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In the Heidelberg disputation of 1518, Luther defends the following thesis: “That person does not deserve to be called a theologian who looks upon the invisible things of God as though they were clearly perceptible in those things which have actually happened.”12 In other words, we cannot draw a straight line between the way things appear now and God’s kingdom and ultimate plan. Right now the rich prosper and the poor are downtrodden, for example, but we err if we think that this is a good indicator of God’s ultimate intention. In the next thesis Luther says, “He deserves to be called a theologian, however, who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the cross.
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Christopher Watkin (Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible's Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture)