Transfiguring Luther: The Planetary Promise of Luther’s Theology - Softcover

Westhelle, Vítor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0227176502 ISBN 13: 9780227176504

Publisher: James Clarke & Co, 2017

Synopsis

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, Vítor 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.

Table of Contents

Foreword by David Tracy
Preface and Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part One—The Genius of Language: Grammar and Rhetoric
1 The Quest for Language: Engaging the Head and the Heart
2 More than Enough: Letter as Solace
3 Stories That Shape the Story
4 Faith and Love, the Space In-Between: On the Beatitudes
Part Two—Theology Matters
5 On the Playground of God: Justification as Event and Representation
6 Beholding the Core: Reading Chalcedon
7 Enduring the Scandal: theologia crucis
8 Cross and Creation
9 The Groaning Mask: Ecojustice and the Human Place in Nature
10 The Church in Eden: On the Priesthood of the Faithful
11 Apocalypse: Yet-Time and Not-Yet
Part Three—The Planet Luther: Transfigurations
12 Globalization and Fragmentation: Lutheran World Federation
13 Transfiguring Lutheranism: Displacing Tradition
14 Lutheranism and Culture in the Americas: A Comparative Study
15 Contextual Hermeneutics
16 A Communion of Teaching and Learning
17 Luther Yet Incomplete: A Global Inquiry
18 Planet Luther: Challenges and Promises
Part Four—Economy and Politics: The Paradigms
19 “The Third Bank of the River”: The Challenge of Modernity
20 Two Kingdoms Doctrine: When the Rubber Hits the Road
21 Works, Law, and Faith: Régimes and Event in Luther
22 Power and Politics
23 Lutheran Social Ethics: A Sketch
Conclusion: Inconclusive Final Notes
Bibliography

Author Index
Subject Index

About this title

About the Author:

Vítor Westhelle is professor of Systematic Theology at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and the chair of Luther Research at Faculdades EST, Săo Leopoldo, Brazil. He is a gifted teacher with the soul of a poet adept at playing different keys of the theological ivories. A well-known author and internationally sought-out speaker, Westhelle’s writings on Luther, Liberation, Creation, the Apocalyptic, Postcolonialism, Hybridity and Eschatology are widely acclaimed.

Review:

‘[I]t is of great importance for anyone wanting to understand world Lutheranism, and in particular, questions concerning social justice and liberation theology now being addressed by Lutherans in the global South to their communion as a whole.... This is a book full of interesting insights into Luther, well worth reading and re-reading by newcomers to Luther and those already knowledgeable about his life and teaching. It deserves careful attention both by Lutherans and other Christians concerned to learn from them.’ (David Carter The Window, 2017)

About this edition

• Publisher: James Clarke & Co
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0227176502
• ISBN 13: 9780227176504
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352