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Justification And Merit: The Interpretation And Evaluation Of The Concept Of Merit In Modern Catholic Theology In Relation To Luther's Doctrine Of Justification, Johann Heinz

Dissertations

The teaching of justification of the sinner soley by faith is the "heart" of the Reformation. Martin Luther viewed it as the"main teaching" of Christianity and demonstrated this assertion by the concepts of the sole agency of God and of the consecutive character of good works. Since he could concede neither the co-operation of man nor the "final character of works" (meaning works achieved with an ultimate end in view), his struggle was mainly against the Church's traditional doctrine of merit.

Catholic theology, however, refused to follow the Reformer in this radical break with tradition. When about a decade after …