Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

RELIGION LIBRARY

Lutheran

Toggle navigation

Sacred Narratives

Martin Luther's emphasis on the claim that forgiveness of sin is entirely a gracious (free) gift from God, and that humans can do nothing to earn or even prompt this gift, sets Lutherans' narrative of salvation off from that of many other Christians. read more

Ultimate Reality and Divine Beings

Lutherans believe in God, Jesus Christ, and angels. Some Lutherans continue to believe in angels, while for others they seem implausible or simply irrelevant. read more

Human Nature and the Purpose of Existence

Human nature was created good, but is sinful, that is, fundamentally self-centered, as a result of the fall. The purpose of existence is to enter heaven, which is possible only through God's free forgiveness for sin. read more

Suffering and the Problem of Evil

The origin of suffering and evil for Luther was to be attributed solely to human sin, a result of the work of the devil. read more

Afterlife and Salvation

Martin Luther believed in a traditional idea of an immortal soul that spent eternity either in a literal place of blessedness called heaven or a literal place of torment called hell. Your destination depends on whether or not you are saved, that is, by God's grace forgiven for sin. read more

History Rituals and Worship Back to religion Library

editors picks View All Columns

Evangelical

Before You Unplug or Sign Out for Good

Guest Contributor

Evangelical

What Is the Purpose of Spiritual Gifts, and How Do You Discover Yours?

New Visions

5 Ways to Hear What God is Telling You

Muslim

How Awake Are We? When Waking Up is Falling Asleep

Daniel Thomas Dyer

Latter-day Saint

"The Church supports the use of vaccinations"

Evangelical

Luther and the Beauty of Christ

Guest Contributor

The Soul of Gospel Music Explored in New Netflix Series "Voices of Fire"

Seven Ways to Think About Christian Mysticism

Evangelical

Cancelling Alice Walker?

Evangelical

Does God Have His Own Logic?

Muslim

Imam Ali’s letter to the Governor- Everlasting Example of Good...

Progressive Christian

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

Patheos Logo Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos