The Lutheran Art of Dying: Caring for the Scared with the Certainty of Christ

Abstract

The fear of death is common for all people. Every person will face death at the end of their life. As their church members confront their fears of dying, WELS pastors may find a helpful tool for consolation in the Lutheran art of dying. It redirects the dying believer’s focus to the certainty they have in Christ. This paper will examine what outcome there might be in making use of the Lutheran art of dying.This will be accomplished by examining Martin Luther’s connection with the late medieval ars moriendi, how he began developing the Lutheran art of dying in the sixteenth century, and finally how his reformed version of consolation has continued even to this day.