Luther’s Christological Legacy: Christocentrism and the Chalcedonian Tradition (The Père Marquette Lecture in Theology) - Tapa dura

The author addresses the continuing importance of the Reformation and its ongoing relevance for theology today through an exploration of Luther's understanding of Christology, the doctrine of the person of Jesus Christ. "In Luther's theological position lay a strong and uncompromising affirmation of the absolute centrality of the person of Jesus Christ for the Christian faith. In this sense, the principle, slogan or motto "Christ alone" (solus Christus) is the culmination of the other three, similar phrases - Scripture alone (sola scriptura); by faith alone (sola fide); by grace alone (sola gratia) - which are often associated with Reformation theology. The centrality of Luther's fixation on the person of Jesus Christ as the one, single redeemer of humankind will, I hope, open a perspective for the commemoration of Luther and his Reformation that should be of interest and concern for Protestants and Catholics alike." From the Introduction

Johannes Zachhuber is Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, University of Oxford, Faculty of Theology and Religion. He specializes in two main areas of research: the Eastern Patristic tradition up to John of Damascus and modern theology from the Reformation to the present, with a special interest in nineteenth-century German theology. The present lecture provides an example of his efforts to unite historical research on Patristic writings and currents of modern thought, in this case the Christology of Martin Luther. But he has pursued similar research in other areas: theological anthropology, ecclesiology, and the relation of theological to philosophical developments. His current research projects have to do, first, with the emergence of a Christian philosophy in doctrinal debates following the Council of Chalcedon, and second, with systematic-theological reflection on the significance of individuality for the Christian faith. Among his writings are Theology as Science in Nineteenth-Century Germany: From F.C. Baur to Ernst Troeltsch (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013) and Human Nature in Gregory of Nyssa: Philosophical Background and Theological Significance (Leiden: Brill, 1999; paperback, 2014). He is one of the editors of The Oxford Research Encyclopedia on Martin Luther, 3 vols. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017).