Lutheran Salvationists?
Автор: Gudrun Maria Lydholm
Год издания: 0000
The idea of a state religion is seldom connected to religious freedom and liberal, modern, and democratic states. However, such a situation existed in Norway until 2012, when the Lutheran Church was the state church of Norway. A large majority of the population belonged to the church, even though the percentage in 2013 had fallen to well over seventy-five. The relationship between the church and minority religious movements demanded adaptation and compromises from the minority churches. The Salvation Army's enculturation and accommodation during its 128-year history in Norway illustrates such a situation. The book examines how The Salvation Army accommodated itself both doctrinally as well as practically to the situation of a dominant state church. The study reveals such a close affiliation of Salvationists to the Norwegian Church as a state institution, that it raises the question of whether a concept of civil religion was implicitly present in Salvationists' view of the state church and their own adherence to the church. This situation also raises the question of what constitutes a real church. The book indicates the tension between Lutheran and Salvationist ecclesiology as well as the influence from the Lutheran Church.
Martin Luther's Two Ways of Viewing Life and the Educational Foundation of a Lutheran Ethos
Автор: Leonard S. Smith
Год издания:
Like Leonard Smith's larger study, Religion and the Rise of History, this essay, Martin Luther's Two Ways of Viewing Life, asserts that Luther's well-known «at-the-same-time,» simul, or paradoxical way of viewing life does not capture Luther's thought as a whole, because it does not represent his deeply incarnational and dynamic, mystical and holistic, particularizing and historical way of viewing life based on the power of the Word and the Spirit of God either in his own life or in human history.
Smith contends (1) that the best way to capture Luther's «second» basic way of thinking and of viewing life is through the connected prepositions (connected especially for Lutherans) «in, with, and under»; (2) that this second basic way was based primarily on the Gospel of John and its great Prologue, which shows how God is acting, creating, and redeeming, and how Jesus is «the Word become flesh»; and (3) that understanding both of Luther's ways of viewing life is helpful for understanding Lutheran education and «a Lutheran ethos» since the sixteenth century. Since this brief essay is written primarly for a general audience, it can easily be used as a text or supplementary reading for a class, seminary, or group discussion.
Lutheran Identity and Political Theology
Автор: Группа авторов
Год издания:
Lutheran tradition has in various ways influenced attitudes to work, the economy, the state, education, and health care. One reason that Lutheran theology has been interpreted in various ways is that it is always influenced by surrounding social and cultural contexts.
In a society where the church has lost a great deal of its cultural impact and authority, and where there is a plurality of religious convictions, the question of Lutheran identity has never been more urgent. However, this question is also raised in the Global South where Lutheran churches need to find their identity in a relationship with several other religions. Here this relationship is developed from a minority perspective.
Is it possible to develop a Lutheran political theology that gives adequate contributions to issues concerning social and economic justice? What is the role of women in church and society around the world? Is it possible to interpret Lutheran theology in such a way that it includes liberating perspectives? These are some of the questions and issues discussed in this book.
Lutheran DNA
Автор: James G. Cobb
Год издания:
Lutheran DNA takes the Reformation's Augsburg Confession of 1530 and asks whether parish issues today continue to find expression through the lens of this historic writing. The Augsburg Confession is named in Lutheran churches as a clear expression of Christian belief and practice. How is it so today? Stories, illustrations, and reflections flow out of this parish pastor's experiences as he reflects on meanings from Augsburg to Baltimore.
Lutheran Tradition as Heritage and Tool
Автор: Niclas Blader
Год издания:
All of the member churches of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) are related to Lutheran theology in one way or another. However, that does not mean they act similarly or draw the same conclusions about any particular issue. Rather, Lutheran churches around the globe display great diversity. This book has its background in a study of five Lutheran churches: the ILCO in Costa Rica, the IECLB in Brazil, the ELCI in Iceland, the FLM in Madagascar, and the HKBP in Indonesia. It addresses the questions of how the Lutheran heritage today is expressed in different churches and what is the role of Lutheran theology in how they handle their respective situations. The churches in this study share with other churches the need to handle dilemmas such as the relations between «community and pluralism,» «openness and particularity,» «power and servanthood,» and «closeness to culture and being an alternative to culture.» In doing this they use their culture and history as well as their Lutheran heritage as tools.