The Researchers Library of Ancient Texts - Volume IV: The Reformers: Select Sermons from Martin Luther, Desiderius Erasmus, John Calvin, William Tyndale, and John Wesley

by Martin Luther, Erasmus, John Calvin

The Bible, as we hold it today, is esteemed by many religious institutions and especially Conservative Christians to be the inspired, inerrant Word of God. This doctrinal position affirms that the Bible is unlike all other books or collections of works in that it is free of error due to having been "given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).While no other text can claim this same unique authority, these select works by key Protestant Reformers reflect the theology and actions of those churchmen and statesmen who placed their careers, works, and actions in jeopardy in order to crystallize the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. These select sermons and works are frequently used or assigned as supplemental works within academic settings to help students and scholars discover or better understand how Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Calvinism, and Arminianism gave birth to modern Western Christian denominations commonly known today as evangelical and Protestant churches. The Researchers Library of Ancient Texts - Volume 4 is intended to be a supplemental resource for assisting serious researchers and students in the study of the Bible and the Church age.Contained in this volume: The select works of Martin Luther, Desiderius Erasmus, John Calvin, William Tyndale, and John Wesley

1016 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2014

About the author

Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German monk, theologian, university professor and church reformer whose ideas inspired the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.

Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the only infallible source of religious authority and that all baptized Christians under Jesus are a spiritual priesthood. According to Luther, salvation was a free gift of God, received only by true repentance and faith in Jesus as the Messiah, a faith given by God and unmediated by the church.

Luther's confrontation with Charles V at the Diet of Worms over freedom of conscience in 1521 and his refusal to submit to the authority of the Emperor resulted in his being declared an outlaw of the state as he had been excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. Because of the perceived unity of the medieval Church with the secular rulers of western Europe, the widespread acceptance of Luther's doctrines and popular vindication of his thinking on individual liberties were both phenomenal and unprecedented.

His translation of the Bible into the vernacular, making it more accessible to ordinary people, had a tremendous political impact on the church and on German culture. It furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism.

Much scholarly debate has concentrated on Luther's writings about the Jews. His statements that Jews' homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated and liberty curtailed were revived and used in propaganda by the Nazis in 1933–45. As a result of this and his revolutionary theological views, his legacy remains controversial.