369 - Justification: An Ecumenical Study

Justification:
An Ecumenical Study
By George H. Tavard
Ramsey, N.J. Paulist Press, 1983. 137 pp. $7.95.

It would be a mistake to be misled by the brevity of this volume. The author has combined economy of language with measured scholarship in a way that can serve as a model for writers of theological monographs. It is an historical study of justification from The Witness of the New Testament" to -The Older Theologies" to "The Theology of Luther" to "Post-Reformation Theology" to the current situation of "'Luther in Catholic Thought." But it is, at the same time, a substantial argument that "Luther was right" in his doctrine of justification, and that he should be recognized as a "Doctor of the Church." Along the way one encounters the author's carefully nuanced interpretation of texts from both major and minor figures in the history of Christian thought. There are nineteen pages of notes and a helpful index. This volume, together with the joint statement on Justification by Faith, recently adopted by U.S. Lutherans and Roman Catholics, will give readers a splendid orientation on this central Christian doctrine. George H. Tavard, the well known Catholic scholar, is a professor of theology at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio.

James Harold Burtness
Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary
St. Paul, Minn.