Volume 39, Issue 1, Spring/Summer 2019
Rev. Justin Nickel
Pages 129-142
I Cannot Get It into My Heart So Strongly
Luther’s Moral Psychology Revisited
According to a common interpretation, Martin Luther holds that pride is humanity’s basic sin. This account of sin has occasioned numerous feminist critiques. In this paper, I argue against this reading. I contend that unbelief, which can take the form of either pride or despair, is the central issue in Luther’s moral psychology. This shift from pride to unbelief means that Luther’s moral psychology could be helpful to the work of Christian feminists.