Luther's Tears: Hagar and the Limits of Empathy
In his Enarrationes in Genesin, Martin Luther finds stories of suffering he can ‘hardly read with dry eyes’. Recent scholars attribute profound ethical value to Luther's tears, especially those shed over the suffering of female characters. This article reconsiders the ethical salience of Luther...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2022
|
| In: |
Studies in Christian ethics
Year: 2022, Volume: 35, Issue: 3, Pages: 471-485 |
| IxTheo Classification: | FD Contextual theology HB Old Testament KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance KDD Protestant Church |
| Further subjects: | B
Genesis
B Empathy B Hagar B Charity B Luther |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In his Enarrationes in Genesin, Martin Luther finds stories of suffering he can ‘hardly read with dry eyes’. Recent scholars attribute profound ethical value to Luther's tears, especially those shed over the suffering of female characters. This article reconsiders the ethical salience of Luther's tears as a demonstration of interpretive empathy by examining his reading of Hagar and its modern reception history. By comparing Luther's reading of the enslaved Hagar to his reading of her master Abraham, it is argued that gender, power and inequality shape the very conditions in which terms like ‘empathy’, ‘charity’ and ‘suspicion’ appear and this, in turn, invites a reconsideration of the ethical responsibilities we incur as we read texts of terror in light of their role in enduring histories of violence. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0953-9468 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studies in Christian ethics
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/09539468211050225 |