The Forgotten Luther: Reclaiming the Social-Economic Dimension of the Reformation ed. by Carter Lindberg and Paul Wee (review)

Approaching the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, there is much debate over how the Reformer and his work should be remembered. The contributors to this book argue forcefully and persuasively that the time is ripe to attend to Luther's under-appreciated economic vision that was integral to his reforming work. Growing out of a symposium hosted by the Church of the Reformation in Washington, D.C., this volume offers six engaging and accessible essays on how a vision of economic justice flows directly from Luther's key Reformation insights.

The volume is written with congregational use in mind. All but one of the essays are less than fifteen pages and discussion questions encourage reading and reflection on biblical passages as well as the claims of each essay. While each of the authors—Carter Lindberg, Samuel Torvend, Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Jon Pahl, Tim Huffman, and Ryan Cummings—focuses on varying economic insights from Luther, they all share several common convictions: that Luther's most significant theological commitments have important economic implications; that these economic insights have too often been severed from their theological foundations; and that the time is now for theological heirs of Luther to reconnect boldly the theological and the economic dimensions of his thought.

The volume begins, appropriately, with an essay by Carter Lindberg, whose 1993 book, Beyond Poverty: Reformation Initiatives for the Poor, brought economics and social reform back into Luther scholarship. His essay presents a concise, cogent version of his larger argument about how Luther's commitment to "justification by faith" radicalized him to move "beyond remedial philanthropy to address the social and political roots of poverty" (18), specifically through establishments of the "Common Chest." The essay also includes a rousing call for the socioeconomic dimension of the Reformation to inform preaching, teaching, and the mission of the church today.

Samuel Torvend underscores Lindberg's call for increased attention to Luther's economics when he reports that in a 2012 study of 100 Lutheran clergy, only seven were aware that Luther had written on the economy. Torvend's essay on greed offers insightful comparisons between Luther's analysis of the sin of greed and Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical, Laudato si'. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda's hard-hitting essay on "The Subversive Luther" calls for "re-reformation" of Luther's understanding of justification in order for Lutherans to claim their heritage of resistance, most particularly in Luther's call to resist civil authorities when obeying them would constitute going against matters of faith.

Jon Pahl offers an engaging reading of the economic implications of the Large Catechism, particularly Luther's critique of economic idolatry that forms the basis of his discussion of the First Commandment. After noting how few liberation theologians hail from the Lutheran tradition, Tim Huffman illumines how many liberation theologians have drawn on the doctrine of justification, and calls on Lutherans to move beyond viewing the Reformer's work as "merely theological."

The final essay by ELCA World Hunger program director Ryan Cummings interrogates the concept of offering "relief" to those in poverty, offering instead a robust version of the "economy of grace" to counter the "economy of merit" operative in many relief organizations today. Spending time with this volume will help ensure that Luther's commitment to economic justice is forgotten no more.