The Catholicity of the Reformation - Paperback

by Carl E. Braaten (Editor), Robert W. Jenson (Editor)

As the title of this learned collection of essays suggests, "catholicity" was the true intent of the Reformation. The Reformers did not set out to create what later came to be known as Protestant Christianity. Theirs was a quest for reformation and renewal in continuity with the "one holy catholic and apostolic church" of ancient times.

This informed and informative book continues the appeal of previous voices that have pointed out the catholic intention of the Reformation -- such voices as those of Friedrich Heiler, Philip Schaff, and Paul Tillich, to name only a few -- and calls the heirs of the Reformation, both pastors and churches, to be faithful to the evangelical and catholic elements of the great Christian tradition.

Contributors:

• Carl E. Braaten
• James R. Crumley
• Gunther Gassmann
• Robert W. Jenson
• Frank C. Senn
• Robert L. Wilken
• David S. Yeago

Back Jacket

As the title of this engaging book suggests, "catholicity" was the true intent of the Reformation. The Reformers did not set out to create what later came to be known as Protestant Christianity. Theirs was a quest for reformation and renewal in continuity with the "one holy catholic and apostolic church" of ancient times. The authors of the essays collected here demonstrate this catholicity of the Reformers and stress the importance of recovering the church's catholic tradition today. Robert W. Jenson examines communio ecclesiology, describing ecumenical thought on this ecclesiology and developing it in a number of areas. David S. Yeago proposes a new way of reading Luther, suggesting that the shift in Luther's thought actually brought him closer to the church's catholic tradition. Frank C. Senn discusses the Reformers' changes to the order of the mass, which restored the people's participation and regular preaching on biblical texts. Carl E. Braaten explores the problems that arise from the lack of an office of teaching authority in Protestant churches. James R. Crumley examines various perspectives on the office of pastor, seeking to clarify the notion of ministry in the catholic tradition. Robert L. Wilken looks at Pietism, showing that this movement sought to recover lost aspects of medieval spirituality and called for a deepening of personal piety. Finally, Gunther Gassmann discusses the ways in which the church universal is and should be a communion of churches.

Author Biography

Carl E. Braaten is professor emeritus of systematic theology at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and former executive director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology.

Robert W. Jenson (1930-2017) was a leading Lutheran and ecumenical theologian. He served as codirector of the Institute for Theological Inquiry and was cofounder and longtime associate director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. Among his many significant books are A Religion against Itself, The Triune Identity, and the two-volume Systematic Theology.