The 95 Theses As Luther's Template for Reading Scripture
Luther’s '95 Theses' has a rhetorical shape which reflects aspects of classical Renaissance rhetoric. In the Explanations of the 95 Theses Luther in fact labels two sections with technical names and writes his defense as if his arguments were meant to be read in this rhetorical light. Thes...
| Subtitles: | The ninety-five Theses As Luther's Template for Reading Scripture |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Johns Hopkins University Press
[2017]
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| In: |
Lutheran quarterly
Year: 2017, Volume: 31, Issue: 3, Pages: 249-266 |
| IxTheo Classification: | HA Bible KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance KBB German language area KDD Protestant Church |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Luther’s '95 Theses' has a rhetorical shape which reflects aspects of classical Renaissance rhetoric. In the Explanations of the 95 Theses Luther in fact labels two sections with technical names and writes his defense as if his arguments were meant to be read in this rhetorical light. These parts are traditionally, in this order, the exordium (introduction), the narration (basic, commonly accepted facts), the main thesis (summarized in Thesis 5), the proof or confirmation of this thesis and its corollaries, the refutation of anticipated objections, and the peroration. In the exordium, on which Luther puts great weight in his prefatory letter for the Explanations addressed to Pope Leo X, Luther writes that he is presenting these theses “out of love and zeal for the truth.” The proof of his work stretches from theses 6-80, and a rejection or confutation of other opinions - placed in the mouth of a sharp layperson - comes in theses 81-91. Crucial for Luther’s interpretation of scripture, however, comes in the narration and the peroration: theses 1-4 and 92-95. Precisely where Luther sets forth the incontrovertible facts at the beginning and a summary of his argument at the end, he calls upon scripture. The argument of the Theses serves in turn as a template for reading scripture theologically. |
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| ISSN: | 0024-7499 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Lutheran quarterly
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/lut.2017.0052 |