Book Review: "Grace That Frees: The Lutheran Tradition"

[Below is a review I just submitted to Trinity Seminary Review, the journal of Trinity Lutheran Seminary, my Master's Degree alma mater.]

Grace That Frees: The Lutheran Tradition (Traditions of Christian Spirituality Series). By Bradley Hanson. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books (www.maryknoll.org), 2004. 159. pp. ISBN 1-57075-570-1 $16.00 (Paperback)

Spirituality is a slippery word, difficult to define. But I like the definition given by Bradley Hanson, author of this helpful look at Lutheran spirituality. “A spirituality,” he asserts, “is a faith with a path.”

But can one really speak of a Lutheran spirituality? One might not think so. As Hanson observes, “...Lutheranism is sometimes regarded by both those outside and inside the tradition to be seriously deficient as spirituality, even opposed to it.”

The reasons for this, according to Hanson, appear to be twofold. First, Lutheranism began as essentially a theological dispute, one in which right doctrine was regarded as central. Stereotypically, spirituality is seen as something that happens in the wifty regions of the heart. Lutheranism, while not disdaining the heart, is intent on right thinking about God as a way of staying true to God’s self-disclosure as recorded in Scripture. Second, traditional notions of spirituality as a set of rigorous disciplines performed by a spiritual seeker is inconsistent with Lutheranism’s radical theocentrism, the belief that everything is initiated by God, not us.

But in a rapid and readable survey of Lutheran faith, life, and practice, Hanson demonstrates the rich, diverse spirituality that has existed--and still exists--among Lutheran Christians.

“When you pray,” a wise Lutheran layperson once told me, “begin by reading God’s Word.” Hanson shows us how thoroughly Lutheran that approach is. Lutheranism--encouraged by such major voices as Luther, Melanchthon, Arndt, and Bonhoeffer--has always held that “we need to learn to pray by having the Word of God shape our prayer.”

Hanson, professor emeritus of religion and director of the Grace Institute for Spiritual Formation at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, shows how the Lutheran emphasis on grace alone, Christ alone, Word alone, has spawned a rich array of spiritual practices that includes devotional literature both simple and sophisticated; a sacramentalism that reveres God’s mysterious grace; hymns steeped in Scripture; and worship that has historically been diverse, emphasizing the accessibility of God in Christ, among other things.

This book would be a great text in seminary and college courses on Lutheran history, theology, and spiritual practices. Pastors will also find useful points to ponder here. I can even see it as helpful place for some congregational groups hoping to grow deeper in their faith, to go. This is a fine survey.