On Martin Luther'S Theological Illumination By Meister Eckhart

There is academic consensus on the influence mysticism on young Martin Luther: Luther himself affirmed that he was deeply inspired by Johannes Tauler and Theologia deutsch. As the master of Tauler and the factual author of this work, Meister Eckhart certainly is a source of Luther's thought. Without being limited by the usual definition of "mystical theology", which still needs to be clarified and was applied to Eckhart's theology, this article explores the theological inspiration of Eckhart on Luther in three ways: the meontological horizon; "the hidden God" and the "principle of directness" concerning intellect or belief; the principle of passivity from Gelassenheit, which led to the view of the justification by faith alone (Sola fide). Through related analyses, we can see how Eckhartian theology as a noetic resource and alternate vision participates in the formation of Lutheran theology in the late medieval context.