Ilmari Karimies 2010

The Relation of the Ontological and Cognitive Aspects of Faith in Martin Luther’s Theology between 1513-21

Ilmari Karimies 2010

Faculty of Theology, Systematic Theology

16.03.2010Ilmari Karimies - Luther's Theology: Anthropology and Faith 2

In ipsa fide Christus adest

”Christian faith … if it is true faith, is a kind of certain confidence of the heart and firm assent, by which Christ is grasped (apprehenditur), as if Christ were the object of faith, no indeed, not object, but as to say, in faith itself Christ is present. Faith is a kind of cognition or darkness (concealment, gloom) that sees nothing. But still in these darknesses Christ sits embraced by faith, just as God sat in the Sinai and in the Temple in the middle of darknesses. Therefore our formal righteousness is not love that informs faith, but faith and the cloud of heart, that is, trust in what we do not see - in Christ, who certainly is not seen, but still is present.”

Quare fides Christiana … si est vera fides, est quaedam certa fiducia cordis et firmus [34] assensus quo Christus apprehenditur, Sic ut Christus sit obiectum fidei, imo [15] Dr] non obiectum, sed, ut ita dicam, in ipsa fide Christus adest. Fides ergo [16] est cognitio quaedam vel tenebra quae nihil videt, Et tamen in istis tenebris [17] [Jes. 6, 1 ff.] Christus fide apprehensus sedet, Quemadmodum Deus in Sinai et in Templo [18] sedebat in medio tenebrarum. Est ergo formalis nostra iustitia non charitas [19] informans fidem, sed ipsa fides et nebula cordis, hoc est, fiducia in rem [20] quam non videmus, hoc est, in Christum qui, ut maxime non videatur, [21] tamen praesens est. (WA 40, I, 228, 31 - 229, 21 = Commentary on Galatians)


A Brief Look at the Research History in Finland: The Ontological dimension of Faith

The findings of the so called ”Mannermaa school” on

union with Christ in faith are connected with the

ecumenical dialogues of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran

Church with the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1970’s

and 1980’s and with the Lutheran - Roman Catholic

dialogue that lead to the Joint Declaration. See Mannermaa, Tuomo: Christ Present in Faith (transl.

2005, orig. 1979); Peura, Simo: Mehr als ein Mensch

(1990) Mannermaa, Huovinen, Peura, Juntunen, (Raunio) were

all involved in the ecumenical dialogues


Christ Present in Faith: The Cognitive Dimension? The Finnish research has focused on justification and its

ontological dimension, union with Christ, which is a

connecting point with Orthodox and RCC traditions

(deification, infused grace) Only some short remarks were made on the cognitive

aspects of faith. These were sometimes contradictory: Faith is cognitive darkness: The presence of Christ is not

known, it is hidden. (Mannermaa 2010. Two kinds of love.

Finnish original was published in 1995)

Faith is light: God is known through faith, because of Christ

present in faith. (Mannermaa 1994. Hat Luther eine

trinitarische Ontologie? –Luther und die trinitarische

Tradition)


The Problem as it Appears in Luther’s Texts

The juxtaposition of light and darkness in faith occurs

commonly in Luther’s texts ”Faith is a kind of cognition or darkness that sees nothing.”

(Commentary on Galatians 1535)

”Faith is rightly called the light of the face of God, because it is a

divine illumination of our mind and a kind of ray of divinity infused

into the heart of the one who believes … that is, recognition of

and confidence in the God who is present.” (Operationes in

Psalmos 1519-21: AWA 2, 200, 3 - 201, 15)

Also: experience vs. absence, goodness vs. suffering, present

vs. future, seeing vs. believing It has caused multiple problems in interpretation

Orthodoxy vs. pietism controversy

Present vs. future goods (in re vs. in spe)


Some basic questions

What is the relationship of light and darkness in faith? Are they on the same ’level’? Do they exist at the same

time, or at different times? What kind of ’information’ does the presence of God in

faith give of God, if any? Is faith primarily human action,

or divine action? How is the presence of God in faith understood? (both

ontologically and cognitively) If Christ would not be

present, would if affect the subjective side of faith?

Primary sources: Luther’s Biblical commentaries between

1513-1521 (espc. Psalm Commentaries)

Focus Topics

God and Creation God as incomprehensible in his essence (cf. Negative

theology) and hidden in the creation (Theology of the Cross,

incarnation, sacraments)

Theological Anthropology: Spirit and Flesh Simul iustus et peccator reflected on the cognitive level: faith

as both light (for the spirit) and darkness (for the flesh) at the

same time in the experience of the same person

Faith as illumination Theological intellect grasping the invisible in the visible

Experience of the presence of God that is felt but not

compreheded: Cf. Negative theology, mysticism

Thesis outline

1. Introduction Research question, methods, sources

Research history

- Luther’s understanding of faith

- Theology of the Cross

- Luther and mysticism

2. Background: Faith and knowledge in the theology

of the Antiquity and Middle Ages Classical and medieval philosophical epistemology

(Platon, Aristotle, Thomas, Nominalists)

Illumination in Augustine and early Medieval

theology

Mystical theology

Thesis outline

3. Principles of Luther’s theological ontology 3.1 Luther’s view of the nature of God

- God as the Highest Good and giver

- God as incomprehensible

- God as hiding

3.2 The sign and the signified: The relationship of God and

the universe

- The Platonism of Luther’s Dictata: Invisible and eternal

vs. visible and changing

- The creation and the Old Covenant as a sign of the

invisible

- The new creation and the Church: The invisible present

in the visible

- The state of glory: The invisible free from the visible in

visio dei

Thesis outline

4. Principles of Luther’s theological anthropology 4.1 The basic structure: Spirit – Soul – Body vs. Spirit –

Flesh

4.2 The spirit as the part which determines the ‘quality’ of the

person

4.3 The creation of faith: transitus from flesh to spirit

- The dual effect of the word and sacraments

- Suffering the help of God

- Cross and the birth of faith

- The external cloud and the internal cloud

4.4 The conflict between the spirit and the flesh in the

Christian

Thesis outline

5. The light of faith (abstract from the battle of the

spirit and the flesh) 5.1 God in the light of faith

- 5.1.1 Light of the face of God: God as present or absent?

- 5.1.2 Light of faith as captivating and incomprehensible

- 5.1.3 Love of God as the true good

5.2 The created universe in the light of faith

- 5.2.1 The intellect of faith

- 5.2.2 Faith and interpretation

- Faith and the created universe

- Faith and the Scripture

- Spiritual senses

- Faith and the Sacraments

- Faith and love (directio)

Thesis outline

6. Faith between perishable and eternal 6.1 The mystery of faith: Faith concealed in the visible

- The darkness of the tabernacle of the heart

- Ostensio vs. visio

- Faith vs. hope

- A claritate in claritatem

6.2 The life of faith in the battle of the spirit and the flesh

- Faith and the old nature

- Faith and the tribulations (tentationes)

- Faith and theology of the Cross

- Vita passiva

6.3 Special questions

- De fide infusa et acquisita

- Faith and doctrinal content

- Faith and trust

Luther’s Theological Anthropology

“Scripture divides man into three parts, as St. Paul says in

I Thessalonians 5:23: ‘May the God of peace Himself

sanctifiy you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and

body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our

Lord Jesus Christ.’

There is yet another division of each of these three, and

the whole of man, into two parts, which are called ‘spirit’

and ‘flesh.’ This is a division, not of the nature of man but

of his qualities. The nature of man consists of the three

parts—spirit, soul and body; and all of these may be good

or evil, that is, they may be spirit or flesh.”

(The Magnificat,WA 7, 550, transl. LW 21, 302)


Luther’s Theological Anthropology

Luther makes a division in the human being in two

different ways, into two parts according to the ’quality’ of

love and into three parts according to the natural

composition The two-part ’spiritual’ division by the ’quality’: Flesh

(caro) and spirit (spiritus) Flesh and spirit are two basic ’affects’ in human life. Carnal

life is a life governed by concupiscense, spiritual life

governed by the love of God.

Flesh and spirit do not refer to body or soul or any parts, but

the basic drive and quality of the actions of the human being

The human being can either be wholly carnal

(unbeliever), partly carnal and partly spiritual (Christian),

or wholly spiritual (in Heaven, state of Glory)


Theological Anthropology Continued: The Three-part Division According to the Nature

The three-part division according to the nature: Spirit

(spiritus), soul (anima), body/flesh (corpus, caro) The spirit is the highest part of the human being. It is

(passively) capable of being in touch with the divine,

invisible, incomprehensible and eternal

The soul is the mover of the body. It does not understand the

invisible and incomprehensible things. Human reason is a

capacity belonging to the soul. It works using concepts and

images extracted from the visible reality.

The flesh is the body and the limbs. They put in action, what

the spirit and the soul desire and want.

On the divisions see The Magnificat, WA 7, 550-551 (LW

21, 302-304)


The Threefold Division Illustrated by the Jewish Temple

”Let us take an illustration of this from Scripture. In the tabernacle fashioned by Moses there were three separate compartments. The first was called the holy of holies: here was God’s dwelling-place, and in it there was no light. The second was called the holy place: here stood a candlestick with seven arms and seven lamps. The third was called the outer court: this lay under the open sky and in the full light of the sun. In this tabernacle we have a figure of the Christian man. His spirit is the holy of holies, where God dwells in the darkness of faith, where no light is; for he believes that which he neither sees nor feels nor comprehends. His soul is the holy place, with its seven lamps, that is, all manner of reason, discrimination, knowledge and understanding of visible and bodily things. His body is the forecourt, open to all, so that men may see his works and manner of life.” (WA 7, 551)


Spiritual and Carnal Man Compared

Carnal person

Caro: Homo exterior,

animalis, vetus etc

Spiritual person

Spiritus: Homo interior,

spiritualis, novus etc.

Spirit

(spiritus)

(imago dei)

-

(Dead in respect to

God)

* Faith = intellect

Invisible and

incomprehensible things

Soul

(anima)

* Reason (ratio)

’Concepts’ (species)

* Reason (ratio)

’Concepts’, (species)

Body

(corpus, caro)

* Senses

Visible and sensible

things

* Senses

Visible and sensible

things


The Anthropological Functions Compared

The Carnal Person

Reason (ratio)

Senses, feeling (sensus)

Appearance (species)

Visible things

Present in re

Comprehensible things

The Spiritual Person

Intellect = faith (intellectus)

Experience (experientia)

The thing itself (res)

Invisible things

Present in fide / in spe

Incomprehensible things

Even though the anthropological structures are not on same level

in their nature, functionally a following comparison can be made

The carnal person relies on the things he/she knows by the

natural abilities directed at the visible

Even reason uses concepts extracted from the visible reality

The terms also exist in their philosophical meanings!


Carnal and Spiritual Love Compared

It is neccessary to love something, but only things that are

known can be loved. Without faith only created things are

known, and they therefore become the object of love. The nature of the object of love determines the quality of

the love and the quality of the person Carnal love

Object: Visible, finite things and their extrapolations

Nature: Concupiscential, goods must be constantly sought to

fill the inner void

”Homo exterior, Homo animalis”

Spiritual love Object: God, invisible, infinite things

Nature: ”Bonum est diffusivum sui”, the infinite things do not

diminish when shared

”Homo interior”, ”Homo spiritualis”

Animal Life vs. Spiritual Life

Animal / sensual life signifies bodily life; sensual, visible

life, including human reson Spiritual / intellectual life signifies a life in communion with

God through faith / imago Dei, an intellectual life where

the created things are perceived as signs of God

In the Fall the human being lapsed to a wholly sensual /

animal life, ”sicut equus et mulus quibus non est

intellectus” Through faith a human being begins to live a spiritual life,

though there is a struggle between the spirit and the flesh In the state of glory after resurrection a human being will

live a wholly spiritual life

See Huovinen 1989, 39-49


The Darkness of God: Supra and Contra

The natural abilities of the fallen human being are

directed at the visible, but God is in his essence invisible. The fallen human being has an inclination to have a god,

but is unable to know the true God. Therefore he/she

creates a god or a phantasm of God as summum bonum

by extrapolating the sensible and rational goods (or more

crudely just worshipping them, eg. idols, money, power) To the carnal person God is in a darkness of two kinds

The cognitive abilities cannot recognize the presence of

God. God is incomprehensible to them (supra captum)

God appears hidden under contraries, i.e. stupidity,

weakness, Crucified, the sacraments. This is

- to abolish the false gods created by the carnal man

- because God per his essence ’looks down to the meek’


The Darkness of God

”In these times there are two things, which will hinder you most from knowing what is right. First, this Christ – who was crucified, killed and condemned by you, and on God’s authority was even cursed according to the Law of Moses – is proclaimed as Lord over all Lords. It is most difficult of all to recognize as King one who has died such a desperate and shameful death. The senses are strongly repelled by such a notion, reason abhors it, experience denies it, and a precedent is lacking. Plainly this will be folly to the Gentiles and a stumbling block to the Jews (1. Cor 1:23) unless you raise your thoughts above all this. …


The Darkness of God

The second difficulty is that through His reign this King teaches that all the things you hoped for in the Law should be condemned, and that all the things you feared should be loved. He offers the cross and the death. He advises contempt for the good that one sees, and likewise for the evil, since He will confer on you a much different good, namely, that which the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man (1. Cor. 2:9). You must die in you would live under this King. You must bear the cross and the hatred of the whole world. You must not flee from ignominy, poverty, hunger, and thirst, in other words, all the evil that floods the earth. For this is the King, who became a fool to the earth and died, and who thereupon destroys His own with a scepter of iron and smashes them like a potter's vessel.” (AWA 2, 106, 19 – 107, 7)


Stepping in to the Cloud and Darkness - The Creation of Faith

There must always be suffering in the beginning and growth

of faith (espc. in Luther’s earlier writings until 1520’s) When God creates faith, he draws the human being to the

darkness and cloud of the Word and the sacraments, where

he is present. This causes anguish and suffering for the old

carnal nature Illustrated most clearly in baptism

When God does this, he at the same time creates the

human being anew, so that the infused faith in fact

becomes his or her second, spiritual nature Luther speaks of the resulting conflict in terms of two natures

Therefore the Word and the Sacraments have a duplex

effect of subduing the flesh and strengthening the spirit


Stepping in to the Cloud of Darkness - The Creation of Faith

”For since the Word of Christ is the Word of salvation and peace, the Word of life and grace, and since it works not in the flesh, but in the spirit, it must supress and cast out the salvation, peace, life, and grace of the flesh. When it does this, it appears to the flesh harder and more cruel than iron itself. For whenever a carnal man is touched in a wholesome way by the Word of God, one thing is felt, but another actually happens. … Although He is the God of life and salvation and this is His proper work, yet, in order to accomplish this, He kills and destroys … For He kills our will that His may be established in us. He subdues the flesh and its lusts that the spirit and its desires may come to life. … For the spirit accepts the Word of the Lord as a most pleasant command. … But the flesh endures the commandment or Word of God with greatest aversion; nor does it recognize it, since it is completely contrary to it in every way.” (AWA 2, 97, 12 - 98, 8)


Stepping in to the Cloud of Darkness - Union with the Word in Faith

By the work of the Word in soul the human being is united

with Christ, who is the eternal Word. (Christ as the Word

of God is present and works in the external word.) By faith, which the word creates, the human being is

drawn into the dark cloud in which Christ is present. In

union with Christ he is endowed with the intellect of faith

”This understanding (intellectus) comes from faith, as it is written (Is. 7:9): ”If you do not believe, you will not understand”, and it is the entrace into that cloud, where everything that the senses, reason, mind and intellect of man can understand will be dissolved. Faith unites the soul with the invisible, ineffable, unnameable, eternal, incogitable Word of God, at the same time separating it from all visible. This is the cross and the passover of the Lord.” (AWA 2, 107, 25 - 108, 5)


Rapture and Infusion - the Creation of Faith

Luther speaks of the creation of faith both in terms of

infusion and rapture Infusion of the divine virtues: God ’infuses’ the divine light

to the soul from above Background: medieval discussion on the theological virtues

Rapture: By the infused light of faith the soul is ’elevated’

to embrace God on the mountain and in the cloud, as

Moses ascended the Mount Sinai Background: mystical theology

Both are images of the same event Note the coexistence of light and darkness


Faith as Internal Light and Internal Darkness

When a person becomes united with the Word of God in

faith, the external darkness of faith becomes internal This means, that Christ, who is present in faith, is in

darkness for the old carnal nature. The image of cloud

and the holy of holies is applied here too For the new spiritual nature, faith is a light shining from

the face of the present Christ

”Faith is rightly called the light of the face of God, because it is a divine illumination of our mind and a kind of ray of divinity infused into the heart of the one who believes … that is, recognition of and confidence in the God who is present.” (AWA 2, 200, 3 - 201, 15)


The Conflict between the Spirit and the Flesh in Anthropological Terms

Flesh

Caro, vetus homo,

natura

Spirit

Spiritus, novus homo,

gratia

Spirit

(spiritus)

Christ present in faith

=darkness

Christ present in faith

= (intellectual) light

Soul

(anima)

Wishes to rule

Senses and reason

battle against faith

Ruled by faith

Senses and reason

complemented by faith

Body

(corpus)

Hates suffering

Seeks excess pleasure.

Created goods as ends

themselves

May suffer for good of

others. Moderate pleasure:

Created goods as gifts of

God


Light and Darkness Together

”That in the holy of holies there was no light, signifies God to be present in the Church via the faith of Christ in their hearts, that does not comperehend and is not comprehended, does not see and is not seen, but still sees all things. It is a poweful proof of present, but not visible things. Likewise the Ark of Covenant was present in the holy of holies, but was not visible, because the Tabernacle was around – in the middle of which at the holy of holies the very seat of God was – as is said in Ps. 46 ’The God is present in the middle of the congregation’, so that they cannot be shaken…God does not rule among us superficially, with tongue and words, but in might, and they do not remain unshaken, who believe with tongue and words, but ’those who believe in the heart, are justified’, in the middle of whom God is present. They are the strong, who receive help from the face of God (that is, the presence of God), as Ps. 46: ’They will be helped from the face of God’, or, ’in daybreak’, that is, in the presence of the might and divinity and the face of God.” (WA 5, 506, 12-25)


Light and Darkness Together

”Cloud and darkness is around Christ, and he himself is in the middle of the cloud that is in the soul, and in the middle of the darkness that is in the flesh. For the new person by faith receives the cloud, that is, a gloomy light, and by this the old person receives the darkness and is obscured in a beneficial way. Because when spirit is illuminated, the flesh is blinded, the latter by justice and the former by righteousness. And so is the throne of Christ restored.” (WA 55, II, 754, 11-18)

”Note: Faith is ‘a cloud’ for those who believe, or for the spirit, but ‘a darkness’ for those who do not believe, or for the flesh. This is because the unbelievers and the flesh in no way perceive that which is of God, but for them all wisdom is foolishness. But the believers and the spirit, even if they do not perceive brightly, still ‘know partially’, as if in ‘a shining cloud’.” (WA 55, I, 650 gloss 1, 1-5.)


The Light of Faith

The light of faith is In relation to God

- incomprehensible light, through which presence of God

is known and felt, but his essence cannot be analyzed

- leads the believer, ”captures” him/her into following

Christ

- foretaste of eternal goods

In relation to the creation

- shows the presence of God in word and sacraments

- shows, what is the will of God and what is good

- leads the believer through temptations and tribulations

- shows the true significance of created things as not ends

in themselves, but signs and gifts of God (”Theologian of

the cross calls a thing what it is”)


The Intellect of Faith

The light of faith is the true intellect, that understands the

invisible things and the visible in the light of the invisible ”However, this is not the intellect of which the

philosophers have opinions; it is faith itself, which in prosperity or adversity can see things that are not seen. … Prosperity or adversity in matters of this present life completely upsets every man, who does not by faith understand the invisible. This understanding (intellectus) comes from faith …” (AWA 2, 107, 20 – 107, 25)

Luther often quotes Ps. 32:9 ”Do not be like horses and mules, which have no understanding.” Luther calls a life without faith an ’animal’ life, because it is based on what is seen and felt.

Luther applies ideas from Aristotelian (Thomistic)

Psychology and Early Medieval / Augustinian doctrine of

illumination to explain his idea of faith

Faith as the Restoration of the imago Dei

Faith is a process in which human being is drawn away

from the reliance on the visible to become again an image

of God “Velle enim illud, quod credere, sperare, diligere iam diximus, est motus,

raptus, ductus verbi dei et quaedam continua purgatio et renovatio mentis et sensus de die in diem in agnitionem dei. […] Ita per spem tribulatione operante nascentem divinae imagini conformamur et creamur ad imaginem (iuxta Paulum) eius, qui fecit nos.” (AWA 2, 320, 16-25)

“Et infra ‘Nos autem revelata facie gloriam domini speculantes in eandem imaginem transformamur a claritate in claritatem tanquam a domino spiritus’. […] Quid ergo est gloria domini? quid revelatio faciei? Diximus ps. 4. et aliis, vultum domini et conspectum dei, super nos et in conspectu nostro positum, aliud non esse quam praesentem et propitium dominum habere, in eum confidere, et ut usus scripturae, nosse dominum, quod non nisi [Hebr. 8, 11., Jer. 31, 34.] per fidem in hoc saeculo.” (WA 5, 508, 31-40)

”Optime autem vocatur fides lumen vultus dei, quod sit illuminatio mentis nostrae divinitus inspirata et radius quidam divinitatis in cor credentis infusus, quo dirigitur et servatur, quicumque servatur; […] Hoc figuratum est in columna ignis et nube, […] Atque ut illic columna praesens ante faciem eorum ibat, ita hic fides praesentem deum habet, ut velut a vultu praesentis dei illuminatio cordis procedat, ita ut rectissime et propriissime lumen vultus dei, id est, agnitio et fiducia praesentis dei sit. Qui enim praesentem sibi deum non novit aut non sentit, nondum credit, nondum habet lumen vultus dei.” (AWA 2, 200, 3 – 201, 15)

Works of God as Signs and Reality

Luther distinguishes between visible and invisible works

of God. The visible works are a sign of the invisible: Works of the creation and the Law are understood by faith to

point to Christ- ”Quia omnia opera Creationis et veteris legis signa sunt [127] operum

Dei, que in Christo et suis sanctis facit et faciet, et ideo in Christo [128] illa preterita tanquam signa omnia implentur. Nam omnia illa sunt transitoria, [129] significantia ea, que sunt eterna et permanentia. […] Vnde Iudei arguuntur Psal. 27. quod non intellexerunt opera et in [134] opera, i. e. opera in veteri lege non intellectualiter aspiciebant, Sed tantum [135] carnaliter, non vt signa et argumenta rerum, Sed res ipsas. Quia [136] quod intelligitur, Inuisibile est ab eo, quod videtur, aliud longe. […] [140] Quia tunc perfecte intelligitur signum, quando res ipsa signi videtur.” (WA 55, II, 342, 126-140)

Works of the re-creation (new creation) / redemption (Gospel) are understood by faith to point to the final glory

- ”[14] Propriissime Sunt opera spiritualia redemptionis et Iustificationis. [15] Quia hec summe commendata sunt omnibus Christianis. Opera [16] autem glorificationis sunt sub hiis comprehensa, Quia nondum facta, vt [17] possint memorari, nisi in capite Christo. Hec enim erunt omnium mirabilissima.” (WA 55, II, 507, 14-17)


The Trials of Faith (tentatio, Anfechtung)

In general the presence and goodness of God is felt in

faith There are special trials, in which God’s presence is not

felt, or God even appears to be in wrath External trials: Hardships in life, suffering

Luther uses many biblical examples: Moses and the

Egyptian army, Abraham’s offer etc

Internal trials: The wrath of God, overpowering feeling of

sinfulness, God appearing as Satan, predestination ’You must not judge according to what is seen and felt,

but believe in the goodness and forthcoming help of God’ The Holy Spirit consoles in these trials


Luther’s Concept of Faith and Mystical Theology

To describe the presence of God in faith, Luther uses

many images from the tradition of mystical and negative

theology. These include: the cloud, mountain, rapture,

wilderness and bridal chamber God’s presence is ’known’ or ’felt’ in faith, but the divine

nature cannot be analyzed: the light of faith is

suprarational Images of darkness and cloud are also used about the

hiddenness of God in tribulations (tentatio) There is a strong emphasis on spiritual experience in

Luther’s concept of faith Whether we can call Luther’s understanding mystical

depends on the criteria we set


The Infused Faith in Relation to Human Action

Infused faith (fides infusa) The proper faith

Fides infantium, faith of a child

A gift of God through which Christ is present

Justifies

Acquired faith ”Fides acquisita sine infusa nihil est, infusa sine acquisita

omnia est” (Disp. de fide infusa et acquisita, WA 6)

Without the infused faith, ’simulated’ and speculative Together with the infused faith, good

How to tell them apart Cross and trials

Does love follow?

Lutheran Order of Salvation: Different Viewpoints

Justification Fall: Loss of original righteousness

Justification in Christ: Simul iustus et peccator

Final glory: Solus iustus

Love Fall: Human being becomes incurvatus in se

Grace: Battle of spirit and flesh (concupiscence)

Final glory: Affectus carnis is extinguished

Faith as knowledge of God Fall: Knowledge of God is lost

Faith: God is known enigmatically by faith (spirit),

the divine is hidden by/in the visible

Final glory: God is known from face to face


Summary

Faith is for Luther a capacity, that grasps the invisible

reality The presence and consolation of God is felt

Word, sacraments, trials and moral goods are understood

The propositional content of faith is secondary in this sense

Faith is restoring the image of God lost in the fall, the

spirit subduing the flesh Faith is still not seeing, because 1) God remains above

the natural capabilities of man and 2) the struggle

between the spirit and the flesh continues to our last day

Considerations for Lutheran Spirituality

Lutheran contribution to understanding spirituality Use of Patristic, Orthodox and Roman Catholic writings on

spirituality in the Lutheran Churches creates a need for

theological reflection. Some Lutheran viewpoints:

1) Exclusivity of God’s operating grace

2) Experience and ontology (iustification!) are on different

levels, but there is a relation between them

3) Conflict between faith and reason cannot be solved by easy

answers, but belongs to the nature of faith itself.

Spirituality as a topic of ecumenical research? Understanding the Lutheran tradition as not opposed to, but

continuing and developing the spiritual (mystical) traditions of

the Church

Shared issues with Orthodox and Catholic Christianity

(negative theology, humility, infused theological virtues)

Ilmari Karimies 2010

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