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Luther: An Introduction to His Thought
"Ebeling is a scholar of distinction and writes on a subject of stature."
― Geoffrey Bromiley, Christianity Today "This 'introduction' to Luther's way of thinking is a series of commentaries on the main themes of Luther's letter and spirit; law and gospel; person and work; faith and love; the kingdom of Christ and the world; Christian man and secular man; God hidden and revealed. The themes are introduced by aptly chosen passages from Luther's writings and they are discussed with a theological shrewdness which is born of a thorough acquaintance with Luther, the creative theologian, and an intense participation in the theological struggles of today.... This is a very suggestive and rewarding book."
― Wilhelm Pauck, Theology Today "Gerhard Ebeling will be remembered as one of the most distinguished and influential theologians of the twentieth century.... The unity among theological profundity, ethical sensitivity, human wisdom, and the refined style of his German prose constitutes a permanent intellectual treasure to be gratefully enjoyed time and again as we enter into the uncertainties of the new millennium."
― Hans Dieter Betz, The Journal of Religion "Ebeling does more than interpret and relate Luther's thought for us, he actually introduces us to Luther himself.... He furthers our understanding of both Luther and the contemporary hermeneutical issues by dealing with the way Luther grasped and spoke the word of God."
― Carter Lindberg, Interpretation
― Geoffrey Bromiley, Christianity Today "This 'introduction' to Luther's way of thinking is a series of commentaries on the main themes of Luther's letter and spirit; law and gospel; person and work; faith and love; the kingdom of Christ and the world; Christian man and secular man; God hidden and revealed. The themes are introduced by aptly chosen passages from Luther's writings and they are discussed with a theological shrewdness which is born of a thorough acquaintance with Luther, the creative theologian, and an intense participation in the theological struggles of today.... This is a very suggestive and rewarding book."
― Wilhelm Pauck, Theology Today "Gerhard Ebeling will be remembered as one of the most distinguished and influential theologians of the twentieth century.... The unity among theological profundity, ethical sensitivity, human wisdom, and the refined style of his German prose constitutes a permanent intellectual treasure to be gratefully enjoyed time and again as we enter into the uncertainties of the new millennium."
― Hans Dieter Betz, The Journal of Religion "Ebeling does more than interpret and relate Luther's thought for us, he actually introduces us to Luther himself.... He furthers our understanding of both Luther and the contemporary hermeneutical issues by dealing with the way Luther grasped and spoke the word of God."
― Carter Lindberg, Interpretation
267 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
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About the author
Gerhard Ebeling
86 books3 followersEbeling (1912-2001) studied theology under Rudolf Bultmann at Marburg, Emil Brunner at Zurich, and D. Bonhoeffer in the "illegal" seminary at Finkenwalde. After pastoring a Confessing Church congregation in Berlin during the war years, he joined the faculty at Tubingen, followed by several decades as Professor of Fundamental Theology and Hermeneutics at the University of Zurich.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 12, 2021
Thanks be to God.
It is rare that I read a book cover to cover, let alone do it in less that 6 months. The reason this text in particular drew me in and captivated me is that it felt as a repetition of my being seduced by theology 2 years ago. I was stuck then and I have been struck again; theology is an OPEN mode of thought which creates more possibilities than it closes. Theology is here not the static identification of all that is true with the unchanging, remote entity; it is an orientation which strives always to take everything in its real relational being, which thinks through the problems of man's existence along the lines of tensions, contradictions and asymmetries. Man is sinner and justified, free and bound, God is hidden and revealed, encountering us in different words, etc. Ebeling's engagement with the tensions of Luther's thought, his refusal to dismiss them as paradoxes or to reduce one term to the other, is his great achievement. As a result, Luther comes off in this text as shockingly contemporary and alive. Take this example, it is one of many:
"Thus Luther can claim that theology defines man far more accurately than the traditional definition of a man as animal rationale, when it defines him with regard to the fact that human existence is a continuous event, and that this event, seen from its furthest terminus a quo and its ultimate terminus ad quem, is justification." (164)
'Human existence as a continuous event'; this easily could have been an exposition of the thought of a 20th century thinker. Every chapter carries with it a new perspective such as this--a presentation which seamlessly sticks close to Luther while at the same time making transparent the relevance of his thought has for us in our situation.
Five stars
It is rare that I read a book cover to cover, let alone do it in less that 6 months. The reason this text in particular drew me in and captivated me is that it felt as a repetition of my being seduced by theology 2 years ago. I was stuck then and I have been struck again; theology is an OPEN mode of thought which creates more possibilities than it closes. Theology is here not the static identification of all that is true with the unchanging, remote entity; it is an orientation which strives always to take everything in its real relational being, which thinks through the problems of man's existence along the lines of tensions, contradictions and asymmetries. Man is sinner and justified, free and bound, God is hidden and revealed, encountering us in different words, etc. Ebeling's engagement with the tensions of Luther's thought, his refusal to dismiss them as paradoxes or to reduce one term to the other, is his great achievement. As a result, Luther comes off in this text as shockingly contemporary and alive. Take this example, it is one of many:
"Thus Luther can claim that theology defines man far more accurately than the traditional definition of a man as animal rationale, when it defines him with regard to the fact that human existence is a continuous event, and that this event, seen from its furthest terminus a quo and its ultimate terminus ad quem, is justification." (164)
'Human existence as a continuous event'; this easily could have been an exposition of the thought of a 20th century thinker. Every chapter carries with it a new perspective such as this--a presentation which seamlessly sticks close to Luther while at the same time making transparent the relevance of his thought has for us in our situation.
Five stars
Displaying 1 of 1 review