The Spirituality of Martin Luther as exemplified in his Letters to Philip Melanchthon

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study the researcher will reflect on the spirituality of Martin Luther as expressed in hisletters to Philip Melanchthon written from Wartburg. Through such a reflection, based onbiographical material, the researcher wishes to contribute to research that reflects on thespirituality of historical individuals.The first chapter will present a general introduction on how the researcher came to studythe Spirituality of Martin Luther via inter alia a study on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. A shortmotivation will also be given on why biographical material (such as letters), the primarysource for this study, should be seen as a suitable source for theological inquiry. The secondchapter will reflect on a few contemporary works on Luther's spirituality as well as the worksof Scott Hendrix, Egil Grislis, Mark McIntosh and Sandra Schneiders to gain insight into thedevelopment of spirituality as a field of study and its current focus.The third chapter entails biographical accounts of Luther and Melanchthon with a primaryfocus on their lives up until Luther's safekeeping at Wartburg as well as a reflection on theirfriendship. The purpose will be to contextualize the letters and to give a betterunderstanding of the people involved. The fourth chapter will summarize the content of thenine letters Luther wrote from Wartburg to Melanchthon. The summary will indicate thematters which were discussed between the two reformers and will be reflected on in orderto find deeper insight into Luther's spirituality. Chapter five will consider matters ofimportance identified in chapter four, such as the Luther's identity and spirituality and hisunderstanding and reference to Christ and God, while at Wartburg.The final chapter will reflect on the content of this study and the contribution that a studybased on biographical material has to offer to spirituality as an academic discipline.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University