Luther, Martin [addendum]
The renaissance of Luther studies enjoyed by the twentieth century continues apace. The massive critical, or Weimar (WA), edition of his work has recently been finished in 127 volumes. Important interpretive works have been published and discussed, including a major three-volume theological biography by Martin Brecht (1985–1993). Despite, or perhaps because of, this wide variety of scholarship, even such a seemingly simple theme as faith and philosophy in Luther has no consensus among interpreters.
There has been a welcome re-reception of Luther by Catholic scholars, starting with Joseph Lortz in 1939. A significant ecumenical consensus was reached by evangelical and Catholic scholars on the occasion of Luther's 500th birthday, noting that Vatican II reflects many of the concerns Luther addressed in his own witness to the gospel. This larger ecumenical interpretation has led to studies that appreciate the more Catholic side of Luther as a reformer and teacher of the whole church, not excluding his doctrine of justification by faith.
The importance of understanding each of Luther's distinct writings within its own historical, institutional, and rhetorical context is a major virtue of modern Luther studies. Equally important is an understanding of Luther against his late-medieval background. This has led to a new appreciation for Luther's dependence upon nominalism, especially the school of Ockham (via moderna). Recent scholarship has documented Luther's use of philosophy and logic in his theological arguments, including elements of nominalist logic from Gabriel Biel and Pierre d'Ailly. Luther's strong language against reason, philosophy, and Aristotle were aimed at a particular target, namely, the scholastic theology of an earlier age (via antiqua). Unlike the Neo-Kantian and existentialist interpretations of Luther, recent scholars have argued that Luther nowhere has a complete condemnation of metaphysics or ontology in theological understanding. Indeed, some scholars now find a kind of ontology in Luther's conception of salvation.
At the heart of contemporary controversy surrounding the interpretation of Luther is the so-called Finnish school, including the work of Tuomo Mannermaa (2005). On this view, Luther taught that Christ is really and personally present in faith for the Christian. Justification is not simply alien, external, and forensic but also relational and ontological. The relationship between human being and the divine Trinity is understood not only as an external declaration of a righteousness that is not our own but also as the growth of Christ-like love through faith. The similarities of Luther's view thus understood, and the Eastern Orthodox notion of theosis (divinization), has been a key point in the Finnish school. Even given this new understanding, Luther consistently rejected philosophical ontology and scholastic metaphysics. When discussing the presence of Christ, he refused to go beyond what was promised in the Word. "But how He is present—this is beyond our thought; for there is darkness." (Lectures on Galatians [1535], WA 40/1:229). Thus, Luther appears to have used philosophical tools and concepts but refused to build theology on philosophical systems. For Luther, theology is grounded on the Word of God, not philosophical speculation.
Ailly, Pierre D'; Aristotle; Biel, Gabriel; Existentialism; Kant, Immanuel; Ockhamism; Ontology; Philosophy; Reason; William of Ockham.
Bibliography
Braaten, Carl, and R. W. Jenson, eds. Union with Christ: The New Finnish Interpretation of Luther. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998.
Brecht, Martin. Martin Luther. 3 vols. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1985–1993.
Dieter, Theodor. Der junge Luther und Aristoteles. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2001.
Janz, Denis. Luther and Late Medieval Thomism. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University, 1983.
Joint Lutheran/Roman Catholic Study Commission. Facing Unity. Geneva: Lutheran World Federation, 1985.
Lortz, Joseph. The Reformation in Germany. New York: Herder & Herder, 1968 [1939].
Luther, Martin. D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe. 4 parts in 127 vols. Weimar: H. Böhlau, 1883–2007.
Mannermaa, Tuomo. Christ Present in Faith. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005.
White, Graham. Luther as Nominalist. Helsinki: Luther-Agricola-Society, 1994.
Wicks, Jared, ed. Catholic Scholars Dialogue with Luther. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1970.
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