Transfiguring Luther: The Planetary Promise of Luther's Theology

A new look at Luther's theology in the light of the emergence of global Lutheranism, and its rich potential for application beyond traditional Western contexts.

Luther's theology has inspired many since 1517 when he nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of the Castle Church. It was the trigger for the Reformation, a change in the very fabric of Christianity that is still studied extensively to this day. Much of this work however has been conducted from either a European or North American perspective. With Lutheranism becoming more and more common in the southern hemisphere, new interpretations of Luther's theology are needed for these emergent and different contexts. In Transfiguring Luther, Vítor Westhelle offers a reading of Luther and his legacy that goes beyond the traditional geopolitics of Luther research, exploring realities where the Reformer's reception and the latent promise of his theology receive unsuspected appraisal. Westhelle provides both a revisitation of the past and an invitation to a new orientation. By establishing a texture rather than a rigid actuality, Westhelle allows the reader to reach their own conclusions about these seldom examined aspects of Luther's theology.

Vítor Westhelle is professor of Systematic Theology at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and the chair of Luther Research at Faculdades EST, São Leopoldo, Brazil. He is a gifted teacher with the soul of a poet adept at playing different keys of the theological ivories. A well-known author and internationally sought-out speaker, Westhelle’s writings on Luther, Liberation, Creation, the Apocalyptic, Postcolonialism, Hybridity and Eschatology are widely acclaimed.