Regensburg Colloquy and Original Sin: A Lutheran Perspective

Abstract

The resolution proposed by the Regensburg Colloquy concerning original sin and its effects fit squarely within the diverse positions of late medieval theology. By the time of its proposal, however, the Lutheran tradition had already begun to move past those debates, first in the 1530 Augsburg Confession Apology and later in the 1577 Formula of Concord. This article places Regensburg within that late medieval discussion, then traces the evolution of the Lutheran confessional tradition as it accepts certain elements of the late medieval debate, rejects others, and ultimately redefines and transforms the terms it adopts to mediate internal Lutheran conflicts concerning original sin. This will extend to the definitions of original righteousness, concupiscence, the image of God, and the appropriation of Aristotelian-Thomistic terminology to distinguish between human nature and original sin.