Lehrverantwortung - Lutherisch / Doctrinal Responsibility - A Lutheran Perspective

What does doctrine mean in Lutheran churches? What is it based upon? How is it made binding? What instances and processes of doctrinal judgment have developed? Who can decide doctrinal questions and how? This study first presents current structures of doctrinal understanding in German Lutheranism and unfolds exemplary historical case studies of Lutheran doctrinal responsibility (Bultmann controversy; ordination of women; apartheid; doctrine of justification). A second part outlines the emergence of Lutheran doctrinal and confessional norms in the 16th century and traces the development of concepts of ecclesial doctrinal commitment in a historical cross-section up to the present. Concluding theses explore the relevance of Lutheran doctrinal responsibility for ecumenical dialogues.