Reforming Mary

Reforming Mary PDF Author: Beth Kreitzer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198037286
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Catholics and Protestants have, since the earliest days of the Reformation, held markedly different views about the Virgin Mary. In Reforming Mary Beth Kreitzer examines the development of Lutheran views on this subject as expressed in 16th-century Lutheran published sermons, starting with the earliest of Luther's own Reformation sermons. She shows that from the beginning Lutherans rejected much of the theology and piety that surrounded Mary in Catholicism, especially her status as heavenly queen and intercessor with Christ. They affirmed those orthodox teachings about Mary that related to Christ (the Virgin's role as Theotokos, the virgin birth) and by extension Mary's purity, or perpetual virginity. As time went on Lutheran preachers showed less interest in Mary as a topic and by the later part of the century showed an increasingly harsh and critical view of her. These later sermons reveal a new willingness, in opposition to received tradition, to impute sin to Mary. Kreitzer attributes this changed attitude to the increasing distance of Lutherans from their Catholic roots, the logical results of theological changes in the Reformation, and a perception of an increased threat of re-catholicization. Finally, she shows, Mary was pressed into service by preachers who endeavored to instruct the laity in both what to believe and how to live, making a causal connection between being a good Christian and being a good citizen of society. In this context, Mary was used as a role model and was often promoted as an exemplar for females in ways that served to constrain and domesticate women, placing them more firmly under male authority. But despite the attempts by preachers to domesticate and mold her, Kreitzer argues, the Lutheran Mary remains a complex and paradoxical figure.

Reforming Mary

Reforming Mary PDF Author: Beth Kreitzer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780198037286
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Get Book Here

Book Description
Catholics and Protestants have, since the earliest days of the Reformation, held markedly different views about the Virgin Mary. In Reforming Mary Beth Kreitzer examines the development of Lutheran views on this subject as expressed in 16th-century Lutheran published sermons, starting with the earliest of Luther's own Reformation sermons. She shows that from the beginning Lutherans rejected much of the theology and piety that surrounded Mary in Catholicism, especially her status as heavenly queen and intercessor with Christ. They affirmed those orthodox teachings about Mary that related to Christ (the Virgin's role as Theotokos, the virgin birth) and by extension Mary's purity, or perpetual virginity. As time went on Lutheran preachers showed less interest in Mary as a topic and by the later part of the century showed an increasingly harsh and critical view of her. These later sermons reveal a new willingness, in opposition to received tradition, to impute sin to Mary. Kreitzer attributes this changed attitude to the increasing distance of Lutherans from their Catholic roots, the logical results of theological changes in the Reformation, and a perception of an increased threat of re-catholicization. Finally, she shows, Mary was pressed into service by preachers who endeavored to instruct the laity in both what to believe and how to live, making a causal connection between being a good Christian and being a good citizen of society. In this context, Mary was used as a role model and was often promoted as an exemplar for females in ways that served to constrain and domesticate women, placing them more firmly under male authority. But despite the attempts by preachers to domesticate and mold her, Kreitzer argues, the Lutheran Mary remains a complex and paradoxical figure.

Reforming Mary

Reforming Mary PDF Author: Beth Kreitzer
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 019516654X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
Catholics and Protestants have, since the start of the Reformation, held markedly different views about the Virgin Mary. Beth Kreitzner here examines the development of Lutheran views on the subject as expressed in published 16th century sermons, including some written by Luther himself.

The Reforming Power of the Scriptures

The Reforming Power of the Scriptures PDF Author: Mary Metzner Trammell
Publisher: Writings of Mary Baker Eddy
ISBN: 9780875103143
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Reforming Rome

Reforming Rome PDF Author: Donald W. Norwood
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 0802872107
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Few people realize that Karl Barth, one of the twentieth century s greatest Protestant theologians, was among a select group of non-Catholic guests who were invited to the Second Vatican Council (1962 65) to assist in the reform and renewal of the Roman Catholic Church. In Reforming Rome Donald Norwood offers the first book-length study of Barth s involvement with Vatican II and his significant impact on the reform of the Catholic Church. Norwood examines Barth s critical engagement with the Roman Catholic Church from his time at the (Catholic) University of Munster to his connection with Vatican II, his conversations with Pope Paul VI, and seminars and interviews he gave about the Council afterward. On the basis of extensive research, Norwood amplifies Barth s own very brief account of Vatican II. Barth himself often felt that he was better understood by Roman Catholics such as Hans Kng, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Joseph Ratzinger than he was by his own Reformed colleagues. This study, written by a fellow Reformed theologian, helps us to see why.

Reforming Saints

Reforming Saints PDF Author: David J. Collins
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198044070
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
In Reforming Saints, David J. Collins explains how and why Renaissance humanists composed Latin hagiography in Germany in the decades leading up to the Reformation. Contrary to the traditional wisdom, Collins's research uncovers a resurgence in the composition of saints' lives in the half century leading up to 1520. German humanists, he finds, were among the most active authors and editors of these texts. Focusing on forty Latin depictions of German saints written between 1470 and 1520, Collins finds patterns both in how these humanists chose their subjects and how they presented their holiness. He argues that the humanist hagiographers took up the writing of saints' lives to investigate Germany's medieval past, to reconstruct and exalt its greatness, and to advocate programs of religious and cultural reform. This literature, says Collins, left a legacy that polemicists and philologists in Catholic Europe would be using for their own purposes by the end of the sixteenth century. These hagiographic writings are thus both reflective and formative of the religious and cultural conflicts that defined this period of European history. To bolster his case, Collins draws not only on the Latin saints' lives, but also on vernacular lives, maps and chorographic documents, personal and professional letters, papal, urban, and municipal archives, painting, sculpture and broadside print, and medieval and early modern histories and chronicles. The result is a fresh, new portrait of the humanism of Renaissance Germany. With his surprising and insightful conclusions, Collins sheds new light on humanism's appropriation in Germany, particularly in its religious aspect. He approaches the humanists' writings on their own terms and recaptures the creative energy the humanists brought to the task of revising the legends of the saints. His scholarly perspective includes the roles of emperors, princes, abbots, city councilmen, artists, librarians, soldiers, peasants, and pilgrims, showing how humanists reached larger and less learned audiences than many other kinds of writing ever could. The cult of the saints and Renaissance humanism are two topics that have attracted considerable scholarly attention. Reforming Saints considers them as seldom before -- at their intersection.

Adam and Eve in the Protestant Reformation

Adam and Eve in the Protestant Reformation PDF Author: Kathleen M. Crowther
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521192366
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
Explores the importance of stories about Adam and Eve in sixteenth-century German Lutheran areas.

Beyond Mary or Martha

Beyond Mary or Martha PDF Author: Jennifer S. Wyant
Publisher: SBL Press
ISBN: 0884144143
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
Explore a tale of two sisters Beyond Mary or Martha: Reclaiming Ancient Models of Discipleship dives into the complicated reception history of Mary and Martha of Bethany, who have been at the center of many debates for almost two thousand years. Jennifer S. Wyant begins her study with a close reading of the sisters’ first encounter with Jesus in Luke 10:38-42, then moves on to patristic, medieval, and modern interpretations of that narrative. Wyant tracks how Mary and Martha both became paradigms of discipleship, revealing the inherent tension within Christianity between contemplative practices and acts of service. By placing ancient debates alongside more modern ones, she argues that, contrary to discussions today within academic and religious circles, gender is not the most important aspect of their story. Features: A thorough examination of the textual variants in the passage to show how variants affected interpretation throughout history Interpretations from medieval women and their contributions to interpretation of Mary and Martha A visual exegesis of the art representing the passage throughout history

The Catholic Luther

The Catholic Luther PDF Author: Philip D. W. Krey
Publisher: Paulist Press
ISBN: 1587686155
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
A collection of selected texts by Martin Luther—including the classic “The Magnificat, Put into German and Explained”—that capture the essence of his Catholic devotion, along with an extensive introduction.

The Reformation of Suffering

The Reformation of Suffering PDF Author: Ronald K. Rittgers
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199795126
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 592

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Book Description
Protestant reformers sought to effect a radical change in the way their contemporaries understood and coped with the suffering of body and soul that were so prominent in the early modern period. The reformers did so because they believed that many traditional approaches to suffering were not sufficiently Christian--that is, they thought these approaches were unbiblical. The Reformation of Suffering examines the Protestant reformation of suffering and shows how it was a central part of the larger Protestant effort to reform church and society. Despite its importance, no other text has directly examined this reformation of suffering. This book investigates the history of Christian reflection on suffering and consolation in the Latin West and places the Protestant reformation campaign within this larger context, paying close attention to important continuities and discontinuities between Catholic and Protestant traditions. Focusing especially on Wittenberg Christianity, The Reformation of Suffering examines the genesis of Protestant doctrines of suffering among the leading reformers and then traces the transmission of these doctrines from the reformers to the common clergy. It also examines the reception of these ideas by lay people. The text underscores the importance of consolation in early modern Protestantism and seeks to challenge a scholarly trend that has emphasized the themes of discipline and control in Wittenberg Christianity. It shows how Protestant clergymen and burghers could be remarkably creative and resourceful as they sought to convey solace to one another in the midst of suffering and misfortune. The Protestant reformation of suffering had a profound impact on church and society in the early modern period and contributed significantly to the shape of the modern world.

Masculinity and Marian Efficacy in Shakespeare's England

Masculinity and Marian Efficacy in Shakespeare's England PDF Author: Ruben Espinosa
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317099877
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
Masculinity and Marian Efficacy in Shakespeare's England offers a new approach to evaluating the psychological 'loss' of the Virgin Mary in post-Reformation England by illustrating how, in the wake of Mary's demotion, re-inscriptions of her roles and meanings only proliferated, seizing hold of national imagination and resulting in new configurations of masculinity. The author surveys the early modern cultural and literary response to Mary's marginalization, and argues that Shakespeare employs both Roman Catholic and post-Reformation views of Marian strength not only to scrutinize cultural perceptions of masculinity, but also to offer his audience new avenues of exploring both religious and gendered subjectivity. By deploying Mary's symbolic valence to infuse certain characters, and dramatic situations with feminine potency, Espinosa analyzes how Shakespeare draws attention to the Virgin Mary as an alternative to an otherwise unilaterally masculine outlook on salvation and gendered identity formation.