Exegesis and Encounter: Sola scriptura as Critique of Conceptual Idolatry in Martin Luther’s Theology
Though the problem of conceptual idolatry has captivated contemporary scholarship on the relationship between philosophy and theology, these discussions’ doctrinal consequences remain underdeveloped. I intervene in these debates by engaging and elucidating Martin Luther’s critique of scholastic meta...
| Published in: | Journal for continental philosophy of religion |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2020
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| In: |
Journal for continental philosophy of religion
Year: 2020, Volume: 2, Issue: 1, Pages: 47-72 |
| Further subjects: | B
Pelagianism
B Sola Scriptura B conceptual idolatry B Martin Luther B Metaphysics B Ontotheology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Though the problem of conceptual idolatry has captivated contemporary scholarship on the relationship between philosophy and theology, these discussions’ doctrinal consequences remain underdeveloped. I intervene in these debates by engaging and elucidating Martin Luther’s critique of scholastic metaphysics, a critique which foregrounds ontotheology’s spiritual and ecclesial detriments. Luther’s reforming works, from his pivotal 1525 De servo arbitrio to his last major project, the 1545 Genesis commentaries, reveal how a metaphysical theology based on natural reason leads to Pelagianism by generalizing faith to a rational conceptual norm, the moral Law. Returning, however, to Scripture’s "grammar" - which, when read plainly (simpliciter), deconstructs natural reason’s vanity - allows us to encounter Christ ‘in person’ rather than in the concept. Luther thus suggests sola scriptura as a method for resisting ontotheology, but with dramatic dogmatic consequences, such as justification by faith alone. These consequences complicate modernity’s, and especially modern philosophy’s, theological origins and implications. |
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| ISSN: | 2588-9613 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for continental philosophy of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/25889613-bja10001 |