Abstract

Luther's biblical hermeneutic flowed from a deeper theological framework that provided a dogmatic orientation or “rule of faith” for guiding biblical exegesis. For Luther, genuine ethics is possible only through communication with the Word and its power, and results in the restoration of God's image in human beings‐a restoration brought about by the creative and lifegiving power of the Word. Luther's hermeneutic constitutes a complex amalgam of traditional and humanistic elements. His christological approach goes back to the church fathers and illustrates Luther's continuity with the tradition. Luther's interpretive practice thus falls between two hermeneutical positions. He does not equate the Bible with God's word. Luther asserts that the governing subject matter of the Bible, God's relation to humanity, means that we ought to reject any separation of historical meaning from the question of its truth for the reader (pro nobis).