Why Dogmatics is Only Healthy as a Doctrine of Mission
Since 1988, Thomas Schirrmacher has argued, first in essays and then in his commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, that the Epistle to the Romans serves above all to justify world mission from Scripture, i. e., the Old Testament, and that Paul’s theology is inextricably linked to his missionary practice. The introduction and conclusion of the Epistle to the Romans do not describe the occasion of the letter, but rather already set out the central theme. Dogmatics and mission are thus only two sides of the same coin. The Western Church has very strongly emphasized the dogmatic character of the Epistle to the Romans, but at the same time has all too often lost sight of its missional character.
Here, his contributions to this are supplemented with a comprehensive history of this mission thesis since 1863.
Bibliographical information
- Thomas Paul Schirrmacher (ed.). The Letter to the Romans – a Charter for World Mission: Why Dogmatics is Only Healthy as a Doctrine of Mission. World of Theology Series 29. Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft: Bonn, 2025. 110 S. ISBN 978-3-86269-288-0.