(Confessional) Lutheran perspectives on the unity of the church (original) (raw)

The Church: A Body Under Law and Gospel

The Church as Fullness of All Things: Lutheran Ecclesiology in Ecumenical Context, 2019

Edited by JONATHAN MUMME, RICHARD J. SERI NA JR., and MARK V./. BIRKHOLZ "Church as Fullness in All Things, a volume of timel) and learned chapters b) professors and pastors, constructive)) examines Lutheran ecclesiolog) b) returning to scripture and the histor y of the church and b) considering modern expressions of the Lutheran church in both European and American contexts. Especiall) welcomed are essa) s b) Roman Catho lics, Anglicans, and Reformed theologians that sympatheticall) and criticall) engage Lu theran ecclesiology. Pastors and la) people, teachers and students, will benefit from its insight and irenic tone." -Carl Beckwith, Samford University "All ecumenical dialogues of recent decades have flagged ecclesiolog) as a ke) question and shown that coming to joint understanding of the church is no small undertaking. Capacit:, for ecumenical dialogue grows onl) from the historical investigation and dog-• matic contemplation of this important topic. Following Luther the reformer, Lutheran theolog) has much to sa) about how unit) of doctrine is preserved as unit:,· in doctrine is sought. Both should be bound together in the strong and ardent belief in the unit:,· of the truth. Ma) this volume contribute to those ends."

The Networking of Differences That Makes a Difference: Theology and the Unity of the Church

Dialog, 2012

What does the church mean when it confesses through the Creeds its oneness? My aim is to reflect on how and why theology needs to bring to the fore a hidden dimension in the discourse on the unity of the church, that is, its tendency to fall into a "solid" and "totalizing" disciplinary technology, i.e., an ideology. I will approach the theme following these basic theological pointers: (a) a biblical primary symbol as it emerges to unveil a new existence and practice-Paul's metaphor of the body in 1 Corinthians 12; (b) a secondary symbol through which the church understood itself to be lodged-the trinitarian understanding of being as a communicative relationship; (c) the regulative principle of law and promise as guiding a discursive practice that supports different levels of decentering and centering that signals a breakthrough of the eschaton-Luther's understanding of law and gospel. These overlapping theological dimensions allow a different metaphorization of the oneness and unity of the church.

Calvin, Luther and church unity

In die skriflig, 2010

Calvin, Luther and church unity This article deals with Luther and Calvin's efforts to preserve and promote church unity. Attention is given to their role as leaders of the reformational movement who self-evidently had to unite people from different countries. Special attention is given to Calvin's ecumenical activities. Information is given about his letters, pastoral advice and mediation efforts. Short notes are also provided on their dogmatic explications for the unity of the church. Opsomming Calvyn, Luther en kerkeenheid Hierdie artikel handel oor die pogings van Luther en Calvyn om kerkeenheid te bevorder. Aandag word gegee aan hulle rol as leiers van die reformatoriese beweging wat vanselfsprekend mense uit verskillende lande moes verenig. Spesiale aandag word aan Calvyn se ekumeniese aktiwiteite gegee. Inligting word gegee oor sy briewe, pastorale adviese en bemiddelingspogings. Kort notas word ook verskaf oor hulle dogmatiese besinnings oor die eenheid van die kerk.

Lutheran and Reformed Theology in Conversation

Conspectus, 2019

The 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation occurred in 2017. That is the same year that a collaborative effort between Robert Kolb and Carl R Trueman was published by Baker. The title of the authors’ work is Between Wittenberg and Geneva. The subtitle provides a clearer indication of the publication’s focus, namely, Lutheran and Reformed theology in Conversation. Kolb and Trueman are neither the first nor the last specialists to compare Lutheran and Reformed approaches to the classical theological loci. That said, their publication represents a fresh and irenic contribution to the ongoing dialogue between these two confessional traditions. Both theologians, in their respective ways, seek to ground their statements about hermeneutics, the law / gospel dialectic, and the Son’s person and work (among other topics) to the teachings found in the Word. Along the way, both authors, likewise, highlight salient pastoral convictions that arise from their deliberations. An examination of each chapter within the book surfaces the shared historical and theological legacy between the Lutheran and Reformed communions. Also, while being appropriately self-critical of their own faith traditions, both authors delineate what they regard as the key differences between the two confessional groups. Moreover, as the dialogue unfolds between Kolb and Trueman, readers discover areas of agreement and disagreement between the Lutheran and Reformed camps and Roman Catholicism (on the one hand) and nonconfessional Protestant groups (on the other hand). Doing so helps to elucidate the major areas of theological differentiation among all these ecclesial communions. What follows is a chapter-by-chapter distillation of the information appearing in the treatise. It is interspersed with supplementary observations of varying depth and detail made by both of us—Dan Lioy (who brings a Lutheran perspective) and Robert Falconer (who brings a Reformed perspective). Our intent in doing so is to promote further conversation within the SATS community about doctrinal issues of shared interest.