The following texts form together Volume XXII of my series "The Light and the Dark. A cultural history of dualism". Volume XXII has Lutheranism as its subject.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 is an introduction to the whole history of the Reformation, presenting the general conditions under which it became possible. Each of the nine texts is concluded with notes and a bibliography.

1. The imploding fabric of the Middle Ages (the factors which undermined the medieval system);
2. Humanism (a new way of thinking, writing and experiencing life, a new class of people);
3. The Renaissance (a new art);
4. Neoplatonism and Nicholas of Cusa (a farewell to Aristotelianism; Nicholas of Cusa's non-scholastic way of thinking);
5. Totentänze and Mysticism (Totentänze as the expression of the despondent mood of the Later Middle Ages; mysticism as an alternative way of experiencing faith);
6. Deviant groups of the Later Middle Ages (unorthodox groups: the Free Spirits, Beghards and Beguines);
7. Wyclif and the Lollards (homegrown heresies in England);
8. Jan Hus (the life and tragic end of a rebel);
9. Reform or Reformation (the key elements of the pre-Reformation period; was the Reformation an historical necessity).

 
Chapter 2

Chapter 2 describes the Reformer's life until 1517. Each of the three texts is concluded with notes and a bibliography.

1. Luther's family: parents, brothers and sisters; towns were he lived; schools he attended; study at the university.
2. His way to the convent: his sudden decision to become a monk; the young friar; his first Mass; the conflict with his father.
3. Luther as a monk: a studious monk; his fears; his confessor Staupitz; journey to Rome; definitely in Wittenberg, the professor; new theological insights.

 
Chapter 3

Chapter 3 describes how the reform-minded friar Martin Luther definitely became the Reformator par excellence. Each text is concluded with a bibliography and notes.

1. Luther as a reformer: the Thesenanschlag, about indulgences, Luther and the preaching of indulgences, what the theses contain, reaction to the theses, spreading the theses, Luther rejects Scholasticism, his position in May 1518.
2. Luther investigated: excommunication threatens, Melanchthon appears, Luther's discussions with cardinal Cajetan 1518, Miltitz's mission, the Leipzig disputation June 1519.
3. Luther defines his new theology: the Turmerlebnis and its significance, Luther on the sacraments, on good works, on the Mass, on the Church, Luther's manifest to the Christian nobility.
4. Breaks with Church and Empire: Luther excommunicated 1521, his treatise on the freedom of the Christian, considers the Pope as the Antichrist, burns the papal bull, Luther at the Diet of Worms 1521, in the imperial ban 1521.
5. Luther, translator of the Bible: Luther on the Warburg, his translation of the Bible, his manner of translating, he defrocks himself 1524, marries Katharina von Bohra 1524.

 
Chapter 4

The title of this chapter is The Lutheran Platform. It describes Luther's new theology. Each of the three texts is concluded with notes and a bibliography.

1. Luther and philosophy, on Thomas and Thomism, on the analogy of being, Luther and the Bible, sola scriptura, Luther's subjectivism.
2. Luther's notion of God, his fear of God, the theology of the cross, his anthropology, his Christology, predestination, Luther on evil and the devil, sin and sinners, simul justus et peccator.
3. Luther on free will, Luther and Erasmus, justification by faith, Doppelte Grechtigkeit, the Zweireichenlehre, the two Regimente, Luther and the Church, a summary of Luther's new theology.

 
Chapter 5

The title of this chapter is Luther's Life as Reformer from 1525 to 1546. Each text is concluded with a bibliography and notes.

1. Luther and Karlstadt: no compromise for Luther, his conflict with Karlstadt, Karlstadt's life, his radicalism, his theology.
2. Luther and the Peasants' War: he does not side with the rebellious peasants. Thomas Müntzer and his programme, Luther's tract against the peasants.
3. The Jews & the Turks: Luther's hope for the conversion of the Jews disappointed, his attitude hardening, hardly any personal contact with Jews, his radical anti-Jewish programme. His great fear of the Turks.
4. Luther, his attitude to the council: Luther not wanting an ecumenical council, his campaigns against it. Founding the Evangelical Church, public management of it, his idea of the Church, the Reformation as a political affair, conflict of Luther and Melanchthon, the Religious Peace of Augsburg.
5. Luther's last years & lutheranism's place in the history of religions: Luther's last years, health problems, his death. Progress of the Reformation, causes of its success. Lutheranism's place in the history of religions.