Dennis Ngien
Teoksen Fruit for the Soul: Luther on the Lament Psalms tekijä
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Dennis Ngien is Professor of Systematic Theology at Tyndale University College Seminary, Toronto, and Research Professor at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.
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Luther as a spiritual adviser : the interface of theology and piety in Luther's devotional writings (2007) 29 kappaletta
Gifted Response: The Triune God as the Causative Agency of Our Responsive Worship (2008) 18 kappaletta
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Fruit for the Soul: Luther on the Lament Psalms Tekijä: Dennis Ngien
Wonderful and thorough guide to Luther's tremendous theology of the cross, a spiritually helpful guide to reading the psalms of lament, to help with suffering and grief and loss. Lots and lots of Luther quotes, and even after all these years, nobody says it better than this reformer who was at heart a good pastor, concerned primarily with care of the soul.
This is my Discerning Reader review: http://discerningreader.com/book-reviews/the-suffering-of-god
Many today idealize Martin Luther (1483-1546) but inevitably misunderstand his theology. Apocryphal stories and historical misconceptions abound. One such misconception has to do with the Ninety-five Theses published in 1517. It is thought, at a popular level, that the theses he nailed to the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany were a crystalized form of the Reformer’s thought and a manifesto for the total reformation of the Church. This certainly was not the case, as even a cursory read of the theses themselves will reveal. There was much in the famous document that Luther would later repudiate – in particular his view of papal authority. However, if one wants to look at an early document of Luther’s to determine whence his theology developed in a relatively consistent way, it is to his Heidelberg Disputation (1518) that one must turn. In scholarly debate, here Luther hammered out his distinctive theologia crucis (theology of the cross) that has come to be recognized as one of the hallmarks of his thought.
A foundational aspect of Luther’s theologia crucis is the notion that God, in some sense, suffered on the cross when Jesus Christ died. Dennis Ngien, in The Suffering of God According to Martin Luther’s “Theologia Crucis” explores Luther’s answer to the question of how God could have suffered. For obvious reason, this is an extremely difficult subject to navigate. On all sides the threat of heresy looms, but both Luther and Ngien take risks and safely traverse the currents with profound results.
This book, initially published by Peter Lang, was originally written for his doctor of philosophy degree at St. Michael’s College and the University of Toronto under the supervision of David Demson. The Suffering of God is, according to Ngien, explicitly a book of systematic theology. Very little historical background is provided. Any history to be found within its pages is limited mainly to the history of doctrines, in particular how the idea of God’s impassibility was understood throughout the early and medieval church and the nature of the early christological debates. In terms of the latter, Ngien locates Luther in relation to the orthodox patristic understanding of Christ’s two natures, defining him as a solid Chalcedonian. But in relation to the patristic understanding of God’s impassibility, Luther was concerned to distance himself from the Hellenistic idea that deity could not experience emotion, which so influenced the early theologians.
When it comes to Luther’s understanding of the suffering of God, Ngien does argue that although Luther does not fall into the error of patripassianism (Father suffers), he was in fact a theopaschite (God suffers). According to Luther, the Son truly suffers in his whole person. As a result of the Son’s suffering, God himself also suffers. For instance, “God suffers in the person of Jesus Christ, not in His divine nature but according to His human nature. Yet God and man are so inseparably united in the one Person of Christ that the suffering is true of the whole person.” Via the communicatio idiomatum (communication of attributes) the “divine nature suffers along with His human nature;" thus suffering reaches the very being of God. “The suffering of the humanity,” Ngien further explains, “is not only predicated of the Person of Jesus Christ but also of His divine nature. Luther’s use of the abstract phrase, ‘the divinity cannot suffer or die,’ assures us that he was fully aware of the apathy axiom, which was at work, for instance, in Nestorius’ Christology. But this phrase does not hinder the reformer from making the theopaschite declaration that God and suffering coinhere inseparably in the One person of Christ."
After developing Luther’s Christology, Ngien relates Luther’s understanding of the suffering of God to soteriological issues. The cross is the manifestation of God’s love where Christ and sinner exchange places. God as God does not suffer but God determines to suffer when He constitutes humanity in himself bearing sin and mortality “ontically." After discussions of soteriology in relation to the suffering of God, Ngien then turns to the doctrine of the Trinity and shows the framework whereby Luther developed his understanding of the theologia crucis and the suffering of God. Because the Father and Son are distinct persons the Son can suffer and die and not the Father. Yet because the three persons of the Trinity share the one essence – which Luther understands as love, not suffering, contra Jürgen Moltmann – God himself actually experiences suffering. Indeed, Luther expands upon ancient theopaschite teaching so that the theologia crucis is made an entirely trinitarian endeavour.
It would be impossible to capture all that Luther and Ngien have to say about the theologia crucis and its relation to the overall doctrine of God. Suffice to say that Ngien makes the complex manageable in the clarity of his presentation. Although this is a very academic book, the thoughtful pastor or layperson could read it with profit. There are many Latin quotations that have to be dealt with in one way or another, but this does not detract from the book for those who do not know this ancient language. In fact, Ngien so clearly defines his terms that one could develop a Latin vocabulary just reading the book!
One drawback to the written form of the work is that there are many typographical errors – too many to mention. This likely has to do with the transfer of the contents from one publisher to another. This reviewer has not consulted the Peter Lang edition to see if these errors are there. Although each error is insignificant, the amount of them does make their presence conspicuous. Thankfully, this does not diminish the overall quality of the book.
Reading The Suffering of God reminded me again of the great lengths that the Triune God went to in order to procure my salvation. God is a God of love who was willing to die and actually take into himself suffering so that I would not have to suffer an eternity in hell. Because of the depth of this reflection that this book afforded me, I count it as one of the best books that I have ever read. It is deeply affective and no Christian could walk away from its pages not being moved by the love of God.… (lisätietoja)
Many today idealize Martin Luther (1483-1546) but inevitably misunderstand his theology. Apocryphal stories and historical misconceptions abound. One such misconception has to do with the Ninety-five Theses published in 1517. It is thought, at a popular level, that the theses he nailed to the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany were a crystalized form of the Reformer’s thought and a manifesto for the total reformation of the Church. This certainly was not the case, as even a cursory read of the theses themselves will reveal. There was much in the famous document that Luther would later repudiate – in particular his view of papal authority. However, if one wants to look at an early document of Luther’s to determine whence his theology developed in a relatively consistent way, it is to his Heidelberg Disputation (1518) that one must turn. In scholarly debate, here Luther hammered out his distinctive theologia crucis (theology of the cross) that has come to be recognized as one of the hallmarks of his thought.
A foundational aspect of Luther’s theologia crucis is the notion that God, in some sense, suffered on the cross when Jesus Christ died. Dennis Ngien, in The Suffering of God According to Martin Luther’s “Theologia Crucis” explores Luther’s answer to the question of how God could have suffered. For obvious reason, this is an extremely difficult subject to navigate. On all sides the threat of heresy looms, but both Luther and Ngien take risks and safely traverse the currents with profound results.
This book, initially published by Peter Lang, was originally written for his doctor of philosophy degree at St. Michael’s College and the University of Toronto under the supervision of David Demson. The Suffering of God is, according to Ngien, explicitly a book of systematic theology. Very little historical background is provided. Any history to be found within its pages is limited mainly to the history of doctrines, in particular how the idea of God’s impassibility was understood throughout the early and medieval church and the nature of the early christological debates. In terms of the latter, Ngien locates Luther in relation to the orthodox patristic understanding of Christ’s two natures, defining him as a solid Chalcedonian. But in relation to the patristic understanding of God’s impassibility, Luther was concerned to distance himself from the Hellenistic idea that deity could not experience emotion, which so influenced the early theologians.
When it comes to Luther’s understanding of the suffering of God, Ngien does argue that although Luther does not fall into the error of patripassianism (Father suffers), he was in fact a theopaschite (God suffers). According to Luther, the Son truly suffers in his whole person. As a result of the Son’s suffering, God himself also suffers. For instance, “God suffers in the person of Jesus Christ, not in His divine nature but according to His human nature. Yet God and man are so inseparably united in the one Person of Christ that the suffering is true of the whole person.” Via the communicatio idiomatum (communication of attributes) the “divine nature suffers along with His human nature;" thus suffering reaches the very being of God. “The suffering of the humanity,” Ngien further explains, “is not only predicated of the Person of Jesus Christ but also of His divine nature. Luther’s use of the abstract phrase, ‘the divinity cannot suffer or die,’ assures us that he was fully aware of the apathy axiom, which was at work, for instance, in Nestorius’ Christology. But this phrase does not hinder the reformer from making the theopaschite declaration that God and suffering coinhere inseparably in the One person of Christ."
After developing Luther’s Christology, Ngien relates Luther’s understanding of the suffering of God to soteriological issues. The cross is the manifestation of God’s love where Christ and sinner exchange places. God as God does not suffer but God determines to suffer when He constitutes humanity in himself bearing sin and mortality “ontically." After discussions of soteriology in relation to the suffering of God, Ngien then turns to the doctrine of the Trinity and shows the framework whereby Luther developed his understanding of the theologia crucis and the suffering of God. Because the Father and Son are distinct persons the Son can suffer and die and not the Father. Yet because the three persons of the Trinity share the one essence – which Luther understands as love, not suffering, contra Jürgen Moltmann – God himself actually experiences suffering. Indeed, Luther expands upon ancient theopaschite teaching so that the theologia crucis is made an entirely trinitarian endeavour.
It would be impossible to capture all that Luther and Ngien have to say about the theologia crucis and its relation to the overall doctrine of God. Suffice to say that Ngien makes the complex manageable in the clarity of his presentation. Although this is a very academic book, the thoughtful pastor or layperson could read it with profit. There are many Latin quotations that have to be dealt with in one way or another, but this does not detract from the book for those who do not know this ancient language. In fact, Ngien so clearly defines his terms that one could develop a Latin vocabulary just reading the book!
One drawback to the written form of the work is that there are many typographical errors – too many to mention. This likely has to do with the transfer of the contents from one publisher to another. This reviewer has not consulted the Peter Lang edition to see if these errors are there. Although each error is insignificant, the amount of them does make their presence conspicuous. Thankfully, this does not diminish the overall quality of the book.
Reading The Suffering of God reminded me again of the great lengths that the Triune God went to in order to procure my salvation. God is a God of love who was willing to die and actually take into himself suffering so that I would not have to suffer an eternity in hell. Because of the depth of this reflection that this book afforded me, I count it as one of the best books that I have ever read. It is deeply affective and no Christian could walk away from its pages not being moved by the love of God.… (lisätietoja)
This is from my Discerning Reader review: http://discerningreader.com/book-reviews/luther-as-a-spiritual-advisor
Often when people hear the name Martin Luther they gravitate in their thinking to controversial aspects of his life and thought. Certainly he was a polemical theologian and often faced opponents on the theological battlefield. His engagements were just as likely to have been with the Roman Church over biblical authority and justification, as with fellow reformers such as Huldrych Zwingli over Christ’s presence in the Lord’s Supper. But how many people, when questioned about Martin Luther, first think of him as a pastor?
In his recent book Luther as a Spiritual Advisor, Dennis Ngien has offered a substantial scholarly contribution to the understanding of Martin Luther as a pastor and churchman. In the pages of this work one does not encounter the Luther of Worms resisting pressure from the Magisterium, nor does one find the Luther who cast inkwells at the devil. Instead, readers are introduced to a gentle and caring pastor who offered wisdom and grace to his flock in the midst of great trial.
Dennis Ngien is Research Professor of Theology at Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto, Canada. He is also the founder of the Centre for Mentorship and Theological Reflection, a ministry that focuses on the interface between theology and piety in the life of the church. Dr. Ngien is an expert on Luther, having already authored a considerable study on Luther’s theology of the cross (theologia crucis) alongside numerous scholarly articles. His other major published work is on the apologetic understanding of the filioque in medieval theology. With such credentials, it goes without saying that Dennis Ngien is uniquely qualified to write a book on Luther, theology and spirituality.
Luther as a Spiritual Advisor is divided into six chapters, each dealing with an aspect of the reformer’s spirituality as it manifested itself in the church. Chapter one explains the ground of his spirituality found in Christ, the “earnest mirror,” as he taught in Meditation on Christ’s Passion in 1519. Chapter two is interestingly titled “the art of dying” and provides a profound look into Luther’s advice on how to prepare for death. Chapter three offers Luther’s meditations on evils and blessings founded on the balance between word and Spirit, which chapter four focuses on the Lord’s Supper as “sacramental piety.” Chapter five is devoted to Luther’s teaching on prayer, and the sixth and final chapter concerns the cross as a “method of comfort.” Ngien summarizes the book well when he says that Luther “was a spiritual advisor in many important areas of the Christian life: how to meditate aright on Christ’s passion; how to prepare to face the terror of death; advice for the sick; how to approach the sacrament of the altar correctly; why and how to pray aright; the benefits to be gained from the Lord’s Prayer; and how to live out a life of discipleship under the cross.” It should be obvious to any pastor that this book will prove incredibly useful for day-to-day ministry. It is also valuable to students in its insistence that theology must be done in the church and for the church. Luther, with others like him, wrote with one eye fixed on the person in the pew. Sadly, such a perspective has been lost in our day when spirituality has been divorced from biblical teaching and the academy from the needs of the Christian life. Dennis Ngien, through the writings of Luther, has shown that all true theology must be done to the glory of God in the church.
Martin Luther was no stranger to suffering. He lived in a day of archaic medical practices that could not solve even the simplest of illnesses. His was also a day when death rates were high and it was not uncommon to find distressed and confused people looking for solace in the church. Therefore, Luther’s writings on suffering are not merely theoretical, but profoundly practical. Possibly one of the hardest experiences a minister may have is in giving counsel to the dying. According to Ngien, one of the best places to turn in Luther is his Sermon on Preparing to Die. It was written to help a wealthy landowner who was plagued with fears about death. In it, Luther “described various strategies to prepare for death which should strengthen the sufferer’s conscience against the temptation to despair in the final hour.” Because the sermon was written in Luther’s early Protestant stage, certain aspects of Roman Catholicism creep in, but the foundation is solid: “Luther sought to inculcate pastorally the benefits Christ has acquired by the cross and through the resurrection, if we only believe.” Christians are to “contemplate Christ, the ‘glowing picture’” when facing death. “Christ’s death is the chief object of meditation.” After thinking on Christ himself, Luther then advises the Christian to consider sin and hell and be reminded that Christ “objectively gained victory over the images of death.” This kind of contemplation was not meant to be experienced alone, but for Luther, struggles with death should take place within the “community of the saints.” His approach to counsel is rooted firmly in Christ and the church. This is but one example of the wisdom to be found in Luther’s spiritual writings, and Dennis Ngien has done an excellent job in distilling and interpreting all of them.
Ngien’s writing is clear and easy enough to follow that even a person with little background knowledge of Luther would not get lost. There is theological terminology to be grappled with, alongside Latin quotations, but none of this bogs down the reader or makes the book for expert eyes only. If one works thoughtfully through the book, much theological and spiritual insight will be gained. For instance, readers learn that when Luther spoke of Christ’s death as being pro nobis he meant that Christ died “for us.” What a Latin term to take to heart! It is thus always a joy to read Ngien’s work; his excellent vocabulary and theological insight add an affective power to the truths communicated.
There is so much to be said in commendation of this book that it is best to let readers discover it for themselves. As a contribution to Lutheran scholarship, Luther as a Spiritual Advisor deserves a place on the shelf with Althaus and Oberman. As a book that feeds the soul, it should be in the company of Spurgeon and Piper. I therefore highly recommended that students of Luther and students of spirituality should read this book. Even more importantly, pastors who earnestly seek to meld theology with piety and offer godly counsel to the flock need to read and heed the words of Martin Luther with Dennis Ngien as a helpful guide.… (lisätietoja)
Often when people hear the name Martin Luther they gravitate in their thinking to controversial aspects of his life and thought. Certainly he was a polemical theologian and often faced opponents on the theological battlefield. His engagements were just as likely to have been with the Roman Church over biblical authority and justification, as with fellow reformers such as Huldrych Zwingli over Christ’s presence in the Lord’s Supper. But how many people, when questioned about Martin Luther, first think of him as a pastor?
In his recent book Luther as a Spiritual Advisor, Dennis Ngien has offered a substantial scholarly contribution to the understanding of Martin Luther as a pastor and churchman. In the pages of this work one does not encounter the Luther of Worms resisting pressure from the Magisterium, nor does one find the Luther who cast inkwells at the devil. Instead, readers are introduced to a gentle and caring pastor who offered wisdom and grace to his flock in the midst of great trial.
Dennis Ngien is Research Professor of Theology at Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto, Canada. He is also the founder of the Centre for Mentorship and Theological Reflection, a ministry that focuses on the interface between theology and piety in the life of the church. Dr. Ngien is an expert on Luther, having already authored a considerable study on Luther’s theology of the cross (theologia crucis) alongside numerous scholarly articles. His other major published work is on the apologetic understanding of the filioque in medieval theology. With such credentials, it goes without saying that Dennis Ngien is uniquely qualified to write a book on Luther, theology and spirituality.
Luther as a Spiritual Advisor is divided into six chapters, each dealing with an aspect of the reformer’s spirituality as it manifested itself in the church. Chapter one explains the ground of his spirituality found in Christ, the “earnest mirror,” as he taught in Meditation on Christ’s Passion in 1519. Chapter two is interestingly titled “the art of dying” and provides a profound look into Luther’s advice on how to prepare for death. Chapter three offers Luther’s meditations on evils and blessings founded on the balance between word and Spirit, which chapter four focuses on the Lord’s Supper as “sacramental piety.” Chapter five is devoted to Luther’s teaching on prayer, and the sixth and final chapter concerns the cross as a “method of comfort.” Ngien summarizes the book well when he says that Luther “was a spiritual advisor in many important areas of the Christian life: how to meditate aright on Christ’s passion; how to prepare to face the terror of death; advice for the sick; how to approach the sacrament of the altar correctly; why and how to pray aright; the benefits to be gained from the Lord’s Prayer; and how to live out a life of discipleship under the cross.” It should be obvious to any pastor that this book will prove incredibly useful for day-to-day ministry. It is also valuable to students in its insistence that theology must be done in the church and for the church. Luther, with others like him, wrote with one eye fixed on the person in the pew. Sadly, such a perspective has been lost in our day when spirituality has been divorced from biblical teaching and the academy from the needs of the Christian life. Dennis Ngien, through the writings of Luther, has shown that all true theology must be done to the glory of God in the church.
Martin Luther was no stranger to suffering. He lived in a day of archaic medical practices that could not solve even the simplest of illnesses. His was also a day when death rates were high and it was not uncommon to find distressed and confused people looking for solace in the church. Therefore, Luther’s writings on suffering are not merely theoretical, but profoundly practical. Possibly one of the hardest experiences a minister may have is in giving counsel to the dying. According to Ngien, one of the best places to turn in Luther is his Sermon on Preparing to Die. It was written to help a wealthy landowner who was plagued with fears about death. In it, Luther “described various strategies to prepare for death which should strengthen the sufferer’s conscience against the temptation to despair in the final hour.” Because the sermon was written in Luther’s early Protestant stage, certain aspects of Roman Catholicism creep in, but the foundation is solid: “Luther sought to inculcate pastorally the benefits Christ has acquired by the cross and through the resurrection, if we only believe.” Christians are to “contemplate Christ, the ‘glowing picture’” when facing death. “Christ’s death is the chief object of meditation.” After thinking on Christ himself, Luther then advises the Christian to consider sin and hell and be reminded that Christ “objectively gained victory over the images of death.” This kind of contemplation was not meant to be experienced alone, but for Luther, struggles with death should take place within the “community of the saints.” His approach to counsel is rooted firmly in Christ and the church. This is but one example of the wisdom to be found in Luther’s spiritual writings, and Dennis Ngien has done an excellent job in distilling and interpreting all of them.
Ngien’s writing is clear and easy enough to follow that even a person with little background knowledge of Luther would not get lost. There is theological terminology to be grappled with, alongside Latin quotations, but none of this bogs down the reader or makes the book for expert eyes only. If one works thoughtfully through the book, much theological and spiritual insight will be gained. For instance, readers learn that when Luther spoke of Christ’s death as being pro nobis he meant that Christ died “for us.” What a Latin term to take to heart! It is thus always a joy to read Ngien’s work; his excellent vocabulary and theological insight add an affective power to the truths communicated.
There is so much to be said in commendation of this book that it is best to let readers discover it for themselves. As a contribution to Lutheran scholarship, Luther as a Spiritual Advisor deserves a place on the shelf with Althaus and Oberman. As a book that feeds the soul, it should be in the company of Spurgeon and Piper. I therefore highly recommended that students of Luther and students of spirituality should read this book. Even more importantly, pastors who earnestly seek to meld theology with piety and offer godly counsel to the flock need to read and heed the words of Martin Luther with Dennis Ngien as a helpful guide.… (lisätietoja)
Tilastot
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- 13
- Jäseniä
- 146
- Suosituimmuussija
- #141,736
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- 4.5
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- 3
- ISBN:t
- 22
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- 1