The Rat Catcher of Hurtzburg. A historical fiction novel set in the 30 Years War (late 1630s).
This historical fiction novel has a plot that includes pandemics, war, catechesis, a court jester, and mass hallucinations. Click here to download the pdf.
Luther Cares: A Play
Click here to read installations of my play, in which key moments from Luther's life are re-imagined as if people had practiced "active listening" in the Reformation.
Stupid Freedom: A Novel Take on the Late Luther
Stupid Freedom tells stories from Luther's life through the imagined perspective of his friend Johannes Bugenhagen.
It was published little-by-little on this website.
Click here to read the first two chapters.
1: Preface to the Reader - 2: The Dear Old Turd - 3: No Rules, Just Trust - 4: Substitute Teacher - 5: Missing the Point - 6: The Right Kind of Stupid
7: Almost Dead Again - 8: Was It Worth It? - 9: Love Left a Mark - 10: Holy Runaways - 11: Jonah 4, Revisited - 12: Luther Legends, Real and Imagined
13: The Grammar of Salvation - 14: Bishops and Blasphemies - 15: Education Is Dangerous - 16: A World-Class Disappointment
17: Eleutherian Heretics - 18: Luther's Abbot - 19: Another Day in the School of the Cross - 20: 100 Years with the Prophets - 21: Angels and Acorns
Copyright by Martin Lohrmann. All rights reserved.
It was published little-by-little on this website.
Click here to read the first two chapters.
1: Preface to the Reader - 2: The Dear Old Turd - 3: No Rules, Just Trust - 4: Substitute Teacher - 5: Missing the Point - 6: The Right Kind of Stupid
7: Almost Dead Again - 8: Was It Worth It? - 9: Love Left a Mark - 10: Holy Runaways - 11: Jonah 4, Revisited - 12: Luther Legends, Real and Imagined
13: The Grammar of Salvation - 14: Bishops and Blasphemies - 15: Education Is Dangerous - 16: A World-Class Disappointment
17: Eleutherian Heretics - 18: Luther's Abbot - 19: Another Day in the School of the Cross - 20: 100 Years with the Prophets - 21: Angels and Acorns
Copyright by Martin Lohrmann. All rights reserved.
From Earth Year 2517: Report on Interplanetary Lutheranism
RE: Interplanetary Lutheranism
Earth Date October 31, 2517
District 7-G, Jupiter
Dear Christian friends of the early 21st century,
In our travels across time, we have noticed how you recently observed a significant milestone for Geo-Lutheranism: the 500th anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses. We--your fellow Lutherans from the future, representing the planets and other orbiting bodies of the Solar System--have been glad to see that this Earth anniversary has been providing you with good opportunities to reflect upon who you are, where you have been, and where your faith may take you next.
From the vantage of our “Luther Millennium” these five centuries later, you will be glad to know that Christian faith, including Lutheran voices within the One, Holy, Cosmic and Apostolic Church, has endured. We mention this because you seem to live with a good amount of doubt and uncertainty about that. As our Lord said to his first disciples: “O you of little faith! Do not be afraid! I will be with you always.” And here we are… Lutherans in space.
As you ponder your recent milestone (and at the risk of disturbing space-time continua), we have decided to share a little of how our congregations and wider church continue to teach and practice the faith you passed on to us. To this end, we present the following short descriptions of Lutheranism as we live it out on the various planets of our dear Solar System. Although you do not currently have the means to visit or survive on these planets, we assure you: we are healthy and doing quite well, thanks be to God.
Please accept this report from us as a sign of our fellowship with you across time and space and as a memorial to our shared faith in the Eternal Way of Christ our Lord.
Respectfully submitted,
Committee for the Observance of the Luther Millennium (Earth Years)
of the Lutheran Interplanetary Federation
Deacon Iodine Jones XLIII.2, Chair
Mercurial Lutheranism (Mercury) – The Lutherans who settled on Mercury have adopted the frequent revolutions of their home planet. New troubles constantly overtake them and they are rarely satisfied with the status quo. They often reject or revise their existing structures in order to fix unverified problems by means of equally unproven solutions. Their involvement in the Lutheran Interplanetary Federation is marked by the frequency with which they bring new crises--occasionally real, but mostly imagined--to our collective attention. Since change is their only constant, we have learned to see that the Mercurial Lutherans themselves don’t actually worry about their own problems very much; chaos just feels normal to them and they enjoy sharing it. On the positive side, their keen love of and search for new things is sometimes a gift to the wider church.
Venial Lutheranism (Venus) – Though they live on the hottest planet in the solar system, the Venial Lutherans are the most lukewarm. Their sins are trivial, their cares are few, their successes modest, and their faith a quiet but constant part of the poisonous yellow scenery. They bring a calming presence to interplanetary discourse but rarely contribute fresh or inspiring ideas. Other Lutherans in the solar system (especially Martians and Uranians) sometimes wonder how the Venial Lutherans fit at all, asking, “What is Lutheranism without the angst, anxiety and anfechtung?” The Venial Lutherans are there to remind us that there is a place for content and easy-going believers in the tradition.
Geo-Lutheranism (Earth) – While other members of the Solar System are thankful to Earth-based Lutheran Christianity as the cradle of our faith and traditions, we often need to remind Earthlings not to be so “geo-centric.” Despite many efforts at correction, they often continue to say interplanetarily insensitive things like “sunrise” and “annual” and assume that their “worldview” and constructions of time and space are normative for the rest of us. They are often poor practitioners of their own science and theology, both of which clearly state that neither God, the sun, nor the universe revolves around them. We forgive them, but it gets old.
Martial Lutheranism (Mars) – The sharp theological conflicts of the 16th, 19th and 23rd centuries remain very much alive for Lutherans on Mars. For Martial Lutherans, scripture is less an invitation into the life and grace of God and more a call to battle. When the rest of us remind them of Paul’s words “Love is patient, love is kind,” etc., they reply that it is precisely because they love us so much that they must fight us. Their church motto is: “I came not to bring peace but a sword.” Scriptural and ecclesiastical authority are constantly debated among theologians on the red planet. More constructively, they keep the rest of us on our doctrinal toes, though this rarely leads to constructive mission, dialogue or fellowship.
Jovial Lutheranism (Jupiter) – Both our biggest planet and our largest church body, Lutherans on Jupiter foster a cooperative spirit of joy and magnanimity. Jovial Lutheranism is marked by dedication to strong institutions, rich community participation, and a healthy respect for tradition. Sermons are generally invitational, motivational and full of encouragement, so that people leave worship with a good sense of belonging to the large extended family of a benevolent God. Like their planet’s famous Great Red Spot, however, Jovial Lutherans also carry a mean streak, which comes out in unexpected ways. Many otherwise productive conversations and projects have been suddenly scuttled by the whimsical wrath of this otherwise gentle giant. Besides telling them “your Great Red Spot is showing” when we see it, the rest of us are still learning how to live with this thorn in the flesh of our most influential ecclesiastical body.
Saturnalian Lutheranism (Saturn) – These Lutherans have embraced their Christian freedom most fully… and often most problematically. For instance, they delight in finding ways to offend their pietistic neighbors on Uranus. They relish the accusations of antinomianism often leveled by the dogmatic theologians of Mars, who regularly attack them in print, visual, social or telepathic media. The Saturnalian love of bold freedom reflects their founding by a particularly brash group of Jovial Lutherans in Earth Year 2177. They take their church motto from Psalm 37: “Take delight in the Lord, who will give you the desires of your heart.” While they are lively and engaging participants in interplanetary dialogue, they sometimes spend their social time after such church meetings by gambling, drinking and dancing, just to get a rise out of the Uranians.
Heavenly Lutheranism (Uranus) – On this planet named after the glorious heavens, Lutherans have adopted a pious and serene way of life. They love to sing in harmony, share edifying discourse, and take long meditative trips through the gas clouds or to the nearby moon of Miranda. With earnestness in both piety and propriety, they have a hard time sharing the name Lutheran with the brazen Saturnalians and loud Martians (though they typically keep these critiques to themselves). Without saying so, the rest of us can tell that they really wonder whether we’re Christian at all. The line “judge not, lest ye be judged” from the Sermon on the Mount sends them into endless spirals of self-satisfaction and despair.
Tridentine Lutheranism (Neptune) – Lutherans on Neptune have fostered close relationships with their Anglican and Roman Catholic neighbors, to the extent that they sometimes make calls for the Lutheran Interplantary Fellowship to move into full communion agreements with the Cosmic Bishop of Rome and the Spacebishop of New Canterbury, Jupiter. Tridentine Lutheranism’s appreciation for the unity of the church across time and space has enriched worship practices around the solar system, though the other planets are intentionally selective (and sometimes even skeptical) about how these resources fit their local ministry contexts. Perhaps reflective of its cloudy blue atmosphere, Lutherans on Neptune embrace the mystagogical and numinous sides of theology and Christian faith.
Quasi-Planetary Lutheranism, aka the Wandering Lutherans (Pluto, Eris and the Kuiper Belt) – What planet are these Lutherans from? Are they even planets? No one knows, not even the inhabitants of these outermost wandering bodies. But this is most certainly true: If they call themselves Lutheran, then we gladly welcome them and give thanks to God for these our most irregularly orbiting and hard to define members: “for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”
In conclusion: To you Earthlings celebrating your 500th Earth-year Anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses, we wish many rich blessings. Your work has indeed born much fruit, most of which you will never know until you join us in eternity. At the risk of saying too much (and thereby catastrophically altering the historical contingencies upon which our existence is based), we hope you have a rich time remembering your gospel-centered faith and heritage this Reformation Day. And please remember, you Geocentric ones… even on Reformation Day, the universe does not revolve around you!
Peace,
Deacon Iodine Jones XLIII.2 and the Committee
Earth Date October 31, 2517
District 7-G, Jupiter
Dear Christian friends of the early 21st century,
In our travels across time, we have noticed how you recently observed a significant milestone for Geo-Lutheranism: the 500th anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses. We--your fellow Lutherans from the future, representing the planets and other orbiting bodies of the Solar System--have been glad to see that this Earth anniversary has been providing you with good opportunities to reflect upon who you are, where you have been, and where your faith may take you next.
From the vantage of our “Luther Millennium” these five centuries later, you will be glad to know that Christian faith, including Lutheran voices within the One, Holy, Cosmic and Apostolic Church, has endured. We mention this because you seem to live with a good amount of doubt and uncertainty about that. As our Lord said to his first disciples: “O you of little faith! Do not be afraid! I will be with you always.” And here we are… Lutherans in space.
As you ponder your recent milestone (and at the risk of disturbing space-time continua), we have decided to share a little of how our congregations and wider church continue to teach and practice the faith you passed on to us. To this end, we present the following short descriptions of Lutheranism as we live it out on the various planets of our dear Solar System. Although you do not currently have the means to visit or survive on these planets, we assure you: we are healthy and doing quite well, thanks be to God.
Please accept this report from us as a sign of our fellowship with you across time and space and as a memorial to our shared faith in the Eternal Way of Christ our Lord.
Respectfully submitted,
Committee for the Observance of the Luther Millennium (Earth Years)
of the Lutheran Interplanetary Federation
Deacon Iodine Jones XLIII.2, Chair
Mercurial Lutheranism (Mercury) – The Lutherans who settled on Mercury have adopted the frequent revolutions of their home planet. New troubles constantly overtake them and they are rarely satisfied with the status quo. They often reject or revise their existing structures in order to fix unverified problems by means of equally unproven solutions. Their involvement in the Lutheran Interplanetary Federation is marked by the frequency with which they bring new crises--occasionally real, but mostly imagined--to our collective attention. Since change is their only constant, we have learned to see that the Mercurial Lutherans themselves don’t actually worry about their own problems very much; chaos just feels normal to them and they enjoy sharing it. On the positive side, their keen love of and search for new things is sometimes a gift to the wider church.
Venial Lutheranism (Venus) – Though they live on the hottest planet in the solar system, the Venial Lutherans are the most lukewarm. Their sins are trivial, their cares are few, their successes modest, and their faith a quiet but constant part of the poisonous yellow scenery. They bring a calming presence to interplanetary discourse but rarely contribute fresh or inspiring ideas. Other Lutherans in the solar system (especially Martians and Uranians) sometimes wonder how the Venial Lutherans fit at all, asking, “What is Lutheranism without the angst, anxiety and anfechtung?” The Venial Lutherans are there to remind us that there is a place for content and easy-going believers in the tradition.
Geo-Lutheranism (Earth) – While other members of the Solar System are thankful to Earth-based Lutheran Christianity as the cradle of our faith and traditions, we often need to remind Earthlings not to be so “geo-centric.” Despite many efforts at correction, they often continue to say interplanetarily insensitive things like “sunrise” and “annual” and assume that their “worldview” and constructions of time and space are normative for the rest of us. They are often poor practitioners of their own science and theology, both of which clearly state that neither God, the sun, nor the universe revolves around them. We forgive them, but it gets old.
Martial Lutheranism (Mars) – The sharp theological conflicts of the 16th, 19th and 23rd centuries remain very much alive for Lutherans on Mars. For Martial Lutherans, scripture is less an invitation into the life and grace of God and more a call to battle. When the rest of us remind them of Paul’s words “Love is patient, love is kind,” etc., they reply that it is precisely because they love us so much that they must fight us. Their church motto is: “I came not to bring peace but a sword.” Scriptural and ecclesiastical authority are constantly debated among theologians on the red planet. More constructively, they keep the rest of us on our doctrinal toes, though this rarely leads to constructive mission, dialogue or fellowship.
Jovial Lutheranism (Jupiter) – Both our biggest planet and our largest church body, Lutherans on Jupiter foster a cooperative spirit of joy and magnanimity. Jovial Lutheranism is marked by dedication to strong institutions, rich community participation, and a healthy respect for tradition. Sermons are generally invitational, motivational and full of encouragement, so that people leave worship with a good sense of belonging to the large extended family of a benevolent God. Like their planet’s famous Great Red Spot, however, Jovial Lutherans also carry a mean streak, which comes out in unexpected ways. Many otherwise productive conversations and projects have been suddenly scuttled by the whimsical wrath of this otherwise gentle giant. Besides telling them “your Great Red Spot is showing” when we see it, the rest of us are still learning how to live with this thorn in the flesh of our most influential ecclesiastical body.
Saturnalian Lutheranism (Saturn) – These Lutherans have embraced their Christian freedom most fully… and often most problematically. For instance, they delight in finding ways to offend their pietistic neighbors on Uranus. They relish the accusations of antinomianism often leveled by the dogmatic theologians of Mars, who regularly attack them in print, visual, social or telepathic media. The Saturnalian love of bold freedom reflects their founding by a particularly brash group of Jovial Lutherans in Earth Year 2177. They take their church motto from Psalm 37: “Take delight in the Lord, who will give you the desires of your heart.” While they are lively and engaging participants in interplanetary dialogue, they sometimes spend their social time after such church meetings by gambling, drinking and dancing, just to get a rise out of the Uranians.
Heavenly Lutheranism (Uranus) – On this planet named after the glorious heavens, Lutherans have adopted a pious and serene way of life. They love to sing in harmony, share edifying discourse, and take long meditative trips through the gas clouds or to the nearby moon of Miranda. With earnestness in both piety and propriety, they have a hard time sharing the name Lutheran with the brazen Saturnalians and loud Martians (though they typically keep these critiques to themselves). Without saying so, the rest of us can tell that they really wonder whether we’re Christian at all. The line “judge not, lest ye be judged” from the Sermon on the Mount sends them into endless spirals of self-satisfaction and despair.
Tridentine Lutheranism (Neptune) – Lutherans on Neptune have fostered close relationships with their Anglican and Roman Catholic neighbors, to the extent that they sometimes make calls for the Lutheran Interplantary Fellowship to move into full communion agreements with the Cosmic Bishop of Rome and the Spacebishop of New Canterbury, Jupiter. Tridentine Lutheranism’s appreciation for the unity of the church across time and space has enriched worship practices around the solar system, though the other planets are intentionally selective (and sometimes even skeptical) about how these resources fit their local ministry contexts. Perhaps reflective of its cloudy blue atmosphere, Lutherans on Neptune embrace the mystagogical and numinous sides of theology and Christian faith.
Quasi-Planetary Lutheranism, aka the Wandering Lutherans (Pluto, Eris and the Kuiper Belt) – What planet are these Lutherans from? Are they even planets? No one knows, not even the inhabitants of these outermost wandering bodies. But this is most certainly true: If they call themselves Lutheran, then we gladly welcome them and give thanks to God for these our most irregularly orbiting and hard to define members: “for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”
In conclusion: To you Earthlings celebrating your 500th Earth-year Anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses, we wish many rich blessings. Your work has indeed born much fruit, most of which you will never know until you join us in eternity. At the risk of saying too much (and thereby catastrophically altering the historical contingencies upon which our existence is based), we hope you have a rich time remembering your gospel-centered faith and heritage this Reformation Day. And please remember, you Geocentric ones… even on Reformation Day, the universe does not revolve around you!
Peace,
Deacon Iodine Jones XLIII.2 and the Committee