Author: William R. Russell

The Rev. Dr. William R. Russell, a specialist in the life and work of Martin Luther, works at the intersection of the academy and the church, where he interprets the Reformer’s chief insights for modern audiences. With a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and an M.Div. from Luther Seminary, Russell has served in a variety of academic and pastoral ministry settings and authored/translated 11 books and dozens of articles and reviews. A sought-after speaker, he has addressed audiences from Canada to Brazil, Malaysia to Nigeria, Norway to South Africa. His latest books are: What to do During an Epidemic by Martin Luther, (ALPB.org, 2021), The Ninety-Five Theses and Other Writings by Martin Luther, (New York: Penguin Random House, 2017), aka, “The Penguin Classics Luther”, and Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings, Revised Third Edition (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012).

Martin Luther’s Understanding of the Conscience, “Coram Deo” (…and the ELCA’s Sexuality Study)

“…Conscience is not the power to do works, but to judge them. The proper work of conscience (as Paul says in Romans 2[:15]), is to accuse or excuse, to make guilty or guiltless, uncertain or certain. Its purpose is not to do, but to pass judgment on what has been done and what should be […]