"Whether one May Flee from a Deadly Plague": Martin Luther’s Letter to Johann Hess (1527)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17162/rt.v37i1.1797Keywords:
letters of Luther, Luther to Hess, plague in Wittenberg, Luther and the plague, Protestant ReformationAbstract
This article analyses the letter of Martin Luther to Johann Hess in 1527 in response to the question “Whether one may Flee from a Deadly Plague”. This interpretative research seeks a contextual understanding of Luther’s biblical, theological, pastoral and social response to the plague. This is an interdisciplinary work that combines biblical sciences, theology, and social sciences. The used method is that of literary criticism to the letter, epistemological criticism to his theology, and a criticism of the policies formulated in that situation. Other letters written by Luther and historical data of that time are analyzed for a better understanding of his response; his contributions and the limits of his response are also identified.
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