Ronald K. Rittgers. The Reformation of Suffering: Pastoral Theology and Lay Piety in Late Medieval and Early Modern Germany.

Abstract

In this book Ronald K. Rittgers examines the dramatic shifts in theological explanations of and pastoral responses to human suffering in the Lutheran Reformation. Late medieval Catholics saw suffering as salvific. Priests were advised to counsel penitents that their suffering could serve as atonement for sin. Penance and suffering endured during one's lifetime could shorten one's time in purgatory, thus bringing the joys of heaven closer. Further, “Passion devotion” was an important part of late medieval piety, and Catholics were encouraged to connect their anguish, be it corporeal or psychological, with the agony of Christ on the cross. Martin Luther rejected the notion of suffering as salvific for the same reasons he rejected the theological underpinnings of penance, good works, and indulgences. In his view, human beings were too corrupted by original sin to earn God's mercy. Rather, they were saved only through the freely given and totally unmerited grace of Christ's self-sacrifice on the cross. The Lutheran doctrines of sola fide and sola gratia rendered the Catholic view of suffering untenable. However, Luther did ascribe positive meanings to suffering. He advised his followers to understand their suffering as a punishment sent by God, but to console themselves with the knowledge that God's punishment was a sign of his fatherly love. God made human beings suffer on earth so that they would recognize their sinful nature and turn to him, thus avoiding the far greater punishments to be meted out in hell.