becoming

1. Anson

   Who’s 陳永順?

   Jan 3rd, 2006

2. edmund

   Vincent is a dear brother from St. Christopher’s in Toronto. He came from Vancouver originally. He is currently studying part-time at Wycliffe.

   Jan 3rd, 2006

3. Anson

   As you are studying Luther, what do you think of Lutheran theology as such?

   http://www.surfoutsider.net/GoodNews/1_Teachings_Faith.html

   It seems like they anchor their whole theology on a single verse: Rom 5:1-2

   What do you think of their challenges to the evangelical tradition?

   Jan 7th, 2006

4. edmund

   Not sure the background of the website you linked. But traditionally, people don’t link Rom 5:1-2 to Luther’s theology. Rom 1:16-17 is what Luther said that changed his theology from the medieval focus on good deeds to the emphasis on God’s grace.

   Actually there were already traces of the protestant thoughts in his first lecture series on Psalm (1513-1515), which was before his lectures on Romans.

   When studying Luther’s theology, we must put things back in context. First he lived at the end of the medieval times. So we can not assume that he is our contemporaries. Secondly, we are talking about a period in church history where people had strong guilt about their lives, and many were living their daily lives in fear that they will lost their salvation with a tiny mistake in their lives. I think we are, in a sense, living in the other side of the pendulum right now.

   Recently research also argues if Luther read Paul correctly. One can argue that he misread Paul by equating medieval church focuses on works with Jewish focuses on the Law, and hence reading his issues into the text (see J Dunn, NT Wright), but we can also view that as Luther trying to make sense out of the gospel in his context and times.

   All in all, I think Luther’s theology is something we must always turn back to again and again. Don’t take for granted what others say about Luther. Read it yourself. Knowing that we comes from the protestant tradition (although Anglicanism begin with a heavy dose of Calvin than anybody else), what we know for sure right now about our faith is only because of great Christians like Luther, Calvin and Zwingli.

   To begin with, please read:
   An Open Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate
   Prelude On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church
   On the Freedom of a Christian (you might want to start with this first)

   Hope this helps.

   Jan 7th, 2006

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