Disease, Scarcity, and Famine: A Reformation Perspective on God and Plagues

Disease, Scarcity, and Famine: A Reformation Perspective on God and Plagues by Ludwig Lavater and published by Reformation Heritage Books.

Outbreaks of disease and famine are nothing new, nor is the responsibility of Christian leaders to respond to such societal devastation. Disease, Scarcity, and Famine assembles sermons from Ludwig Lavater, a leading pastor in Zurich during the sixteenth century, that deal with this subject matter. Lavater explains where plagues ultimately come from, gives reasons God chastises the good as well as the bad with them, and instructs readers on how they should conduct themselves during such outbreaks.

He also recounts the divine promises in which God offers help to His elect during trying times. Lavater provides a response to disease both grounded in Scripture and satisfying to the soul.

Ludwig Lavater (1527–1586) was a Swiss Reformed theologian working in the circle of his father-in-law, Heinrich Bullinger. He served as Archdeacon at the Grossmünster in Zurich and briefly Antistes of the Zurich church as the successor of Rudolf Gwalther. Lavater was a prolific author, composing homilies, commentaries, a survey of the liturgical practices of the Zurich church, and a biography of Bullinger. His work on ghosts (De Spectris ...) was one of the most frequently printed demonological works of the early modern period.