The book contains seven essays on the Reformation written by world-renowned authors. As much as they are widely known in their own academic fields and communities, this is the first time that such authors have come together to reflect on the major contributions of Martin Luther's thought at the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Luther and Philosophies of the Reformation is a multi-disciplinary critical assessment on the Reformation discourse taking into consideration Luther's rediscovery of the Scripture, primarily looking at readings of St. Paul with the idea of gift and participation. It also presents, compares and contrasts a literary 'Dantean reading' of Luther with the Reformer's daring development of the doctrine of the Church that is relevant today. Consequently, this book offers a strong but constructive criticism of Luther's medieval metaphysics and of the unintended outcomes of his idea from a Hegelian and radical left point of view. The authors demonstrate throughout not only the relevance of Luther's thought for us today but also his possible significance for the future.

A comprehensive look at the background and context, the content, and the impact of Martin Luther's Theology, written by an international team of theologians and historians.

This important document proposes new clarifications and pastoral steps that will serve the pilgrimage toward full unity. It provides the biblical, historical, and theological foundations for a common Catholic-Lutheran understanding of the church. The text carefully links the biblical doctrine of justification to the development of the church in the New Testament as a community of salvation whose structures and ministries serve the church's mission to the human family. A detailed exposition is given to the development of the ministries and structures in the church: councils, dioceses, parishes, bishops, presbyters, and the Petrine ministry. Book jacket.

Royal Priesthood in the English Reformation assesses the understandings of the Christian doctrine of royal priesthood, long considered one of the three major Reformation teachings, as held by an array of royal, clerical, and popular theologians during the English Reformation. Historians and theologians often present the doctrine according to more recent debates rather than the contextual understandings manifested by the historical figures under consideration. Beginning with a radical reevaluation of John Wyclif and an incisive survey of late medieval accounts, the book challenges the predominant presentation of the doctrine of royal priesthood as primarily individualistic and anticlerical, in the process clarifying these other concepts. It also demonstrates that the late medieval period located more religious authority within the monarchy than is typically appreciated. After the revolutionary use of the doctrine by Martin Luther in early modern Germany, it was wielded variously between and within diverse English royal, clerical, and lay factions under Henry VIII and Edward VI, yet the Old and New Testament passages behind the doctrine were definitely construed in a monarchical direction. With Thomas Cranmer, the English evangelical presentation of the universal priesthood largely received its enduring official shape, but challenges came from within the English magisterium as well as from both radical and conservative religious thinkers. Under the sacred Tudor queens, who subtly and successfully maintained their own sacred authority, the various doctrinal positions hardened into a range of early modern forms with surprising permutations.

This fast-paced survey of Western civilization’s transition from the Middle Ages to modernity brings that tumultuous period vividly to life. Carlos Eire, popular professor and gifted writer, chronicles the two-hundred-year era of the Renaissance and Reformation with particular attention to issues that persist as concerns in the present day. Eire connects the Protestant and Catholic Reformations in new and profound ways, and he demonstrates convincingly that this crucial turning point in history not only affected people long gone, but continues to shape our world and define who we are today. The book focuses on the vast changes that took place in Western civilization between 1450 and 1650, from Gutenberg’s printing press and the subsequent revolution in the spread of ideas to the close of the Thirty Years’ War. Eire devotes equal attention to the various Protestant traditions and churches as well as to Catholicism, skepticism, and secularism, and he takes into account the expansion of European culture and religion into other lands, particularly the Americas and Asia. He also underscores how changes in religion transformed the Western secular world. A book created with students and nonspecialists in mind, Reformations is an inspiring, provocative volume for any reader who is curious about the role of ideas and beliefs in history.

Explaining the historical origins of the debate, Robert Croken shows the reader where the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches have grown apart and where they have found agreement. This book is a systematic study of Martin Luther's writings in the context of his break with Rome, and will be of value to scholars and theologians of modern Christianity searching for common ground in ecumenical discussions.

...[C]oncern about the [inherited doctrine of vocation and its relevance for modern life] was generated out of the complexities and frustrations especially of industrial life, and it has produced a voluminous literature of a popular and semi-popular kind which has served to drive home the problem of daily work upon the conscience of contemporary Christians, and also to provide certain resources for handling it. In addition to this varied literature, the last years have also seen a very general discussion of the question at every level of church life: in ecumencal conferences, in the curricular material of the major denominations, and in conferences and study groups of all kinds. About the urgency and importance of the problem of vocation there is now no doubt. But now we find that the rather simple formulae in which we have been dealing with it do justice neither to the Biblical and Reformation inheritance, nor to the profound dilemmas that appear not only in industry, but in every area of professional and commercial life. The problem now is not only to equip our lay-people with fuller theological resources for the understanding of the meaning of discipleship, but to utilize their practical experience of day-to-day dilemmas and day to-day decisions. ...Gustaf Wingren's conscientious analysis of Luther's teaching on the matter...remains our prime resource for the understanding of the relation of faith and works. Nothing could exceed the patience and thoroughness with which Wingren has combed through the Luther corpus.... [I]t will serve to put the full range of Luther's insight at the disposal of those who care for theology as part of their care of all the Churches. Alexander Miller Stanford University

Christ for Us is a collection of sermons on the catechism. It helps Christians to understand the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, Confession and the Office of the Keys, and the Sacrament of the Altar. There are also sermons on the Table of Duties, touching on different stations of life where Christians live out their faith.The book is intended for both laity and pastors, for use as a devotional resource. It can also be used for instruction in the catechism. Each sermon proclaims what God's law demands according to that portion of the catechism, as well as what the Lord has done to save us who cannot keep the law. These sermons are excellent examples in how to preach both the requirements of God's law and the comforting promise of forgiveness in Christ Jesus.