The Contemplative Lutheran

The relationship between Original Sin and Original Guilt is a self-evident and necessary one. It is also frequently misunderstood. For if someone is able to understand Original Sin aright, then they still may stumble over Original Guilt. Upon examination, the reason for this stumbling is perhaps most frequently found to be, not in the concept itself, but in the English word guilt . For this word is both highly charged and polyvalent, and as a result ends up carrying connotations in the English language that, if left unchecked, create a formidable, yet unnecessary, impasse to understanding this orthodox doctrine. A little investigation will therefore be necessary in order to clarify just how the word guilt is being used in the term Original Guilt. It is also worth noting, since the English word “guilt” is prone to misunderstanding when translated from a colloquial, legal, or psychological context into a theological one, the danger is that a person can study the theological concept of Or...

As a consequence of sola Scriptura , one of the things we as Lutherans identify with and stress is the Patristic tradition of theology. Being a “conservative Reformation” of the Western Catholic Church, our conception of catholicity includes the witness of the Fathers who have gone before us. For example, we can hardly read a page in the Book of Concord without encountering an affirmative reference to the Church Fathers. We read mention therein of Irenaeus, Basil, Gregory, Ambrose, Augustine, and Cyril of Alexandria, to name only a few. The Fathers of the Lutheran Church, from Luther and Melanchthon, to Chemnitz and Andreae, and further on to Gerhard, Quenstedt, and Calov, we see persistent and typically positive reference to the Fathers. Thus our theology is both preeminently Scriptural and eminently Patristic.  As a corollary of Patristic Theology is Patristic piety. Now, this transformative piety centers on silence, stillness, and watchfulness, as standard or foundational to the...