Law and Gospel,and Youth and Family Ministry

Abstract : If “faith comes through hearing” the word of God comprised in law and gospel, how do the imperatives that characterize ‘Youth and Family Ministry’ make such hearing possible? Here, literature delineating ‘Youth and Family Ministry’ is analyzed in light of its biblical foundations. The primary lens implemented in this analysis is the law/gospel hermeneutic advocated by Martin Luther and other reformers.     

Law and Gospel,or the Law of the Gospel? Karl Barth’s Political Theology Compared with Luther and Calvin

This essay is an attempt to understand the significance of Barth's redefinition of the "law/gospel" rubric for political theology. Barth's thought is exposited at length, and illumined by comparison with Luther and Calvin. Luther emphasizes the distance between gospel and the law, distinguishing between serving God in the secular regiment, and serving Christ in the spiritual regiment. He thereby challenges the improper relation of state and church, but does so in a manner that can lead to a passive dualism. Calvin holds that preaching the law to the state includes preaching the gospel; thus, the church has a positive vision against which it can evaluate the state's service to God in Christ. This leads, however, to the danger of a 'clerical guardianship' of the state.
Barth finds a positive connection between the two governments in the fact that both communities are based in Christ, in whom the gospel is their law. This grounds his high view of the state as predecessor to the heavenly kingdom, as well as a prophetic mission of the church to the state. This does not lead to a new Christendom, however, first, because Barth hopes not for a kingdom wrought by human hands, but for the Theocracy of God, and second, because Barth sees the fallen reality of both church and state, the state pagan and violent, and the church a poor witness. In the end, though Barth makes a strong case for supporting theological critique of the state, while avoiding Constantinianism, he is unable to solve the problem of how to connect the gospel and the law in the civil community.     

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

This 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.     

Preaching and Aging

Summary

An insightful account of the role of preaching in congregations with various ages, including the elderly, present. It deals with three topics: “Preparation For Preaching,” “How One Preaches,” and “What One Preaches.”     

Preaching on Purgatory

Because today there is so little preaching on this topic, it was suggested that it might be useful if this sermon was put into print, in spite of its mildly esoteric character. It was given at a Solemn Requiem Mass at Balliol College, Oxford, on 20 January. The Mass was being attended by a wide range of members and friends of the College, only a minority of them Catholics, for it was being celebrated to mark the 700th anniversary of the death of the College's co-founder, the Lady Dervorguilla, mother of John of Balliol, King of Scotland.     

布鲁诺·鲍威尔《复类福音作者批判》及其他——经典选读之十五

布鲁诺.鲍威尔,德国著名哲学家、政论家、无神论者,青年黑格尔派重要成员,他时代"神学领域的罗伯斯庇尔"。本期选读的是他的名著《复类福音作者批判》及其他著作。文章首先介绍了鲍威尔的生平、著作及其影响;接着是他用自我意识对基督教进行的批判性分析。