-Wir sein pettler. Hoc est verum.--"We are beggars. This is true."--Martin Luther-

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Thursday, October 23, 2008

Lutheran Quote of the Day: Köberle on "Subjective Grace"

I was interested to find out that the terminology,"obective grace" and "subjective grace," has a history (some of which I agree with, some of which I don't). You know...I just make this trash up, lol.

Here is a quote from Adolf Köberle's seminal work, The Quest for Holiness, reaffirming some of the points in my post, "Hey! Lets Keep It Forensic in Here!". Namely, he states that the experience of grace in the reception of faith (subjective justification) is not dependent on the subject's experience but on the objective Word of revelation. Therefore he want's us to affirm that we should not be suspicious of "subjective grace" (though he doesn't use this terminology) as it finds it's basis outside of ourselves in the objective promises of God.

"For the faith that becomes active in apprehension and emotion does not desire to derive its strength from itself. The "experience" of grace does not put itself confidently into God's place, as it were the actual donor and mediator of grace; it does not depend on its own consciousness; it does not come out of some wellspring of inner nature. It is something purely receptive, begotten and animated by the reality of the divine gift that is apprehended by faith. For this reason we cannot offhand reject the idea of an "experience" of faith as something suspicious and unevangelical, so long as the subjective experience we possess does not come out of some "little paradise of our own domain of the soul," but is begotten and mediated through an objective word of revelation that is accepted by faith."

-The Quest for Holiness, trans. John C. Mattes (Minneapolis, Minn: Augsburg Publishing House, 1938), 78.

6 comments:

Augustinian Successor said...

Who was Adolf Köberle, Joel?

Joel Woodward said...

You know, I really don't know much about him. His Quest for Holiness though is very highly looked upon by Lutherans of many stripes. I highly recommend it if you are interested in sanctification and its connection to the gospel. I was even looking for a picture of him today and couldn't find one online...It was wierd. One hit wonder?

Joel Woodward said...

There is a small wikipedia entry you can translate from german...

Augustinian Successor said...

You know this blog is rich with quotes/citations of Lutheran theologians from the past. It is deepening my knowledge of the rich heritage of Lutheranism, the wealth of writings. I'm saying this because I come from a Reformed background and am to a certain extent still one.

Joel Woodward said...

I'm glad. You'll have to point me to some seminal Reformed texts that I can learn up on. I'm really not too familiar with the area...I know Catholic theology more than Reformed...

Augustinian Successor said...

Dear Joel,

I would like to recommend a Reformed website, which contains an excellent introduction to the doctrinal tradition of the Reformed Faith. It is at [http://www.prca.org]. However, in terms of liturgy and ecclesial tradition, it is in the Dutch Reformed lineage.