tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post7943151252213682068..comments2023-07-03T11:49:37.837+01:00Comments on Theologies: Martin Luther: The Freedom of a ChristianMarikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02613745498284783614noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-17477092552204639242015-12-15T03:34:18.588+00:002015-12-15T03:34:18.588+00:00"it makes me sad that he sees the beauty of s..."it makes me sad that he sees the beauty of salvation apparently only by contrast to the corruption of everything else."<br /><br />But why does that make you sad? How can we talk about the greatness of God's love if we don't know just how great his wrath against sin is? How can we talk about God's forgiveness if we don't know what we're being forgiven from? If we downplay "corruption" aka SIN, then we are downplaying salvation and Jesus' work on the cross. If humans aren't totally depraved, then why did Jesus, the God-Man, Son of God, have to die as a sacrifice? The gospel of Christ is watered down when we don't take SIN and corruption seriously.<br />(I'm a Calvinist btw)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-81889532968965018712013-11-29T17:33:49.650+00:002013-11-29T17:33:49.650+00:00Marika,
I enjoyed this article that reframes the ...Marika,<br /><br />I enjoyed this article that reframes the dualist perspective on luther: <br /><br />http://msc.gutenberg.edu/2001/02/dueling-with-dualism/<br /><br />Thanks for writing.JLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15055818563776548912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-12207917345432291332013-10-24T15:47:21.863+01:002013-10-24T15:47:21.863+01:00Just for the sake of clarity, let me add a small c...Just for the sake of clarity, let me add a small correction here. For Luther, the "old man" is not the body, but the soul before grace. That's quite clear in "Christian Freedom," when he says things like:<br /><br />"Christ is full of grace, life, and salvation; the soul is full of sin, death, and condemnation. Let faith step in, and then sin, death, and hell will belong to Christ, and grace, life, and salvation to the soul. For, if he is a husband, he must needs take to himself that which is his wife's, and, at the same time, impart to his wife that which is his."<br /><br />Incidentally, it is also passages like this one which open up something genuinely interesting about Luther, but not well enough known. When he writes about salvation, he often relies on the image of a "joyous exchange," in which Christ gives us his righteousness in trade for our death. I believe the idea has its roots in Augustine, and was passed on to Luther by his monastic superior, Von Staupitz.<br /><br />It's quite different from the "banking" model familiar to many people, including many Lutherans, in which the merits of Christ are applied to our account. The big difference is that the exchange of wedding gifts is part of a personal encounter, where the transfer of "funds" is a purely forensic, impersonal act.Father Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18170260624474428623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-43607601129060522532013-03-09T17:27:53.743+00:002013-03-09T17:27:53.743+00:00Marika, this seems to be a fair summary of Luther&...Marika, this seems to be a fair summary of Luther's goal in this letter. He certainly did not seem to desire a break with the Catholic Church, and is trying to defend himself on the matter of 'sola fide'. <br />Unfortunately, his reevaluation of the Eucharist left him utterly outside of union with Catholic thought. (See the oath required of Berenger of Tours, 11th century, for what Luther would have had to swear to for Reconciliation).<br />On the matter of 'sola fide', we see the same recipe to heresy with the Catholic Church as any: the strong exaggeration of an aspect of scripture, to the complete disregard of another. Luther's famous naming of James as the 'Epistle of Straw' shows this disregard.<br />The Catholic Church agrees that works alone do not save, and that all works are ideally done for the sake of Love (Caritas), so the real question is of justification by faith and what it means, i.e. what is grace and how does it change us, i.e. are we "depraved" or merely deprived of goodness; this is where he slips off the Catholic Church's back.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18169439480865908751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-4302531320226814822012-03-27T18:47:51.888+01:002012-03-27T18:47:51.888+01:00sorry to take so long to get back to you Marika. I...sorry to take so long to get back to you Marika. I was adding your link to my blogroll and noticed your Q. Before God, the neighbor and the world, is how my sketchy Latin would have it. They are regular terms used to describe Luther's "relational-soteriological" emphasis. Thanks again for your great blog. BrettAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-79634583452783896422012-03-11T17:34:34.781+00:002012-03-11T17:34:34.781+00:00Thanks for the thoughts, Brett. Could you explain ...Thanks for the thoughts, Brett. Could you explain what coram deo or coram vicino et mundo are? I haven't come across them in what Luther I've read, and my Latin is ... sketchy.Marikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02613745498284783614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-59587094786504761272012-03-09T14:17:55.263+00:002012-03-09T14:17:55.263+00:00Hi Marika, I have been enjoying your posts. It giv...Hi Marika, I have been enjoying your posts. It gives me pause to think through a number of aspects that challenge my Luther perspective. I wonder though if the hated "dualism" you find in Luther, is a bit easier to understand in relation to his two kinds of righteousness. Coram Deo we have nothing good to offer, but I am sure that coram vicino et mundo he makes room for a certain amount of goodness and even to some degree free will. Also I don't think it was simply an equating of old man with the body but his concept of "Flesh" (sinful nature) in the body. Luther feared death to some degree, struggled physically and experienced the plagues.You are quite correct in saying that he was obsessed with the priority of faith in both salvific and political contexts. The small comment made about the dating of the Letter to LEO is also correct in my understanding. However, Luther most certainly engaged deMedici with a certain level of sarcasm. <br />Thanks again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-4513093003365758642011-04-08T03:53:37.592+01:002011-04-08T03:53:37.592+01:00THEOLOGY FOR NORMAL PEOPLE!
I love this sentence....THEOLOGY FOR NORMAL PEOPLE!<br /><br />I love this sentence. Keep goingDaniel Weihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18191717996454774011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-38308823691159155562010-02-23T09:08:07.184+00:002010-02-23T09:08:07.184+00:00The 'giggedy' spelling is correct, accordi...The 'giggedy' spelling is correct, according to the subtitles on the DVD. End argument. :)Boring Postcardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06236520731138989839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-44684772474468398462009-07-30T12:28:35.765+01:002009-07-30T12:28:35.765+01:00Thanks Sam, that's a lovely little detail! He ...Thanks Sam, that's a lovely little detail! He was such a cheeky monkey, wasn't he?Marikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02613745498284783614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-18920457575793490052009-07-28T20:32:35.707+01:002009-07-28T20:32:35.707+01:00Nice blog, Marika - a great link from my facebook ...Nice blog, Marika - a great link from my facebook newsfeed! I know it's not strictly what you were writing about, but Luther apparently (according to Rublack) deliberately misdated the letter to Leo, from November (when it was actually written) to September. September, it's argued, was before the Pope issued the bull of excommunication against Luther, so it could be Luther claiming the moral high ground in the battle. Not fully relevant, but a nice snippet of Luther's wide eyed awareness of the necessity of political activity!Sam Holenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-81928886016154636672009-06-15T10:17:25.476+01:002009-06-15T10:17:25.476+01:00Thanks for the correction! I had qualms about the ...Thanks for the correction! I had qualms about the spelling, so it's good to be put right.<br /><br />And Gabriel, Luther does pretty much equate the 'old man' with the body, though he also sees the body as that which involves us in life in the world: relationships to other people, physical activity, any sort of external activity. Dirty dualist.<br /><br />I like the idea of paying taxes with goldfish instead, although my family have traditionally been bad at keeping animals alive, so would likely be impoverished pretty quickly.Marikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02613745498284783614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-31178712056078703712009-06-14T12:26:32.076+01:002009-06-14T12:26:32.076+01:00I must disagree and offer a correction. It's n...I must disagree and offer a correction. It's not "giggedy" but "giggity". Notice the American pronunciation of "t" as in internet said, "innernet". The Yanks either leave out the "t" or change them to "d" <br /><br />The rest of it's too deep for me to understand, but it seemed good to me to offer my humble services nonetheless.<br /><br />seriously, thanks for this rockin' blog. I like what's said in the message, <br /><br />"Faith and works, works and faith, you can't separate the two without ending up with a dead corpse on your hands!£<br /><br />(^8KChttp://citylifechurch.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-80806895889468531592009-06-11T14:56:38.471+01:002009-06-11T14:56:38.471+01:00Ha ha, you said 'fish-gold'.Ha ha, you said 'fish-gold'.Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09155336318868186715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1824261000607570706.post-37266682384034841832009-06-11T13:15:07.254+01:002009-06-11T13:15:07.254+01:00You do make me laugh. Especially the innuendo. All...You do make me laugh. Especially the innuendo. All the letter was missing was: 'In fact, some of my best friends are Catholics'.<br /><br />I'm glad you said the D word at the end. The dualism alert alarm was going like crazy. Did Luther effectively equate the 'old man' with the body?Gabriel Smyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13894658019635435783noreply@blogger.com