Jan Martin Lies (Mainz, Germany)

Conflict of Authorities and the Search for Identity. The Formation of a New Culture of Debate during the Reformation

By referring to the principle of ›sola scriptura‹, Martin Luther opposed to the scholastic theology and ecclesiastical tradition and thus caused a conflict of authorities. As a consequence, processes of confessional clarification were publicly debated using the possibilities of communication opened up by the new technology of printing.

Because Luther was recognized as a special authority by the Protestants in the Empire, after his death the question arose as to who should mediate or decide the theological debates between Protestants in the future. This problem became much more important as the decree of the Augsburg Interim were ordered. Thereafter, a lot of controversies emerged which could be interpreted as a long-standing process of formation of a specific ›Lutheran‹ identity.

 

Friedemann Stengel (Halle/Saale-Wittenberg, Germany)

›Sola scriptura‹ in Context. Sustaining and Denying the Main Reformatory Formal Principle

Although reference to the ›sola scriptura‹ has become an unquestioned identity marker for Protestantism, this principle divides Protestant theologians. Some of them call the Bible an incarnation of God’s word, others try to interpret it as a forerunner of a progressive Geistesgeschichte (history of ideas), and for yet others it is the distinguishing mark of Protestantism from other Christian denominations. Furthermore, today most scholars agree on the theory of a crisis of the sola scriptura and some of them call for its abolition in theology. This contribution takes these disparate debates as a starting point for going back to the early 16^th century, and scrutinizes the positions and historical limitations which led to the development of the discourse of the Holy Scripture as the only divine word. This historical perspective concerning the origins of the different positions could enlighten the current aggressive debates.

 

Saskia Gehrmann (Halle/Saale-Wittenberg, Germany)

»Pietistic Medicine« as a Product of the ›Brand Orphanage‹

This contribution addresses the tensions between religion and medicine using the example of the Francke Foundation in Halle in the 18^th and 19^th century. Thus, it will focus on trends concerning interpretational concepts of health and disease and their implementation in the medical daily routine. A critical analysis is offered of the ideal of a »Pietistic medicine«, in the context of the so-called ›image politics‹ of the Francke Foundation, practised since the foundation of the Foundation at the end of the 17^th century. The pivotal question here is, how far was the ideal of a »Pietistic medicine« intended, formulated in a normative way for a practical implementation in the medical daily routine, and what promoting role did it fulfil and was ought to fulfil.

 

Malte Dominik Krüger (Marburg, Germany)

Is Protestantism a Thinking Religion?

On the one hand, (late) modern Protestantism seems to be a relatively reason-oriented form of religion which is characterised by accountability in thought. On the other hand, exactly this understanding of (late) modern Protestantism leads to the insight of dependence on an irreversible and pre-reflexive domain (of religion). This contribution traces this ambiguity by focusing on the following question: In what way could (late) modern Protestantism be grasped categorially so that the irreversible reflexive moment and the irreversible pre-reflexive moment can productively come together?

 

Tomas Sodeika (Vilnius, Lithuania)

The Birth of Religious Studies from the Spirit of Reformation. Martin Luther and Rudolf Otto

The awakening of the understanding of the ›idea of holiness‹, highlighted by Nathan Söderblom, can be considered as a turning point in the history of religious studies. This idea was further developed by Rudolf Otto. It should be noted that Otto’s contribution to the development of religious studies was inspired by Martin Luther’s Reformatory approach. In my presentation, I would like to examine the link between Luther’s De servo arbitrio and Otto’s concept of the ›holy‹ in the context of the rise of religious studies.

 

Marianne Schröter (Halle/Saale-Wittenberg, Germany)

Theology as a Science. Theories of Religion around 1920

Looking at the current research landscape, one can easily see that religion as a topic is regarded as a challenge for research which can only be grasped in a multidisciplinary way. But it is hardly possible to say that this opening has already been reflected methodologically and systematically.

As opposed to this rather critical insight, this contribution seeks to analyse the potential of the wide and strictly rationally arguing controversy in the time of the ›classical modernity‹. Central concepts of a theory of religion of this time were developed by Adolf von Harnack, Ernst Troeltsch, Rudlof Otto and Paul Tillich. The scientific theoretical foundations and methodological specifications which can be found in these concepts offer some substantive elements to today’s debate.

 

Stefan Lang (Tübingen, Germany)

Performative Reason

In this contribution, a performative interpretation of reason will be sketched. For that, at first a performative reading of classical reason theories strongly impacted by the Reformation is offered, followed by an original performative explanation of a detail of human subjectivity. Furthermore, the relevance of this interpretational approach concerning religion is discussed, and the ability to combine it with theories of cultural and political studies is stated. Finally, it is made plausible how this perspective could be part of the solution concerning the problem of the unity of reason in the face of the plurality of rationalities.

 

Sebastian Böhm (Leipzig, Germany)

Luther’s Criticism of Kant and Hegel’s Transition from Imagination to Notion

This contribution presents in three steps the theological background of the Hegelian conception of the transition from imagination to notion. To this end, the Lutheran background of the Hegelian criticism of Kant will primarily be explained. Then, the Enlightenment’s, or rather Kant’s deeper understanding, of the sin will be described as a necessary divisive moment during the transition from imagination to notion. Finally, the importance of this moment of negativity for Hegelian philosophy and for the post-Hegelian development of modern reason will be reflected.

 

Melanie Sterba (Halle/Saale-Wittenberg, Germany)

›Hate speech‹ – Reading Martin Luther with Judith

Feminist philosophers are often faced with the problem of being confronted with discriminating statements about women made by commonly accepted and mostly male scholars, and of being possibly hurt by them. Thus, a pivotal question in feminist theory is how its relation to traditional theory is specified. In her study Excitable Speech, Judith Butler shows with her analysis of the politics of the performance on the one hand, how speech hurts and on the other hand, what possibilities there are to counter the practice of ›hate speech‹. In this contribution, I will demonstrate this approach using the example of Martin Luther – let his speech be a lesson to us.

 

Valentina Surace (Messina, Italy)

»Lutero qui genuit Heidegger«

Reformed theology is important for the birth of the modern subject; however, you can find its deconstruction in young Luther, especially in his Wittenberg lessons. »Lutero qui genuit Heidegger« is the expression that Derrida uses to emphasize the parentage of proto-Lutheran with Heideggerian ›Destruktion‹. In the same way that Luther makes a ›destruction‹ of scholastic theology (›theologia gloriae‹), arriving at the ›theologia crucis‹ of the incarnate God, Heidegger deconstructs the theoretical philosophy of life, leading to a concrete historical understanding. As Luther deconstructs the old man (›homo gloriens‹), oblivious to his finished condition (›homo crucis›), Heidegger dismantles the traditional concepts of man as ›animal rationale‹, ›res cogitans‹.