Candace L. Kohli

Sola

Theology

“In a historical moment of social polarization and division, Sola takes on the conceptual monoliths that define Protestant identity and continue to construct a polemical thought-world that separates "us" (Protestants) from "them" (Roman Catholics): sola gratia, sola fides, sola Christi, and sola scriptura. With the incisive historical and theological analysis that we've come to expect from Volker Leppin, he shows that these so-called "principles" of the Reformation are actually "vessels for content from the Middle Ages." They demonstrate that Luther and the Wittenberg reformers were engaging theological movements taking shape across Europe in the preceding centuries; the "solas" developed slowly as both distinctive flavors of the emerging Reformation theology and its intended contributions back into those medieval traditions. In this regard, Leppin shows that the "solas" do not define Protestants as intrinsically different than Catholics, but rather point to our "common stock" and reinforce current ecumenical impulses that seek to overcome divide and bring formerly opposing sides back to a common table.”