Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Mickey L. Mattox is associate professor of theology at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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CHANGING CHURCHES

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Contents

Abbreviations...................................................................................................................ixIntroduction....................................................................................................................11. From Lutheran to Catholic — Justification and Holiness Mickey L. Mattox...............................................212. From Lutheran to Orthodox — Theosis A. G. Roeber......................................................................693. Catholic "Church," Lutheran "Community"? Mickey L. Mattox...................................................................1124. From the Lutheran "Marks" of the Church to the Orthodox "Mysteries" A. G. Roeber............................................1545. Untranslatable? Orthodox-Catholic-Lutheran Conversation Stoppers A. G. Roeber...............................................1946. Becoming Catholic — Problems, Resolutions, Further Development Mickey L. Mattox.......................................224AFTERWORD: Staying Lutheran in the Changing Church(es): Why We All Need Lutheran Theology Paul R. Hinlicky.....................281Index...........................................................................................................................315

Chapter One

It is often said in Lutheran circles that the doctrine of justification is the central truth of the Christian faith, or, in more traditional Lutheran terminology, the "article by which the church stands or falls" (articulus stantis aut cadentis ecclesiae). At the time of the Reformation, Catholics did not contest the Lutherans' insistence on the centrality of the sinner's justification before God, but they did most vehemently reject the Lutherans' doctrine of justification, at least as Catholic bishops and theologians understood it. The Orthodox, of course, did not participate in this distinctively Western controversy; after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, most Orthodox had problems enough of their own to worry about without looking to faraway Germany for controversies. Even in the sixteenth century, though, Lutheran theologians did initiate contact with the Christian East, so that Orthodox did at last become familiar with Lutheran theology, although from their perspective the Lutheran insistence on the centrality of the doctrine of justification was hardly self-evident. From those initial encounters down to the present day, most Orthodox see this as a controversy whose very point of departure reveals its embeddedness in the problematic "juridical" mind-set of the Western church, as well as in a flawed understanding of the relationship between nature and grace.

I defer for the moment questions of the Western church's "juridical" mind-set and understanding of nature and grace, and note simply that it was controversy over the question of justification that led to the split between Catholics and Lutherans in the sixteenth century. For every Lutheran who considers "swimming the Tiber," it is probably still the first question that leaps to mind. In the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ), as will be shown below, Lutherans and Catholics have reached a theological agreement on this issue, so its power to divide their churches, and so to prohibit Lutherans from becoming Catholics (or vice versa for that matter), has largely been defused. However, in spite of extensive ecumenical contacts and, in places, close working relationships between Lutherans and Orthodox, the Lutheran doctrine of justification remains a formidable theological difficulty for Orthodox, much as theosis remains a question for Lutherans. Thus, one of the goals of this and the following chapter is to advance the conversation about these problems. The present chapter does so by digging into the roots of Lutheran doctrine. I try to show that the Lutheran doctrine of justification, particularly in the forms in which one finds it in the theology of Martin Luther, includes a rich mystical component right alongside the juridical. Indeed, Lutherans have from their earliest history employed not just juridical language but their own special mystical theological language, particularly regarding the "union of faith" between God and the believer. Luther's doctrine, his distinctive refraction of the paradosis of the faith, should be more widely understood and appreciated by Orthodox, for it has the potential not only to narrow the ecumenical gap between Protestants and Orthodox, but also, I believe, to contribute constructively to Orthodox theology and practice itself. Luther, in other words, is more than just an interesting theological partner, more, even, than just a great theologian; he is a crucial link in the living tradition as it has been handed down among the separated Protestant brethren. He and his tradition need to be known, and they need to be better known, by both Catholics and Orthodox.

As an initial contribution toward that goal, I offer below a brief historical sketch and analysis of the split between Lutherans and Catholics, together with an explication of Luther's understanding of justification that brings out some underappreciated elements of his faith and teaching, elements that should make his faith somewhat more palatable to Orthodox readers, and that will further suggest some of the reasons why, in spite of the clear family resemblances between Lutheranism and Catholicism, some Lutherans will gravitate in the direction of Constantinople rather than Rome, a trajectory that Roeber will examine in more detail in chapter 2. My hope in what follows below, however, is not only to contribute to Orthodox appreciation for Luther, but also to move readers on all sides forward toward a deeper respect and even a critical appropriation of Luther as a teacher of the Christian faith.

This task is perhaps more urgent in relation to the Orthodox, but in spite of the heroic efforts of Catholic Luther scholars, much also remains to be done for Roman Catholics. Even among ecumenically progressive Catholics, Luther remains a problematic figure, particularly regarding the "subjectivism" some have found in his understanding of faith and justification. Some aspects of Luther's theology can be rightly faulted, I believe, from a Catholic or Orthodox perspective, especially, as will become apparent in chapter 4, his understanding of the church or his criticisms of the monastic life. But as I will try to show below, criticisms of his doctrine of justification should be set in the context of broad appreciation and even sympathy, both for the fundamental points he was trying to make and for the man himself as a Christian theologian. Orthodox are unlikely, of course, to write him into an icon anytime soon, and Catholics do not seem to be on the verge of proclaiming him a saint. Nevertheless, as a theologian Luther really should be seen as a "common doctor" (doctor communis), a resource, that is, for both Orthodox and Catholics.

The Sixteenth-Century Division: A Historical Sketch

To understand the Lutheran doctrine of justification and to recognize its place within the long development of Western catholic theology, we need to...