Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T17:56:15.104Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

13 - Justification in Lutheranism, 1516–1580

from Part III - Protestantism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2020

Alister E. McGrath
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Get access

Summary

Chapter 13 assesses the changes in understanding of justification within Lutheranism between 1516 to 1580, noting in particular the growing influence of Melanchthon’s forensic understanding of justification on the shaping of the Wittenberg movement’s approach to ʻjustification by faith alone’. The chapter highlights some divergences in early Lutheranism, and tracks the growing convergence within the movement around a forensic doctrine of justification through an imputed righteousness, reflecting the increasing theological authority of Melanchthon during this period. Justification was now identified as the divine act of acceptance of an individual as righteous, followed by the process of sanctification, through which that individual became righteous. After considering the theology of justification set out in the Augsburg Confession and its apology, the chapter concludes by focussing on the consolidation of a distinctively Lutheran approach in the Formula of Concord, noting how this aimed to resolve some significant debates within Lutheranism around this time.

Type
Chapter
Information
Iustitia Dei
A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification
, pp. 204 - 213
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×