office known as ordained ministry? With clarity and insight, this book takes the discussion behind the current impasse between functional and ontological definitions. The contributors provide a distinctively American and ecumenical proposal that is consistent with the confession of justification by faith alone.

Lutheran Theology
Lutheran Theology

Author: Kirsi Stjerna

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-12-10

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0567686736

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This textbook explores the Lutheran theological tradition. Kirsi Stjerna looks at Lutheran sources, vocabulary and focal points through the lens of the Augsburg Confession and the Large Catechism, developing a distinctive Lutheran faith language that resonates with contemporary contexts and inquirers. Lutheran Theology gives students the tools they need to understand Lutheran perspectives in the light of historical sources, to see the underlying motivations of past theological discourses and to apply this knowledge to current debates. Introducing the Book of Concord and Martin Luther's freedom theology, it shows them how to engage critically and constructively with key topics in theology and spirituality, such as freedom and confession. Stjerna pays particular attention to the contribution of women theologians, and empowers students to bring Lutheran theology into conversation with other faith languages and traditions. This textbook includes an extensive range of pedagogical features: - A discussion guide for each chapter - Chapter-specific learning objectives - Key terms in bold, boxed text sections that identify points of debate, discussion of central topics, study questions and a glossary

Martin Luther
Martin Luther

Author: Robert Kolb

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2009-02-05

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 0191647470

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Martin Luther's thought continues to challenge people throughout the world in the twenty-first century. His paradigmatic shift in defining God and what it means to be human left behind a foundation for viewing human creatures that was anchored in Aristotle's anthropology. Luther defined the Revealed God in terms of his mercy and love for human beings, based not on their merit and performance but rather on his unconditioned grace. He placed 'fearing, loving, and trusting God above all else' at the heart of his definition of being human. This volume places the development and exposition of these key presuppositions in Luther's thinking within the historical context of late medieval theology and piety as well as the unfolding dynamics of political and social change at the dawn of the modern era. Special attention is given the development of a 'Wittenberg way' of practicing theology under Luther's leadership. It left behind a dependence on allegorical methods of biblical interpretation for a 'literal-prophetic' approach to Scripture. More importantly, it placed the distinction between the 'gospel' as God's unmerited gift of identity as his children and the 'law', the expression of God's expectations for the performance of his children in good works, at the heart of all interpretation of the Bible. This presuppositional framework for practicing theology reflects Luther's personal experience and his deep commitment to pastoral care of common Christians as well as his reading of the biblical text. It is supported by his distinction of two kinds of human righteousness (passive in God's sight, active in relationship to others), his distinction of two realms or dimensions of human life, and his theology of the cross. The volume unfolds Luther's maturing thought on the basis of this method.