Martin Luther's Legacy Reforming Reformation Theology for the 21st C
This volume is a unique interpretation of what Martin Luther contributes to renewed appreciation of Biblical diversity. The Church in the West is struggling. One reason behind this is that the prevailing models for Theology have imposed logical and
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Martin Luther’s Legacy
Mark Ellingsen
Martin Luther’s Legacy Reforming Reformation Theology for the 21st Century
Mark Ellingsen Atlanta, GA, USA
ISBN 978-1-137-58757-2 ISBN 978-1-137-58758-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-58758-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017937475 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover credit: FineArt/Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Nature America Inc. The registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004, U.S.A.
For Betsey The special one who accompanies me in all my journeys with Luther and most everywhere else
Preface
Nobody studies Luther alone, especially if they are Lutherans like myself. The footnotes in this book just begin to hint at my numerous intellectual debts in understanding the first Reformer. Add to that the hundreds, no thousands of conversations I have had about this Reformation Father for over 50 years with Luther scholars from across the globe, Lutheran theologians of most every stripe, and even colleagues in Lutheran ministry who love his heritage. This book is a “thank-you” for all I’ve learned. One of its main messages is that these colleagues are pretty much correct. Martin Luther really taught what almost all of them said he did. His thought is so rich that most interpretations of the Reformer are correct, at least in part about him. Most everybody is right about Luther—in part—because the other interpreters are right about him too. What Philip Schaff wrote over a century ago about Augustine (Luther’s great influence) applies to the Reformer: “In great men, and only great men, great opposites and apparently antagonistic truths live together. Small minds cannot hold them.”1 What Schaff s
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