Two Kinds of Love: Martin Luther's Religious World

by Tuomo Mannermaa, Stjerna. Kirsi (Editor)

Published in Finland in 1983, Two Kinds of Love is the second of Tuomo Mannermaa's provocative books offering a distinctly different interpretation of Martin Luther's theology. The other, Christ Present in Faith , was published by Fortress Press in 2005. In Two Kinds of Love , Mannermaa unfolds Luther's understanding of love as the key to the reformer's theology of grace. Human love orients toward that "which is lovable to it"-- toward that which is already "good and beautiful"-- and, as such, comes into being only through "the prestige and glory of the loved one." In contrast, God's love, which "does not find but creates the lovable in its object," is a pure gift of grace, which makes possible our love for God and for one another. Mannermaa spearheaded the Finnish Luther Research project for more than twenty years, and more than any other is responsible for the unique perspective on Luther contributed to Luther scholarship by the Finnish School. Two Kinds of Love concludes with an afterword, reviewing Finnish Luther Research since 1977.

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2010

Reviews

[Phillip Gagnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read. Interesting and I thought complementary to most discussions of Luther's theology of the cross.

[Mathias · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very good, I guess it takes a LOT of reading as well as life experience to be a truly authentic human being. It seems to me that Luther has some real insight into the human condition because of his temperament, extensive biblical studies as well as being the target of the violent cancel culture of his time, thus having had the courage to experience the full range of human emotions required to form and understand the concepts of the biblical litterature, mannermaa has presumably for similar reasons managed to understand luther but for some reason his work is not more widely read and distributed in Sweden

What are Swedish so called protestants even doing? They translate the small catechesis, participate in the echochamber of Församlingsfakulteten where boomers repeat the abstract notions of guilt, sin and that a human sacrifice somehow absurdly deletes these abstract entities, oblivious to the humanistic tradition and transparancy to life experience necessary to be authentic. Either this abstract absurd dogmatism or its evil brother sentimental enthusiastic religion preaching the coping mechanism of cheap grace

Swedish christendom is very much ad hoc and performs the social function of bindning together the herd with boring sermons conflating righteousness with the platonic eros. Perhaps mannermaa is the Hero sweden needs, but not the one it deserves right now

[Lou Florio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a short, easy to read, but very significant treatise on love as found in Luther’s theology. It is sadly often missed! I agree that Luther’s central theological themes can best be understood only within the framework of love. We Lutherans are indebted to the Finnish school for refocusing us on the “catholic” (universal) aspects of Luther’s theological worldview. I see aspects of earlier mystics (who, through other scholarship, we know Luther looked to). I agree with the author that the Orthodox idea of divinization is not diametrically opposed to Luther’s understanding of justification. We are indeed changed through this experience toward God. As Luther argued, Christ is present in faith and faith is the creator of divinity in us. The construct used to explore this ministry is helpful - human love explored in contrast to God’s love. Through faith, we become more like Jesus, indeed we become his body. We start to love more purely with a lessening desire for our own benefit because of what God’s love has done to us. The opening pages on the scholastic view might prove challenging to those without previous philosophical studies, but hang in there. The author’s argument becomes clearer and more hope-filled as the book continues. I appreciated the editor’s work greatly. Her translation helped make Mannermaa’s work more accessible. Kirsi Stjerna is a wonderful scholar in her own right. (I had her for several courses when she taught at what was the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, now part of United Seminary.)

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

More good stuff from the Finns on Luther. However, the translation is awful due to the ridiculous lengths the translator went through to make it gender neutral. For example: "No one can love God unless God makes Godself known to the human being in the most lovable and intimate fashion. And God can make Godself known only through the works of God that God reveals in us. . . . " (p. 78).

[Peter Mead · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you haven’t read any of the Finnish Lutherans on the theology of Luther, this should be on your “to read” list. Very helpful critique of the standard traditional understanding of Luther. The book feels like it has been translated, but it is not a problem. There are lots of substantial quotes of Luther. It is not a light and easy read, but it is an important and helpful one.