"Peace, Peace . . . Cross, Cross": Reflections on How Martin Luther Relates the Theology of the Cross to Suffering

Focusing attention on Luther's frequently overlooked comments in Explanations of the Disputes Concerning the Power of Indulgences (1518), the defense of The Ninety-Five Theses, the essay argues that Luther's theology of the cross is not one theme among many, but the ground of theology. As Luther explains in Thesis 15, the cross is the theological ground on which to understand and answer human suffering as well as the experience of God-abandonment. In thesis 58, he derives this theology from God's alien and proper work. He goes on to contrast it to the "illusory theology" of Aristotelian scholastics. The theology of the cross does not bless suffering but proclaims the God who declares the nothingness of suffering and death to be life and grace. The Christian lives and prays under suffering and cross and yet hears and believes the promise of resurrection in Christ.