Marking the 500th Anniversary of
the 1525 Peasant Revolt
Annual Luther Colloquy
The 1525 Peasant Revolt was a widespread uprising of German
peasants who, inspired in part by the Reformation’s emphasis on
spiritual freedom, demanded social and economic reforms. Initially sympathetic to their plight, Martin Luther ultimately condemned the revolt when it turned violent, urging the nobility to restore order. His harsh response in Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants damaged his reputation among the lower classes and revealed the limits of his revolutionary zeal. The revolt marked a turning point in Luther’s life and work, solidifying his alignment with political authorities and shaping the future of a more conservative, state-supported Lutheranism.
Speakers
Volker Leppin, Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of
Historical Theology, Yale Divinity School. Leppin’s
scholarship centers on the intellectual and spiritual
transformations from the late medieval world into
the Reformation, with particular emphasis on
scholasticism, mysticism, and Martin Luther. He is
best known for his “transformation thesis,” arguing
that the Reformation arose as an evolution—not a
radical break—from medieval traditions. His
influential biography Martin Luther: A Late Medieval
Life (English translation 2017) portrays Luther as
deeply rooted in medieval spirituality—eschewing
nationalistic myth in favor of source-critical
historical analysis.
R. Guy Erwin, President, United Lutheran Seminary,
Ministerium of Pennsylvania Chair in Reformation
Studies. Erwin earned his BA in history from Harvard
University in 1980, and subsequently pursued two
master’s degrees and a PhD at Yale University,
where his doctoral work centered on late-medieval
roots of Luther’s theology of the cross. From 1993
to 1999, he lectured in church history and historical
theology at the Yale Divinity School.
This event is being offered in person and online. Please register here:
https://ulsforms.wufoo.com/forms/q18xb1810ay4l33/
You may also like the following events from Kindling Faith at United Lutheran Seminary:
- This Sunday, 10th August, 03:00 pm, Summer Ministry Institute - Sighs Too Deep for Words: Worship in Times of Lament and Hope in Gettysburg
- Next Tuesday, 12th August, 01:30 pm, Glimpsing Resurrection (Dr. Deanna Thompson) in Gettysburg
- Next month, 8th September, 10:00 pm, LGBTQIA2S+ Fall Training '2025 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Also check out other
Workshops in Gettysburg.
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