Bound Choice, Election, And Wittenberg Theological Method: From Martin Luther To The Formula Of Concord

by Robert Kolb

Galvanized by Erasmuss teaching on free will, Martin Luther wrote De servo arbitrio, or The Bondage of the Will, insisting that the sinful human will could not turn itself to God. In this first study to investigate the sixteenth-century reception of De servo, Robert Kolb unpacks Luthers theology and recounts his followers ensuing disputes until their resolution in the Lutheran churches 1577 Formula of Concord.

381 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2005

About the author

Robert Kolb (PhD, University of Wisconsin) is Mission Professor of Systematic Theology emeritus at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the author of numerous books including The Genius of Luther’s Theology and is coeditor of The Book of Concord (2000 translation).

Reviews

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

After Martin Luther's death Lutheranism basically split into two factions. The Phillipists who were loyal to Luther's protege Phillip Melanchthon wanted to in effect soften various aspects of Luther's theology. They virtually ignorned the work that Martin Luther was most proud of (The Bondage of the Will) and emphasize "free will" and humanity's ability to contribute something to their salvation. In other words, they wanted to drift back toward Catholicism and away from Luther. The Geneseo Lutherans wanted to remain committed to Luther's perspective and became more influenced by John Calvin than Phillip Melanchthon. Kolb does an excellent job of detailing the history of these debates and the ultimate compromise that was tragically closer to Melanchthon than to Calvin.

This is a very good book but I can't see many other than professional historians or theologians enjoying it because there is so much detail.

(Note: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book. 3 = Very good; 4 = Outstanding {only about 5% of the books I read merit this}; 5 = All time favorites {one of these may come along every 400-500 books})

[Knut Kåre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Svært god bok om spenningen mellom Guds suverenitet og menneskets ansvar, slik det først ble formulert i Luthers "Om den trellbundne viljen" og siden i den lutherske debatten fram til man fikk en løsning i konkordieformelen.