Bound Choice, Election, And Wittenberg Theological Method: From Martin Luther To The Formula Of Concord

Book Summary

Galvanized by Erasmus's teaching on free will, Martin Luther wrote "De servo arbitrio," or "The Bondage of the Will," insisting that the sinful human will could not turn itself to God. In this first study to investigate the sixteenth-century reception of "De servo," Robert Kolb unpacks Luther's theology and recounts his followers' ensuing disputes until their resolution in the Lutheran churches' 1577 "Formula of Concord." In "De servo arbitrio," bOn the Bondage of the Will, b Martin Luther insisted that the sinful human will could not turn itself to God in any way. At the same time, Luther struggled to hold his conviction that God exercises total responsibility for everything in creation in tension with his conviction that God has given human beings responsibility for obedience in their own spheres of life. Lutheran scholar Robert Kolb unpacks the theology of "De servo" and of Melanchthonbs critical response before narrating how Lutherbs students fell into controversy over how to balance the responsibilities of God and humans. Kolb recounts these disputes over the freedom of the will and predestination until their resolution in the Lutheran churchesb 1577 bFormula of Concord.b "Bound Choice" is an important book for anyone with a focused interest in the Reformation and the development of Christian thought.

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