Having dedicated much of his life to ecumenical exchange within Christendom through leadership at the Konfessionkundliches Institut des Evangelisches Bundes in Bensheim,[1] [Professor Hans-Martin] Barth forthrightly examines how Luther also clarifies the contributions that his latter-day adherents can make to ecumenical conversation. He notes that the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification of 1999 stands on “uneven ground” because Roman Catholics do not regard it as foundational for the church’s existence, whereas, Barth affirms, “the true church finds its identity in the message of justification” (253, cf. 294). He also points to the fact that “the Leuenberg Concord of 1973 indeed diminished the tensions between Reformed and Lutheran understanding [of the Lord’s Supper], without being able to solve [these tensions] theologically” (324).[2]
[1]The center for ecumenical scholarship of the Protestant churches in Germany.
[2]Lutheran Quarterly 24:2 (2010) 196, in a review by Robert Kolb of Hans-Martin Barth, Die Theologie Martin Luthers. Eine kritische Würdigung. Gütersloh:Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2009.