The Catholicity of the Reformation

by Carl E. Braaten (Editor), Robert W. Jenson (Editor)

Overview

As the title of this learned collection of essays suggests, "catholicity" was the true intent of the Reformation. The Reformers did not set out to create what later came to be known as Protestant Christianity. Theirs was a quest for reformation and renewal in continuity with the "one holy catholic and apostolic church" of ancient times.

This informed and informative book continues the appeal of previous voices that have pointed out the catholic intention of the Reformation — such voices as those of Friedrich Heiler, Philip Schaff, and Paul Tillich, to name only a few — and calls the heirs of the Reformation, both pastors and churches, to be faithful to the evangelical and catholic elements of the great Christian tradition.

Contributors:

• Carl E. Braaten
• James R. Crumley
• Gunther Gassmann
• Robert W. Jenson
• Frank C. Senn
• Robert L. Wilken
• David S. Yeago

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802842206
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	12/11/1996
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.28(d)

About the Author

Carl E. Braaten is professor emeritus of systematic theology at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and former executive director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology.


Robert W. Jenson (1930–2017) was a senior scholar for research at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey. He was also cofounder and associate director of the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology and cofounder and coeditor of the journal Pro Ecclesia. He was renowned for his work on ecumenical, systematic, and Trinitarian theology.

Table of Contents

Preface
Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson

The Church as Communio
Robert W. Jenson

The Catholic Luther
David S. Yeago

The Reform of the Mass: Evangelical, but Still Catholic
Frank C. Senn

The Problem of Authority in the Church
Carl E. Braaten

The Pastoral Office: A Catholic and Ecumenical Perspective
James R. Crumley

Lutheran Pietism and Catholic Piety
Robert L. Wilken

The Church Is a Communion of Churches
Günther Gassmann

Editorial Reviews

Geoffrey W. Bromiley
"These essays try to rescue the term catholic from exclusive association with Roman Catholicism. Written from a Lutheran orientation, they plead for an evangelical catholicity. The authors cover such main themes as liturgy and ministry, and a survey of some of the texts used by Barth reveals a close affinity between Lutheran Pietism and catholic piety."

From the Publisher

The essays in this volume present fine examples of the theological work that results when the Reformation's catholicity and commitment to the unity of the Church are properly valued and when the need for genuine renewal and reform is positioned by Protestants for Protestantism.... The authors anthologized by Carl Braaten and Robert Jenson, however, show what continuing reform and ecumenical seriousness might require.

First Things

This volume should prove of great interest not only to Lutheran or Reformation scholars but also to anyone interested in the state of Christianity today.... Thought provoking.

Sixteenth Century Journal