Confessing Evangelical

One of the major factors that first got me interested in Lutheran teachings - in fact, probably the number one factor above all others - was discovering Luther's distinction between the Theology of Glory and the Theology of the Cross.

It was probably via Modern Reformation's issue devoted to the subject that I first encountered this teaching, and it completely blew my mind. As Mike Horton says in the introduction for that issue:

On rare occasions, one stumbles on a topic that is not only a fascinating subject of theology, but a completely new way of seeing theology. For me, justification and election not only added to my beliefs, but rearranged all the furniture. A similar epiphany occurred concerning the theology of the cross.

I can identify with Horton's experience 100% here. As Horton goes on to say:

Once we see what this contrast means, suddenly the biblical plot is illuminated in some surprising ways. In the theology of the cross, both Christ's cross and our participation in that cross throughout our lives, find a bond. It helps us understand the link between theology and life, between Christ's redemptive work and our suffering. It doesn't need to be made practical; it is practical from start to finish.

To help me get my head round the concept, around this time last year I put together a table summarising the main points from a number of different articles and other sources which I'd found on the subject.

I've now converted this to an HTML format and have posted it on my companion blog for longer posts (NB - link now fixed). While it's quite a sketchy outline, I hope you will find it helpful in exploring "Luther's theological breakthrough" (as Alister McGrath has termed it).