On Becoming a Theologian of the Cross
Revisiting Luther’s theologus crucis from the Heidelberg Disputation to the Genesis Lectures
By (author) Nathan Runham Series edited by Herman J. Selderhuis Associate editor Christopher B. Brown Associate editor Barbara Mahlmann-Bauer Associate editor Tarald Rasmussen Associate editor Violet Soen Associate editor Zsombor Tóth Associate editor Günther Wassilowsky Associate editor Siegrid Westphal
Hardback (Published)
(May 2026)
ISBN: 9783525502570
6.34 x 9.25 inches
Price: $163.00
In stock
Martin Luther’s theology of the cross is often (mis)used to support social gospels and liberation theology. Yet Luther’s intent was not to make a god more sympathetic to us or a god more like us, but that – through the recovery of the gospel (that had been lost and tainted by the fallen wisdom of man) – in the cross we might find the only sympathetic God who really liberates us from our sin. In his theology of the cross, Luther points out that the cross requires an understanding of revelation and redemption which leads us to despair of all our own righteousness, ability and wisdom, and encourages us to trust in the only one who can save us and was crucified in our place.
Martin Luther’s theology of the cross is often (mis)used to support social gospels and liberation theology. Yet Luther’s intent was not to make a god more sympathetic to us or a god more like us, but that – through the recovery of the gospel (that had been lost and tainted by the fallen wisdom of man) – in the cross we might find the only sympathetic God who really liberates us from our sin. In his theology of the cross, Luther points out that the cross requires an understanding of revelation and redemption which leads us to despair of all our own righteousness, ability and wisdom, and encourages us to trust in the only one who can save us and was crucified in our place.In this work Nathan Runham indentifies Luther’s real intent behind the theologian of the cross. His intent was to recover a biblical understanding of revelation which, in turn, enables us to understand the biblical gospel of redemption. But Runham also demonstrates that Luther had understood the gospel prior to the Heidelberg Disputation (HD) meaning that those who dismiss the HD as pre-reformational will need to reckon with the fact that Luther evidently had had his ‘evangelical conversion’ prior to engaging in debate with his Augustinian colleagues in 1518.
- By (author) Nathan Runham
- Series edited by Herman J. Selderhuis
- Associate editor Christopher B. Brown
- Associate editor Barbara Mahlmann-Bauer
- Associate editor Tarald Rasmussen
- Associate editor Violet Soen
- Associate editor Zsombor Tóth
- Associate editor Günther Wassilowsky
- Associate editor Siegrid Westphal
Other Titles in this Series
‘Church’ at the Time of the Reformation
Invisible Community, Visible Parish, Confession, Building …?
The Controversy over the Lord’s Supper in Danzig 1561–1567
Presence and Practice – Theology and Confessional Policy
Constantino de la Fuente (San Clemente, 1502–Seville, 1560)
From acclaimed cathedral preacher to condemned "Lutheran" heretic
Reformation und Konfessionsbildung in Speyer
Von konfessioneller Unentschiedenheit zum nonkonkordistischen Luthertum im Spannungsfeld von Reichspolitik und bürgerlichem Handeln. Mit Edition der archivalischen Quellen
Beyond Devotion
Religious and Literary Communities in the 16th and 17th Century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Texts and Contexts
Arts, Portraits and Representation in the Reformation Era
Proceedings of the Fourth Reformation Research Consortium Conference
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