Martin Luther: The Christian between God and Death

by Marius

Few figures in history have defined their time as dramatically as Martin Luther. And few books have captured the spirit of such a figure as truly as this robust and eloquent life of Luther. A highly regarded historian and biographer and a gifted novelist and playwright, Richard Marius gives us a dazzling portrait of the German reformer--his inner compulsions, his struggle with himself and his God, the gestation of his theology, his relations with contemporaries, and his responses to opponents. Focusing in particular on the productive years 1516-1525, Marius' detailed account of Luther's writings yields a rich picture of the development of Luther's thought on the great questions that came to define the Reformation.

Marius follows Luther from his birth in Saxony in 1483, during the reign of Frederick III, through his schooling in Erfurt, his flight to an Augustinian monastery and ordination to the outbreak of his revolt against Rome in 1517, the Wittenberg years, his progress to Worms, his exile in the Wartburg, and his triumphant return to Wittenberg. Throughout, Marius pauses to acquaint us with pertinent the question of authority in the church, the theology of penance, the timing of Luther's "Reformation breakthrough," the German peasantry in 1525, Müntzer's revolutionaries, the whys and hows of Luther's attack on Erasmus.

In this personal, occasionally irreverent, always humane reconstruction, Luther emerges as a skeptic who hated skepticism and whose titanic wrestling with the dilemma of the desire for faith and the omnipresence of doubt and fear became an augury for the development of the modern religious consciousness of the West. In all of this, he also represents tragedy, with the goodness of his works overmatched by their calamitous effects on religion and society.

Genres: Biography, History, Christianity, Germany, Theology, Historical, Nonfiction

576 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 1999

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 1 out of 5]

November 11, 2017: Setting aside for good. Have checked other reviews and this isn't the right biography for me. Not sure it is the right biography for anyone unless they really don't like Luther, or they are sure they don't want to like him.


October 31, 2017: Picked this up again, only a few chapters in. Still not sure if this is the biography of Luther I want to read. It just happens to be the bio I have. The author is secular and seems somewhat hostile to Christian faith in general. Marius does not hold Catholic beliefs and practices in any higher/lower regard than their Protestant counterparts. Reading my earlier comments (below) I cannot tell if I missed his skepticism and dismissive attitude about basic tenants of faith or just chose to overlook them, as I sometimes do early in a book, trying to give an author the benefit of the doubt.

I want to learn about Luther, but I know there is SO much written about and by him, I cannot afford to waste time sorting through prejudice/bias/opinion. Not sure if I will be able to finish this.

Going to try to read a bit more, and/or skim read. So far it is a 1.5; the author not even sounding like he cares one way or another about Martin Luther. If a biographer does not like who he is writing about, how can he be trusted?



Feb 9, 2011: My initial reaction was, 'Not an easy read. Marius paints a tortured picture of Luther.' The first few chapters nearly put me off the book. But I put it down, tried another bio on Luther and that was worse, so I came back to this one and picked it up further in where Luther was engaged in his famous debate with Eck.

In so doing I skipped some of the initial psychological profiling and got into the story of his life. It's still slow going at times. The author tends to give way more detail than I want, but occasionally throws in some very interesting historical info about letters from Erasmus and arguments with Sir Thomas More, etc. -- fascinating. His speculative philosophizing about Luther's mental states could be left out.

All in all, however, I think he does a fair job of presenting the historic time period with all its many faceted politico-religio-socio-economic dynamics. Unlike so many books written about Luther and the Reformation, Marius takes great pains not to take sides but to film the scene from all camera angles. Not a bad effort ... so far ...

[Ancient Weaver · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that could serve as a good crash course on Luther and his times for anybody largely unfamiliar with any of that. And for those who are already familiar with the man and his times, this book has all kinds of interesting tidbits and details littered throughout the text that might be of interest. However, be warned that the book's title is misleading. (Blame the publisher's marketing department?) Martin Luther: Christian Between God and Death is a meandering hodgepodge of information highlighting events of Luther's life in chronological order, not a thesis specifically shedding much (if any) new light on Luther and the subject of death. In fact, most of MLCBGAD is spent supplying the reader with generic summary digests of background info about the history, politics, religion, etc. of Luther's time, none that having anything to do with Luther and the subject of death.

If you already have a basic 101 understanding of Luther and the Reformation you can probably skip this one, or just scan it for some of the more obscure bits and pieces of Luther lore the author has dug up.

[Lauren Larkin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Being as nice as I can be, I must also be very frank: in my estimation, it is the worst biography on Luther. I was excited to read it because it promised a different look into Luther and his driving force. Sadly, what I got was someone who just hated Luther and preferred Erasmus, has never given Protestantism (generally and specifically the Lutheran expressions) much consideration and looks down on it, and, at times, I questioned whether the author understood Christian religion at all. The excellent story telling that makes a history book interesting was eclipsed by the overwhelming amount of assumption heavily woven through; so much so, that it was disruptive rather than informative or entertaining. There were many moments where the historical interactions between Luther and other figures were twisted and truncated to make the author's point, rather than being a compelling new telling of the events. While there is very good evidence that the text depended on Luther's Works, both LW and WA, and that the author is clearly a historian of the age, there are broad sweeping, poorly evidenced conclusions. For example, Luther downplayed the sacraments stripping them of their sacred power for the believer, stripped the scripture of its authority, was drunk when (and progressively getting more so) when he wrote his lambasting of the peasants, that Luther never evolved his opinion on "rebellion" in all its forms, and that Luther was intentionally forming his own movement (this last one is super sad considering all the work that has been done by current Luther scholars stitching Luther back together with his catholic tradition). Many of these broadly drawn conclusions are, unfortunately (maybe?) contradicted in other parts of the book. The summaries of the principal texts reviewed and engaged with for the book, were twisted to fit a particular conclusion of the Author, which always is, in the end, Luther was a failure and horrible. (I won't disagree whole-heartedly with the second of these, but a failure? really? because he was frustrated and angry at being thrust into forming a church when he just wanted the old church to reform, or that "evangelicalism" was new and people didn't quite understand it, or that he had to come to terms with the spontaneity of obedience to God's law was more difficult to meet out in the lives of the people?)

The driving thesis of the book--that Luther wasn't scared of God's judgment but death (the event)--was touted as unique, but yet, it wasn't. (Even the epilogue betrayed the thesis and linked Luther's fear of death with also that which came after.) Here I have to ask, was a fear of death (the event) all that different from a fear of God's judgment or what could potentially come after death? While Luther's self-story telling is clearly a product of memory fry and ego, I'm not sure dismissing what he says and then forming one's own conclusion and forcing it into Luther's mouth is really a good antidote.

This makes me want to bring up that at no point does the author take into account that Luther was excessively anxious as a product of his upbringing and his environment--manifesting as health anxiety and paranoia, anger and fear, which only got worse as time went on. Rather than offering a modicum of compassion, the author--even after affirming Erikson's Freudian psychoanalysis of Luther--uses that to paint Luther in wretched colors. Do our anxiety disorders dismiss the consequences of our actions? No. But do I know this in 2025? yes I do because a lot of work has been done to give me this knowledge. If Luther were alive today, I wonder what personal work he would have done while he was pursuing such a reform...I'm sure things would've looked different. However, that's not what we have and thus my expectations of the man Luther must remain as they are as things were in the 16th century and refrain from imposing my expectations and assumptions of collegial and academic decorum on Luther. Could he have been less of a hot head? Yeah, that would've been great. But what we have is raw Luther, un medicated, un therapized, un personal work. While holding him accountable, there's a better middle line to walk than using it to assail and defame the man... (and, again, he's good at doing this himself...must one color harder over that clear image?).

The author insults people who both study and like Luther's works while simultaneously not giving many of Luther's works a thorough or amicable reading. The author assumes that his reader is just like him and ascribes to his views. By doing this, he loses those of us who aren't; evidencing that his works is for those of a small community of the like-minded rather than a robust contribution to Luther studies. I wish the author had simply written a biography on Erasmus, who is clearly the star of the show. Vilifying Luther more than Luther vilified himself in order to make Erasmus shine leads me to believe that Erasmus maybe didn't shine that much. Why boast of Erasmus by dragging Luther so hard (and, again, Luther drags himself well enough...)


While I made it to the very end, it was a lot of work. I really wanted this text to be fun to read, but it wasn't. It was infuriating and insulting as both a protestant and Luther scholar (as new at this as I might be). For those who hate Luther and want to be affirmed in that disdain, this book is for you. For those who are looking for another or a new take on Luther that also provides beneficial insight leading to a better relationship to the man, take a pass on this.

[Peter Corrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not having read much about Martin Luther I came into this with few expectations. It was a Goodwill find and I dove right in. As a full chronicle of Luther's life, look elsewhere, as this book focuses on his life and the watershed events up to and shortly after what came to be called the Reformation. But as the author avers, these are the crucial years to understanding the man and the momentous changes he initiated and forces he unleashed. For a more comprehensive biography he mentions Roland Bainton's 1950 tome 'Here I Stand' and several others. When assessing someone as controversial and divisive (at least at one time) as Luther, it is necessary to at least acknowledge the apparent biases of the author. Several reviews complained that he didn't seem to 'like' Luther but given the normal tendency of biographers to adulate their subject that would not bother me. Richard Marius came from an Christian evangelical upbringing but ended up a Professor in Arts and Sciences at Harvard, hardly a bastion of any Christian faith now and even during his tenure there (1978-1998). Apparently he was considered an 'expert' on the Reformation however and has also written a biography of the English Catholic Thomas More, an early opponent of Luther. He also frequently discusses the tension between the great Medieval scholar Erasmus who was an early sympathizer but later opponent of Luther. Anyway, to me it came off as a remarkably well-balanced and very informative account and while Marius may go off on 'tangents' at times, they are invariably interesting and insightful. There is plenty of criticism of the state of Roman Catholicism at this period of history. It isn't so much criticism but a summary of the facts which are well-known but still amazing to read about. Not just the corruption within the Papacy and clergy but the associated traffic in indulgences which became nothing short of crazy for a period. Marius even suggests that the idea of indulgences that might cover millions of years became a sort of watershed in modern thinking on the nature of time. The notion of millions of years was simply not part of the Medieval thought process, when the age of the earth was believed to be only several thousands of years at best. Despite this, he is able to present the 1,500 year history of the Catholic Church and it's connection to the first Christians as a respectable and often worthy counterweight to the ideas emerging from Luther and others who came along such as Zwingli and Calvin. To my mind, he fairly presents both the ideas of Luther, his early allies and those of his opponents which is not a small achievement in an arena that I imagine is full of tendentious accounts. Despite being full of weighty issues and often arcane and complex theological ideas, the book moves along at a fairly rapid pace in terms of events. From his early life (b. 1483) to the 95 Theses at Wittenberg (1519, and which were probably not actually nailed to the church door), the Leipzig debate (1519), the epic Diet of Worms (1521), to the Peasants Rebellion (1525) and all the intense debate and drama inherent in these and other events. Nor does he ignore the geopolitical implications that led to 100-years+ of religious struggle and warfare that dominated Europe and especially Germany. It is impossible to summarize adequately the breadth and depth of this book but overall a highly recommended read!

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will be taking a class on the Reformation and this book was recommend to provide an overview. It was an interesting read giving details to Martin Luther's life and history leading up to the reformation and many for the key players and controversies.

[Guera25 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started off well, but like most academics, he bludgeoned his central theme into paste and leached it of what vitality it once possessed, and by the end, I despised Luther and wanted Marinus to just stop typing.

[Christopher H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!!

[Rogier · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a tormented history! A cross between inspiration and limitation. Inspiration that led to the Luther Bible, the first German translation of the Bible, inspiration that recognized how far the Catholic church had wandered from the truth, and even so he remained completely a denizen of the times, and beholden to authority of the Pope in spite of his disagreements. It somehow never seems to have occurred to him that Jesus never had a pope, but he just lived in direct relationship with the truth within.

Luther's life remains completely within the framework of his profound conflict with the Pope and the Church, which gradually takes the form of a Lutheran faith, and the subsequent proliferations of splits within the Church.

The book is lovely, because it really gives us a feel for the person of Luther, beyond the caricature of school history lessons. It also debunks the famous association of Luther's constipation and the justification by faith, which seems to be more telling of Erik Erikson, than of Martin Luther perhaps. So the justification by faith was perhaps not tied to Luther's physical relief in actuality as it was in Erikson's analysis. Though it well could have been.

It just remains a pity on some level that amidst so much inspiration there was not the freedom to go beyond the model of churchianity. But understanding just how much religion was mixed up with worldly politics is a sobering realization for a modern reader.

[Nick Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weak. Obsessed with the idea the unbelief was possible in early 16C. Real problem with Lefebvre's work on that. Not convincing. Even more obsessed with the idea that Luther was terrified not of judgement or hell but only death (hence the unbelief focus). Very slow and not much of an idea of Luther's personality. Inexcusably just leaves off the story in 1526/7, because Luther isn't interesting or appealing after that (like he was appealing before!) Not badly written but not really a biography so much as a biographical exploration of his major works from Lectures on Psalms in 1511 to battle with Erasmus 15 years earlier.

[Marc · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book, mostly because I was looking for a biography focused on Luther, the man and his times, and this was more a philosophical discussion of Luther's theology as it related to Catholic dogma. While some discussion of theology is as vital to understanding Luther as theoretical physics is to understanding Einstein, the weight of Marius' interest is clearly more on the philosophy than the man himself. It lacked a smooth narrative flow and read very much like a academic thesis, which is fine if that's what your after.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting history but way overdone on trying to discuss his main theses (as in, Marius's, not Luther's).

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, detailed account of Luther's career. Marius gives historical background and context of his Luther's life, his ideas, and what prompted his many published works. More to follow...

[Keith Bowerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable mostly for the small but tangible undercurrent of disdain for the books own subject.

[Doctor VanNostrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heavy reading. Of greater interest to the specialist, perhaps, than the beginner.