Luther's Works vol. 34, Career of the Reformer IV

Luther's Works #34

by Martin Luther, Helmut T. Lehmann (Editor), Lewis William Spitz (Editor)

Included in this volume therefore are four of the debates or disputations held in Wittenberg University between 1535 and 1542. Thirteen of the fourteen treatises appear in their entirety in an English translation for the first time with publication of this volume.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Reference

387 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1536

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.

Reviews

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a marvellous volume, and I think best of these 4 volumes on the "Career of the Reformer". Here we have an intriguing collection of works from throughout Luther's life thus giving us a welcomed overview. We are introduced to other collections of Theses (besides the famous 95 Theses), as well as to the academic process of disputation. We get to see insight into Luther via his prefaces to other works - including to his own works in German and in Latin - where we see his humility and his humour. And I think his humour is no better seen, then in his publishing of a letter concerning his own death that had been circling in Italy. I applaud the editors for including this.

If you think that is a diverse bundle - this volume also includes Luther's Will and his examination of the Christian Creeds!

Highly recommended.