«La lingua artificiale della teologia brulica di fraintendimenti». Johann Gottfried Herder critico di Martin Lutero

Johann Gottfried Herder's view of the 16th-century Reformation is characterized by some ambiguity. On the one hand, he regards Luther's revolt against the doctrinal and ritualistic orthodoxies of his time as a liberation from 'spiritual despotism', on the other hand he complains about the petrification of 'formulaic theology' even within the Lutheran tradition. Thus the challenge is there, first, to consider how far Herder is right when he emphasizes the concept of liberty. The immediate response of the church authorities to Luther's insisting on the 'gospel' as the true treasure of the Christian Church seems to give Herder's view a high degree of plausibility. The second challenge is to discuss Herder's polemics against purely formalized teachings. Referring back to Luther's interpretation of the biblical psalms - which is also recommended by Herder - it can be shown that Luther rather tried to direct a believer towards a very personal self-perception in relation to God. However, since Herder links the concept of religion to his key concept of 'humanity', he raises objections against Luther's orientation towards a divine judgement in the hereafter and idealizes what he calls 'the religion of Christ' in more practical terms. In comparison with Herder, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing takes a more open stance towards the plurality of religions when it comes to reflect on the question what theological ideas Luther would be advocating 'today'.