The Captivation of the Will: Luther vs. Erasmus on Freedom and Bondage
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
The Captivation of the Will provocatively revisits a perennial topic of controversy—human free will. Highly esteemed Lutheran thinker Gerhard O. Forde cuts to the heart of the subject by reexamining the famous debate on the will between Luther and Erasmus.
Following a substantial introduction by James A. Nestingen that brings to life the historical background of the debate, Forde thoroughly explores Luther’s Bondage of the Will and the dispute between Erasmus and Luther that it reflects. In the process of exposing this debate’s enduring significance for Christians, Forde highlights its central arguments about Scripture, God, the will, and salvation in Christ.
Luther recognized that the only solution for humans bound by sin is the forgiveness that comes from Christ alone. Convinced that this insight represents the heart of the Christian gospel, Forde concludes with 10 sermons that proclaim the message of salvation through Christ alone while elegantly relating theological inquiry to everyday life.
In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
You might also be interested in Augustine versus Luther on Sin, Sexuality, and Salvation.
- Examines the free will debate between Luther and Erasmus
- Analyzes the central arguments in Luther’s Bondage of the Will
- Includes 10 original sermons relating Luther’s theology to everyday life
- Introduction: Luther and Erasmus on the Bondage of the Will
- The Argument about Scripture
- The Argument about God
- The Argument about Our Willing
- The Argument about Christ and Salvation
- Sermons:
- “The Easy Yoke”
- “Justification by Faith Alone”
- “A Word from Without”
- “On Getting out of the Way for Jesus”
- “The Perilous Journey”
- “Go Away, Jesus!”
- “I Chose You”
- “On Death to Self”
- “We Are Being Tranformed”
- “What Matters”
Top Highlights
“‘the love of God does not find but creates that which is pleasing to it.’” (Page 3)
“Instead of working ontologically, with assumptions about the creation and inherent characteristics of being, he thought relationally. Thus instead of working from creation and fall to redemption, in effect he works backward from Christ’s death and resurrection to what must be assumed, and then forward to what is implied in light of the relationship with creation and creature so established.” (Pages 15–16)
“If we must use the language of free choice at all (and in Luther’s view it would altogether be better not to!) we should use it with regard to those things that are beneath us but not with regard to those things above us (LW 33:139).” (Page 49)
“He is not interested merely in what Scripture says but in what it does, how it functions in the argument over free choice.” (Page 24)
“If you start from freedom, you will end in bondage. If you start from bondage you are more likely to end in freedom” (Page 52)
- Title: The Captivation of the Will: Luther vs. Erasmus on Freedom and Bondage
- Author: Gerhard O. Forde
- Series: Lutheran Quarterly Books
- Publisher: Fortress Press
- Print Publication Date: 2017
- Logos Release Date: 2015
- Pages: 136
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Luther, Martin, 1483-1546 › De servo arbitrio; Free will and determinism › History--16th century; Erasmus, Desiderius, d. 1536 › De libero arbitrio diatribe; Free will and determinism › Religious aspects--Christianity--History of doctrines--16th century
- ISBNs: 0802829066, 9780802829061
- Resource ID: LLS:CAPTIVATIONWILL
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T22:29:39Z
Gerhard O. Forde was professor of theology at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He also taught at Luther College in Iowa and St. Olaf College in Minnesota. His many publications include The Law-Gospel Debate, Justification by Faith: A Matter of Life and Death and Where God Meets Man: Luther's Down-to-Earth Approach to the Gospel.