Barry Stephenson
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199732753
- eISBN:
- 9780199777310
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732753.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Religion and Society
Over the past few decades, heritage tourism, pilgrimage routes, and public festivity have emerged as important resources shaping identities and channeling cultural flows in our global world. This ...
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Over the past few decades, heritage tourism, pilgrimage routes, and public festivity have emerged as important resources shaping identities and channeling cultural flows in our global world. This field-based study of contemporary Luther and Reformation festivals and Protestant pilgrimage in Wittenberg, Germany, places the reader on the ground in Wittenberg’s festival and tourism scene. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Wittenberg, city of Martin Luther, each year plays host to two large-scale, public Luther festivals and is also a destination of tourists and pilgrims in search of heritage, authenticity, and origins. Integrating historical context, an ethnographic approach, and ideas drawn from ritual studies and performance theory, this book offers rich, descriptive accounts and critical interpretations of the contemporary public performance of the Reformation. The book examines the multidimensionality of Wittenberg’s festivals, exploring the dynamics of diverse ritual and performative genres, including liturgy, processions, parades, street performance, civil religion, and carnival. The book also takes up the themes of Protestant pilgrimage and the sacralizing of space through architectural, visual, and performative means.Less
Over the past few decades, heritage tourism, pilgrimage routes, and public festivity have emerged as important resources shaping identities and channeling cultural flows in our global world. This field-based study of contemporary Luther and Reformation festivals and Protestant pilgrimage in Wittenberg, Germany, places the reader on the ground in Wittenberg’s festival and tourism scene. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Wittenberg, city of Martin Luther, each year plays host to two large-scale, public Luther festivals and is also a destination of tourists and pilgrims in search of heritage, authenticity, and origins. Integrating historical context, an ethnographic approach, and ideas drawn from ritual studies and performance theory, this book offers rich, descriptive accounts and critical interpretations of the contemporary public performance of the Reformation. The book examines the multidimensionality of Wittenberg’s festivals, exploring the dynamics of diverse ritual and performative genres, including liturgy, processions, parades, street performance, civil religion, and carnival. The book also takes up the themes of Protestant pilgrimage and the sacralizing of space through architectural, visual, and performative means.
Korie L. Edwards
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195314243
- eISBN:
- 9780199871810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195314243.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The concluding chapter ends the book with a discussion on the implications of the book's findings for developing racially integrated religious organizations that truly epitomize Dr. Martin Luther ...
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The concluding chapter ends the book with a discussion on the implications of the book's findings for developing racially integrated religious organizations that truly epitomize Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream for a cooperative, egalitarian, multiracial religious community.Less
The concluding chapter ends the book with a discussion on the implications of the book's findings for developing racially integrated religious organizations that truly epitomize Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream for a cooperative, egalitarian, multiracial religious community.
Gregory Graybill
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199589487
- eISBN:
- 9780191594588
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199589487.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
If one is saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ, then what is the origin of that faith? Is it a preordained gift of God to elect individuals, or is some measure of human free choice involved? ...
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If one is saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ, then what is the origin of that faith? Is it a preordained gift of God to elect individuals, or is some measure of human free choice involved? Initially, Philipp Melanchthon concurred with Martin Luther—that the human will is completely bound by sin, and that the choice of faith can flow only from God's unilateral grace. But if this is so, what about those whom God has not chosen? Is he not casting people into hell who never even had a chance? What are the pastoral implications for believers thinking about the nature of God and their own relationship to him? As a result of practical concerns such as these, aided by an intellectual aversion to paradox, Melanchthon came to believe that the human will does play a key role in the origins of a saving faith in Jesus Christ. This was not the Roman Catholic free will of Erasmus, however. It was a limited free will tied to justification by faith alone. It was an evangelical free will.Less
If one is saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ, then what is the origin of that faith? Is it a preordained gift of God to elect individuals, or is some measure of human free choice involved? Initially, Philipp Melanchthon concurred with Martin Luther—that the human will is completely bound by sin, and that the choice of faith can flow only from God's unilateral grace. But if this is so, what about those whom God has not chosen? Is he not casting people into hell who never even had a chance? What are the pastoral implications for believers thinking about the nature of God and their own relationship to him? As a result of practical concerns such as these, aided by an intellectual aversion to paradox, Melanchthon came to believe that the human will does play a key role in the origins of a saving faith in Jesus Christ. This was not the Roman Catholic free will of Erasmus, however. It was a limited free will tied to justification by faith alone. It was an evangelical free will.
Arnfríður Guðmundsdóttir
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195397963
- eISBN:
- 9780199827206
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195397963.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter presents some concluding thoughts. It argues that women’s experience of exclusion and oppression truly intensifies the ethical and the political dimension of a feminist theology of the ...
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This chapter presents some concluding thoughts. It argues that women’s experience of exclusion and oppression truly intensifies the ethical and the political dimension of a feminist theology of the cross. Without simply reducing Christ’s significance to that of a moral example, it is important that his disciples allow his example to encourage them to follow in his footsteps. By stressing the close connection between theology and ethics, we find support in Luther’s understanding of Christians being called to be “Christ to one another”.Less
This chapter presents some concluding thoughts. It argues that women’s experience of exclusion and oppression truly intensifies the ethical and the political dimension of a feminist theology of the cross. Without simply reducing Christ’s significance to that of a moral example, it is important that his disciples allow his example to encourage them to follow in his footsteps. By stressing the close connection between theology and ethics, we find support in Luther’s understanding of Christians being called to be “Christ to one another”.
Helen Kraus
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199600786
- eISBN:
- 9780191731563
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199600786.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Church History
This book deals with Bible translation and its development from Antiquity to the Reformation. Taking the Hebrew Masoretic Text of Genesis as Old Testament Vorlage, it examines corresponding verses ...
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This book deals with Bible translation and its development from Antiquity to the Reformation. Taking the Hebrew Masoretic Text of Genesis as Old Testament Vorlage, it examines corresponding verses from five translations: Septuagint, Vulgate, Luther's Bible, Tyndale and the Authorized Version, and the Dutch State Translation. The context is the challenge mounted by feminist scholarship, particularly those scholars of the ‘second wave’, who have tried and convicted Scripture of androcentricity and misogyny. Translated passages in Genesis 1–4 that deal with the male‐female dynamic are subjected to detailed analysis, tracing linguistic and ideological processes and seeking to determine the extent of interaction between contemporary culture and translation. The degree and development of androcentricity in these passages in both Hebrew and translated texts are likewise taken into account. Each chapter dealing with a specific translation consists of two parts: the historical/cultural background of period and translator(s), particularly with regard to women, and a close exegesis of the verses in question. Results point to the Hebrew text revealing significant androcentricity, with the Septuagint, possibly influenced by Greek philosophy, emphasizing the patriarchal elements. This trend persists through the Vulgate and even Luther's Bible — though less so in the English and Dutch versions — and suggests that the translators must be at least partly responsible for an androcentric text becoming the justification for the oppression of women. Each section dealing with textual analysis is sub‐divided into the same groups of verses: male and female (1:26–28), man (2:7,9,15–17), woman (2:18–25), seeing (3:1–13), consequences (3:14–24), generation (4:1–2,17,25).Less
This book deals with Bible translation and its development from Antiquity to the Reformation. Taking the Hebrew Masoretic Text of Genesis as Old Testament Vorlage, it examines corresponding verses from five translations: Septuagint, Vulgate, Luther's Bible, Tyndale and the Authorized Version, and the Dutch State Translation. The context is the challenge mounted by feminist scholarship, particularly those scholars of the ‘second wave’, who have tried and convicted Scripture of androcentricity and misogyny. Translated passages in Genesis 1–4 that deal with the male‐female dynamic are subjected to detailed analysis, tracing linguistic and ideological processes and seeking to determine the extent of interaction between contemporary culture and translation. The degree and development of androcentricity in these passages in both Hebrew and translated texts are likewise taken into account. Each chapter dealing with a specific translation consists of two parts: the historical/cultural background of period and translator(s), particularly with regard to women, and a close exegesis of the verses in question. Results point to the Hebrew text revealing significant androcentricity, with the Septuagint, possibly influenced by Greek philosophy, emphasizing the patriarchal elements. This trend persists through the Vulgate and even Luther's Bible — though less so in the English and Dutch versions — and suggests that the translators must be at least partly responsible for an androcentric text becoming the justification for the oppression of women. Each section dealing with textual analysis is sub‐divided into the same groups of verses: male and female (1:26–28), man (2:7,9,15–17), woman (2:18–25), seeing (3:1–13), consequences (3:14–24), generation (4:1–2,17,25).
Ashley Null
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198270218
- eISBN:
- 9780191683954
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198270218.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Church History
For centuries historians have offered often bitterly contradictory answers to the question of who exactly was Thomas Cranmer. Although Cranmer was a key participant in the changes to English life ...
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For centuries historians have offered often bitterly contradictory answers to the question of who exactly was Thomas Cranmer. Although Cranmer was a key participant in the changes to English life brought about by the Reformation, his reticent nature and lack of extensive personal writings have left a vacuum that in the past has too often been filled by scholarly prejudice or presumption. For the first time, however, this book examines in depth little used manuscript sources to reconstruct Cranmer's theological development on the crucial Protestant doctrine of justification. The author explores Cranmer's cultural heritage, why he would have been attracted to Luther's thought, and then provides convincing evidence for the Reformed Protestant Augustinianism that Cranmer enshrined in the formularies of the Church of England. For Cranmer the glory of God was his love for the unworthy; the heart of theology was proclaiming this truth through word and sacrament. Hence, the focus of both was on the life of on-going repentance, remembering God's gracious love inspired grateful human love.Less
For centuries historians have offered often bitterly contradictory answers to the question of who exactly was Thomas Cranmer. Although Cranmer was a key participant in the changes to English life brought about by the Reformation, his reticent nature and lack of extensive personal writings have left a vacuum that in the past has too often been filled by scholarly prejudice or presumption. For the first time, however, this book examines in depth little used manuscript sources to reconstruct Cranmer's theological development on the crucial Protestant doctrine of justification. The author explores Cranmer's cultural heritage, why he would have been attracted to Luther's thought, and then provides convincing evidence for the Reformed Protestant Augustinianism that Cranmer enshrined in the formularies of the Church of England. For Cranmer the glory of God was his love for the unworthy; the heart of theology was proclaiming this truth through word and sacrament. Hence, the focus of both was on the life of on-going repentance, remembering God's gracious love inspired grateful human love.
Robert Kolb
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199208937
- eISBN:
- 9780191695742
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208937.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, History of Christianity
Martin Luther's thought continues to challenge people throughout the world in the twenty-first century. His paradigmatic shift in defining God and what it means to be human left behind a foundation ...
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Martin Luther's thought continues to challenge people throughout the world in the twenty-first century. His paradigmatic shift in defining God and what it means to be human left behind a foundation for viewing human creatures that was anchored in Aristotle's anthropology. Luther defined the Revealed God in terms of his mercy and love for human beings, based not on their merit and performance but rather on his unconditioned grace. He placed ‘fearing, loving, and trusting God above all else’ at the heart of his definition of being human. This volume places the development and exposition of these key presuppositions in Luther's thinking within the historical context of late medieval theology and piety as well as the unfolding dynamics of political and social change at the dawn of the modern era. Special attention is given the development of a ‘Wittenberg way’ of practicing theology under Luther's leadership, which left behind a dependence on allegorical methods of biblical interpretation for a ‘literal-prophetic’ approach to Scripture. More importantly, it placed the distinction between the ‘gospel’ as God's unmerited gift of identity as his children and the ‘law’ at the heart of all interpretation of the Bible.Less
Martin Luther's thought continues to challenge people throughout the world in the twenty-first century. His paradigmatic shift in defining God and what it means to be human left behind a foundation for viewing human creatures that was anchored in Aristotle's anthropology. Luther defined the Revealed God in terms of his mercy and love for human beings, based not on their merit and performance but rather on his unconditioned grace. He placed ‘fearing, loving, and trusting God above all else’ at the heart of his definition of being human. This volume places the development and exposition of these key presuppositions in Luther's thinking within the historical context of late medieval theology and piety as well as the unfolding dynamics of political and social change at the dawn of the modern era. Special attention is given the development of a ‘Wittenberg way’ of practicing theology under Luther's leadership, which left behind a dependence on allegorical methods of biblical interpretation for a ‘literal-prophetic’ approach to Scripture. More importantly, it placed the distinction between the ‘gospel’ as God's unmerited gift of identity as his children and the ‘law’ at the heart of all interpretation of the Bible.
Sylvia Walsh
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199208357
- eISBN:
- 9780191695728
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208357.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, History of Christianity
Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) was first and foremost a Christian thinker who is perhaps best known for his devastating attack upon Christendom or the established order of his time. Not since Luther ...
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Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) was first and foremost a Christian thinker who is perhaps best known for his devastating attack upon Christendom or the established order of his time. Not since Luther has there been a Protestant thinker who has so uncompromisingly sought to define and present Christianity in its utmost integrity. Characterizing Christianity as an ‘existence-communication’ rather than a doctrine, Kierkegaard sought to portray what it means to be a Christian in the strictest sense in the interest of reintroducing authentic Christianity as an existential possibility for every individual in the modern age. This book explores Kierkegaard's understanding of Christianity and the existential mode of thinking theologically appropriate to it in the context of the intellectual, cultural, and socio-political milieu of his time. The author contrasts his approach with objective ways of doing theology, which in his view falsify Christianity and the believer's relation to it. The study begins with a biographical overview of the personal and intellectual influences, theological upbringing, important events, and phases of authorship in Kierkegaard's life. The author highlights some of his most important contributions to Christian thought concerning the Christian understanding of God, and our human condition in anxiety, sin, and despair.Less
Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) was first and foremost a Christian thinker who is perhaps best known for his devastating attack upon Christendom or the established order of his time. Not since Luther has there been a Protestant thinker who has so uncompromisingly sought to define and present Christianity in its utmost integrity. Characterizing Christianity as an ‘existence-communication’ rather than a doctrine, Kierkegaard sought to portray what it means to be a Christian in the strictest sense in the interest of reintroducing authentic Christianity as an existential possibility for every individual in the modern age. This book explores Kierkegaard's understanding of Christianity and the existential mode of thinking theologically appropriate to it in the context of the intellectual, cultural, and socio-political milieu of his time. The author contrasts his approach with objective ways of doing theology, which in his view falsify Christianity and the believer's relation to it. The study begins with a biographical overview of the personal and intellectual influences, theological upbringing, important events, and phases of authorship in Kierkegaard's life. The author highlights some of his most important contributions to Christian thought concerning the Christian understanding of God, and our human condition in anxiety, sin, and despair.
John L. Meech
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195306941
- eISBN:
- 9780199785018
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195306945.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
After his encounter with the risen Christ, St. Paul had to retell Israel’s story, and in so doing, his own understanding of self and community underwent a profound shift. Is it possible that the ...
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After his encounter with the risen Christ, St. Paul had to retell Israel’s story, and in so doing, his own understanding of self and community underwent a profound shift. Is it possible that the strong tie between Paul’s understanding of self, community, and the community’s story is something we should bracket or, as Rudolf Bultmann says, demythologize? Rather, this book asserts that two conversations in philosophy and theology can mutually contribute to our present understanding of the self in community: Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of the self, and the new perspective debate in biblical studies about the meaning of law, works, faith and justification in St. Paul’s letters. With respect to the first conversation, the chapter places Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of the self in the context of theological debates about selfhood. With respect to the second conversation, the chapter demonstrates how the book’s interpretation of the Pauline texts draws critically from the new perspective studies within a Lutheran framework that is responsive to critics of the new perspective.Less
After his encounter with the risen Christ, St. Paul had to retell Israel’s story, and in so doing, his own understanding of self and community underwent a profound shift. Is it possible that the strong tie between Paul’s understanding of self, community, and the community’s story is something we should bracket or, as Rudolf Bultmann says, demythologize? Rather, this book asserts that two conversations in philosophy and theology can mutually contribute to our present understanding of the self in community: Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of the self, and the new perspective debate in biblical studies about the meaning of law, works, faith and justification in St. Paul’s letters. With respect to the first conversation, the chapter places Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of the self in the context of theological debates about selfhood. With respect to the second conversation, the chapter demonstrates how the book’s interpretation of the Pauline texts draws critically from the new perspective studies within a Lutheran framework that is responsive to critics of the new perspective.
CARL R. TRUEMAN
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263524
- eISBN:
- 9780191682599
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263524.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Church History
This study is divided into three parts. Part One deals with the historical and intellectual context of five English Reformers: William Tyndale, John Frith, Robert Barnes, John Hooper, and John ...
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This study is divided into three parts. Part One deals with the historical and intellectual context of five English Reformers: William Tyndale, John Frith, Robert Barnes, John Hooper, and John Bradford. Part Two examines in detail the doctrine of salvation as taught by three Reformers during the reign of Henry VIII: William Tyndale, John Frith, and Robert Barnes. Part Three considers the doctrine of salvation for the Reformation under Edward VI and Catholic reaction under Mary, taking John Hooper and John Bradford as it subjects. After presenting a brief background of the English reformers, the chapter notes the reason for calling this book ‘Luther's Legacy’.Less
This study is divided into three parts. Part One deals with the historical and intellectual context of five English Reformers: William Tyndale, John Frith, Robert Barnes, John Hooper, and John Bradford. Part Two examines in detail the doctrine of salvation as taught by three Reformers during the reign of Henry VIII: William Tyndale, John Frith, and Robert Barnes. Part Three considers the doctrine of salvation for the Reformation under Edward VI and Catholic reaction under Mary, taking John Hooper and John Bradford as it subjects. After presenting a brief background of the English reformers, the chapter notes the reason for calling this book ‘Luther's Legacy’.
