Theology of the Cross: Luther's Heidelberg Disputation & Reflections on Its 28 Theses

by Caleb Keith

The Theology of the Cross is one of the core elements of Martin Luther's theology. The development of this doctrine through the Heidelberg Disputation has been considered an essential element of Luther's breakthrough on justification, and crucial to his theological reforms and future split with the Roman Catholic Church. These statements by Luther, originally penned to be defended in debate, are counter-intuitive, contrary, offensive, and thrilling paradoxes, starting with the first and most astounding of them "The Law of God, the most salutary doctrine of life cannot advance humans on their way to righteousness, but rather hinders them." We hope the collection of interpretations that follow the theses in this book will help you to understand their impact.

Genres: Theology

119 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 28, 2018

Reviews

[Kendall Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice presentation of Heidelberg along with Luther's explanations of the theses. I appreciated the format of having short essays reflecting on groups of theses. It enables the reader to meditate on what is a rather dense text. Great for devotions. Definitely some real gems in some of those essays.

My only nitpick is that I felt that some of the essays seemed to skirt over issues that I thought deserved some comment, e.g. the positive role of works and the law in the life of the Christian, what we really mean when we say that the "good works" of unbelievers are not truly "good works." There could've also been some definitions of key terms, like "the law." At the same time I recognize that this book is a collection of rather short essays from various authors, so some of this would be rather difficult to pull off.

All in all, this is a good lay-level introduction to the Heidelberg Disputation and its implications for theology and spirituality. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a quick and accessible introduction the the HD.

[Jennifer Bowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

We went to some lectures on Martin Luther last year by Jonathan Master. He introduced me to Luther's Heidelberg Disputation, a more rigorous theology than the 95 theses were. It's obvious his thinking had progressed greatly.
There were 28 theses in the Disputation, and these have been divided between about a dozen authors who comment on them in a devotional, but deep and thoughtful, manner.
I will definitely be re-reading this one!

[Gary Inbinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of essays on Luther's Heidelberg Disputation. This is an excellent introduction to Lutheran Theology and a fine companion work to the Book of Concord. While primarily of interest to Lutherans, it should also be useful to anyone interested in the theological and historical bases of the Protestant Reformation.