Lutheran Subjectivity and Costly Neighbor Love in Secular Sweden: Confronting the Refugee Crisis through Alethurgy

This article offers a constructive Lutheran theology that challenges the hegemony of secular Sweden, particularly in light of challenges posed by the current global refugee crisis. The author uses Guillermo Hanson's creative rethinking of Lutheran subjectivity to highlight a radical embodied vision of neighbor love. Retrieving Luther's claim that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, the article concludes with proposals for alethurgic practices that wed neighbor love to acknowledgement of a common God.     

Embodying Confident Agency: Luther's “Three Estates” as a Resource for Virtue Theory

Martin Luther's social writings (volumes 44–47 in the American edition) provide a robust account of human agency that might help Lutheran social ethics address contemporary crises of confidence. When Luther addresses concrete moral issues, he enriches his two‐kingdoms frame with a focus on particular social roles such as ruler, merchant, soldier, parent, etc. This (often tacit) “three‐estates” approach creates room for a distinctly Lutheran contribution to contemporary virtue theory by focusing on the functions served by particular social roles more than on individual self‐chosen pathways of moral improvement. It also supports a prophetic affirmation of vocation against the contemporary breakdown of expectations and confidence in social roles.     

Preaching Christ Crucified: Luther and the Revelation of God

Abstract :  The doctrine of revelation has to do with how we know God, but Luther warned against the human presumption that God can be known fully. God remains hidden and is revealed in Jesus and his death on the cross. The cross is at odds with all human notions of an omnipotent God. Preachers ought to be suspicious of human presumptions about God that inflate and puff up. The cross is the antidote for a theology and a preaching of glory as well as the criterion for theology and preaching that authentically proclaims God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.     

Worship and the Eucharist in Luther Studies

Abstract : In German as well as in international ecumenical discussions Luther's liturgical decision to delete most of the eucharistic prayer and emphasize the words of institution has been regarded as a problematic move. On the other hand, prominent Lutheran theologians continue to argue that this move is theologically sound, and that the ecumenical characterization of the Lord's Supper as the Eucharist is problematic because it stresses the human activity. This paper steers a middle course between these extremes, arguing that Luther's texts also show new possibilities for conceiving the sacrament in terms of thanksgiving and active response.     

Nordic Luther Research in Motion

Abstract : Luther research in the Nordic countries is characterised by both continuation and discussion of its own legacy. Finnish Luther studies have a prominent position here, but are by no means the only actors in Nordic Luther research. Giving an overview of Nordic Luther research in the last decade, the article selects four main topics that have been the focus of special attention: politics and ethics, Communicatio idiomatum and Luther's view on language, Luther as preacher, and Luther and the gift. The article concludes with some comments on the continuing role of creation theology, so strongly emphasised in last century's Scandinavian Luther research.     

Six Ways of Salvation: How Does Jesus Save?

Abstract : Using the model method for comparative analysis of theological theories, this article compares and contrasts six models of atonement: (1) Jesus as teacher of true knowledge; (2) Jesus as moral example and influence; (3) Jesus as the victorious champion and liberator; (4) Jesus as our satisfaction; (5) Jesus as the happy exchange; and (6) Jesus as the final scapegoat.     

Luther and Shankara: Two Ways of Salvation in the Indian Context

Abstract : This article compares and contrasts the soteriology of Reformer Martin Luther with Advaita philosopher Shankara. Luther's emphasis on the communication of attributes (communicatio idiomatum) in the two natures of Christ gets doubled in faith, where the indwelling Christ takes on our human nature while giving the believer the fruits of his divine nature, such as eternal life. Conversely, our human finite history replete with suffering is taken up into the divine life, dignifying what is mundanely human. In the Indian tradition of the Upanishads and nonduality in philosophy, Shankara seeks the union of the Self (atman) with the highest reality, the Absolute (Brahman). The realization of the oneness of Self with Brahman requires the shedding of all historical or personal attributes. The result is that the suffering of oppressed untouchables and other lower castes is dubbed unreal. A healthy soteriology in the context of Indian spirituality—a Dalit soteriology—could benefit from Luther's exchange of attributes, because the mundane sufferings of humble people are dignitifed by receiving a place in God's reality.     

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.     

良心和启蒙:真善判断权问题

There were two prevailing sentiments in Europe after the Reformation: One opposing papal authority and one advocating individual freedom. This paper analyzes these two sentiments and finds that the concept of conscience is crucial in understanding them. The issue of conscience is about judging truth and good, and in initiating the Reformation, Martin Luther heavily appealed to his conscience while countering Catholic attacks. With the wide dispersal of the Reformation, Luther’s notion of conscience was well received among his supporters throughout Europe. Descartes later transformed Luther’s conscience into an epistemological being (the cogito), and argued that its existence was the only valid thing that survived his thorough skepticism — and as such is the foundation of human knowledge. Rousseau continued this line of thinking, which we call subjectivism, and re-employed the term conscience as a replacement for cogito, holding that conscience is the final authority in judging good and bad; that, as the starting point of human existence, it cannot be withheld from any human being; and that it therefore constitutes an inalienable human right. This paper argues that the Enlightenment was a subjectivist movement propelled by this conscience-cogito-conscience conceptualization, and that it sought to enlighten this inalienable conscience. __________ Translated from Qiushi xuekan 求是学刊 (Seeking Truth), 2008, (1): 47–54