Learning from Luther how to remain faithful during pandemics

Learning from Luther how to remain faithful during pandemics

From Matters of Life and Death by Premier Unbelievable?

May 13, 2026 · 1h 7m

About this episode

The episode discusses how Christians can learn from Martin Luther's responses to pandemics in light of the covid-19 experience.

Although we mostly try not to think about those dark days any more, the covid pandemic threw up a dizzying array of complex ethical and moral dilemmas for Christians. Should we carry on meeting in person for Sunday worship despite the risk of infection (and government rules which forbade it)? How do you love your neighbour well when either you or they might unknowingly carry a deadly virus? Should we get the vaccine? Should we wear masks? Theologian Brian Brock has been looking back at another pandemic half a millennium ago, when a plague ripped through Germany just as the Reformation was getting underway in the early 16th century. Martin Luther wrote a series of essays exploring how Christians should respond to the challenges of pandemics at the time, and in this episode we talk with Brian about what the reformer concluded and to what extent the modern church could learn from him and the covid experience to better handle the inevitable next pandemic. • You can send in your questions for us to discuss on the podcast, or ideas for future episodes, to molad@premier.org.uk • Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173 • If you want to go deeper…

People in this episode

Guest: Brian Brock

Topics covered

  • pandemics
  • Christian ethics
  • Martin Luther
  • covid-19
  • faith
  • moral dilemmas

Keywords

  • Luther
  • pandemic response
  • Christianity
  • ethics
  • covid-19
  • vaccine
  • masks
  • worship
  • love your neighbor

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Matters of Life and Death, Premier Unbelievable?, John Wyatt, Tim Wyatt

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