Ink against the devil Loewen, Harry
Ink against the devil,
2015, 2015, 2015-06-18, 2015-06-12
eBook
Sixteenth-century Reformation Europe was a tumultuous time during which many defining ideas of the modern era were formulated. The technological advancement augured by the Gutenberg press allowed the ...unprecedented circulation of ideas among a growing legion of literate Europeans. The writings of radical reformer Martin Luther were perhaps most influential of all. His opposition to the universal Roman Catholic Church fundamentally challenged the elites and their institutions. Along the way, Luther was opposed by the Church, the political powers of the day, and competing religious ideologies. Ink Against the Devil distills the major impulses from these debates that continue to resonate to this day. This book will appeal to both lay and professional scholars of the Reformation and its major players with prose that is accessible and free of jargon. Loewen directly addresses the debates between Luther and his many foes, including Humanists like Erasmus and the sectarian opponents found among contemporary Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Of particular interest will be a focus on anti-semitism throughout Luther's published writings and sermons. There may be no other examples of this book's scope in such a natural, narrative presentation.
In this new account of the emergence of a distinctive territorial state in early modern Germany, Robert von Friedeburg examines how the modern notion of state does not rest on the experience of a ...bureaucratic state-apparatus. It emerged to stabilize monarchy from dynastic insecurity and constrain it to protect the rule of law, subjects, and their lives and property. Against this background, Lutheran and neo-Aristotelian notions on the spiritual and material welfare of subjects dominating German debate interacted with Western European arguments against 'despotism' to protect the lives and property of subjects. The combined result of this interaction under the impact of the Thirty Years War was Seckendorff's Der Deutsche Fürstenstaat (1656), constraining the evil machinations of princes and organizing the detailed administration of life in the tradition of German Policey, and which founded a specifically German notion of the modern state as comprehensive provision of services to its subjects.
In Cicero in Heaven, Carl Springer examines the influence of Cicero on Luther and other reformers and discusses the importance of the Reformation for Cicero's continued use, especially in schools, in ...the following centuries.
Among pivotal historical moments in the United States, the civil rights movement stands out. In Where the Sacred and Secular Harmonize: Birmingham Mass Meeting Rhetoric and the Prophetic Legacy of ...the Civil Rights Movement, David G. Holmes offers an original rhetorical analysis of six speeches delivered during the 1963 civil rights campaign in Birmingham, Alabama. Holmes frames his analysis within the biblical concept of prophecy. However, he stresses the idea of prophecy as sociopolitical forth-telling, rather than mystical foretelling. Based on his own transcriptions from rare recordings, Holmes examines how these orations, which clergy and laypeople delivered, address enduring themes such as the role of religion and politics, black leadership and black activism, and the political and popular legacies of the civil rights movement. Drawing upon American history, politics, hermeneutics, homiletics, and rhetoric, Holmes's discussion ranges from civil rights prophets to contemporary politicians, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama. Where the Sacred and Secular Harmonize illustrates how the Birmingham mass meeting oratory of 1963 represented a quality of democratic discourse desperately needed today.
This article examines what can be learned from teaching Luther to American college students. It reviews several ways in which college students benefit from studying Luther. The article suggests that ...identifying the “operating principles” in Luther's thought can help students more carefully discern the contemporary significance of his thought. After discussing some challenges encountered when teaching Luther to college students, the article ends with reflections on the theological significance of the college context. While Luther's discovery of a gracious God remains central, the college setting promotes a retrieval of several broader themes in Luther's thinking that have often been neglected by Lutherans: ongoing creation, wisdom, the Bible as “torah,” the suffering of God, and societal reform.
The Psalms forced Martin Luther to change how he read the Bible.In Psalms of the Faithful Brian German shows us Luther's reappraisal of the plain sense of Scripture. By following the canonical ...shaping of the Psalter, Luther refined his interpretive principles into a more finely grained hermeneutic. Luther inspires us to read the Psalms empathetically with ancient Israelites and early church fathers. He stirs us up to join the "faithful synagogue" in praying to and praising the Lord our God.According to many scholars, Luther established his approach to biblical exegesis on the claim that Jesus Christ is Scripture's content and speaker. While Luther used this formulation in prefaces, how did he really read the Bible?German applies pressure not only to how Luther scholars understand Luther's interpretive method, but also to how modern biblical exegetes approach their task-and even to how we read the Bible.
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