The Viral Reformer and the Virtual Body of Christ

Abstract

Recent scholarship on sixteenth-century reformer Martin Luther has been increasingly interested in making connections between Luther’s use of the social media and networked communities of his day and our current digital revolution. While Andrew Pettigree and others focus on the brand Luther and friends like Lucas Cranach created, it is important to acknowledge that, somewhat similar to our current context, access to technology like the printing press provided a platform for new voices to contribute to reform movements. This article traces ways in which “Brand Luther” became “Brand Reformation” through voices like those of female reformers like Argula von Grumbach and Katharina Zell, and builds on sixteenth-century models to construct a contemporary digital ethic of neighbor love in the virtual body of Christ.