Luther und Müntzer, Zwei Reformatoren, Ein Revolutionär?

Abstract

Müntzer is considered as part of the Luther-centred Reformation memory culture. After a brief biography of Müntzer’s short life and his relationship with reformers of his age, the study focuses on his written work, especially on the Fürstenpredigt. Coming from the tradition of German mysticism and chiliast lay movements, Müntzer preaches a ‘theology of the heart’. From 1523, differences to Luther became sharply accentuated. Unlike Luther, Müntzer’s theology encompasses social and political concerns, freeing the lower classes from religious dogmatism and feudalism. He therefore opposes Luther’s concept of ‘sola scriptum’ in favour of an ‘inner word’, is against Luther’s ‘sola fide’, thought to limit a Christian’s freedom of choice and is particularly against Luther’s doctrine of the two realms which restricts worldly power to the princes. The metaphor of the ‘sword’ pervades Müntzer’s work, foreshadowing his eventual involvement in the Peasants Uprising. The second part of this study involves a survey of Müntzer research from the nineteenth century to the present, focusing on work in the 1920s and in the GDR, where Müntzer became increasingly associated with the state’s culture of identity.