Transfiguring Luther: The Planetary Promise Of Luther's Theology

Luthers 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 Luthers theology are needed for these emergent and different contexts. In Transfiguring Luther, V*tor Westhelle offers a reading of Luther and his legacy that goes beyond the traditional geopolitics of Luther research, exploring realities where the Reformers 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 Luthers theology.

Table of Contents

Foreword by David Tracy
Preface and Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part OneThe 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 TwoTheology 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 ThreeThe 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 FourEconomy 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: R*gimes and Event in Luther
22 Power and Politics
23 Lutheran Social Ethics: A Sketch
Conclusion: Inconclusive Final Notes
Bibliography

Author Index
Subject Index