Martin Luther’s Sacramental Theology

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon A. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Sacramental Theology ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Measuring Stick

Martin Luther’s emphasis on the sacraments as a visible, tactile means by which the justifying action of God is conveyed to the believer brings the pastoral heart of the Reformation into clear focus. As Luther continued to explore how justification, the “first and chief article” (Smalcald Articles 2 in BC 301), was the measuring stick by which all theology is evaluated, he was forced to define and clarify his understanding of the sacraments as a “more than verbal” (Robert W. Jenson, Visible Words: The Interpretation and Practice of Christian Sacraments [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978], 5) word that proclaims the promises of God and makes those promises a reality. Using this and other, correlated criteria, Luther justifies the reduction in the number of sacraments found in the Roman Catholic Church of his time. The sacramental controversies that arose in the 1520s also force him to shape and clarify the interconnected nature of the sacramental elements, the word, and faith. By 1530, Luther’s sacramental theology had matured and could be defined by the “sacramental unity” between the word, faith, and earthly elements. This sacramental union also provided the foundational basis for his insistence on the efficacy of the sacraments, since this union was intimately connected to God’s promise of the gospel, proclaimed and enacted.

‘Awakening the echoes of the ancient faith’: the National Pilgrimages to Iona

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-154
Author(s):  
Katherine Haldane Grenier
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Religious History ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Theological Understanding

This article examines two pilgrimages to Iona held by the Scottish Roman Catholic Church in 1888 and 1897, the first pilgrimages held in Scotland since the Reformation. It argues that these religious journeys disrupted the calendar of historic commemorations of Victorian Scotland, many of which emphasized the centrality of Presbyterianism to Scottish nationality. By holding pilgrimages to “the mother-church of religion in Scotland” and celebrating mass in the ruins of the Cathedral there, Scottish Catholics challenged the prevailing narrative of Scottish religious history, and asserted their right to control the theological understanding of the island and its role in a “national” religious history. At the same time, Catholics’ veneration of St. Columba, a figure widely admired by Protestant Scots, served as a means of highlighting their own Scottishness. Nonetheless, some Protestant Scots responded to the overt Catholicity of the pilgrimages by questioning the genuineness of “pilgrimages” which so closely resembled tourist excursions, and by scheduling their own, explicitly Protestant, journeys to Iona.

scholarly journals Multiplex Network Ties and the Spatial Diffusion of Radical Innovations: Martin Luther’s Leadership in the Early Reformation

2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
pp. 857-894
Author(s):  
Sascha O. Becker ◽  
Yuan Hsiao ◽  
Steven Pfaff ◽  
Jared Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Network Ties ◽  
Trade Routes ◽  
Radical Innovations ◽  
Multiplex Network ◽  
The Reformation

This article analyzes Martin Luther’s role in spreading the early Reformation, one of the most important episodes of radical institutional change in the last millennium. We argue that social relations played a key role in its diffusion because the spread of heterodox ideologies and their eventual institutionalization relied not only on private “infection” through exposure to innovation but also on active conversion and promotion of that new faith through personal ties. We conceive of that process as leader-to-follower directional influence originating with Luther and flowing to local elites through personal ties. Based on novel data on Luther’s correspondence, Luther’s visits, and student enrollments in Luther’s city of Wittenberg, we reconstruct Luther’s influence network to examine whether local connections to him increased the odds of adopting Protestantism. Using regression analyses and simulations based on empirical network data, we find that the combination of personal/relational diffusion via Luther’s multiplex ties and spatial/structural diffusion via trade routes fostered cities’ adoption of the Reformation, making possible Protestantism’s early breakthrough from a regional movement to a general rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church.

Two Autobiographical Narratives of Conversion: Robert Hugh Benson and Ronald Knox

1998 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-253
Author(s):  
George Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Autobiographical Narratives ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Church

Ever since the Reformation, and increasingly since the example set by Newman, the Church of England has had to contend with the lure of Rome; in every generation there have been clergymen who converted to the Roman Catholic Church, a group either statistically insignificant or a momentous sign of the future, depending on one’s viewpoint. From the nineteenth century Newman and Manning stand out. From the first two decades of the twentieth century among the figures best remembered are Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) and Ronald Arbuthnot Knox (1888–1957). They are remembered, not because they were more saintly or more scholarly than others, but because they were both writers and therefore are responsible for their own memorials. What is more, they both followed Newman in publishing an account of the circumstances of their conversion. This is a genre which continues to hold interest. The two works demonstrate, among other things, the continuing influence of Newman’s writings about the identity of the Church.

scholarly journals Zur Frage der Toleranz in der Epoche zwischen Reformation und Aufklärung

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hein Retter
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Mutual Recognition ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Early Modern Era ◽  
Modern Era

This article deals with the origins of religious tolerance in the modern era. It goes back to the early modern era, when intolerance by the Roman-Catholic church towards new reformative movements showed itself to be particularly pervasive. At the same time, the Roman-Catholic church faced opposition from regional princes and free imperial cities who had become powerful and frequently tended to lean towards the new faith. They demanded the acknowledgment of the reformative faith by the pope and the emperor. However, they could hardly be called tolerant towards other faiths in their own territories, especially in the case of minorities seeking public recognition of their alternative beliefs and religious practices. Stark intolerance eased off only when tolerance functioned as an inherent political necessity, in hopes of gaining large economic benefits, especially under secular rule yet hardly ever under that of the church. The results from an international conference presented here show that tolerance in the age of the Reformation cannot be confused with the mutual recognition of religious and cultural idiosyncracies, in the way these are often claimed nowadays when advocating for a peaceful coexistence of different groups in a pluralistic society. In the historical context of the early modern era, tolerance was a one-sided act –in hopes of political and economic advantages – towards gaining a kind of freedom which, in its overall effect, definitely involved risks of conflict. In this context, differing political structures such as the personal beliefs of the ruling prince influenced the different climates regarding tolerance in 16th- to 19th-century Europe.

scholarly journals In Persona Christi Capitis: Agency Problems When God is the Principal

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara E. Jace ◽  
Ennio E. Piano
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Sacramental Theology ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Optimal Response ◽  
Opportunistic Behaviour ◽  
Personal Morality ◽  
Contemporary Christian

The in persona Christi Capitis doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church guarantees the validity of its sacraments, irrespective of the personal morality of the priest who performs them. While this protects their value as metacredence goods, it seemingly opens the door to opportunistic behaviour by the clergy. To balance out its institutional incentives, the Roman Catholic Church must rigorously screen its candidates for the priesthood. Historical evidence supports our hypothesis that the development of the in persona Christi Capitis doctrine was accompanied by marginal increases in the screening of seminarians, which may have been an optimal response to changing historical circumstances. Also consistent with our hypothesis, a cross section of contemporary Christian denominations shows a correlation between a group’s stance on sacramental theology and the strictness of its screening of candidates to religious ministry.

scholarly journals Celebrating the feasts of the Old Testament in Christian contexts

2006 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdel Le Roux
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Experience ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The Church

Many early Christian churches incorporated a number of non-biblical, even “pagan” symbols and rituals into their liturgy (e. g. the origin of Christmas). They were contextualized into the church by a brand new Christian content to them. From its first inception Christianity attempted to slander and suppress the pagan myths and rituals in the name of its own message. This, however, does not alter the fact that the church also sought some connections in the sphere of myth. Since the Reformation many Protestant churches have tended to “cleanse” the church from all forms of symbols and rituals that could be reminiscent of its earlier connection with the Roman Catholic Church. The article argues that this left an emptiness, a longing for symbols and rituals which usually form an essential part of a normal religious experience. The Old Testament has both a “deficit” and a “surplus” which might have an abiding significance for Christians. It has become clear from archaeological discoveries that Jewish societies formed an integral part of early Christian societies.

scholarly journals The Attempts to Establish A Balance of Power in Europe During the Second Half of the Seventeenth Century (1648–1702)

1904 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 33-76
Author(s):  
M. G. Routh
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
The Other ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The One

The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 put an end to the war which had troubled Europe for thirty years, and which had its origin in the bitter religious hatred, intensified by political jealousy, of the partisans of the Reformation on the one hand, and of the adherents of the Roman Catholic Church on the other.

Vorbereitungen auf das Reformationsjubiläum 2017

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-151
Author(s):  
Margot Käßmann
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
International Dimension ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Reformation

AbstractIn contrast to past centenaries, the preparation of the 2017 reformation quincentenary is clearly focused on showcasing an ecumenical and international dimension. It is thus intended to take into account the developments of the past decades regarding the Leuenberg Concord and the dialogue with the Roman-Catholic church and the heirs of the Anabaptist movement. The conceptual focus on the reformation and its meaning for today is accentuated equally with the preparation of an event that will, as a public celebration, reveal the ecclesiastical and secular meaning of the reformation.

The Development of Canonical Jurisprudence in the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England

Ecclesiology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-325
Author(s):  
Gordon Arthur
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Canon Law ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The Church ◽  
Degree Of Similarity

AbstractThis paper offers a theological examination of the legal theory underlying the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church from the time of Gratian onwards, and of the Church of England since the Reformation, comparing the latter with parallel developments in English Common Law. Despite their very different contexts, structures and emphases, a surprising degree of similarity emerges, which may provide a basis for further discussion and convergence in the future.

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