Educating Society at the Time of the Lutheran Reformation
(Sunday, April 15, 2018, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. by Dr. Gottfried Herrmann of the Evangelisch Lutherische Freikirche of Germany)
In his treatise of 1524, “To the Councilmen of All the Cities of Germany that They Establish and Maintain Christian Schools,” Luther had argued that Christian schools are essential not only for the welfare of the church, but also for the welfare of the home and the world. The goal of this lecture is to explore in a concrete way how exactly the changes in the educational system brought by the Lutheran Reformation, along with Luther’s doctrine of the two kingdoms, impacted homes and the world as schools sought to train the whole person of God. How did Luther’s push for a well-educated Christian citizenry, increased financial support for Christian schools, and his doctrine of the two kingdoms impact day-to-day life in lands that adopted the Lutheran Reformation? And what was the impact in everyday life of a Bible in the vernacular, doctrinal texts aimed at the home, and treatises written to and for the common man?
