open access publication

Article, Early Access, 2024

Luther's interpretation of communicatio idiomatum in a new key

DIALOG-A JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY, ISSN 0012-2033, 0012-2033, 10.1111/dial.12843

Contributors

Pedersen, Else Marie Wiberg 0000-0003-3214-9785 (Corresponding author) [1]

Affiliations

  1. [1] Aarhus Univ, Theol Dept, Aarhus, Denmark
  2. [NORA names: AU Aarhus University; University; Denmark; Europe, EU; Nordic; OECD]

Abstract

Into the debates about Christ's two natures, divine and human, and how they relate, Martin Luther threw his extended interpretation of the communicatio idiomatum, the communication of the person Christ's attributes. Luther's Christology is incarnational and it is fundamental to him that God can and will be known only as a human being (homo/Mensch), yet Christ's real presence is presented three dimensionally and in bodily intersectionality. Luther's complex understanding of Christ as really human and the Word incarnate is reflected in his intense work with the sacraments as well as with semantics and the art of translation. Luther aims at an inclusive Christology, sacramentology, and language. Hence Christ is human, not male; sacraments are seen as direct exchange between God and humans in the body of Christ; and ministry is reconfigured as a human function of preaching the Word (ministerium verbi), not a substitute representing divine sacredness.

Keywords

Martin Luther, incarnation, inclusive language, intersectionality, sacraments

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