商品簡介
In his eloquent and informative work Nathan Montover challenges the widespread assumption that Martin Luther was a conservative and politically naive figure using the prism of Luther's doctrine of Universal Priesthood. Montover reveals a politically aware individual determined not only to reform the Christian ministry, but also to radically challenge the temporal power structures of his day. The concept of a priesthood of all baptised Christians attacked the authority of the medieval Catholic Church which maintained a strict division between lay and cleric; this division legitimised the Church's power in the both the earthly and spiritual realms. Montover draws conclusions from a careful analysis of Luther's seminal writings, with emphasis on his treatise 'To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Concerning the Betterment of the Christian Estate' (1520). He undertakes a thorough examination of existing scholarship which reveals important silences regarding Luther's political aims. Luther's critique is elegantly contextualized within early modern structures of Church and state which grew from the fabric of medieval cosmology. An excellent addition to Lutheran scholarship, this book would be suitable for any reader interested in Luther's life and aims or the fascinating political ferment of the German Reformation. Nathan Montover serves as Pastor at St. James Lutheran Church in Bettendorf, Iowa. He also teaches Religion at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, and is an Adjunct Instructor of Reformation Studies at Wartburg eological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. 'Luther emerges from this excellent study as a thoroughly political, prophetic, and revolutionary Christian engaged in the struggle for liberation, drawing radical political consequences from foundational theological claims.' Craig L. Nessan, Professor of Contextual Theology, Wartburg Theological Seminary.
作者簡介
Nathan Montover serves as Pastor at St. James Lutheran Church in Bettendorf, Iowa. He also teaches Religion at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, and is an Adjunct Instructor of Reformation Studies at Wartburg -theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa.
