Ecumenical Perspectives Five Hundred Years After Luther’s Reformation (Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue)

This book offers ecumenical essays that focus on Reformation Christianity and on current Lutheran-Catholic understandings and relationships. It addresses important issues, including the meaning of the Reformation, the reception of Luther in Germany and beyond, contemporary ecumenical dialogues, and pathways to the future. There is also some inclusion of Jewish and Orthodox traditions as well as attention to global issues. Taken as a whole, the primary method of this book is theology informed by history, hermeneutics, ethics, and social theory. Within the structure of the book can be found the classic hermeneutical circle: What was the meaning of the Reformation for Luther in his own time? What are various ways in which Luther and the Reformation have been interpreted in history? How does knowledge of these things help us today to understand the Reformation and to move forward? Gerard Mannion held the Joseph and Winifred Amaturo Chair in Catholic Studies at Georgetown University, where he was also a Senior Research Fellow of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. Dennis M. Doyle is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Dayton, where he has taught for over thirty-five years. Theodore G. Dedon is a PhD candidate in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Georgetown University specializing in Religion and International Affairs. Contents Notes on Contributors List of Illustrations Chapter 1: Introduction Part I: The Meaning and Reception of Luther’s Reformation Chapter 2: Open Temple and Dialogical Church: How to Fulfill the Reform of Paul and the Protestant Reformation? A Keynote Address Part 1: The Spark of Reformation in Paul’s Movement—The Opening for All People Part 2: The Spark of Reformation in Luther’s Reform and the Common Priesthood Part 3: The Spark of the Reformation and the Dream of a Dialogical Church Chapter 3: Martin Luther Between His Message and the Celebration of His Fifth Centenary Some Impressions of the Luther Festivities in Germany A Variety of Images of Luther Pictures of Luther Within the Catholic Church Luther’s Message of Justification by Faith in Ecumenical Context Chapter 4: “Happy Birthday, Comrade Martin!” The 500th Anniversary of Luther’s Birth and the Challenge to State Authority in the German Democratic Republic The Luther Commemoration and Church–State Relationships in the GDR The Shift in the Official Historical Understanding of Martin Luther The Martin Luther Anniversary as a Contested Commemoration Conclusions Chapter 5: Freedom from the Law: From Luther to Agamben Agamben and Inoperativeness [inoperosità] Luther and the Continued Presence of the Law Simon Critchley on Agamben The Return to Paul Conclusion Chapter 6: From Julius Evola to Anders Breivik: The Invented Tradition of Far-Right Christianity Revolt Against the Modern World! The “Christianity” of Christian Identitarianism This Time, the World! The Politicization of Racialized Christian Identity Part II: Ecumenical Explorations Chapter 7: Jewish and Christian Traditions of the Interpretation of Scripture According to Robert Bellarmine Introduction Bellarmine as a Scripture Scholar and Polemicist Bellarmine as a Member of the Congregation for the Index of Prohibited Books Conclusion Chapter 8: Ecumenism and Jewish-Christian Dialogue: New Ways of Approaching Old Problems The Connections Between Ecumenism and Dialogue with Israel Writing Nostra Aetate Influences Between Denominations Messianic Movements Questions and Resources: The Grace of God and the Mystery of Israel A Dividing Issue Interpreting the New Testament The “canonical process” The Kingdom and Human History Chapter 9: From Conflict to Communion: Ecclesiology at the Center of Recent Lutheran-Orthodox Dialogues and the 2016 Orthodox Council of Crete Orthodox-Lutheran Dialogue The 2016 Council of Crete and Its Preparation Church and Churches Politics and Nationalism Commitment to Ecumenism Chapter 10: A Lutheran Reflection on Lived Ecumenism Chapter 11: Spreading the Word through the Image: Luther, Cranach, and the Reformation Introduction Luther on the Role of Images Lucas Cranach: Painting the Reformation Conclusion: From Wittenberg to the World Wide Web Chapter 12: Book Panel: Conversations with Bernhard Knorn, S.J. A. Reading Knorn’s Versöhnung und Kirche: Theologische Ansätze zur Realisierung des Friedens mit Gott in der Welt with a Focus on Ecumenism Receptive Ecumenism “We’re all in the same boat” Ecumenism Ecumenical Gift Exchange Conclusion B. Theology Empowering the Ministry of Reconciliation in the World Structure of the Book Deepening Ecclesiology from a Theology of Reconciliation Deepening the Theology of Reconciliation from Baptismal Theology C. Knorn in Connection with Zehner and Bonhoeffer D. Relating the Reconciliation in the World to the Reconciliation with God: A Response to Dennis Doyle, Simone Sinn, and Ralf Wüstenberg Reconciliation in the World as a Theological Reality Worldly Symbolic Representations of the Reconciliation with God The Theological Reality of Reconciliation Made Present and Understood in the Church Two Ecclesiological Models for Realizing the Reconciliation with God in the World Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Christological Model The Second Vatican Council: A Sacramental Model Part III: The Way Forward Chapter 13: The Freedom of a Christian: Memory and Reconciliation A Tale of Three Friars African American Interpretations Catholic-Protestant Relations and the Black Church in North America Georgetown University Chapter 14: Together in Hope for the Ecumenical Future Scriptural Reflection Common Commemoration Lutherans and Catholics in Common Commemoration as Cause for Hope Hope and the Dialogue Differentiating Consensus Conclusion Chapter 15: Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue at Vatican II and in Its Aftermath: Charting the Way Forward Where Did We Come From? Where Were We Going? Whither from Here? Index