Martin Luther and the Enduring Word of God: The Wittenberg School and Its Scripture-Centered Proclamation

The Reformation revolutionized church life through its new appreciation for God's presence working through the Bible. Coinciding with the five hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, this volume by world-class scholar Robert Kolb explains how Luther's approach to the Bible drew his colleagues and contemporary followers into a Scripture-centered practice of theology and pastoral leadership. Kolb examines the entire school of interpretation launched by Luther, showing how Luther's students continued the study and spread of God's Word in subsequent generations. Filled with fresh insights and cutting-edge research, this major statement provides historical grounding for contemporary debates about the Bible. Professors and students of the Reformation and church history will value this work. It will also appeal to pastors, scholars, interested laity, and all readers interested in the history of biblical interpretation.
Contents
Introduction: God's Word Endures Forever: The Wittenberg School of Exegesis
1. The Bible in the World of Luther's Childhood and Youth
2. In the Beginning God Said: Luther's Understanding of the Word of God
3. Nowhere More Present Than in Scripture: Luther's Perception of What the Bible Is
4. Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth: Luther's Hermeneutical Framework
5. Search the Scriptures: Luther as Professor
6. Faith Comes by Hearing: Luther the Preacher
7. Teaching All Nations: Luther as Translator
8. Instruction in Sound Teaching: The Wittenberg Curriculum, the Wittenberg Commentary, the Wittenberg Colleagues
9. Searching the Scriptures the Wittenberg Way: Sixteenth-Century Tools for Study of the Bible
10. Biographical Interlude: The Later Wittenberg Commentators
11. Formulas for Speaking Circumspectly and Avoiding Offense: Hermeneutics for Exegesis and Preaching among Luther's Students
12. Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth: The Late Reformation Wittenberg Commentaries
13. In Season, Out of Season: The Forms and Methods of Late Reformation Preaching in the Wittenberg Circle
14. With a Firm Grasp of the Word: The Message of Late Reformation Proclamation
The Enduring Word of God: Concluding Reflection
Indexes