Lei e evangelho: a relação que conduz o pensamento de Filipe Melanchthon

Abstract

This dissertation aims to analyze the relationship between the law and the gospel in Philip Melanchthon’s (1947-1560) thought, through his Loci Theologici of 1521. Melanchthon was a humanist and also a reformer, which was at the side of Luther (1483-1546) during all of the Protestant Reformation (16th century). His Loci Theologici represented the first systematic description of the Reform’s theology; they were also very important in the author’s thought. In Melanchthon, law and gospel exist in an intimate relationship. In that sense, we seek to understand, through the text of the Loci of 1521, the existing relationship between these concepts. The hypothesis defended here is that law and gospel, in Melanchthon’s thought, exist in an interdependent relationship. They also constitute an important hermeneutic key. The methodology is of a bibliographical nature, based on the analysis of the author’s primary text, the Loci Theologici of 1521. We rely on both the translation to Portuguese, written by Eduardo Gross (2018), and the original text contained in Volume 21 of the Corpus Reformatorum. We also resort to other important texts from the author and from commentators, which help to clarify the relationship between the concepts of law and gospel. Through this research, we hope to rescue Melanchthon’s figure, that was left in the shadows in comparison with Luther (especially in Brazil’s academic environment). We also intend to conduct a sober and critical analysis of the religious concepts which contributed to the establishment of the author’s thought, whether in the religious domain or in the philosophical domain.