The Lutheran Confessions in Western Europe: Past and Future

Abstract: The idea of a church uniting confession began with the Lutherans in the late 1520s; and with translations of the Augsburg Confession (AC) it spread throughout Europe with the advance of the Reformation. As European culture slips further toward postmodern relativism, the absolute nature of divine claims reflected in confessions will seem odd and unwelcome. Christians must take up the challenge of developing a hermeneutic for interpreting the confessions so that the Truth of God can be respected.     

The changing face of police interrogation

This paper discusses some of the apparent changes in interrogations following the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the introduction of tape recorders into police stations. These reforms are believed to have had several marked effects on interrogations. For example, the use of persuasive questioning is believed to have declined, as has the number of suspects making admissions. The evidence for these hypotheses is discussed. It is suggested that the apparent fall in confessions can be explained by methodological differences between studies and that the confession rate has in fact remained almost constant. Although there does appear to have been a change in the types of persuasive questioning employed during interrogations, it is difficult to establish whether or not the use of such questioning has declined. There is some evidence that persuasive questioning is now being carried out away from recording equipment.     

The Function of Confession: A Study Based on Experiences

In Finland, confession has been an object of discussion within the Church for a long time. While people have demanded that its role be increased, it has almost solely been discussed in terms of quantity. This study examines people's experiences of confession on the basis of 200 letters. These experiences show that it is not the form of confession that is the central issue, but rather its function, that is, giving relief. Thus the artificial borderline between confession, pastoral counselling, and psychotherapy is blurred. The goal should thus be not to stimulate confession, but rather to stimulate ways of helping people. The starting point must be a person's distress and on the basis of this one should decide which form of help is the most relevant in any given situation.     

Effects of the putative confession instruction on perceptions of children's true and false statements

The putative confession (PC) instruction (i.e., “[suspect] told me everything that happened and wants you to tell the truth”) during forensic interviews with children has been shown to increase the accuracy of children's statements, but it is unclear whether adults' perceptions are sensitive to this salutary effect. The present study examined how adults perceive children's true and false responses to the PC instruction. Participants (n = 299) watched videotaped interviews of children and rated the child's credibility and the truthfulness of his/her statements. When viewing children's responses to the PC instruction, true and false statements were rated as equally credible, and there was a decrease in accuracy for identifying false denials as lies. These findings suggest that participants viewed the PC instruction as truth‐inducing. Implications for the forensic use of the PC instruction are discussed.     

Calvin in the Context of Lutheran Consolidation1

Abstract

This study investigates the perception of Calvin and his theology in the polarizing domain of confessional reinforcement, and what image of him was formed and conveyed by the heirs of Wittenberg theology and later Lutheranism respectively. Historical circumstances and associated theological issues are taken into account, with a three-phase model emerging. Its interfaces are marked by the Zurich Consensus (1549) and by the experience of electoral Saxon ‘crypto-Calvinism’ in the 1570s. Drawing on the relevant sources, the article highlights issues specific to Lutherans in the interaction with Calvin and his doctrine. It shows how Calvin, who in the pre-confessional period was regarded as a distant kindred spirit, became increasingly discredited on the issuing of the Zurich Consensus and by the interventions of Joachim Westphal; how, apart from heated discussion between both sides on the doctrine of the Lord's Supper, christology increasingly took centre stage, accentuating the lines of demarcation; and finally how relatively late on admittedly, the person of Calvin himself (if not his personal integrity) also became the focus of polemics and apologetics.     

CONSUETUDO CARNALIS IN AUGUSTINE'S CONFESSIONS: Confessing Identity/Belonging to Difference

The political theorist William E. Connolly reads Augustine's Confessions as an exhortation to deny the paradox of identity/difference. The paradox for Connolly is this: if one confesses a true identity, one must be false to difference, but if one is true to difference, one must sacrifice the promise of true identity. I revisit Augustine's Confessions here in order to offer a reading of their paradoxical character that contrasts with Connolly's. I will argue that Augustine's confession does not deny the paradox of identity/difference but exemplifies what it means to struggle within it. I turn to James Wetzel's work on Augustine's idea of free will and Catherine Keller's work on the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo to suggest that treating Augustine's confession as confession reveals this struggle.