Confession

The word canon has multiple meanings. In the Christian context, it refers on the one hand to the Bible as a collection of sacred writings (cf. art. Scripture) and on the other hand to the foundation or elementary contents of the Christian faith. The relationship between the two is a topic handled within fundamental theology as well as within material dogmatics. The latter disciplines also deal with the biblical canon and biblical hermeneutics, where, in its function as Holy Scripture, the Bible has a normative status that is yet-to-be-determined more precisely not only in the context of proclamation and the life of the Church but also in all of the theological disciplines. However, the extent to which this applies to, and how it manifests itself concretely in, theological work is the subject of ongoing debate.

Following an outline of the history of the term, this article presents a definition of Christian spirituality as the human response to God’s call. It describes the various forms of this response, whose foundation is the double commandment of love, and the many ways in which spirituality can be lived out in everyday life. Regularity, community, spiritual guidance, and discernment of spirits are identified as requirements for a sustainable spiritual practice in everyday life. Certain problems are then singled out, including the need to choose one’s own form of spirituality within the complex context of late modernity and the ambiguity of the concept of experience. Finally, spirituality is framed as a basis for ecumenical community.

Reference to the Bible as Holy Scripture is constitutive for Christianity in both praxis and theory and it plays a particularly important role in shaping identity within Protestantism. This is evident in its prominent status as canon. Since the Reformation, Protestant churches have regarded the Bible as the “rule and norm” (Formula of Concord, Art. I) of faith, towards which ecclesial life and theological teaching must be oriented. However, the manner in which this orientation towards the Bible is to be understood in the life of the churches and in the context of theological reflection remains controversial – both within Protestantism and among other denominations. In this respect, in contemporary Protestant dogmatics, Scripture is primarily viewed in terms of crisis. The debate surrounding the so-called “crisis of the Scripture principle” is a fundamental aspect of contemporary theological reflection on Scripture. To whom does Scripture apply, how, and in what respects? How do texts that must be interpreted historically relate to contemporary challenges? How should we deal with the plurality of Scripture and its interpretation?

• Ecclesiology
• Prolegomena