As part of a larger goal to take this study of the Reformation beyond a focus on key figures, dates, and the history of ideas, the final project of this course will be applying the core values of the Reformation to contemporary ministry. The task is to derive a list of 4-5 core values that undergird the Reformation (particularly from the perspective of Luther) and then describe what each of the core values entails.
Basic Requirements:
• An annotated list of 4-5 core values.
• The key task is to determine and explain core values that undergirded the Reformation.
• List annotation to support both your understanding of the list of Core Values and the ways that core value was embodied in ministry practices. List of resources of at least 3 annotated citations to go with each core value. Include them in this annotated bibliography assignment, but on a separate page.
Project Description:
As you read Ozment and the primary text readings of Luther, you should begin to see a conglomeration of core values that undergird Luther’s Reformation ministry. These are not just ideas but rather the foundation stones on which the Reformation is built. They are, therefore, ideas embodied in liturgical and ministry practices. As you analyze those theological arguments and descriptions of their practices, your job is to develop a list of 4 to 5 of those core values and give a two-sentence (or more) description of each.
What is an annotated resource citation? Annotation just means that you are giving extra description to the list. You do not just name something; rather, you also describe and explain details related to it. You have a book as part of the class that will provide fodder for this larger project—Oden’s Classical Pastoral Care—but as you are reading Luther in other sources, you are encouraged to document ideas even now from Luther’s works.
In your list of core values, you might determine that Assurance of Salvation is one of the core values that drives Reformation thinking and practice. If so, you might consider Luther’s teaching about justification by faith alone not by works as part of providing Assurance of Salvation. As such here is an example of an annotated citation (including Reformer name, topic, and a description of his main ideas):
Martin Luther – On Justification: In the context of the “wrath of God,” “Faith alone is the saving and efficacious word of God.” Works cannot be the basis because they cannot give assurance. Forgiveness is by Christ’s merits alone. (On the Freedom of the Christian, 35-37).1
1 Martin Luther, On the Freedom of the Christian in The Protestant Reformation, rev ed. (Hans J. Hillerbrand, ed.; New York: Harper, 2009), 31-58.
If you cite from Oden, you can give a short citation, but if you cite from other sources, please give a footnote with the full details (as above).
Sample Solution
