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?

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. .

Theological Anthropology, 500 years after Martin Luther gathers contributions on the theme of the human being and human existence from the perspectives of Orthodox and Protestant theology. These two traditions still have much to learn from each another, five hundred years after Martin Luther's Reformation. Taking Martin Luther's thought as a point of reference and presenting Orthodox perspectives in connection with and in contradistinction to it, this volume seeks to foster a dialogue on some of the key issues of theological anthropology, such as human freedom, sin, faith, the human as created in God's image and likeness, and the ultimate horizon of human existence. The present volume is one of the first attempts of this kind in contemporary ecumenical dialogue.

Glanmor Williams presents different views of Church History propagated by English writers during the Reformation. He introduces this topic by exploring the continental background, including Luther's arguments, the opponents and Luther's influence on important English authors of the sixteenth century. Almost as soon as Luther came to communicate his sensibilities to others he began to realise that defenders of orthodoxy would denounce them as an intolerably presumptuous threat on the part of a single misguided monk to fifteen hundred years of established authority in the Church. Quite apart from the counter-arguments such as those raised by the clerical controversialist, Eck, there was the obvious and very serious objection against criticism of the Church, voiced by the Emperor Charles V: "For it is certain," he protested, "that a single monk must err if he stands against the opinion of all Christendom. Otherwise Christendom itself would have erred for more than a thousand years." On October 31 1517, the then obscure friar-professor, Martin Luther, pinned up his ninety-five arguments on the church door at Wittenberg. He was, unknown to himself, proclaiming doctrines which were to find an echo in all corners of Europe in a remarkably short space of time. Among those who were most gladly to receive and propagate the Lutheran message was a young Englishman, William Tyndale, the outstanding English reformer of the first generation, and a major figure among English reformers of any generation. In this fascinating book Williams also looks at the great impact of John Bale and John Foxe.

Stanley Hauerwas is one of today's greatest theologians, but like many of us, he is also a godparent. In this very special collection he invites us to share in fifteen letters to sent to his godson, Laurence Wells. Each letter, sent on the anniversary of Laurence’s baptism every year, distills years of self-reflection and religious thinking into heartfelt notes packed with wit, warmth and verve. The letters explore what makes a happy, fulfilled life: kindness, courage, humility, joy, friendship, simplicity, humour, generosity and faith. An introduction by Samuel Wells—Laurence’s father—tells the story behind these letters and offers insight into being a godparent.

The sixteenth-century Reformation in all its forms and expressions sought nothing less than the transformation of the Christian faith. Five hundred years later, in today's context of world Christianity, the transformation continues. In this volume, editor Dale Irvin draws together a variety of international Christian perspectives that open up new understandings of the Reformation. In six chapters, contributors offer general discussions and case studies of the effects of the Protestant Reformation on global communities from the sixteenth century to the present. Together, these essays encourage a reading and interpretation of the Reformation that will aid in the further transformation of Christianity today. CONTENTS: Introduction 1. Jews and Muslims in Europe: Exorcising Prejudice against the Other Charles Amjad-Ali 2. Spaniards in the Americas: Las Casas among the Reformers Joel Morales Cruz 3. Women from Then to Now: A Commitment to Mutuality and Literacy Rebecca A. Giselbrecht 4. The Global South: The Synod of Dort on Baptizing the "Ethnics" David D. Daniels 5. The Protestant Reformations in Asia: A Blessing or a Curse? Peter C. Phan 6. The Modern Era: Contemporary Challenges in Light of the Reformation Vladimir Latinovic