[Charles Henrickson]

"his life, humanly speaking, ended in failure, in the failure of the cross."

Key words: "humanly speaking." Yes, humanly speaking, the cross did look like an Epic Fail. See Luke 24:19-21. Look, I am no fan of the Pope, and of this Pope in particular. (Full disclosure: I am a confessional Lutheran pastor, LCMS.) But the brief excerpt quoted above is correct, and I have made the same point many times. It's called "the theology of the cross."

[Jan_Sobieski]

I have read Luther's "Theology of the Cross" and I am not sure where you get your support. I would argue that, Humanly speaking, Jesus' death on the cross in the ONLY lasting victory that humans can ever know...

Isaiah 53: 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken , smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.