This book offers a creative and illuminating discussion of Protestant theology. Veteran teacher Phillip Cary explains how Luther's theology arose from the Christian tradition, particularly from the spirituality of Augustine. Luther departed from the Augustinian tradition and inaugurated distinctively Protestant theology when he identified the gospel that gives us Christ as its key concept. More than any other theologian, Luther succeeds in carrying out the Protestant intention of putting faith in the gospel of Christ alone. Cary also explores the consequences of Luther's teachings as they unfold in the history of Protestantism.
This book offers a creative and illuminating discussion of Protestant theology. Veteran teacher Phillip Cary explains how Luther's theology arose from the Christian tradition, particularly from the spirituality of Augustine. Luther departed from the Augustinian tradition and inaugurated distinctively Protestant theology when he identified the gospel that gives us Christ as its key concept. More than any other theologian, Luther succeeds in carrying out the Protestant intention of putting faith in the gospel of Christ alone. Cary also explores the consequences of Luther's teachings as they unfold in the history of Protestantism.
Contents
Introduction: Why Protestantism?
Part 1: Spirituality and the Being of God
1.
Philosophical Spirituality
2. Divine Carnality
3. Christ the Mediator in Augustine
4. The Augustinian Journey and Its Anxieties
Part 2: The Gospel and the Power of God
5. Young Luther:
Justification as Penitential Process
6. Young Luther: Justification without Gospel
7. Luther the Reformer: Gospel as Sacramental Promise
8. Luther the Reformer: Gospel as Story That Gives Us Christ
Part 3: Christian Teaching and the Knowledge of God
9.
Scripture: Demanding the Wrong Kind of Certainty
10. Salvation: Faith in Christ's Promise Alone
11. Sacrament: Turning Outward to Divine Flesh
12. Trinity: God Giving Himself in Person
Conclusion: Why Luther's Gospel?
Appendix 1: Luther's Devils
Appendix 2: Gospel as Sacrament: Luther's Sermon on Christmas Day
1519
Index
Phillip Cary (PhD, Yale University) is scholar-in-residence at the Templeton Honors College and professor of philosophy at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. He serves as editor-in-chief of Pro Ecclesia and has written Good News for Anxious Christians and three critically acclaimed books on the life and thought of Augustine.
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