“Knowing God through Dreams: Thomas Muentzer on Dream
Revelations.” - Michael G. Baylor, Lehigh University
Dreams
were a usual component of literature in the reformation, but for Thomas
Müntzer, dreams were not a way to progress a narrative. Baylor’s thesis was
that, for Müntzer, dreams were an important path to knowledge of God. This can
be seen in his sermon to the princes and his commentary on Ezekiel (he may have
said, “Daniel”). Dreams were not only a part of the everyday phenomena of life
but were part of spiritual activity. Some indeed were normal, but others were
of God while yet others were of Satan.
For Müntzer, for one to have
revelatory dreams, one must be in the right state of heart. For one to know
that a dream is revelatory, it must meet certain criteria. The criteria
included that the Christian must be separated in mind and heart from all
temporality in accordance with the doctrine of gelassenheit. Further,
the dream must be full of allegorical imagery. That imagery would in turn be
interpreted by Scripture, which would act as a key to unlocking the meaning of
the allegorical imagery. Another criterion was that the dream must be vividly
remembered as opposed to the phantasmal transience most dreams have in the
memory.
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