This panel features constructive reflection on the doctrines of sola scriptura, justification, and sin alongside Hanna Reichel's use of 'affordance' in theology. How does contemporary Lutheran theology seek freedom and transformation within sedimented histories of theology?
This paper discusses potentially negative consequences of the Lutheran principle of Sola Scriptura in light of three theoretical approaches: Reichel's understanding of theology as affordances, hermeneutical conditions for understanding, and psychological theory that points to the negative consequences of the neglect of experience/feeling, with the concomitant effect of insecurity, lack of self-reliance, and immature dependence on authorities. Thereby, it shows the potential of this doctrine for supplying a theology that creates pathologies. Against the backdrop of a discussion of such pathologies, which includes an analysis of an empirical example, the paper also moves on to suggest what elements in Lutheran doctrine that can contribute to the avoidance of such pathologies.
This paper argues that the Confession of Sin can create shame for queer Lutherans who participate in church bodies (both local and national) that do not affirm their sexual orientation. I use Reichel's notion of an "Affordance" as a resistance strategy for queer Lutherans who choose to remain in such Lutheran bodies. Furthermore, I argue for a a renewed process for how one comes to understand oneself and one's sin that can help the Confession of Sin and doctrine of justification by faith can be liberating and transformative for those who seek the Holy Spirit's action in the transformation and sanctification of queer lives and loves.
Drawing on a qualitative study of how young people in Christian youth ministries theologize about existential dilemmas related to sin and shame, this paper explores the affordances and dis-affordances (Reichel, 2023) of the Lutheran doctrine of sin. The study discloses an unresolved ambiguity: the liberating force of the doctrine of sin, as theologized by the young people, is not connected to what they describe as their primary existential dilemma – a profound sense of shame. Taking the approach of theology as design (Reichel, 2023), the paper points to how the doctrine of sin could be made more relevant to the young people’s lived experiences if it were to integrate the language of shame more explicitly. To make such a move we draw on Hartmut Rosa’s theory of resonance (Rosa, 2019) and particularly the concept of categorial inadequacy related to the Lutheran understanding of sin as being curved in on oneself.