SOURCE: "The Way Luther Speaks of God," in Luther: An Introduction to His Thought, translated by R. A. Wilson, Fortress Press, 1970, pp. 242–67.

In the excerpt below from a work originally published in 1970, Ebeling discusses the problem of historical periodization, suggesting a way to transcend the attempts of Ernst Troeltsch and Hegel to assign Luther to either the medieval or modern age.

i. Towards the History of the Problem

1. Interpretation in the Manner of Salvation History

In his lectures on the philosophy of history Hegel calls the Reformation "the all-illuminating sun, which follows that day-break at the end of the Middle Ages."¹ This metaphor of the dawning day to which the night gives way has a long history as an expression for a decided break in history.² Here the picture is recalled only as an allusion and only in so far as it affects an understanding of the Reformation...