Recherche – Detailansicht
Ausgabe: | Juni/2022 |
Spalte: | 594–595 |
Kategorie: | Dogmen- und Theologiegeschichte |
Autor/Hrsg.: | Stjerna, Kirsi |
Titel/Untertitel: | Lutheran Theology. A Grammar of Faith. |
Verlag: | London u. a.: Bloomsbury T & T Clark 2021. XIV, 218 S. Kart. US$ 34,95. ISBN 9780567686725. |
Rezensent: | Risto Saarinen |
Kirsi Stjerna is Professor of Lutheran History and Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley. She has pub-lished extensively on the Reformation. Her monograph Reforma-tion Women (2009) is a standard work of its kind. The present vol-ume is a general introduction to Lutheran theology, based on S.’s academic teaching.
In the first part (9–29), Martin Luther’s career is briefly present-ed. The second part (33–81) focuses on the theology of Lutheran Confessions. The third part (85–199) outlines the most significant topics of Lutheran theology. They include »God-Talk«, »The Human Condition«, »Communities of Faith and Means of Grace« and a chapter on ethical issues. References are made to the English translations of Reformation sources. In her historical and theological presentation, S. often mentions current debates in the church as well as in the academic environment.
The book can be recommended for undergraduate students who want to become familiar with the issues of global Lutheranism. S.’s perspective combines American seminary environment with her own cultural background in Northern Europe. While she knows German scholarship well, her theological approach does not focus on Protestantism as a whole but attempts to define the specific nature of Lutheran theology and church. This approach employs traditional doctrinal material but it also emphasizes the openness for new insights, in particular those concerning spirituality and women’s role in the church.
S. employs this approach, for instance, to discuss the relation-ship of faith and reason in the context of Luther’s Catechisms. She first recommends her readers to embrace current scientific knowledge. Then she invites theologians »to imagine God bigger than historical doctrines that […] may clash with most recent scientific vistas.« Instead of scientific premise, the grammar for God should be »a religious cosmological orientation that regards life as is, and as a gift, and, in that, holiness beyond human comprehen-sion«. From this standpoint, one can approach our environmental crisis »so that instead of using and abusing [creation], human beings would be committed to caring for the creation« (101–102).
It remains unclear, however, how the cosmological orientation and holiness beyond comprehension can in fact be more helpful than science and historical doctrines. As alternative truths abound in American public discussion, theologians should be very careful in defining the role of science. Environmental crisis in particular is an issue in which science is urgently needed. Also, the distinction between »use« and »care« with regard to creation is not spelled out in the above-mentioned passage. To provide a theological argument that supports these claims, more than the text of the Catechism is needed. At the same time, this and many other similar passages should probably be read benevolently as expressions of spi-rituality rather than intellectual reflection. S. aims at edifying her readers with a distinct kind of spiritual language that involves care, prayer, and imagination.
As S. is a church historian, her perspective to contemporary issues does not employ much hermeneutical elaboration. Many current issues, such as human rights, ecology, and interfaith matters are mentioned in passing and without interpretative bridges. This may be due to the book’s character as textbook; it provides the student with historical basis and leaves many issues to be discussed more broadly in the classroom. For this purpose, the main parts of the book end with a statement of »central topics and learning goals« as well as »questions for review, discussion, and further reflection« and lists of »keywords« and »readings«.
For this reason, the book’s subtitle »A Grammar of Faith« should not be read in any hermeneutical or philosophical sense. The book is rather like »an abc of faith«, that is, a pedagogical introduction that teaches Lutheran language. Obviously, this approach evokes many hermeneutical questions. As the book aims to provide a historical rationale for the contemporary manifestation of Lutheranism in America, one could ask critically whether the historical Reformation in Wittenberg can really explain today’s global Lutheranism.
As experienced historian, S. attempts to pursue her case with a careful and moderate explanation of historical facts. While she is inclined to Scandinavian and Finnish scholarship, she balances that with solid German and American historical research. She prefers traditional theological concepts like »the Lord’s Supper«, »consolation«, and baptism as »new birth«. This choice of words allows a firm grounding on history. It also corresponds to the language actually used in the English-speaking global Lutheranism. In this sense, the work is a reliable introduction to Lutheran thinking.
The benefit of this distinctive language is that the English-speaking Lutheranism can construct its own identity somewhere be-tween the ancient churches and later Protestant denomina-tions. S. manages to capture this distinctiveness well. At the same time, the historical language makes Lutheran theology to appear as a somewhat provincial way of thinking in the context of global academia and multicultural world. Obviously, this is not S’s fault. She continues the standard way of presenting Lutheran theology as a predominantly historical grammar of faith.