Justification

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 200 pages
• Published by: Augsburg Fortress Publishers January 1, 1990
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0800624033
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0800624033
• Book Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 9.8 ounces

Product Description
In Part I, Braaten assesses Luther's view of justification and its subsequent interpretation by orthodoxy, by Calvin, by Ritschl and Harnack, by Tillich, and by Barth. In Part II, the discussion turns to ecumenical dialogues on justification and the relation of the doctrine to evangelization, to the distinction between law and gospel, to pastoral care, and to the church's involvement in secular issues. Always lucid, often challenging, this book will stimulate thought and discussion beyond confessional lines.

Reader Reviews
This was an excellent read. Braaten is easy to follow and understand, and he articulates this article well. The 1st chapter of the book describes how justification lost its central role in Lutheran theology and needs to be reclaimed, it serves as an excellent introduction to the work. The first part of the book describes the article of justification by grace alone through faith alone on account of Christ alone as it has been taught by historic Lutheran theologians, neo-Lutheran theologians, and others, it covers a history of the article of justification in chapter 2, Paul Tillich's thoughts on justification in chapter 3, Battles between Lutheran theologians and Karl Barth in chapter 4, and the gospel in chapter 5. The history of the article of justification is very good and very necessary, showing us that Luther did not formulate the doctrine himself but was really drawing upon the Apostle Paul, Thomas Aquinus, and St. Augustine before him. Braaten also makes the case of the importance of justification as the central article of the church because it deals with our standing before our Holy God. I must admit, I am not too familiar with the works of Paul Tillich, so I will only say that if the picture that Braaten paints of him is accurate, then he is a voice that needs to be heeded in our time. The debates between Barth and Lutheran theologians in chapter 4, even though Barth and the Lutherans both claim justification as the central article of their theology, help us to understand both how far modern Lutheranism has come from its understanding of itself, and how much it needs to reclaim. However, I only say this with reference to early Barth, because as his doctrine of justification grew with time, he took away from it the sola gratia sola fide solus Christus and added a process to it. In the final chapter in the first part of the book, Braaten illustrates the gospel for us, as he speaks about the nature of justifying faith and justifying grace. This is an excellent chapter! It goes through the contemporary questions on justification, presents scripture in its defense and then goes on to address its centralily in the church. This chapter is, in my opinion, the capstone of the book. The second part of the book deals with practical applications of the doctrine of justification. In chapter 6, Braaten writes about the Lutheran ecumenical dialogues, and how they danced around the issue of justification in most of them (excluding the Lutheran-Reformed dialogue, in which they seemed to have reached real consensus). In chapter 7, Braaten deals with God's universal grace. In chapter 8, he deals with the proper distinction between law and gospel in preaching, in chapter 9, Braaten writes about justification and clinical pastoral education, and finally in chapter 10, he speaks about the idea of the church dealing only with the realm of the spiritual, and the government dealing only with the realm of the political. Chapter 6 was worthwhile only in gaining a basic understanding of the Lutheran Ecumenical dialogues and their discussions on justification. I feel that Braaten glossed over these, and could've gone into a bit more detail on the discussions themselves, this, in my mind, was the weakest chapter in the book. He did not mention too much about the agreements and disagreements on justification, only writing a skeleton. In chapter 7, Braaten's discussion of God's universal grace was amazing! The idea that we can open the possibility of God saving all people blew me away! After reading so many Calvinist theologians, it was nice to get a breath of fresh air and a sense of hope instead of just depressing insights on the elect and the reprobate. Chapter 8 was well written as well. The idea of the law's purpose in civil governance and accusing the sinner was something new to me, I hadn't really thought about the law all that much. It is nice to see a good discussion on the law and its purpose. Again, an excellent chapter. Braaten seemed extremely critical of the C.P.E. movement at some points, but seemed to think it was a positive thing at some points. His point on correlating theology and psychology was excellent. Finally, Braaten spoke of the doctrine of two kingdoms, a vile thing as currently defined in the church, but as he said, when redefined would be helpful for us to determine our roles in society as Christians, this chapter was second only to the chapter outlining justification. It spoke volumes as to the role of Christians in society, and the centrality of justification in that role. Overall, an excellent read. Braaten is an amazing theologian with plenty of insight into the church as a whole, I would highly encourage any Christian to read this book, whether Lutheran or not.