"This book is the best Catholic engagement with Luther that I have read. Deeply appreciative, well versed in the profound concerns that motivated Luther, and demonstrating a mastery of contemporary ecumenical work, O'Callaghan's book should open both Catholic and Lutheran eyes. Catholics urgently need the radically God-centered, Christ-centered hunger and humility that shine forth in this book."
God and Mediation: A Retrospective Appraisal of Luther the Reformer
Martin Luther’s effort to put God at the very center of human life hinged on five principles: sola gratia, sola fide, sola Scriptura, solus Christus, and ecclesia semper reformanda. They formed the basis for a much-needed reformation of the Christian church projected by Luther and others. Besides inspiring an important renewal of Christian life, however, the Reformation also occasioned the breakup of Western Christianity, which in turn justified religious wars, provided an anti-witness to Christian revelation, privatized the faith, and facilitated the secularization of society as a whole. On the occasion of the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation, this book attempts to appropriate, situate, and, to some degree, reinterpret Luther’s most precious and enduring insights on the basis of the above five principles, which come to mean that God’s being and action must always come first. On the basis of Luther’s writings, the book also attempts to consider how grace reaches out to freedom, faith to reason, Scripture to church tradition, Christ to ministry, church to mediation. God’s being and action always come first, yet God’s first gift, creation, and the mediations that derive from it are not undone or rendered irrelevant.
- Publisher Fortress Press
- Format Paperback
- ISBN 9781506410111
- eBook ISBN 9781506425153
- Dimensions 5 x 7
- Pages 176
- Publication Date December 1, 2017
Contents
Introduction
1. God and/or the Created World
2. The Principle of Sola Gratia and the Value of Christian Freedom and
Good Works
3. Sola Fides and the Reasoned Assimilation of Christian Revelation
4. Sola Scriptura and the Spirit-Guided Transmission of the Faith
5. Solus Christus and the Origins of Christian Life, Spirituality, and Ministry
6. Ecclesia Semper Reformanda and the Faithful Mediation of God’s Gifts
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Endorsements
The best Catholic engagement with Luther that I have read.
Matthew Levering | Mundelin Seminary
Those who are seeking a clearly written study of the enduring relevance of Luther’s thought will find in O’Callaghan a sure-footed guide.
"The lightness of touch, which characterizes this retrospective appraisal of Martin Luther’s theology, belies the deep learning from which it flows. Its suitability for students of theology and the interested general reader alike will ensure that it will be widely used. Those who are seeking a clearly written study of the enduring relevance of Luther’s thought will find in O’Callaghan a sure-footed guide."
Salvador Ryan | St Patrick's College
O’Callaghan hits just the right tone for this year of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
“In this highly readable examination of central themes in Luther’s theology, Paul O’Callaghan offers his readers an example of the 'receptive ecumenism' he encourages. Without downplaying fundamental contrasts between Luther’s theology and Roman Catholic tradition, he finds in each not only characteristic insights but also issues that require rethinking. O’Callaghan hits just the right tone for this year of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.”
Gilbert Meilaender | Valparaiso University
Remarkably efficient and accessible.
"... a remarkably efficient and accessible systematic treatment of key themes in Luther's oeuvre which combines engagement with the relevant primary sources and attentiveness to their spiritual as well as theological and ecclesial significance. It will be of particular relevance for a Catholic readership."
Paul D. Murray | Durham University