Sin and Theory - (T&t Clark Studies in Systematic Theology) by Jonathan D Torrance (Hardcover)

About the Book

Explores the doctrine of sin and its continued relevance via a dialogue between Martin Luther and critical theory.

Book Synopsis

This incisive, open access book explores the continued power and relevance of a core Christian teaching: the doctrine of sin.

Recently, there has been little enthusiasm for the doctrine in its traditional Augustinian form, especially as expressed by Protestant Reformers like Martin Luther. Torrance defends the claim that Luther's radical doctrine of sin in fact retains important insights and continues to have explanatory power in the contemporary world. He explores this with a productive dialogue between theology and critical theory. This volume reveals that Luther's hamartiology is robust and far more able to respond to contemporary issues than many competing hamartiologies.

At the same time, Torrance reveals how critical theory can work constructively with theology. By working in tandem, they allow creative exploration of questions such as the effect of sin on human reason, the nature of structural pathologies, and the experience of human shame. In and through these dialogues, Luther's doctrine of sin shows itself as a plausible, robust and psychologically astute doctrine for the present day.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by UKRI.

Review Quotes

The effort to offer a non-moralistic, genuinely theological account of sin is part of the ongoing desiderata of Christian theology and practice. How will we understand 'salvation' if we do not take 'sin' into account? What are we 'saved' from? Our culture, including all too often contemporary Christianity, gladly but superficially portrays sin as a moralistic, individual affair. Torrance's book is a significant contribution toward articulating a Christian, indeed Protestant teaching about sin for our own time, in conversation with critical theory, which exposes for us, notably, the noetic dimensions of sin. In close conversation with Luther, who was much less interested in 'actual sin(s)' or in the 'metaphysics' of sin than in sin as the state of 'fallen' humanity, Torrance helpfully considers sin not prior to or independently from grace itself: how we are saved indeed ought to determine Christian theological discourses concerning what we are saved from. 'Sin' may still be a necessary theological category, one that does not have to lead to a joyless, shame- and guilt-inducing religiosity. There is much to learn and consider from this remarkable book!
Christophe Chalamet, University of Geneva, Switzerland

This is a hugely exciting and much-needed work that brushes the dust off of classical Protestant theology to engage with central questions facing the Humanities today. Deftly exploring contemporary caricatures of Martin Luther's theological legacy, Torrance demonstrates striking affinities between Luther's theology of sin and contemporary critical theory. At the heart of the book is a persuasive case for the power of a theological horizon for moving beyond the impasse between the hermeneutics of suspicion and the possibility of a more hopeful, 'postcritical' vision of the world. This is must-read theology for anyone concerned either with the theological legacy of the Protestant Reformation or with the relationship between theology and 21st century intellectual life.
Simeon Zahl, University of Cambridge, UK

Torrance's book is brilliant, illuminating and innovative. He brings together two things that might seem to have little to say to each other: Luther's unfashionable doctrine of sin and contemporary critical theory, to find they have surprising points of convergence that shed light on the value of both. Yet he skilfully shows how Luther's horizons are more hopeful and optimistic and offer rich resources not just for scholarship but for life in our complex world.
Graham Tomlin, Centre for Cultural Witness, UK

About the Author

Jonathan D. Torrance is Chaplain and Lord Crewe Career Development Fellow at Lincoln College, University of Oxford, UK.