Martin Luther and Education:
Ideas for the Twenty-first Century
by Marilyn J. Harran
Harran Professor of History and Religious Studies,
Chapman University

Part of the Web companion guide to Our Calling in Education: A Lutheran Study

Thank you for inviting me to share in your discussion today. As I read the minutes from your July meeting, I was struck by the enormity of the task you have set yourselves and by the many excellent ideas you shared as you grappled with a great diversity of topics, from education as a human right to the role of education in contributing to a more just and compassionate world to education within K-12 and within Lutheran colleges, universities, and seminaries, as well as education within home and church. And that is only to mention a few of the many topics you covered!

I have been asked to approach education from the perspective of an historian, specifically from the perspective of someone who has written about the Reformation and education and even more specifically as someone who has written about Luther's contributions to education. In the brief article I contributed to the Journal of Lutheran Ethics, I focused on the importance of vocatio, vocation. If there were one word that I wish could be re-introduced into our culture, it is vocation, not defined narrowly as career or job, but defined with the rich and varied subtleties of meaning that describe the individual's relationship to both God and community.

As I read the excellent contributions by my two colleagues, I was struck by the shared themes that emerged in their discussions and that I would also wish to emphasize--education as relational and oriented to the community; the relationship of education and ethics; education in its deepest and most profound sense as wisdom and the importance of education occurring within and fostering a culture of honor and respect. Let me explore these ideas from my perspective as a Reformation historian.

You are all well-acquainted with Luther's two writings on education, The Address to the Coullcilmen of All Cities ill GernlallY tllat TIley Establisll and Maultaul Christiall SCllools of 1524 and On Keepulg Childrell Ul SCllool of 1530, as well as his catechisms and his many references to the importance of education in sermons and letters. Indeed, Luther began as a reformer of education before he became a reformer of the church and throughout his life he remained an educational reformer. Already in 1518, following the Heidelberg Disputation, Luther proclaimed that it would be impossible to reform the church "unless the canon law, the decretals, scholastic theology and philosophy, and logic, as they now exist, are absolutely eradicated and other studies substituted." (W A Br 1 :170, 33-36) Two years later, in 1520, in his treatise to the Christian nobility, he proclaimed: "The universities, too, need a good and thorough reformation. I must say that no matter whom it annoys." (WA Br 6:457,28-29; LW44, 200). The centrality of education in Luther's life is underscored by Philipp Melancthon's words as he informed his students of Luther's passing, telling them that their beloved professor had "'been called to the heavenly university.'" (Brecht, 378) Luther was in many ways the inheritor of the humanist critique on scholastic learning. He too rejected the scholastic practice of disputation for its own sake, arguing for the importance of learning that would shape human action and influence human society. We return to the centrality of the ideas of education as "relational" and rooted in community life. Luther and to an even greater extent Melanchthon institutionalized many of the humanist educational objectives within both schools and universities-ad fontes, back to the sources, was as central to Luther and Melancthon as it was to a humanist like Erasmus. Indeed, Luther came to his own revelatory understanding of iustitia dei by study, by returning again and again prayerfully to question the text of Romans 1:17. In a culture when deconstruction is often a theme of academic discourse, Luther reminds us of the constructive power of words, of the very real power of a text in enabling us to attain knowledge and wisdom.

It is an understatement to say that Luther's and Melanchthon's world is far different from ours and that the two reformers faced very different challenges and opportunities from those before us today. Yet, I think it is useful to remember the magnitude of the educational challenge that Luther and his fellow reformers faced. We grapple with defining educational ideals and goals that are appropriate to a pluralistic world and that demonstrate respect for other traditions while remaining true to the fundamental tenets of the Evangelical tradition. Luther and his colleagues struggled to create an educational system and a curriculum, for church, school, and university, that would educate young people and re-educate adults to understand the centrality of grace and faith, to affirm the value of works while acknowledging that salvation can never be earned by human endeavor. Their goal was to educate both young and old to an understanding of both Christian freedom and responsibility. Their approach was multi-faceted-education encompassed home, church, school and community. It embraced diverse disciplines, from music to languages to history to geography and it sought to forge a new joy in both teaching and learning.

As I have reflected on your work and grappled with what I might contribute today, I have been led back time and again to Luther's 1520 treatise on The Freedom of a Christian and his two statements: "The Christian is the perfectly free lord of all, subject to none; the Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject of all" as the anchor for our educational endeavors. If I were to try in one sentence to summarize our responsibility as educators and to define the core of education itself, I would state that education's purpose is to bring understanding of both freedom and responsibility. In the time remaining, let me try to group some of Luther's and Melanchthon's most fundamental educational ideas and insights under the umbrella of freedom and service.

When Luther writes that the Christian is lord of all, he refers, of course, to the profoundly liberating role of grace and faith in Christian life. He writes: "Yes, since faith alone suffices for salvation, I need nothing except faith, exercising the power and dominion of its own liberty. Lo, this is the inestimable power and liberty of Christians." (p. 290) This statement cannot be separated from its counterpart, "a Christian is the servant of all and made subject to all. Insofar as he is free he does no works, but insofar as he is a servant he does all kind of works." And if I may quote just one additional sentence before turning to what this means for education, in Luther's time and ours, "The inner man, who by faith is created in the image of God, is both joyful and happy because of Christ in whom so many benefits are conferred upon him; and therefore it is his one occupation to serve God joyfully and without thought of gain, in love that is not constrained." Luther's fundamental insight is that faith frees us to concentrate on loving God and neighbor. It also, I believe, includes the freedom to realize our own gifts and to gain awareness and appreciation of our callings, in work, in worship, and in society. Phrased differently, this paradox-freedom and service-anchors our life-long educational journey. Let me highlight a few specific themes:

• Educating toward a life of faith and service.
  Luther writes eloquently of the intrinsic relationship between faith and service. In the Large Catec/tism, he writes: "Therefore let everybody know that it is his chief duty, on pain of losing grace, to bring up his children in the fear and knowledge of God, and if they are gifted to give them opportunity to learn and study so that they may be of service wherever they are needed." (W A 30 I, 156,30-35; Tappert, 389). This education begins in the home with parents modeling faith and a life of service.
   
• Education as a right of all children.
  As Luther wrote, the greatest wealth of any society is in its well-educated citizens. In 1524, he reminded the councilmen that a city's true wealth resides not in its "guns and armor" or in its material goods, "its mighty walls and magnificent buildings," but in its "able, learned, wise, honorable, and well-educated citizens." (W A 15, 34, 28-34; L W 45, 355-56). Luther's words remain a vital warning today: "My dear sirs, if we have to spend such large sums each year on guns, roads, bridges, dams and countless similar items to insure the temporal peace and prosperity of a city, why should not much more be devoted to the poor neglected youth?" (WA 15, 30, 16-20; LW 45, 350.) Luther stressed the responsibility of all parents to be the caretakers of their children, to recognize that they are gifts of God, and to provide them with the opportunities to realize their gifts. Education is strongest where it is collaborative, creating partnerships among parents, schools, and churches.
   
• Expanding educational opportunities.
  Even as Luther urged parents to send their children to school and called upon the authorities to provide scholarships and support for education, so too must we expand those opportunities for young people today, recognizing as Luther did the essential role of education in preparing "good and capable men and women." (W A 15, 44, 28-31; L W 45, 368.)
   
• Promoting learning for life and life-long learning.
  In a time when learning was seen as the right and privilege of only a gifted and wealthy few, Luther emphasized not only education for all, but education as a life-time pursuit. With respect to his own daily study of the catechism, he wrote: "I must still read and study the Catechism daily, yet I cannot master it as I wish, but must remain and child and pupil of the Catechism, and I do it gladly." (WA 30 I, 127, 1-4; Tappert, 359). Luther particularly emphasized the joy and pleasure that comes through study and learning.
   
• Connecting education and vocation.
  Luther emphasized that it is only through education that we discover our gifts and our callings, our individual vocations, including both our professions and our various roles in society. To discover one's calling, to develop a sense of joy and responsibility for utilizing one's gifts, is foundational to education within family, church, and school. Careers and jobs gain meaning through the lens of vocatio. In contemporary American society, a university or college education has - become the entry card to success within the work force. I would argue that we need to foster a new respect for diverse forms of education appropriate to different callings. Luther singled out for special respect those who are called to be teachers, noting "If I could leave the preaching office and my other duties, or had to do so, there is no other office I would rather have than that of schoolmaster." (WA 30 II, 579,16-580,1; LW 46,253.)

• Emphasizing the liberal arts.
  Both Luther and Melanchthon emphasized the importance of the study of the liberal arts. Luther emphasized the study of the languages as a particularly valuable study in its own right and as vital to the study of Scripture. As we seek to build bridges of understanding among the diverse people of our world, study of the languages is vitally important. Luther also stressed the great value of studying history-our human story- which teaches by example. I find particularly meaningful Luther's statement that history helps young people to find their "own place in the stream of human events." (WA 15,45,19; LW45, 369). And, of course, as an historian, I am especially fond of Luther's statement: "The historians, therefore, are the most useful people and the best teachers, so that one can never honor, praise, and thank them enough." (WA 50,384,15-17; LW34, 276."
   
• Educating individuals to think critically and act ethically.
  As several of you emphasized at your July meeting, education is a matter of the head and the heart, knowledge and values or ethics. In the brief article I contributed to the Jour/lal of Lutheran Ethics, I wrote about the university students who were members of the White Rose resistance movement within Nazi Germany. Knowing that challenging the authority of the- Fuehrer could result in imprisonment or execution, they refused to stand on the sidelines and be silent. Empowered by their faith, they spoke out, proclaiming "We must attack evil where it is strongest, and it is strongest in the power of Hitler." (Scholl, 86). They urged their fellow students to "cast off the cloak of i indifference you have wrapped around you." (Scholl, 89). I would argue that today we must educate young people in ways that empower them, that encourage them to believe that one individual can indeed make a difference and that sometimes one individual can make all the difference in the world.

As I teach my students about the Holocaust and the lessons we may learn from that dark period in history, I am reminded of the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, written in prison at the beginning of 1943, as he reflected upon the meaning of civil courage: "In the subordination of all personal wishes and ideas to the tasks to which we have been called, we have seen the meaning and greatness of our lives. We have looked upwards, not in servile fear, but in free trust, seeing in our tasks a call, and in our call a vocation Civil courage, in fact, can grow only out of the free responsibility of free men... It depends on a God who demands responsible action in a bold venture of faith, and who promises forgiveness and consolation to the man who becomes a sinner in that venture." (Letters and Papers from Prison, p. 6).

Affirming the freedom of a Christian, both Luther and Bonhoeffer dared to confront those who had used their power and authority unjustly. Both realized, as Luther wrote, that the "world is still the world" and that we remain simul iustus et peccator. Knowing that we cannot create utopia, we are nonetheless empowered by faith and knowledge to work toward creating a more just and compassionate world. Education is our most vital tool in that endeavor.