Theology of the Heart: The Role of Mysticism in the Theology of Martin Luther.

Theology of the Heart: The Role of Mysticism in the Theology of Martin Luther. By Bengt R. Hoffman. Edited by Pearl Willemssen Hoffman. Kirk House Publishers, 1998. 263 pages. Paper. $26.00.

At this particular time in history, hunger for meaningful experience of God stirs within many, and traditional ways of worship seem to be nonengaging for many. Those who seek to understand the historical roots of these realities will find substantial insights in Theology of the Heart. In this revised and expanded version of Bengt Hoffman's earlier book, Luther and the Mystics (Augsburg, 1976), he gives a substantial survey of Martin Luther's thoughts and writings that deal with the reality of the invisible: angels, occultism, spiritual healing, and life after death (Part 1), and Luther's view of God, human beings, and salvation (Part 2). What flows from Hoffman's work is an image of Luther as a deeply spiritual man who is very moved and influenced by experience.

Hoffman recognizes and highlights Luther's spiritual and experiential dimensions with great regard for the historical context in which he lived--a time when experience had swung to an unhealthy place in the church's life. Part of his corrective was to focus on the Word of God that comes to us. In Part 3, Hoffman sketches how theological interpretations of Luther's faith during the past 400-plus years have emphasized Luther's corrective and deemphasized, if not ignored, his strong spiritual and experiential dimensions. This book is an insightful and informative resource to guide our correctives to a church that many believe has largely been shaped by a primarily intellectual faith.

Hoffman offers today's readers a key to unlock the rich and abundant legacy and inheritance that Martin Luther has given us as we seek to wisely integrate knowledge and experience of God in a meaningful way for life in this century. He offers insights into how it is that we who are a people of God--commissioned in our baptism to be witnesses to God's love--have grown so private in our faith experience that our church-wide expression needs to develop an evangelism strategy to help us reclaim our rightful emphasis on experience of God that is to be shared with those around us. The reader is reminded, through Hoffman's careful attention to a wholistic study of Luther, that Luther was a great teacher of the faith and a deeply spiritual person living in Christ and experiencing God's healing grace. This book is an empowering awakening of that which has always been ours.

Ginger Anderson-Larson

Wartburg Theological Seminary