Transfiguring Luther

Luther's theology has inspired many since 1517 when he nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of the Castle Church. It was the trigger for the Reformation, a change in the very fabric of Christianity that is still studied extensively to this day.Much of this work however has been conducted from either a European or North American perspective. With Lutheranism becoming more and more common in the southern hemisphere, new interpretations of Luther's theology are needed for these emergent and different contexts. In Transfiguring Luther, Vitor Westhelle offers a reading of Luther and his legacy that goes beyond the traditional geopolitics of Luther research, exploring realities where the Reformer's reception and the latent promise of his theology receive unsuspected appraisal. Westhelle provides both a revisitation of the past and an invitation to a new orientation. By establishing a texture rather than a rigid actuality, Westhelle allows the reader to reach their own conclusions about these seldom examined aspects of Luther's theology.

This study book, the third in the_Forgotten Luther_series, invites congregations, with the help of five prominent church leaders and Luther scholars, to consider the new shape of global mission in today's world. Against the growing disparity in wealth and the rising tide of economic refugees throughout the world, this book reflects on Luther's_largely forgotten_social and economic reforms (to overcome poverty, lack of health care, illiteracy,_and old-age insecurity) that flowed from the central doctrine of justification by grace through faith. The book is also a call for informed engagement with partner churches in a critical area of ministry that is frequently neglected._ _This study book draws_global_implications from Luther's reforms and from the theology that shaped them. It is informed by ways in which churches in the Global South_have_moved beyond world-denying forms of pietism to address the_systemic_causes of hunger, poverty, and injustice. It is addressed to the whole church at a critical time in history as vast threats to the natural world converge with acute economic hardship for hundreds of millions of people._ Accompanied by videos of lectures and interviews, this study is designed to provide guidance for congregations who want to be actively engaged in the global mission of the church, including ways in which they can both accompany others and be accompanied_by_others on a common journey._

'Can the bones of Luther's sermons live again?' In Luther's Meditation on the Gospels, Roland H. Bainton presents some of Luther's most timeless and resonant sermons and lectures, arranged in order of the gospel accounts of Jesus' life. From the beginning of his ministry to the crucifixion and resurrection, Luther's insight into a wide range of key passages is displayed. Bainton's careful selections of excerpts ensures that Luther's marvel at God's love, his belief in salvation through divine grace and human faith, and more, remains effervescent. Bainton provides an illuminating introduction, placing the texts in their historical context and explaining the technicalities of translation. Also included are numerous woodcuts from the 1562 edition of Luther's Bible, further enriching our appreciation of the reformer's thought. Sixty years on from its original publication, Luther's Meditation on the Gospels remains a valuable contribution to Reformation studies.

Can the categories of classical Lutheran Christology be unleashed to express the vitality of christological existence, an existence situated between Promise and experience? If, as Martin Luther famously asserted in his Heidelberg Disputation (1518), "true theology and recognition of God are in the crucified Christ," then such a theological point of departure not only bore radical implications for his Christology, but indeed also bears profound significance for theological discussions around the Word of Promise, its structure, its experience, its plurality. With regard to the elaboration of the two natures of Jesus Christ, such a point of departure permits a delineation of Promise--"the body of Promise"--who is bound to, who suffers, the nihil of human existence. Which means: such a point of departure affords us equally the opportunity to consider and probe the implications of the nihil as the medium of both threat and Promise. Is this a promising threat? Or a threatening Promise? Ultimately, Promise is delineated from within hermeneutical origins--the christological function of Scripture, the text--and, developed through to its diverse expression as the body of Promise, translated into christological existence. Within this context, categories of classical Lutheran Christology begin to express new vitality. Along the way, the Word of Promise--as developed within the trajectory of Luther's theology of the cross and his radical delineation of the two natures of Jesus Christ--receives further sharpening within the context of discussion with such theological voices as John Caputo and Jacques Derrida, Hans Holbein the Younger, Albert Schweitzer, Matthias Grunewald, Carl Braaten, Karl Barth, Michael Welker, and Samuel Terrien. Ultimately, we are permitted to confess: There is one Crucified. And he is plural.

This book analyzes Martin Luther and Lutheran theology from the perspective of the subaltern, particularly in the areas of gender and sexuality, economics, and social justice.

The Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation is a comprehensive study of the life and work of Martin Luther and the movements that followed him—in history and through today. Entries explore Luther’s contributions to theology, sacraments, his influence on the church and contemporaries, his character, and more.

In Luther after Derrida, Marisa Strizzi argues that Luther's theology has a significant deconstructive drive and, through the careful reading of texts, illustrates how this theology interacts with Derrida's thought.