Two Kinds of Love: On the Interpretation of Luther's View of Love by the Finnish School Mannermaa

Abstract

In the midst of the dilemmas facing the history of contemporary Western theory, Martin Luther's concept of love and his theology of the Decalogue have been given more and more attention by more and more researchers. The interpretation of Luther's concept of love by the Finnish school in contemporary Lutheran studies has also been increasingly recognized. In this paper, we will discuss the interpretation of Luther's view of love by Mannermaa, the father of the Finnish school. The first two sections of the paper will deal with Luther's critique of the view of love ruled by the Greek philosophical tradition and the Catholic ‘theology of Glory’ in Mannermaa’s interpretation. The third section will introduce the important themes of faith and salvation in Luther's ‘theology of the Cross’ by discussing Mannermaa’s interpretation about love, thus highlighting the importance of the theme of love in theology. The last section will further discuss the inheritance of Luther's view of love and his theology in contemporary phenomenological philosophical thinking, which can then comprehensively show the important position of Luther in the history of contemporary theory and its research value.