On May 27, 1525, just five centuries ago, the theologian Thomas Müntzer was executed a few days after the defeat of the German peasants at the Battle of Frankenhausen in Thuringia. He was one of the leaders. The beheading of this brilliant former pupil of Luther's put an end to the violence which, between 1524 and 1525, claimed the lives of some 100,000 peasants aspiring to break the yoke imposed by the ruling classes in the name of the Bible. After recognizing the validity of the peasants' demands, Martin Luther sided with the princes, encouraging them to crush the “devil-possessed” rebels.
Why did the theologian from Wittenberg, so quick to oppose the power of the Church, support the authorities? Why does this advocate of Sola Scriptura fight a movement that claims to legitimize its actions on the basis of the Bible? Does this bloody 16th-century episode illustrate what separates a reformation from a revolution? Pierre Bühler, an international expert on Luther's thought and theological legacy, invites us to take a closer look at one of the most tragic events in the history of Protestantism.