The doctrine of justification is the cornerstone of Evangelical Lutheran theology. It orients the other articles of the Church’s confession (articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae)—not only effecting a distinction between Christ as gift and example, but also allowing for a proper understanding of creation, sin, anthropology, and even eschatology. Yet the precise form, content, and implications of justification have been anything but obvious. They have continued to be the subject of intense debate. Some have criticized a purely forensic understanding of justification; others have insisted on its purely forensic character. Some, finally, wonder whether the juxtaposition is at all adequate.

This discussion cannot help but relate historical and biblical interpretation to broader contemporary understandings and modes of elucidation.

This seminar brings together scholars who have all tried new approaches to understanding the doctrine of justification, focusing on the relationship between promise and trust, between justification and reciprocity, between divine justification and the social need of recognition, between word and reality, and on the ontology of promise.

The seminar is open and free, but registration is required. Send an email to lumen@cas.au.dk by 1 October.

Deadline for short presentation proposals is 15 September. Send a 500-word proposal to lumen@cas.au.dk. Response by 1 October.

Lunch at own expense