Description: Luther's theology of the cross is a direct critique of
oppressive power relationships in his day. Luther's early thought
challenges specific economic, political, social, ideological, and
religious power dynamics; the cross confronts those who enjoy
power, prestige, pomp, and profits at the expense of the poor.
Ruge-Jones maps the power relationships that Luther's theology
addressed and then turns to specific works that challenge
established structures of his world. Luther's Latin texts undermine
the ideological assumptions and presumptions that bolstered an
opulent church and empire. Luther uses the cross of Christ to
challenge what he called volatilem cogitatum, ""knowledge that is
prone to violence."" His German writings (directed to a broader,
more popular audience) focus this critique of human pretensions
into an attack on systems of wealth, status, and power that refuse
to look with compassion upon poor Mary, or upon the many domestic
servants of Germany. God has respected the ones whom the world
disrespects and has thus entered the world to turn it upside down.
Also in the German writings, the Lord's Supper calls the powerful
to enter into solidarity with the poor--suffering people to whom
Christ has given himself. Finally, in his popular pamphlets, visual
images show with graphic specificity that throughout his life
Christ sought out solidarity with the least. These images contrast
brutally with images of a church that has sold its soul to wealth,
political influence, military power, and status. Endorsements:
""Candor and precision conjoined with a lucid exposition of complex
historical arguments is what the reader will be treated to in
Philip Ruge-Jones' Cross in Tensions. The book engages the
development of the early Luther's theology of the cross and its
various interpretations with poignant care for the pain of the
world while being in compassionate and hopeful solidarity with
those who, moved and shaken, endure the cross in all its tensions,
gruesomeness, and intentions."" Vitor Westhelle author of The
Scandalous God ""Philip Ruge-Jones makes an interesting and
thoughtful contribution to the contemporary scholarly literature on
Martin Luther's theology of the cross by offering a contextually
informed analysis of the Reformer's thought. . . . He places
Luther's writings into their . . . contexts and clarifies the
impact of those contexts on the Reformer's works. . . . Ruge-Jones
is not only sensitive to Luther's context, however. . . .
Ruge-Jones is a Euro-North American who has lived in South America
and whose theological perspectives have been profoundly impacted by
Latin American Liberationist thought, particularly the notion of
the preferential option of the poor. . . . He views the theology of
the cross as a theology that points to the crucified Christ as
God's ultimate self-revelation and that is liberating good news to
the poor and marginalized. Hence, he celebrates Luther as a true
theologian of the cross whenever the Reformer and his writings
advocate for the poor, and he criticizes Luther as a theologian of
glory whenever the Reformer uses his writings to support those in
power and to oppress the common people."" --Kurt K. Hendel,
Bernard, Fischer, Westberg Distinguished Ministry Professor of
Reformation History, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago About
the Contributor(s): Philip Ruge-Jones is Associate Professor of
Theology at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas. He is the
author of The Word of the Cross in a World of Glory (2008).
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