Luther and the 96th Thesis

Never stop thinking laterally

In the context of the ‘We get up earlier’ campaign, the 96th thesis – ‘never stop thinking laterally’ has been posted on the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg and thus honoured the work of Luther as a Saxony-Anhalt success story (see picture).

Never stop thinking laterally, because lateral thinkers are clear and analytical-thinking people, who can recognize the connections and on occasion, evaluate them. The question: “Why are there borders/limits?” calls on every lateral thinker to ask “Why are borders crossed?” and “When have these borders/limits been exceeded?”

The Reformation 500 years ago was marked by the relationship between God and man and the question of how man should understand himself. Martin Luther did not intend to change the world when he formulated his theses against indulgences in 1517, but he intentionally raised a problem that was not limited to the academic world.⁰¹

It is said that Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg on 31 October, 1517. The 96th, strangely enough, remains unknown, but as a conclusion to the 95 theses it could read ‘Never stop thinking laterally.’

Gutenberg’s modern printing press, invented in the middle of the fifteenth century, and the network of monarchs and theologians, made it possible to disseminate his proclamation rapidly and extensively, and to make his theses widely known. It is now possible to question why this dissemination appealed so much to poorer sections of society. Was it the rejection of the privileges of the rich and the nobility, or simply the consent to a new way of thinking? Luther published his theses and was able to convince many people of his ideas as he was able to translate the Bible into a comprehensible new form of the German language, which he was convinced that his point of view was the right one.

There were many lateral thinkers, but with differing convictions. The consequences of Luther’s theses were peasant wars and religious wars, culminating in struggles for power and domination during the Thirty Years’ War, and only came to a provisional end with the Peace of Westphalia almost 130 years later.

Today, content and messages are distributed in different forms, whether through digital media (online platforms, blogs), social media, streaming media, radio and television, or through print media. However, it is clear that media reporting is often very one-sided and biased. Good and evil are often determined quickly and questioned little. This leads to the manipulation of society and the deliberate steering towards the mindset of the media the general public. Moreover, social media reinforces the opinions in terms of these manipulated ways of thinking. In this filter bubble, certain opinions are reaffirmed and no other points of view are accepted.

Thus, from the Western media, led by the USA, we get a very one-sided representation of who, when, where, and why in war zones certain borders are crossed. For lateral thinkers, this raises the critical question of which borders have been crossed – national borders, religious⁰² and moral borders?

The primary question posed by GLASPALÄSTE is: “Why are there borders/limits?” They exist to keep ethnic, religious and cultural groups together or to exclude others, with different borders identified. Geographic borders, such as national borders, partial republics, and autonomous territories, have all been, and are, crossed for different strategic policy reasons and interests. One of the follow-up questions would be: “Why are borders crossed?” When the geographical border is crossed, social and moral borders/limits are also crossed. The manipulation of society smooths the moral borders/limits, in order to overcome geographical borders. A second follow-up question which presents itself is: “When have these borders/limits been exceeded? Geographic borders are valid as long as they are recognized politically, and if this is no longer the case and the supposed border is crossed, it is seen as a breach (by those who recognised the border), while others see may not see it as such.⁰³ No agreed-upon specification of when society has crossed moral borders/limits exists, and it is difficult to establish such borders since the moral and ethical borders often need to be defined differently in different religious and cultural groups. The reasons for intervening in pursuit of their own interests are often obscured by false pretences, often followed rash calls for war. The result is innumerable casualties and survivors and an economy and infrastructure left in ruins. The guiding principle for lateral thinkers, that is, the primary thought that this article wishes to offer, is to question whether everything actually is as it appears.

1. Rat der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland (EKD) [‘Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany’]. Published by the Church Administrative Office of the EKD 2015: Rechtfertigung und Freiheit. 500 Jahre Reformation 2017 [‘Justification and Freedom. 500 years of Reformation 2017’]. 4th edition. Gütersloh, Munich. Gütersloher Verlag. P. 106.
2. Religion was also an important factor in the war between Iran and Iraq, because Iran is predominantly Shiite, while many Sunnis live in Iraq, with different religious views.
3. Reasons for this can be declarations of independence from constituent republics or autonomous regions (such as Kosovo), which are not recognized by the country of origin, or annexed areas, etc.