Christian Contradictions: The Structures of Lutheran and Catholic Thought

by Daphne Hampson

• ISBN13: 9780521604352
• ISBN10: 0521604354
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-11
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Catholic thought and Lutheran thought are differently structured, embodying divergent conceptions of self and God. Failing to grasp the Lutheran paradigm, Catholics have wrenched Luther into an inappropriate framework. Roman/Lutheran ecumenism, culminating in the 'Joint Declaration' of 1999, attempts to reconcile incompatible systems, based on different philosophical presuppositions. Drawing on a wealth of material, both Continental and Anglo-Saxon, the author thinks through these structural questions within a historical context. But how - within a religion of revelation - can God be conceptualised as both foundational to the self and yet also as an 'other' with whom the self inter-relates? Kierkegaard is shown in a complex model to hold together strengths which historically have been exemplified by the two traditions. This is an important work in systematic theology which considers questions quite fundamental to Western religion. It should be of interest to theologians of all backgrounds and also to church historians.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Notes on the Text	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Luther's Revolution	p. 9
The Catholic Alternative	p. 56
Catholic Incomprehension	p. 97
Nygren's Detractors	p. 143
Ecumenical Encounter	p. 176
Dialogue with Bultmann	p. 223
Kierkegaard's Odyssey	p. 249
Epilogue	p. 285
Bibliography	p. 294
Index of Names	p. 316
Index of Subjects	p. 319
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