The Wittenberg Concord: Creating Space for Dialogue

261 Pages·2018·2.876 MB·English

by  Gordon A Jensen

L Q B LQB
utheran uar terLy ooks
Paul Rorem, series editor
t
Rethinking the Wittenberg Concord for Today
h
The Wittenberg Concord was signed in 1536 by representatives of evangelical southern German
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imperial cities and territories and the Lutherans. The Concord provided space for the partici-

pants to have a meaningful dialogue that led to the recognition of each other’s understanding of
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the sacraments as orthodox. The final two chapters of this book explore how this concord has t
impacted the church since its acceptance and how the lessons learned from this dialogue can assist h e
churches today in providing healthy spaces for ecumenical dialogue to discuss controversial issues. i
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Praise for The Wittenberg Concord t
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e
“Gordon A. Jensen has given us a fresh account of the background, contents, and long-term i t t e n B e r g
impacts of the Wittenberg Concord, an attempt by the leading Reformers to restore Protestant n
unity that has been unjustly neglected in English-language scholarship. Although agreement con-
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cerning the Lord’s Supper was at the heart of the Concord, Jensen highlights the discussion of
baptism and absolution as well, and he points to the failure to agree on the role of the magistrate e C
in church reform. His book draws some important lessons from the experience of the sixteenth- r o n C o r d Creating
century Reformers that are still relevant for anyone involved in ecumenical dialogue today.” g
—Amy NELSoN BuRNETT Space for
university of Nebraska-Lincoln
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“Gordon A. Jensen’s meticulous examination of the documents leading to the Wittenberg Concord Dialogue
of 1536 and his careful presentation of the ways in which Luther and melanchthon in Wittenberg o
and Bucer and Capito in Strassburg sought agreement illuminate a too-often ignored aspect of the
g a .
search for a proper formulation of the doctrine of the sacraments in the Reformation. Jensen insight- n o r d o n
fully assesses the interconnectedness of baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and absolution for these
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theologians and emphasizes that not only Christ’s presence but also the power of the word of
promise in the sacraments occupied key positions in sixteenth-century debates. The Wittenberg o J
e n s e n
Concord issues a challenge for thinking through vital issues of sacramental theology in our day.”
r
—RoBERT KoLB
Concordia Seminary d
“What could have been—and what still could be! The Wittenberg Concord presents a model for a foreWord By
‘sufficient’ and gospel-spirited sacramental unity among the different reformation traditions. The
lesson Jensen offers is this: a ‘differentiated consensus’ serves the gospel best when there is both
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specificity about the doctrinal issues at stake and a willingness to not let wording and grammar stand imothy enger t
in the way of grace. This precise and sympathetically written book is rich with historical narrative and
lucid theological analysis and is an excellent tool for ecumenical work and in the classroom.” J
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—KiRSi STJERNA
n
Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
s
e
n
GoRdon A. Jensen is the William Hordern Chair of Theology and Dean of Studies at
Lutheran Theological Seminary Saskatoon in Canada. He is the author of Walking Together in Christ
(2006), as well as numerous articles, essays, and chapter contributions.
CHRiSTiAN HiSToRy/REfoRmATioN Lutheran
QuarterLy
Books
LUTHERAN QUARTERLY BOOKS
EEddiittoorr
Paul Rorem,Princeton Theological Seminary
AAssssoocciiaattee EEddiittoorrss
Timothy J. Wengert,United Lutheran Seminary (Philadelphia)
Mary Jane Haemig,Luther Seminary, Saint Paul
Mark C. Mattes,Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa
LutheranQuarterlyBookswilladvancethesameaimsasLutheranQuarterly
itself, aims repeated by Theodore G. Tappert when he was editor fifty
years ago and renewed by Oliver K. Olson when he revived the publi-
cationin1987.Theoriginalfouraimscontinuetogracethefrontmatter
and to guide the contents of every issue, and can now also indicate the
goals of Lutheran Quarterly Books: “to provide a forum (1) for the dis-
cussion of Christian faith and life on the basis of the Lutheran confes-
sion; (2) for the application of the principles of the Lutheran church to
the changing problems of religion and society; (3) for the fostering of
worldLutheranism;and(4)forthepromotionofunderstandingbetween
Lutherans and other Christians.”
For further information, see www.lutheranquarterly.com.
ThesymbolandmottoofLutheranQuarterly,VDMAforVerbumDomini
Manet in Aeternum (1 Peter 1:25), was adopted as a motto by Luther’s
sovereign, Frederick the Wise, and his successors. The original “Protes-
tant”princeswalkingoutoftheimperialDietofSpeyerin1529,unruly
peasants following Thomas Müntzer, and from 1531 to 1547 the coins,
medals, flags, and guns of the Smalcaldic League all bore the most
famous Reformation slogan, the first Evangelical confession: The Word
of the Lord remains forever.
Living by Faith: Justification and Sanctification, by Oswald Bayer (2003).
Harvesting Martin Luther’s Reflections on Theology, Ethics and the Church,
essays from Lutheran Quarterly, edited by Timothy J. Wengert, with
foreword by David C. Steinmetz (2004).
A More Radical Gospel: Essays on Eschatology, Authority, Atonement, and
Ecumenism, by Gerhard O. Forde, edited by Mark Mattes and Steven
Paulson (2004).
The Role of Justification in Contemporary Theology, by Mark C. Mattes
(2004).
The Captivation of the Will: Luther vs. Erasmus on Freedom and Bondage,
by Gerhard O. Forde (2005).
Bound Choice, Election, and Wittenberg Theological Method: From Martin
Luther to the Formula of Concord, by Robert Kolb (2005).
A Formula for Parish Practice: Using the Formula of Concord in Congrega-
tions, by Timothy J. Wengert (2006).
Luther’s Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications, by Robin A. Leaver
(2006).
The Preached God: Proclamation in Word and Sacrament, by Gerhard O.
Forde, edited by Mark C. Mattes and Steven D. Paulson (2007).
Theology the Lutheran Way, by Oswald Bayer (2007).
A Time for Confessing, by Robert W. Bertram (2008).
ThePastoralLuther:EssaysonMartinLuther’sPracticalTheology,editedby
Timothy J. Wengert (2009).
PreachingfromHome:TheStoriesofSevenLutheranWomenHymnWriters,
by Gracia Grindal (2011).
TheEarlyLuther:StagesinaReformationReorientation,byBerndtHamm
(2013).
The Life, Works, and Witness of Tsehay Tolessa and Gudina Tumsa, the
Ethiopian Bonhoeffer, edited by Samuel Yonas Deressa and Sarah Hin-
licky Wilson (2017).
TheWittenbergConcord:CreatingSpaceforDialogue,byGordonA.Jensen
(2018).
The Wittenberg Concord

The Wittenberg Concord
Creating Space for Dialogue
GORDON A. JENSEN
FOREWORD BY TIMOTHY J. WENGERT
FORTRESS PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS
THE WITTENBERG CONCORD
Creating Space for Dialogue
Copyright © 2018 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical
articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior
written permission from the publisher. Email [email protected] or write to
Permissions, Fortress Press, PO Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1209.
“The Wittenberg Concord 1536,” translated by Amy Nelson Burnett inReformation and
Renaissance Review18, no. 1 (March 2016): 25–26, is reprinted by permission of the
publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd, http://www.tandfonline.com.
Cover design: Rob Dewey
Print ISBN: 978-1-5064-3156-7
eBook ISBN: 978-1-5064-4877-0
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984.
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
This book was produced using Pressbooks.com, and PDF rendering was done by
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For my family
Brenda,
Jonathan, Anna Clara, Solveig Lilja,
Graham and Jannaya.
You light up my life.
In memory of
my mother and grandparents, witnesses to the faith

Contents
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations xv
Foreword xix
Introduction 1
1. The Quest for an Evangelical Political Alliance 9
Justifying an Evangelical Alliance 10
The Diet of Augsburg 14
The Formation of the Schmalkald League 19
Renewed Possibilities for Theological Concord 22
Conclusion 25
2. Stifled Dialogues (1520–29) 29
The Lord’s Supper 30
Real Presence 33
At God’s Right Hand 37
Baptism 39
Confession and Absolution 46
The Marburg Colloquy 48
Conclusion 51