Missions Methods and Principles
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 57, No. 1 – Fall 2014
Managing Editor: Terry L. Wilder
By Robert Kolb. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012. 188 pages. Softcover, $21.99.
Robert Kolb’s latest contribution to Luther scholarship in Luther and the Stories of God presents an impressive account of Martin Luther’s use of biblical narrative to inform daily Christian living. Kolb introduces his study describing how Luther’s view of the Bible’s depiction of man’s relation to the Creator God caused his worldview to take narrative shape. What Kolb means by “narrative” is that Luther saw in Scripture “God’s unfolding plan for his human creatures” (ix). This “unfolding plan” constitutes the Christian’s “metanarrative,” that is, “a master narrative that makes sense of incorporated specific stories” (ix). The Bible provides this grand narrative while it also communicates the individual stories of the history of God’s work in Christ as well as the history of God’s people (ix).
In the next two chapters, Kolb further explores the Reformer’s notion of “metanarrative” and presents a sketch of Luther as a gifted storyteller. In chapter 1, “The Whole Life of a Christian as a Life of Repentance: Luther’s Metanarrative,” Kolb covers a vast amount of terrain in Luther’s theology from his view of history to what Kolb sees as the three essential distinctions in Luther’s hermeneutics for proclaiming the core of the biblical message (i.e. law and Gospel, the two kinds of righteousness, and the two realms). Repentance is the ongoing struggle to resist the temptations of the flesh, the lures of the world, and the lies of the evil one. Luther regarded the biblical narratives as aids in the Christian fight of faith through which contemporary Christians could wage war against sin, and likewise, encounter the love and mercy of their Creator God in Christ (27). In chapter 2, “Luther the Storyteller: The Reformer’s Use of Narrative,” Kolb focuses on Luther’s rhetorical ability to retell the stories of the Bible in a vivid and fresh way for the everyday Christian. Luther desired his hearers to read the Bible with him; together they entered into the world of the biblical text where the sacred page would come alive, “creating a conversation between ancients and contemporaries” (51).
Kolb returns in the final four chapters to the question of the place of “story” in Luther’s understanding of “the practical life of faith and action” (65). Chapter 3 on “Above All, Fearing, Loving, and Trusting in God: Defining the Core of What it Means to Be Human,” explains Luther’s belief that faith in God restores a person to true humanity because of the implications of the First Commandment (72). Rather than teach this truth in the abstract, Luther replayed the stories of the Bible, often with creative license, to provide concrete personifications of fear, faith, and loving action for his sixteenth-century listeners (97). In chapter 4, “Suffering Builds Faith and Calls to Repentance: Affliction as Part of Daily Life,” Kolb recalls Luther’s employment of the biblical narratives to serve as warnings and examples for contemporary believers for struggling with sin, remaining steadfast in faith, and as a reminder to Christians that God would never forsake his people despite their failings or their hardships (122).
Next, Kolb addresses Luther’s concern for a Christian’s devotion to God in chapter 5 on “The Life of Faith in Responding to God’s Word with Prayer and Praise: Active Obedience in the Sacred Realm.” Paradigmatic narratives such as the two disciples with Jesus on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 or Anna the widow in Luke 2 were authoritative accounts of how believers should respond with a burning heart of faith and a soul bursting with praise after an encounter with the Word of God (129-32). Kolb, then, builds upon chapter 5 by expounding upon the way biblical narratives guided Christians concerning “The Life of Faith in Serving the Neighbor: Luther’s Ethic of Callings and Commands” in chapter 6. Luther utilized many of the stories in Genesis and the Gospels to function as models or patterns for how people ought to treat one another (168). And in his final chapter on “Living Well Leads to Dying Well: The Completion of the Christian Life,” Kolb inspects the role of biblical narratives in Luther’s teaching on the “art of dying” (169). Here the Bible’s record of the death of the saints provided Luther the opportunity to encourage his hearers in life’s most haunting moment to have a confident hope in Christ’s death, resurrection, and the promise of life everlasting (179).
Kolb’s Luther and the Stories of God is a timely publication since the concept of “narrative” remains a popular interest in the various disciplines of Christian theology. Perhaps one of the most fruitful aspects of this book is where Kolb sets Luther’s “metanarrative” into conversation with its modern proponents such as George Lindbeck, Hans Frei, and Kevin Vanhoozer. Ultimately, Kolb finds Luther’s view of “narrative” most akin to Vanhoozer’s canonical-linguistic model insofar as the biblical stories (i.e. the biblical texts) are “directive” for living before God and in relation to one’s neighbor (40).
Another positive byproduct of Kolb’s study is where he expresses Luther’s idea of “history.” Instead of treating “narrative” primarily as a communal or cultural category, Luther rooted his view of “story” within the time-bounds of history from which he saw God interacting with creation and humanity throughout Scripture. Without biblical history, there was no “story” for Luther. Scripture unfolded the great eschatological battle between God and Satan, between faith and unbelief, and this “story” was what Luther believed was to be replayed in the lives of his students and sermon listeners (9). At one point, Kolb reflects that neither Luther nor Calvin developed “story” as its own theological category, and it seems that this may be due to the fact that, at least for Luther, his idea of “history” alone was sufficient to carry the theological weight (26).
A few points of critique should be mentioned at this juncture. First, Luther and the Stories of God appears to contain some organizational missteps. Chapter 2 on “Luther the Storyteller: The Reformer’s Use of Narrative” interrupts the flow of Kolb’s presentation by returning to many of the same topics he addressed in his “Introduction: Luther Storyteller and His Cultivation of the Christian Life.” Kolb initiates the main thrust of his study in chapter 1 insofar as he summarizes Luther’s “metanarrative” as repentance, and then, sets forth the outline of Luther’s major emphases for Christian living that become the central subjects for chapters 3 through 7. Why he breaks this flow with an extended analysis of Luther’s storytelling, preaching, and how the Reformer compares to contemporary scholarship on narrative theology, is unclear. It seems that structurally, the study is more effective if all matters concerning Luther’s concept of “narrative” and his performance as a biblical “narrator” are established prior to unpacking Luther’s key points for how “the stories of God” speak to the Christian life.
Repeated themes and topics also abound in Kolb’s book. For instance, the introduction covers in relative detail his view of “narrative,” the Bible, history, worldview, oral and printed communication, and his role as a “storyteller” of Scripture. These same themes reappear in chapter 2 often only extending the discussion, but not without returning to the same points featured in the introduction. Similarly, Kolb titles chapter 1 as “The Whole of the Christian Life as a Life of Repentance,” but in chapter 4, “Suffering Builds Faith and Calls to Repentance,” he revisits already covered themes such as the mortification of sin and life as the battleground for the conflict between God and evil. Although these later chapters move the subjects into deeper discussion, the fact that their initial treatments were more than superficial creates at times a redundant and cluttered experience for the reader.
In sum, Kolb has offered an integrated study which embodies a truly multifaceted Luther as it unveils aspects of the Reformer that do not always enjoy the most attention in the broader evangelical community such as his pastoral theology, his role as a preacher, and his passion for not only faith in the Christian life, but also for holiness through daily repentance. Luther and the Stories of God is a thorough, yet practical book by a seasoned scholar which pictures Luther as ever the pastor- preacher regardless of whether the lectern or the pulpit upholds his copy of the Scriptures.
