Clear all
Work #299 · Early (1520, foundational year)

On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church

Martin Luther
1520 · Latin (subsequently translated to German)
Theological reform treatise · German Lutheran Reformation

Reform of the medieval sacramental system — Luther's 1520 treatise reducing the seven sacraments to the two with scriptural warrant (Baptism and the Lord's Supper)

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church (Early (1520, foundational year))
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Finite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Scripture
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church

The historical-Reformation time of sacramental reform.

Space

On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church

The Christian community as the proper sacramental space.

Matter

On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church

The material elements of the sacraments — water, bread, wine — and the embodied participation of the community.

Observer

On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church

The Christian believer participating in the sacraments — embodied, plural. Personal-providential God as framework.

Energy

On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church

The sacramental energy of divine grace; the political-theological energy of Reformation.

Information

On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church

The biblical-scriptural witness to the sacraments as the determining information.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church

Luther's sacramental theology was the major theological controversy of the Reformation — the Marburg Colloquy (1529) with Zwingli demonstrated that even Reformers could not agree on the eucharistic presence. The Council of Trent's sacramental decrees (1547) were substantially formulated in response to Luther. The 1999 Joint Declaration on Justification (Catholic-Lutheran) and subsequent ecumenical dialogues have substantially reframed the controversy.