Justification: The Heart of the Christian Faith

Top Highlights

“Jüngel is quite clear that both Protestants and Roman Catholics have normatively upheld the uniqueness of Christ’s saving person and act; the disagreement arises over the relation of solus Christus to the other exclusive particles. Thus, for example, on Jüngel’s reading of the matter, solus Christus is undermined by Roman Catholic affirmations of ‘secondary’ soteriological centres (Mary or the church), and most especially by the metaphysics of grace which he finds in Roman Catholic theology and which he views as flatly contradictory of proper human passivity before the creative and saving Word.” (Pages x–xi)

“The message about the cross puts the person in the right who is in the wrong, not (only) in the wrong in the eyes of the world, but before God. That person therefore deserves to be accused and condemned.” (Page 2)

“The fact that people must justify themselves, that they can be compelled to do so, points to a further basic human requirement: to be human means the necessity of being accountable.” (Page 7)

“Apostle against apostle, simply for the sake of truth; it was, after a fashion, the birth of Protestant theology.” (Page 2)

“Justifications always occur before some authority.” (Page 6)