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The Reformation of the Keys: Confession, Conscience, and Authority in Sixteenth-Century Germany

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The author was formerly of Yale University and now is Erich Markel Chair in German Reformation Studies at Valparaiso University in Indiana. His text addresses the little-known practice of private confession among Lutherans in the 16-th century. Discussion largely focuses on the city of Nuernberg as leading southern German city to embrace Luther's reforms, but surpasses civil and regional limitations by dealing with larger confessional questions associated with the power of the keys. A political theme fits hand in glove with the theological motif, and I pose in a question: How does one manage freedom of conscience--and much more, Luther's theology of conscience, with personal and collective obligations to the state?

This book introduces scholars and general readers to the private side of Lutheran piety in its early years. It requires more than passing acquaintance with theological terms. Yet, viewed as a composite of theology and history, the text carries one with the other and makes it available to readers from both camps. Therefore, I recommend the book to a wide audience.