Sárospataki Füzetek 21. (2017)
2017 / 2. szám - ARTICLES-STUDIEN - INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE SINCE THE AGE OF THE REFORMATION-INTERKULTURELLER DIALOG SEIT DER REFORMATION - Gosker, Margriet: Erős vár a mi Istenünk: 500 years of protestantism in the netherlands in ecumenical perspective
Erős vára mi Istenünk: 500 Years of Protestantism in the Netherlands in Ecumenical Perspective according to О. H. Pesch.31 As a young theologian, he developed an aversion to the philosophy of Aristotle, which was very much in vogue, yet he still retained something of Aristotle.32 But Luther had a genuine preference for Augustine. In 1507 he was ordained priest. And even long after 1517, he remained a monk. He wore the monk’s habit even until 1523. The regular monastic life, the seasons, the prayers, the fasting, the liturgy, the awareness and respect for sacred things and holiness formed him, but his fears did not leave him alone. He suffered under his thought, convinced he was not good enough. For God you never do well enough, however much you try to pray and follow all the rules. God’s punishing justice pursued the young Luther. Christ was for him the severe judge, who will judge every man on the day of his Last Judgment. Thereby Luther suffered under self-blame and self-torment. Luther’s discovery Luther studied the Bible and gradually discovered its liberating message that God does not want us to be perfect, but accepts us in grace (sola gratia). God gives us all the space and freedom in Jesus Christ and in Christ alone (solus Christus). He learned and taught that we come to Christ through the Bible (sola Scrip turd). Luther recognised something which is still very real every day — the actuality of our justification.33 We are both justified and sinful at the same time (simul iustus acpeccator). For God we are good as we are, even if we make big mistakes. Christ has taken the burden from us and therefore we are free. Free for God and free for each other. Luther also said that no one has the right to rule over someone else. No one is ever somebody else’s servant. At the same time, he stated, a believer is always willing to help. Voluntarily. A lovely paradox! Luther’s big discovery was that God is not always demanding and judging us. The righteousness of God is a gift for all believers in Jesus Christ. We get everything, just for nothing. Romans 1:17: “The righteous will live by faith.” By faith alone (sola fide), Luther stated and he resisted vehemently, after being criticised, that in his Bible translation he had smuggled in the word only. That was true indeed, because only is not in the original Greek Bible text. But in Luther’s opinion a Bible translation had to be clear and in this way he provided clarity. So he persisted: by faith alone. We are all sinners. Even if you do things wrongly or worse, even if you show criminal behaviour, Jesus is our Saviour. By faith alone you receive God’s goodness. God will give you his love and grace, you only need to open yourself for it. If you are doing well, do it happily. To do good works is not a conditio sine qua 31 O.H. Pesch: Martin Luther, Thomas von Aquin und die reformatorische Kritik an der Scholastik: Zur Geschichte und Wirkungsgeschichte eines Missverständnisses mit weltgeschichtlichen Folgen, vorgelegt in der Sitzung der Joachim Jungius-Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften vom 1. Juli 1994,12,1994, 3, Hamburg, 1994. 32 E.H. Erikson: Dejonge Luther, Amsterdam, De Arbeiderspers, 1967,94. 33 H. de Leede: De theoloog van het kruis spreekt de werkelijkheid uit: De prediking van de recht- vaardiging van de goddeloze, Kontekstueei, 31,2017/3, (10-13) ,13. 2017-2 Sárospataki Füzetek 21 37
