Grace and Gratitude: Spirituality in Martin Luther(Past Light on Present Life: Theology, Ethics, and Spirituality)

Martin Luther (1483–1546) is a classic Christian author who spearheaded the Reformation and whose witness has relevance for life in the present-day world. Grace and Gratitude presents two texts that represent his spirituality. Because Luther wrote so much in so many different genres, the choice of only two texts provides a limited taste of his spirituality. But they open up a specific, central, and distinctive mark of his conception of the structure of Christian life. The name of the theme, justification by grace through faith, often spontaneously correlates with Luther's name and his theology. The phrase points to a key theological doctrine that centered his thinking; it lay so deeply ingrained in his outlook that it sometimes explicitly but always tacitly shaped all his early theological views and bestowed a distinctive character to his ethics and spirituality. The two texts are chosen to illustrate how the conviction represented by the phrase draws its authority from scripture, especially Paul, and was discursively analyzed in an early foundational work on Christian life, The Freedom of a Christian. These texts do not represent all there is to say about spirituality in Luther's thought by any means, and this part should not be taken for the whole. But the coupling of these texts penetrates deeply into what may be called Luther's Christian spirituality of gratitude.

Table of Contents:
I – Introduction to Luther and the Texts 1 II – The Texts: Martin Luther on Justification by Grace through Faith 19 Selection from Luther's Lectures on Galatians (1535) 21 Martin Luther: The Freedom of a Christian 74 III – Grace and Gratitude: Appropriating Luther's Spirituality Today 123 Further Reading 143 About the Series 145 About the Editors 151

About the Author :
Roger Haight (Edited By) Roger Haight, S.J. is a Visiting Professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He has written several books in the area of fundamental theology. A graduate of the University of Chicago, he is a past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. Alfred Pach (Edited By) Alfred Pach III is an Associate Professor of Medical Sciences and Global Health at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and an MDiv in Psychology and Religion from Union Theological Seminary. Amanda Avila Kaminski (Edited By) Amanda Avila Kaminski is an Assistant Professor of Theology at Texas Lutheran University, where she also leads the faith, diversity, and culture track in Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship. She has written extensively in this area of Christian spirituality.

Review :
Reading the series gives the sense of sitting in on an exciting seminar with an excellent teacher.-- "Theological Studies" Past Light on Present Life is a brilliantly dynamic series. It weaves together theological frameworks, ethical implications and spiritual mindsets in interpreting texts of numerous great personages in the history of Christian Spirituality. Importantly, in doing so it responds to searing questions of our current age. The genius of the series lies in the precise choices of the original texts at the heart of each concise volume, which provide the key for such pertinent interpretation. These volumes provide much needed fresh insight for experts in the field, as they also will prove invaluable for undergraduate teachers, graduate students, religious seekers and spiritual directors.---Julia D.E. Prinz on the Past Light on Present Life: Theology, Ethics, and Spirituality series Listening to Christian spirituality carefully and liberatingly for the present is neither simple nor necessarily welcome in pluralistic and secular contexts. This series, intended for respectful existential, secular and pluralistic engagement, promotes a deep conversation about how Christian spiritual heritage matters today. Readers are invited into the art of interpretation with--and beyond--these influential texts and authors, into difficult and urgent questions about how we live well together in a world where no one single vision prevails, but where we help each other clarify what matters most, making a world with room for all spiritual paths promising justice. For the everyday quest to live well together in a world we must equally share, Christian tradition offers spiritual wisdom--and this series offers able guides in recovering that wisdom and suggesting how it can be practiced today.---Tom Beaudoin on the Past Light on Present Life: Theology, Ethics, and Spirituality series