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eBook details
- Title: Finitum Capax Infiniti: Luther's Radical Incarnational Perspective (Martin Luther) (Essay)
- Author : Currents in Theology and Mission
- Release Date : January 01, 2008
- Genre: Politics & Current Events,Books,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 290 KB
Description
The Word and the sacraments were crucial aspects of Martin Luther's biblically-normed and experientially-informed theology. The Reformer viewed these means of grace as the unique gifts of God to the church through which the Holy Spirit creates and nurtures faith. They are, therefore, the constituent elements of the church's life and mission. The Eucharist, in particular, captured Luther's attention because it was one of the great causes of dissension between the evangelical movement and the Church of Rome, as well as among the varied expressions of the Reformation. It was particularly in his conflict with fellow reformers, those to whom he referred in a derogatory manner as the sacramentarians, that Luther became an ardent defender of the physical presence of Christ in the sacrament. The notion of finitum capax infiniti was a central aspect of that defense and manifests the Reformer's radical incarnational perspective. The purpose of this essay is to explore Luther's literary debate with the Swiss reformers, especially Huldreich Zwingli (1484-1531) and Johannes Oecolampadius (1482-1531). That debate marks the high point of Luther's theological defense of the real presence and in it the emphasis on finitum capax infiniti becomes readily apparent. In addition to highlighting the theological significance of this notion, 1 will also suggest some practical implications of this sacramental emphasis for the Lutheran movement's attitude toward and participation in contemporary society. As I have already noted, Luther's eucharistic thought was developed in an intensely polemical context. In the early 1520s the Reformer addressed the medieval church's sacramental theology and practices. In the course of his conflicts with the Church of Rome he rejected five sacraments and affirmed only baptism and the Eucharist. He militated against the notion of ex opere operato and stressed that faith is necessary for the efficacious reception of the sacraments. He dismissed the doctrine of transubstantiation as a philosophical explanation of a divine mystery and a misunderstanding of Aristotelian philosophy. He also advocated the distribution of both kinds in the eucharistic celebration and bitterly criticized the church's insistence that the sacrament is a sacrifice and a meritorious work. (1) By the middle 1520s, however, his major sacramental opponents were no longer the Roman theologians but the Swiss Reformer Huldreich Zwingli and his supporters, especially Johannes Oecolampadius. (2) The focus of the debate among the Reformers was the doctrine of the real presence. On the basis of his biblical interpretation, his humanist and rationalist tendencies and his own creative theological impulses, Zwingli proposed and defended a symbolic interpretation of Christ's eucharistic presence. While Oecolampadius, Andreas von Karlstadt (1480-1541), Martin Bucer (1491-1551) and others formulated their own particular formulae in conceptualizing the eucharistic mystery, they all stood at Zwingli's side in his conflict with Luther. Luther emerged as an ardent and inflexible defender of a materialistic understanding of Christ's presence in his debates with the Swiss, even though he continued to reject the doctrine of transubstantiation. He, therefore, found himself much closer to the Roman side with regard to Christ's eucharistic presence than he did to his fellow reformers.
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