Darkness, light, and active love

The relation between faith and love in Martin Luther's theology is a classical theme in Luther scholarship. This collection of essays addresses Luther's understanding of faith and love by examining his idea of faith as both darkness and light. By focusing on these two aspects of faith we are able to detect Luther's deep connection with mystical theological traditions and foster the knowledge of his theology of spiritual life. The collection also analyses Luther's theology of faith and love in the context of Lutheran and Orthodox ecumenical dialogues, manifesting the ecumenical importance of the topic. The analyses of childhood and deaconry in Luther's theology supplements the overall aim to re-evaluate Luther's theology from new and thus far understudied perspectives. The articles are based on papers first presented during a meeting of the Nordic Forum at the University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu. The volume continues the series of publications of the Nordic Forum for Luther Studies.