JACKSON, Tenn. — March 14, 2018 — Ronald K. Rittgers, professor of history and theology at Valparaiso University, said Martin Luther’s theology is structured around the juxtaposition of divine love and human love.
Rittgers spoke on “Luther as a Theologian of Love” at the first of four Scholar-in-Residence lectures at Union University Tuesday. His lecture series is titled “The Irreducible Luther: Four New Interpretations” and will continue through Thursday.
“We are attracted to that which we find attractive, so if you want someone to love you, you make yourself attractive to them,” Rittgers said. “But Luther’s point is a very simple one: That’s not the way God works. God doesn’t love that way. We don’t have to make ourselves attractive to God for him to love us.”
God’s love works just the opposite, Rittgers said. Rather than loving something because it is attractive, God’s love makes something attractive. He said most theologians of Luther’s day were thinking too humanly about love and therefore placing the burden on people to make themselves attractive to God.
Luther saw perfect love of God and neighbor as God’s standard of righteousness and was frustrated in his attempts to reach that standard.
“Luther’s dread can be attributed to the painful realization that he could not love God and neighbor perfectly and of his own accord,” Rittgers said.
He said in trying to solve this problem of love, Luther came to understand the difference between human and divine love. This freed Luther to pursue spiritual growth through the lens of God’s love. He saw Christ’s love flowing to him and through him to his neighbor.
“The indwelling Christ who is himself the Christian’s righteousness is also himself the source of the Christian’s growth in love,” Rittgers said.
Rittgers said Luther’s theology of loving God is often expressed in his writings in terms of faith.
“Faith for Luther is actually a kind of love,” he said. “A kind of childlike, loving trust of God. You love God, but you do so by trusting him.”
Rittgers also gave a lecture Tuesday evening on “Luther the Word-Prophet.” His lecture series will continue Thursday at 12:15 p.m. with a lecture on “Luther the Evangelical Mystic” and conclude Thursday at 7 p.m. with a lecture on “Luther and the Reformation of Consolation.” Both lectures will take place in Hartley Recital Hall on the Union University campus.