“Reason is a Whore”: Groundworks of a Lutheran Epistemology

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/0103-314X.2019.1.35708

Keywords:

Faith. Reason. Theology of the Cross. Paradox. Reformed Epistemology. Lutheran Epistemology.

Abstract

In Lutheran theology, as well as in most part of the Christian theology that preceded him, the theme of “faith” and “reason” plays an important role. It is always implied or it is even directly treated whenever we face a debate on the nature of theological knowledge, the status of the Christian theologian
and Christian theology and the spheres of meaning and responsibility of faith as a gift and human condition and of reason or rationality as a gift to creation and human condition in the world as such. In spite of its many and varied critical notes on it, in medieval “Christian philosophy” the alliance between metaphysics and theology presents clear contours and directions of possibilities; Luther on his turn seems to have rejected any room of success for such an approach in “Scholastic” way towards  the knowledge of God, and this is christalized in his critical expression regarding the condition of human reason to theological knowledge: “reason is a whore”. Recently, the topic of the rationality implicit in the attitude of faith that moves the Christian in his beliefs and actions, as well as of the Christian theologian and theology, was reelaborated in Calvinist Reformed tradition, in a program of problematizing the rationality of faith, within an atmosphere of profound scientificism of knowledge claims in contemporary times, on the one hand, and, on the other, of fideism in evangelical-protestant reactions towards external criticism coming from exact sciences and sciences of nature. A so called “Reformed Epistemology” has been articulated, which touches the nature of rationality in general and the rationality of faith more narrowly, providing a new account of the rational justification of Christian beliefs. Would there be, in face of the same motivations, or even based on different purposes, a consimilar theory in Lutheran tradition, that is, a “Lutheran Epistemology”? The present study has the purpose of offering a draft of an answer to that question, exploring thus a comparison with the own terms of Reformed Epistemology and Lutheran theology about Christian belief.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Roberto Hofmeister Pich, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Escola de Humanidades. Porto Alegre, RS

Cf Plataforma Lattes

References

ALSTON, William P. Perceiving God. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991.

ALTHAUS, Paul. Die theologie Martin Luthers. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus – Gerd Mohn, 1962.

BARTH, Karl. Der Römerbrief (zweite Fassung) 1922. 15. Aufl. Zürich: Theologischer Verlag Zürich, (15. Aufl.) 1989.

BARTH, Karl. Die kirchliche Dogmatik II/1: Die Lehre von Gott. 3. Aufl. Zürich: Evangelischer Verlag A.G., Zollikon, (3. Aufl.) 1948.

BARTH, Karl. Introdução à teologia evangélica. Tradução de Lindolfo Weingärtner. São Leopoldo: Sinodal, 31981.

BARTH, Karl. Revelação, igreja, teologia [tradução de Walter O. Schlupp]. In: BARTH, Karl. Dádiva e louvor: A artigos selecionados. Seleção e prefácio de Walter Altmann. São Leopoldo: Editora Sinodal, 1986. p. 181-199.

BAYER, Oswald. A teologia de Martim Lutero: uma atualização. Tradução de Nélio Schneider. São Leopoldo: Sinodal, 2007.

BAYER, Oswald. Philosophische Denkformen in der Theologie Luthers als Gegenstand der Forschung. Eine Skizze. In: MAY, Gerhard (Hrsghrsg.). Lutherforschung im 20. Jahrhundert. Rückblick – Bilanz – Ausblick. Mainz – Wiesbaden: Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Europäische Geschichte, 2004. p. 135-149.

BECKER, Siegbert. W. The foolishness of God: the place of reason in the theology of Martin Luther. Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1982.

BENEDIKT XVI. Glaube und Vernunft: Die Regensburger Vorlesung. Kommentiert von SCHWAN, Gesine; KHOURY, Adel Theodor; LEHMANN, Karl Kardinal. Freiburg: Herder, (Vollständige Ausgabe) 2006.

BONHÖFFER, Dietrich. Discipulado. Tradução de Ilson Kayser. São Leopoldo: Sinodal, 21984.

BOUWSMA, O. K. Without proof or evidence. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1984.

BRODY, Baruch A. (ed.). Readings in the philosophy of religion:. an analytic approach. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1974.

CICERO, M. Tullius; CICERO, M. T. Tusculanae disputationes – Gespräche in Tusculum. Lateinisch / Deutsch. Übersetzt und herausgegeben von Ernst Alfred Kirfel. Stuttgart: Reclam, 1997.

EBELING, Gerhard. Fides occidit rationem. In: EBELING, Gerhard. Lutherstudien III. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1985. p. 181-222.

EBELING, Gerhard. Lutherstudien II: Disputatio de homine. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, Teile 1-3, 1977, 1982, 1989.

EBELING, Gerhard. O pensamento de Lutero. Tradução de Helberto Michel. São Leopoldo: Editora Sinodal, 1988.

FISCHER, Joachim. Introdução ao Debate do Reverendo Senhor Dr. Martim Lutero acerca do Homem [1536]. In: Obras selecionadas – Volume 3: Debates e controvérsias, I. São Leopoldo; Porto Alegre: Sinodal; Concórdia, 1992. p. 192-194.

GEIVETT, R. Douglas; SWEETMAN, Brendan. Introduction. In: GEIVETT, R. Douglas; SWEETMAN, Brendan (eds.). Contemporary Perspectives on Religious Epistemology. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. p. 3-16.

GROSSHANS, Hans-Peter. Fé e razão segundo Lutero – A luz da razão no crepúsculo do mundo. In: HELMER, Christine (ed.). Lutero: um teólogo para tempos modernos. Tradução de Geraldo Korndörfer. São Lepoldo: Sinodal; Faculdades EST, 2013. p. 197-209.

HÄGGLUND, Bengt. Theologie und Philosophie bei Luther und in der occamistischen Tradition. Luthers Stellung zur Theorie von der doppelten Wahrheit. Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup, 1955.

HANSEN, Guillermo. La concepción radical de la fe en Lutero: Cristo y la subjetividad en la era post-metafísica. Estudos teológicos, São Leopoldo, v. 57, n. 1, p. 30-45, jan./jun. 2017. https://doi.org/10.22351/et.v57i1.2987

JOEST, Wilfried. Ontologie der Person bei Luther. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1967.

KADAI, Heino O. Luther’s Theology of the Cross. In: KADAI, Heino O. (ed.). Accents in Luther’s Theology. Essays in Commemoration of the 450th Anniversary of the Reformation. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1967. p. 230-265.

KANT, Immanuel. Kritik der reinen Vernunft 2. In: Werkausgabe IV. Hrsg. von. Wilhelm Weischedel. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, (13. Aufl.) 1995.

KOLB, Robert. Did Luther’s Students Hide the Hidden God? Deus absconditus among Luther’s First Followers. In: PHILIP, Mary; NUNES, John Arthur; COLLIER, Charles M. (eds.). Churrasco. A Theological Feast in Honor of Vítor Westhelle. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2013. p. 7-16.

LEIBNIZ, G. W. Neue Abhandlungen über den menschlichen Verstand II. In: Philosophische Schriften – Band 3.2. Französisch und deutsch, hrsg. und über. von Wolf von Engelhardt und Hans Heinz Holz. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1996.

LÖFFLER, Winfried. Einführung in die Religionsphilosophie. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2006. https://doi.org/10.28937/978-3-7873-3252-6

LUTERO, M. A refutação do parecer de Látomo [1521]. In: Obras selecionadas – Volume 3: Debates e controvérsias, I. Tradução de Ilson Kayser. São Leopoldo; Porto Alegre: Sinodal; Concórdia, 1992. p. 96-191.

LUTERO, M. Da ceia de Cristo – Confissão [1528]. In: Obras selecionadas – Volume 4: Debates e controvérsias, II. Tradução de Helberto Michel. São Leopoldo; Porto Alegre: Sinodal; Concórdia, 1993. p. 217-375.

LUTERO, Martinho. Catecismo maior. In: Livro de Concórdia. As Confissões da Igreja Evangélica Luterana. Tradução e notas de Arnaldo Schüler. São Leopoldo; Porto Alegre: Sinodal; Concórdia, 41993. p. 385-496.

LUTERO, Martinho. Da vontade cativa [1525]. In: Obras selecionadas – Volume 4: Debates e controvérsias. II. Tradução de Luís H. Dreher, Luís M. Sander e Ilson Kayser. São Leopoldo; Porto Alegre: Editora Sinodal; Concórdia Editora, 1993. p. 11-216.

LUTERO, Martinho. Debate acerca da justificação [1536]. In: Obras selecionadas – Volume 3: Debates e controvérsias, I. Tradução de Luís Henrique Dreher. São Leopoldo; Porto Alegre: Sinodal; Concórdia, 1992. p. 201-239.

LUTERO, Martinho. Debate de Heidelberg [1518]. In: Obras selecionadas – Volume 1: Os primórdios – Escritos de 1517 a 1519. Tradução de Walter O. Schlupp. São Leopoldo; Porto Alegre: Sinodal; Concórdia, 1987. p. 35-54.

LUTERO, Martinho. Debate do Reverendo Senhor Dr. Martim Lutero acerca do Homem [1536]. In: Obras selecionadas – Volume 3: Debates e controvérsias, I. Tradução de Johannes Friedrich Hasenack. São Leopoldo; Porto Alegre: Sinodal; Concórdia, 1992. p. 192-200.

LUTERO, Martinho. Debate sobre a teologia escolástica [1517]. In: Obras selecionadas – Volume 1: Os primórdios – Escritos de 1517 a 1519. Tradução de Walter O. Schlupp. São Leopoldo; Porto Alegre: Sinodal; Concórdia, 1987. p. 13-20.

LUTERO, Martinho. Tratado de Martinho Lutero sobre a Liberdade Cristã [1520]. In: Obras selecionadas – Volume 2: O programa da Reforma – Escritos de 1520. Tradução de Ilson Kayser. São Leopoldo; Porto Alegre: Sinodal; Concórdia, 1989. p. 436-460.

LUTHER, Martin. Die Tischreden. In: Luther Deutsch. Die Werke Luthers in Auswahl. Hrsg. von Kurt Aland. Göttingen: UTB Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Band 9, 1991.

MACKIE, J. L. Evil and Omnipotence. In: BRODY, Baruch A. (ed.). Readings in the Philosophy of Religion. An Analytic Approach. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1974. p. 157-168.

MARSDEN, G. The Collapse of American Evangelical Academia. In: PLANTINGA, Alvin; WOLTERSTORFF, Nicholas. Faith and Rationality: Reason and Belief in God. [S. l.]: University of Notre Dame Press, 1983 (repr. 2004). p. 219-264.

MCRAE, Robert. Theory of Knowledge. In: JOLLEY, Nicholas (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Leibniz. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995 (repr. 1998). p. 176-198. https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521365880.006

PANNENBERG, Wolfhart. Systematische Theologie. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Band 1, 1988.

PARGETTER, Robert. Experience, Proper Basicality, and Belief in God. In: GEIVETT, R. Douglas; SWEETMAN, Brendan (eds.). Contemporary Perspectives on Religious Epistemology. New York-Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. p. 150-167.

PESCH, O. H. Hinführung zu Luther. Mainz: Matthias Grünewald-Verlag, 21983.

PICH, R. H. Agostinho e a descoberta da vontade: primeiro estudo (continuação e fim). Veritas, Porto Alegre, v. 50, n. 3, p. 139-157, jul./set. 2005. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2005.3.1807

PICH, R. H. Agostinho e a descoberta da vontade: primeiro estudo. Veritas, Porto alegre, v. 50, n. 2, p. 175-206, abr./jun. 2005. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2005.2.34407

PICH, Roberto Hofmeister; MÜLLER, Felipe de Matos. Apresentação e uma nota sobre Alvin Plantinga. Veritas (Filosofia da Religião e Epistemologia), Porto Alegre, v. 56, n. 2, p. 5-17, maio-ago. 2011. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2011.2.10841

PICH, Roberto Hofmeister. Apresentação e uma nota sobre Thomas Reid (1710-1796). Veritas, Porto Alegre, v. 55, n. 2, p. 5-17, maio/ago. 2010. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2010.2.10229

PICH, Roberto Hofmeister. Autorização epistêmica e acidentalidade. Veritas, Porto Alegre, v. 50, n. 4, p. 249-276, out./dez., 2005. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-6746.2005.4.1825

PICH, Roberto Hofmeister. Thomas Reid, o método de filosofar e a rejeição do ceticismo. Dissertatio, Pelotas, v. 32, p. 243-275, verão. 2010. https://doi.org/10.15210/dissertatio.v32i0.8754

PLANTINGA, Alvin. Is Belief in God Properly Basic? Nous, Medford, MA, v. 15, p. 41-51, 1981. https://doi.org/10.2307/2215239

PLANTINGA, Alvin. Advice to Christian Philosophers. Faith and Philosophy, Wilmore, KY, v. 1, n. 3, p. 253-271. jul./set. 1984. https://doi.org/10.5840/faithphil19841317

PLANTINGA, Alvin. Christian Philosophy at the End of the Twentieth Century. In: SENNETT, James F. (ed.). The Analytic Theist. An Alvin Plantinga Reader. Grand Rapids, Michigan – Cambridge, U. K.: W. B. Eerdmans, 1998. p. 341-352.

PLANTINGA, Alvin. Reason and Belief in God. In: PLANTINGA, Alvin; WOLTERSTORFF, Nicholas. Notre Dame. University of Notre Dame Press, 1983 (repr. 2004), p. 16-93.

PLANTINGA, Alvin. Reformed Epistemology. In: QUINN, Philip. L.; TALIAFERRO, Charles (eds.). A Companion to Philosophy of Religion. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1999. p. 383-389.

PLANTINGA, Alvin. Warrant and Proper Function. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. https://doi.org/10.1093/0195078640.001.0001

PLANTINGA, Alvin. Warrant: The Current Debate. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. https://doi.org/10.1093/0195078624.001.0001

PLANTINGA, Alvin. Warranted Christian Belief. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1093/0195131932.001.0001

PLATON. Theaitetos. In: Sämtliche Werke VI. Griechisch und Deutsch. Frankfurt am Main – Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 1991. p. 151-367.

SCHWÖBEL, Christoph. Justice and Freedom: The Continuing Promise of the Reformation. Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie, Berlin, v. 59, n. 4, p. 595-614. out./dez. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1515/nzsth-2017-0034

STOLT, Birgit. A fé do “coração” de Lutero. Experiência, emoção e razão. In: HELMER, Christine (ed.). Lutero: um teólogo para tempos modernos. Tradução de Geraldo Korndörfer. São Lepoldo: Editora Sinodal; Faculdades EST, 2013. p. 151-171.

SWEETMAN, Brendan. Religião. Tradução de Roberto Cataldo Costa. Porto Alegre: Penso, 2013.

SWINBURNE, Richard. The Existence of God. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 22004.

TERRA, Kenner Roger Cazutto; OLIVEIRA, David Mesquiati de. Hermenêutica do espírito: a leitura bíblica na Reforma radical. Estudos teológicos, São Leopoldo, v. 57, n. 1, p. 46-59. jan./jun. 2017. https://doi.org/10.22351/et.v57i1.2988

VON LOEWENICH, Walther. A teologia da cruz de Lutero. Tradução de Walter O. Schlupp e Ilson Kayser. São Leopoldo: Editora Sinodal, 1988.

WESTHELLE, Vítor. O Deus escandaloso; O uso e abuso da cruz. Tradução de Geraldo Korndörfer. São Leopoldo: Editora Sinodal; Faculdades EST, 2008.

WESTHELLE, Vítor. Poder e política: incursões na teologia de Lutero. In: HELMER, Christine (ed.). Lutero: um teólogo para tempos modernos. Tradução de Geraldo Korndörfer. São Lepoldo: Editora Sinodal; Faculdades EST, 2013. p. 315-331.

WHITE, Graham. Luther as Nominalist. A Study of the Logical Methods Used in Martin Luther’s Disputations in the Light of Their Medieval Background. Helsinki: Luther-Agricola-Society, 1994.

WOLTERSTORFF, Nicholas. Is Reason Enough? In: GEIVETT, R. Douglas; SWEETMAN, Brendan (eds.). Contemporary Perspectives on Religious Epistemology. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. p. 142-149.

WOLTERSTORFF, Nicholas. Reason within the Bounds of Religion. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976.

WOLTERSTORFF, Nicholas. The Reformed Tradition. In: QUINN, Philip. L.; TALIAFERRO, Charles (eds.). A Companion to Philosophy of Religion. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1999. p. 165-170.

Published

2019-12-06

Issue

Section

500 Years of the Lutheran Reformation: Inheritence and Challenges