Recovering Protestantism's Original Insight: Luther's Heritage and Theological Criticism of the Bible

by Paul E. Capetz

Overview

In this engaging volume, Capetz argues that Protestants have largely ignored Luther's heritage when it comes to thinking about biblical authority and instead have followed Calvin's biblicism, leading to many intellectual and moral problems in the face of a fully historical-critical understanding of the Bible in our time. After prefacing the book with a personal story that illustrates what is at stake in this question for the church's pastoral ministry, he examines in detail the debate between Barth--an heir of Calvin--and Bultmann--a Lutheran--regarding Sachkritik or "content criticism" of Scripture since their debate serves to clarify the central issue facing Protestants today. He then traces their debate back to the Reformation itself to show how the difference between Luther and Calvin presented Protestants from the outset with two conflicting models of biblical authority. He then reflects on how this question of the proper understanding of biblical authority manifests itself in the debates over sexual ethics that have plagued mainline denominations for the past four decades. And he concludes by arguing that Luther's heritage provides Protestants with a viable way to engage in a robust theological interpretation of the Bible that does not violate what historical criticism has taught us about it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781666796964
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	04/20/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	190
File size:	970 KB

About the Author

Paul E. Capetz is professor of historical theology emeritus at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and is currently minister at Christ Church by the Sea in Newport Beach, California. He is the author of God: A Brief History (2003) and co-editor of James Gustafson’s Moral Discernment in the Christian Life (2007).
Paul E. Capetz is Professor of Historical Theology at United Theological Seminary of the Wing Cities in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has taught at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, Macalester College, Hamline University, and Claremont School of Theology. He also authored God: A Brief History, (Fortress Press, 2003), and co-edited, with Theo A. Boer, James M. Gustafson's Moral Discernment in the Christian Life: Essays in Theological Ethics (Westminster/John Knox Press, 2007). He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A). He received his education at UCLA (B.A.), Georg-August Universitat in Gottingen, Yale University (M.Div. and M.A), and the University of Chicago (Ph.D.).

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Paul Capetz takes us on a deep journey into the theology of interpreting the Bible from Luther and Calvin to Schleiermacher, Barth, Bultmann, and the present day. Along the way, he shows why appeals to biblical authority alone are never sufficient for Christian theology and ethics, and why progressives who want to proclaim the gospel should engage the Reformation heritage. It’s a trip no serious contemporary Protestant thinker should miss.”

—Douglas F. Ottati, Davidson College



“Paul Capetz argues that proclamation of the Christian message can and must be compatible with commonsense canons of reason and logic, and scientific and historical knowledge. At the center of his case is Protestantism’s ‘original insight’—the distinction between the Bible and the witness within it to the ‘good news’ that Jesus is the decisive representation of God’s pure, unconditional love. This insight is key to a response to both ‘evangelical’ despisers of human intellect and cultural despisers of Christianity.”

—David J. Lull, Wartburg Theological Seminary



“Drawing on decades of experience as a historical theologian, teacher, and pastor, Paul Capetz zeroes in on the problem of biblical authority that has long divided American Protestantism and now even threatens our republic. This is a rare and full-throated defense of Luther’s ‘original insight’ and its continuing significance by a scholar too well-versed in the Christian theological tradition to let the currently fashionable dismissals of historical-critical exegesis—on the postmodern left as well as the atavistic right—go unchallenged.”

—Brent W. Sockness, Stanford University



“Here Paul Capetz makes a provocative argument about untapped resources of the Protestant Reformation and how they can be utilized by contemporary Christians to transcend trenchant liberal/conservative divides in order to proclaim the gospel. Returning to Luther’s original insight that proclamation of the gospel is not synonymous with proclaiming Scripture, Capetz demonstrates, can counter anti-intellectual tendencies in contemporary American Christianity and speak in more compelling ways to the issues of our day.”

—Deanna A. Thompson, St. Olaf College



“Paul Capetz is telling us not to run from critical thinking. But he is not running from the Bible or tradition. He’s leaning in with the conviction that Luther’s take on Scripture is precisely what progressive Protestants need if they are to avoid falling into cultural irrelevancy. This set of deeply informed and precisely reasoned essays should convince you that he might just be right.”

—Stephen Patterson, Willamette University

Editorial Reviews

Paul Capetz takes us on a deep journey into the theology of interpreting the Bible from Luther and Calvin to Schleiermacher, Barth, Bultmann, and the present day. Along the way, he shows why appeals to biblical authority alone are never sufficient for Christian theology and ethics, and why progressives who want to proclaim the gospel should engage the Reformation heritage. It’s a trip no serious contemporary Protestant thinker should miss.”

—Douglas F. Ottati, Davidson College



“Paul Capetz argues that proclamation of the Christian message can and must be compatible with commonsense canons of reason and logic, and scientific and historical knowledge. At the center of his case is Protestantism’s ‘original insight’—the distinction between the Bible and the witness within it to the ‘good news’ that Jesus is the decisive representation of God’s pure, unconditional love. This insight is key to a response to both ‘evangelical’ despisers of human intellect and cultural despisers of Christianity.”

—David J. Lull, Wartburg Theological Seminary



“Drawing on decades of experience as a historical theologian, teacher, and pastor, Paul Capetz zeroes in on the problem of biblical authority that has long divided American Protestantism and now even threatens our republic. This is a rare and full-throated defense of Luther’s ‘original insight’ and its continuing significance by a scholar too well-versed in the Christian theological tradition to let the currently fashionable dismissals of historical-critical exegesis—on the postmodern left as well as the atavistic right—go unchallenged.”

—Brent W. Sockness, Stanford University



“Here Paul Capetz makes a provocative argument about untapped resources of the Protestant Reformation and how they can be utilized by contemporary Christians to transcend trenchant liberal/conservative divides in order to proclaim the gospel. Returning to Luther’s original insight that proclamation of the gospel is not synonymous with proclaiming Scripture, Capetz demonstrates, can counter anti-intellectual tendencies in contemporary American Christianity and speak in more compelling ways to the issues of our day.”

—Deanna A. Thompson, St. Olaf College



“Paul Capetz is telling us not to run from critical thinking. But he is not running from the Bible or tradition. He’s leaning in with the conviction that Luther’s take on Scripture is precisely what progressive Protestants need if they are to avoid falling into cultural irrelevancy. This set of deeply informed and precisely reasoned essays should convince you that he might just be right.”

—Stephen Patterson, Willamette University

From the Publisher