Martin Luther

Penguin Lives

by Martin E. Marty

Martin Luther explores the records left by Luther of his inner struggles and his conflicts with the papacy, the Holy Roman Empire, leaders of the emergent Protestant movements, and, in the greatest stains on his reputation, peasants in their uprising and Jews. This is also a portrait of a man of conscience and courage who risked death to witness to his beliefs and whose arguments drew fellow believers who together created changes that altered the destiny of Christendom, the shape of Christianity, and the rise of new freedoms in church and state.

Genres: Biography, History, Religion, Nonfiction, Christianity, Church History, Christian

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 26, 2008

About the author

Martin E. Marty was an American religious scholar and historian known for his extensive work on religion in the United States. A Lutheran pastor before transitioning into academia, he became a leading voice in religious studies, particularly in the areas of American Protestantism, fundamentalism, and public religion. He was a longtime professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he mentored numerous doctoral students and held the prestigious Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professorship.
Marty wrote or edited a book for nearly every year of his academic career, producing influential works such as Righteous Empire: The Protestant Experience in America, which won the National Book Award, and the five-volume Fundamentalism Project, co-edited with R. Scott Appleby. He was a prolific columnist for The Christian Century and wrote extensively on religion's role in American public life.
A recipient of numerous honors, including the National Humanities Medal and over 80 honorary doctorates, Marty also served as president of several academic societies and participated in U.S. presidential commissions. The Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion at the University of Chicago was named in his honor.

Reviews

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few things I learned from this book:

1. Luther suffered from severe constipation and hemorrhoids.
2. Luther got a friend to draw obscene pictures of the Pope, and Rome responded by commissioning obscene pictures of Luther.
3. Upon his death, there was an attempt to revive Luther by means of an enema.
4. The Turks basically saved Protestantism.
5. Luther said some hilarious stuff after he passed a kidney stone. I don’t have my book in front of me, but it had something to do with measuring his urine and praising God.

And some people have the nerve to call this book boring...

[Mike Knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since then your serene majesty and your lordships seek a simple answer, I will give it in this manner, neither horned nor toothed. Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the Pope or in the councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience.” And possibly, “I cannot do otherwise, here I stand…May God help me. Amen.” (68)

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

In his introduction, Martin Marty says that there are only a handful of English language biographies of Martin Luther. This is quite shocking considering that Luther is one of the most influential thinkers of the past millennium. It's safe to say that the definitive biography of Luther has yet to be written, and sadly Dr. Marty's book is not it.

History and biography are more than dry recitation of dates and events, but there must be some element of that in any successful biography. Without a doubt, the important date in Luther's life was October 31, 1517 - the date his 95 Theses were posted/published. This date shows up nowhere in Dr. Marty's book. In fact, it was very hard to follow the chronology of Luther's life as Dr. Marty kept jumping back and forth between various times of Luther's life. One paragraph could be talking about events that occurred in 1527 and the next would be talking about 1521.

Most of the large events (the Diet of Worms, the Augsburg Confession) and people (Melanchthon and Zwingli) are mentioned, but they are introduced without context. Of course, there are many references to his belief of justification through faith (the core of his fight with Rome), but his important writings on things like vocation are given scant attention (vocation got four paragraphs) compared to his views on human sexuality and his detestable late-in-life screeds against Jews; neither of which were at the heart his teachings.

With my caveats above, Dr. Marty's book does give a fairly decent overview of Luther's life. Call it Luther 101 if you must. But anyone already familiar with the Reformation and/or Lutheran theology won't gain any extra insight.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short biography of a complicated man. There is so much about Luther I love and so much that is utterly repugnant (i.e. patriarchy, politics, antisemitism, etc). Marty does a good job of giving the reformer his due without resorting to hagiography. Well worth the read.

[Gashbin Idres · Rating 5 out of 5]

(مارتن لوتەر، ڕابەری بزووتنەوەی ڕیفۆرمی ئایینی لە ئەوڕوپا) کتێبی د.هاشم ساڵح.

جانتاکەم تۆزێ قورس ببوو، نازانم بەهۆی زۆری ژمارەی کتێبەکان بوو یاخود سەنگی زانیارییەکانی ناویان! شەش دانە کتێبی تێدابوون، بە یەکجار کڕیبوومن، کە چووم بۆ ئەوەی بیانخەمە لای کتێبەکانی ترمەوە، یەکێکیان خێرا سەرنجم کەوتە سەری (مارتن لوتەر، ڕابەری بزوتنەوەی ڕیفۆرمی ئایینی لە ئەوڕوپا)، لە خۆم پرسی، دەبێ بۆچی ئەم کتێبەم کڕیبێ؟ ئایین لە ئەوڕوپا؟ مارتن لوتەر؟ هەموو ئەمانە چ پەیوەندییەکیان بە من هەیە؟ هەڕەمەکییانە لاپەڕەیەکم کردەوە، ڕاستەوخۆ کەوتمە ژێر کاریگەری پیت بە پیتی وشەکانەوە، جادوویانە نووسرابوو، بۆیە بڕیارمدا، کتێبی داهاتووم، دەبێ ژیاننامەی ئەم پیاوە بێ.

ئیدی لاپەڕەی کۆتاییم لە کۆتا کتێب هەڵدایەوە، دەبوو بڕۆم و لە دەرگای جیهانی لوتەر بدەم، ڕاشکاوانە بیڵێم، کە دیسا کتێبەکەم گرتەوە دەست، هەمان پرسیاری پێشووم بۆ دروست بوو، ئاخر ئەم کتێبە هەر چەندە جوانیش نووسرابێ، دەبێ ئەزموونی ئەم پیاوە، چ ڕۆڵێکی هەبێ لە ژیانی من؟! بۆ دەسکەوتنی وەڵام، دەستمکرد بە خوێندنەوەی.

لاپەڕە دوای لاپەڕە، ڕووداو دوای ڕووداو، بە ئەسپایی بە دوای کەوتم، ڕاستیەکەی ئەویش بەدوام دەکەوت، من ئەوم خوێندەوە و ئەویش منی خوێندەوە، خێرا گوتم سڵاو لەو چرکەیەی کە تێیدا بڕیارم بدا ئەم کتێبە بکڕم، جا نەمزانی پڕ توانایی د.هاشمی نووسەرە، وا سەرتاسەری کتێبەکە سەرنجڕاکێش بوو، یاخود مارتن خۆی پیاوێکی هێندە مەزنە، هەر چۆنی بەلاوە بنووسی، هەر جوان دەردەچێ، بۆچوونی خۆشم زیاتر بە لای ڕای دووەمە بێگومان.

[Jeremy Canipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martin Marty is a retired professor of the History of Religion at the Divinity School at the University of Chicago and retired pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a liberal or mainstream church denomination. He wrote this brief biography in the Penguin Lives Series, which is aimed at a general audience, rather than to scholars or Christian believers per se. Nonetheless, the book is a useful starting point for readers interested in Martin Luther and the Reformation.

Luther emerges as the product of the late Middle Ages, German culture, and the academy. Luther grew up the son of middle class family, but rejected his father's insistence on a career in the law for the life of a Catholic monk, which caused decades of conflict.

Luther taught at a local university and served in a monastery. In this life, he seems to have been haunted by the fear that he did not know how to please God and would not be able to do so. If one were writing from an expressly evangelical Protestant point of view, one might suggest that the Holy Spirit used gnawing question to drive Luther, a keen student of the biblical languages, to uncover the gospel of grace hidden behind the standard works-based salvation of the Catholic church of his era.

Eventually, Luther left the monastery, took up the work of a pastor, then married and had children with a wife who had left the life of a nun. They seem to have had a fine and contented marriage, even as Luther came under condemnation from the Pope and in danger from capture by pro-Catholic German princes. (Keep in mind, Germany was not yet a nation state at this point).

Over the course of the book, Marty traces Luther's theological development, his writing and teaching, his martial and family life, and his conflict with the Catholic Church and Catholic German rulers. He does not shy away from Luther's apparent antisemitism (something endemic to German and European culture of of the era) nor his highly questionable religious advice of certain political leaders.

All in all, I would be surprised if academics of the relevant subjects would gain much here, but I do think that the interested reading public will gain much for the investment of a close read of this short, well-written, and very informed biography of Martin Luther.

[Shant Boodaghians · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really gives you a detailed sense of how human, flawed, and political, the father of protestantism was. Also a great look into how Europe was run during his liftetime. An entertaining (and educational) read.

[Garland Vance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading about the life of one of the most influential people in history is very interesting. Though this book had little information about Luther's childhood (apparently not much is known) the events of the rest of his life were beneficial to understanding his doctrine of justification and why he was such a divisive person. There were some very good leadership lessons to learn from Luther's life: his staunch conviction, how he dealt with rejection and despair and--more negatively-- how he let anger affect the end of his ministry. For this reason I would recommend the book to people who are intereste in the leadership lessons but there are other like John Newton who provide better examples.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting - I will take time to write more about it later, when I have less homework. One of the things I really liked is how the biographer explores the tensions between Luther's attacks on church authority and his frequent deference to state authority. The biographer puts this down at least partly to self-interest, since he needed to stay on the good side of the government in Germany, which was protecting him from the church that kept trying to kill him.

The biographer is a Lutheran but he's pretty impartial. He doesn't gloss over Luther's faults at all.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good(but short) biography of Martin Luther. There could be more information about what 1500s Europe look like, so it might be helpful to have a passing background of that before reading it.

[Matt Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief but good introduction to a complicated man

[Bruddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short biography of Martin Luther by a notable historian of religion is well written and informative but at times very dry. Luther’s ideas led to the Reformation, so the author naturally emphasizes the many theological issues the one-time Augustinian monk considered in relation to church doctrine, tradition and scripture. Unfortunately, I found myself uninterested in many of these issues.

I enjoyed the book most when it focused on the events of Luther’s life rather than the nuances of his beliefs. I enjoyed reading about the 95 Theses he sent in a letter in 1517 to Archbishop Albrecht, which Luther may or may not have nailed to the door at Castle Church in Wittenburg; about his refusal to renounce his writings at Worms (1521), where—again— he may or may not have spoken the famous line “I cannot do otherwise, here I stand.”; and about his subsequent excommunication and the months he spent hiding at Warburg Castle and translating the bible into German. I also enjoyed learning about Luther’s family life, his relations with his father, wife and children, and his love of music and hymn writing. All of these things gave me a sense of time and place and allowed me to picture more clearly the type of environment that gave rise to an individual such as Martin Luther.

Two other things that stood out for me were the immense importance of the printing press in the dissemination of Luther’s writings, whereby large numbers of people came to know and embrace his thinking, and the conflicts he experienced with rival evangelical sects, some of which he viewed as extreme. Overall, the book provides a good introduction to Luther, the course of his thinking, his self-contradictions and the foundational roots of the Reformation.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly compact examination of the life and beliefs of Martin Luther: Protestant reformer and founder of a network of new Evangelical churches, academic, excommunicate former priest and monk, political and religious leader, translator, musician, husband, father, and conflicted Christian.

Luther wrote extensively and conducted much of the religious disputations he so often engaged in via pamphlets and other publications. Thus, we know a great deal regarding his beliefs, inner spiritual life, and thought processes. He was a mass of contradictions: a powerful preacher of faith in Christ who struggled throughout his life with severe doubts, a scholar and man of God who was often profane in his language, a reportedly sociable fellow who yet hurled insults and invective with ease, a fiercely opinionated and independent thinker who was also apparently a loving and devoted family man, an original and reformer who was actually quite mistrustful of the changes and unrest and chaos his ideas unleashed, a self-proclaimed advocate of social justice who apparently couldn’t quite extend those ideas of justice to peasants or Jews or women or Muslims. He was way ahead of his times in so many ways, but very much a product of his times in others. I was very interested to delve more deeply into his thought and doctrine. While my beliefs and his don’t coincide in many respects, he had some strikingly beautiful and relevant insights regarding the relationship between Christ and his followers.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Penguin Lives series is/was a series of short biographies, published about famous people written by respected authors. The American-born Lutheran scholar Martin Marty’s short biography of Martin Luther fits the mission of The Penguin Lives series well. I read the book on the Kindle. Marty was a professor of religious history at the University of Chicago in Illinois. The biography was published in 2004. The book includes notes for each of the book's four chapters along with an “Afterword” with a section called “further readings' ' at the end of the book. Marty writes in the preface that he tries to focus on the biography of Martin Luther in this book. I think Marty succeeds in providing a short biography of Luther the person. The book does not have an index. Each of the four chapters of Marty’s book covers the different eras in Luther’s life chronologically. For example, the first chapter looks at the life of Martin Luther to the beginning of his dispute with the Roman Catholic Church in the late 1510s. The “Afterword” of the book is a short and concise look at Luther’s legacy in the modern world. The book includes maps of Germany with locations that are important in Luther's life marked out and the Holy Roman Empire. I am not Lutheran, but I believe that Martin Marty succeeds in writing a short biography of Martin Luther that provides either an excellent introduction or an excellent overview of Martin Luther’s life.

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This bio of Luther is brief and covers a lot of ground. It's less than a two hundred page book and is generally well written, if vague and ethereal at times (not good for a history book). As an overview it is fine (though read Oberman if you have some more time and will). Marty is critical of Luther, but not in a way that deepens our understanding of him or of his times. Instead it feels more like a modern day catharsis, condemning Luther for not being as modern and tolerant as Marty and we the readers are. Yes, there are many things to criticize Luther about, but to only do that is not to say enough. Too much of Luther is paradoxical and strange to Marty, as if he, the biographer, did not want to hold the man close enough to get to know him well. It is nothing like the hatchet job Marius gave Luther, but leaves me wanting to reread Oberman.

[Randy Bryson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is a standard 1970 something style biography, it really does give good insight into a polarizing player in world history without overly dwelling on the theology involved. The author does a good job bringing to life the internal turmoil of Martin Luther as he wrestles with convictions that betray his commitment to the Roman Catholic faith and his response and repercussions of these convictions. We also get a look as his arrogance and brashness which tend to often be portrayed as simple religious fervor. A good, short easy read for anyone interested in this major player of the Reformation that doesn't want to delve through the dogmatic aspects that commonly overshadow the man Luther was.

[Carilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book extremely interesting, as hitherto I did not know much about Martin Luther, other than his 95 Theses on the Wittenburg Gate. The book, was hard slogging, especially when it came to the points of disagreement with the Catholic church on infant baptism and the Lord's supper, there were deep theological debates, that it was hard for me to wrap my head around. Personally, I found Martin Luther's courage and tenacity in the face of a world religious system, inspiring. Certainly, not an easy, light read, but one worth the effort in order to understand, the main figure in the Protestant Reformation and a man that changed the world.

[Mmiller400m · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because I wanted to learn more about my ancestry. I've discovered that my ancestors, almost to a man, come from Germany and Switzerland and came over from religious persecution starting at the Protestant Reformation that Mr. Luther was a large part of. Aside from wanting to learn some of the history of my own denomination, I learned a lot about what it must have been like for my ancestors living over 450 years ago.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure why this project was taken on. Martin Luther is far too controversial, relevant, and important to be summed up in 200 pages. There is not enough room to bring his ideas to fruition let alone talk about his personal life. That said, I have heard Martin Marty speak before but had not read anything of his. The writing was good and he crammed a lot of information in the short space that he had. It just felt rushed and incomplete.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lutheran pastor and scholar Martin E. Marty does a good job explaining Luther's life and circumstances to a modern audience. While it doesn't seem ground-breaking, I found this book to be a good start into the biography of Luther. There are others which I hope to also look into at some point, particularly Roland H. Bainton's Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, which seems to still be held in high regard. Overall, a good and helpful book.

[James Stroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Added to my understanding of Luther, but of course this is not a comprehensive biography. Makes a clear distinction between the spiritually powerful and attractive young Luther and the older man whose faith seem to sag when the Reformation did not go his way. I give Marty credit for acknowledging the anti-semiticism of " The Jews and their Lies" without trying to defend Luther, as some conservative Lutherans have done, at least in the past.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about Martin Luther from this book. The movie from a few years ago is a good start if you don't know much about Martin Luther. This goes into much more depth of his life than a movie can. It's disjointed at times, but it does a good job with the struggles he had in his life.

Despite the death sentence on his life, and the knowledge of where he lived, the fear of the Ottomans prevented the Pope from burning him at the stake.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some parts were interesting and I learned a lot about Martin Luther and his times but it was hard to stick with it through the uninteresting parts. A Martin Luther buff probably would love it though. I did like how the author actually quoted from Luther's letters and writings to reflect who the man was and not a modern day interpretation of the man as so many other biographers try to do.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

An okay reflection on the significance of Luther in history. Its does help the modern reader understand the impact Luther had on Western history. Kind of boring really, Bainton's work is a classic.

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting little biography about Martin Luther I read for a book club. Informative about the status of the catholic church and society in the 1500's and how progressive Luther really was.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A colloquial version of Luther's life from a man eminently qualified in knowledge and spirit to write it. I enjoyed it very much, as would both the novice and experienced Luther reader.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio Book 5 CDs Biography 03/22/04

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though the story of Luther inevitably has dark moments, Marty unfolds the narrative with insight, intelligence, and humor - I really enjoyed the style!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good look at the life of a man at the heart of Lutheran's.

[Alisha Hanson Glatzel]

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