The Ohio State University
Center for the Study of Religion
presents
Religions of the World: Past and Present
Community Lecture Series 2017-2018
“Martin Luther v. ‘The Spiritualists:’ The Reformation He Could Not Stop”
David Brakke (Joe R. Engle Chair in the History of Christianity; Professor, Department of History)
Abstract: In 2017 we remember Luther the Radical – the young monk who with his 95 Theses began a religious revolution on October 31, 1517. But it was not long before other Protestant reformers saw Luther as too conservative, as still Catholic. On several key issues – above all, the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist – Luther argued for tradition and bitterly opposed teachers he called “spiritualists.” Luther remained committed to the Word of God as an objective external power and decried what he saw as a subjective appeal to inner experience, a trend that he himself started. The Reformation rapidly left its founder behind.
Admission is free and open to the public
Public parking is available at the Ohio Union South Garage