resembles the act of seeking recognition from the lord, justification
grants a new social status that can be interpreted as gift transfer and a
new identity. At the same time, however, the cognitive component
remains a problem. While the biblical concepts ofagnitioand know-
ing one another reveal a new cognitive insight and a targeted attach-
ment, the act of justification looks rather like a misrecognition or
misguided judgement. Contrary to his better knowledge, the judge
pronounces the guilty person as righteous, taking into account some-
thing that should have only minor importance in the law court
(cf. sections 1.1 and 1.3 in this volume).
Thefigure of Abraham adds further evidence to this claim. For the
early Christians, Abraham was the paradigm offidelity who does not
rely on cognitive insight or reasons for acting but follows God
without question. Thus Ambrose, for instance, says that Abraham’s
faith was reckoned as righteousness precisely because he did not ask
for reasons but believed God promptly.^156
Paul’s religious idea needs to be differentiated. Justification by
faith contains more cognitive content than legal amnesty. In
amnesty, the judge really‘loses his memory’(amnesiain Greek)
regarding the punishment; no cognitive recognition is given to the
guilty person, but his crimes are overlooked. In justification by faith,
the judge does not ignore or forget anything in the act of reckoning;
God’s act is like a conscious problematic judgement from the
perspective of legal justice. Likewise, the faith of the guilty person
contains some cognitive content even when it is basically trust
orfidelity.
The relative importance of justification for our topic can be
adequately discussed with reference to Martin Luther’s thinking.
Our starting point is his earlyLectures on Romans, in particular his
discussion on the justification of God in Romans 3:4–5. In Romans
3:4, Paul quotes Psalm 51:4 (Vulgate: 50:6), referring to God:‘that you
may be justified in your words’. Romans 3:5 (Vulgate) goes on to ask:
‘If our wickedness commends the righteousness of God (si autem
iniquitas nostra iustitiam Dei commendat), what should we say?’
Luther elaborates various ways to understand the meaning of this
commendation. One way is to interpret it in terms of God’s punitive
action: God punishes wickedness, thus showing his righteousness.
(^156) Ambrose,De Abraham3, par. 20, p. 516.
The Latin Traditions 89