Sep
24
2012
The Relationship between Luther’s Theology and His Pastoral Practice
Carl Trueman, whose new book The Creedal Imperative will be published this month (and you can preview here), recently delivered the Gheens Lectures at Southern Seminary (September 11-12, 2012). You can find the video here, with audio soon to follow.
Below is a description of the lectures, followed by the videos.
“We Are Beggars: Martin Luther as Theological Pastor”
Lecture 1: Theological and Biographical Foundations. Trueman looks at Luther’s life and how it shaped his theology, particularly his understanding of the cross.
Lecture 2: The Word in Action. Trueman starts by reflecting on the late medieval philosophies of language which dovetailed with Luther’s understanding of the Bible’s own teaching. This then provides the context for understanding why preaching was so central to Luther’s pastoral practice and also why he held such a high view of the sacraments.
Lecture 3: The Tools of the Trade. Trueman shows how Luther’s theology actually worked out in practice in terms of his liturgical and catechetical compositions. He also reflects on how some debates within the Lutheran leadership help to shed light on his understanding of the role of confession and repentance in the Christian life.
2 Comments
Good stuff. The comment about the Sacrament of Penance being like “counseling” was bizarre, to say the least, but understandable considering Dr. Trueman’s audience.
Thanks for posting this. It is always interesting to hear the Reformed talk about Luther and Lutheranism; Dr. Trueman is a careful thinker, so I expect it to be good.