Luther the University Man

Abstract

The author describes his paper as follows: “(Luther) also said of himself - and this very self-consciously in words that are part of the partial autobiography he wrote for the preface to his Latin works of 1545 - that “I did not learn my theology all at once but… like St. Augustine through much teaching and writing.” Here, at last, is what I intend with the title to this presentation, that is, “Luther the University Main.” To put the matter simply, any effort to take Luther out of the university or to ignore that he was in it amounts to falsifying his life… The central question before us is whether we are to take Luther seriously when he said that he learned his theology by teaching and writing. Or are we to cling to the attractive, romantic notion that he had a sudden “evangelical break through”… The evidence is simply overwhelming. Luther was telling the truth about himself when he said that he learned his theology through writing and teaching, that is, in the life and calling of a professor.”

Kittelson will prove this with three points in his paper: 1) “We must first understand what Luther was taught,” 2) “We must then compare it with what he came to teach,” and finally, 3) We must trace his steps from the one to the other. In the process, it will become very clear just how deeply Luther, that is, the Luther who remains historically important, was a university man.”