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Martin Luther's Small and Large Catechism
Written by Martin Luther in 1529, the Small and Large Catechisms provide a clear summary of God's Word on the essentials of the Christian faith. In question-and-answer format, along with detailed commentary, the catechisms include the Six Chief Parts of Christian Doctrine, daily prayers, a table of duties for Christians in their various callings, and a guide for Christians as they prepare to receive Holy Communion.
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1908
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About the author
Martin Luther
5,064 books812 followersMartin 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 15, 2022
The most practical teachings I have ever read.
March 23, 2022
Having this as an audio recording is a true gift to The Church! Thanks be to God!
February 16, 2017
This is a great book for anyone who wants to Study Luther, or familiarize oneself with old theological texts. It is certainly still seeped in medieval and post Protestant theology but filtered through it has some gems. In some parts he seems to over explain certain concepts but that could be due to the historical context.
May 4, 2024
3.75/5, I’ll round it up to a 4. I’ll come back to this later for a fleshed out review :)!
August 17, 2021
Love the large text size.
It’s great to have the Small and Large Catechisms put together in such a beautiful, small book.
It’s great to have the Small and Large Catechisms put together in such a beautiful, small book.
January 27, 2023
It is easy to see why Martin Luther said this book and Bondage of the Will were his favorite. This book breathes typical Luther, but also has the gain of being largely practical. The bulk of the book covers the ten commandments and the Lord's Prayer.
The Luther we get in this book has his attacks on the papists, but he is much more positive here than elsewhere and spends much less time attacking his opponents. In particular his coverage of the ten commandments reminds me a lot of the bits of the WCF that I have read.
So, I don't have time for a full review, but here are a few gems:
-The Sabbath does not strictly carry over from old to new covenant. We worship and rest on Sunday because of good order and natural law, not divine positive law.
-Luther has a convicting chapter on the duty children have to their parents. He, of course, makes the duty broader (we are to honor magistrates and elders as fathers), but the narrow command of honoring the ones who begot you comes home really sharply.
-An equally convicting section on being careful not to ruin your neighbor's name. Luther makes the careful point that there are some public faults that can be censured just fine (he uses the example of the Catholic church's public sins), but he still is much more strict than we are.
-We have a duty to pray. We are to call for God's will to be done, even though God is already making sure that his will is done. We must still participate. Luther says we have so many needs that we aren't even aware of, and we must not hesitate to pray for them. Encouraging.
-Luther makes the point that we come to the sacraments because we are sinners. I am not persuaded of his way of viewing baptism and repentance as all the same thing, but his heart is clearly in the right place: baptism is meant to reassure those who have faith.
There's lots more and maybe someday I will sit down and read it. The audiobook on Canon Plus has too much music, but I liked the reader.
The Luther we get in this book has his attacks on the papists, but he is much more positive here than elsewhere and spends much less time attacking his opponents. In particular his coverage of the ten commandments reminds me a lot of the bits of the WCF that I have read.
So, I don't have time for a full review, but here are a few gems:
-The Sabbath does not strictly carry over from old to new covenant. We worship and rest on Sunday because of good order and natural law, not divine positive law.
-Luther has a convicting chapter on the duty children have to their parents. He, of course, makes the duty broader (we are to honor magistrates and elders as fathers), but the narrow command of honoring the ones who begot you comes home really sharply.
-An equally convicting section on being careful not to ruin your neighbor's name. Luther makes the careful point that there are some public faults that can be censured just fine (he uses the example of the Catholic church's public sins), but he still is much more strict than we are.
-We have a duty to pray. We are to call for God's will to be done, even though God is already making sure that his will is done. We must still participate. Luther says we have so many needs that we aren't even aware of, and we must not hesitate to pray for them. Encouraging.
-Luther makes the point that we come to the sacraments because we are sinners. I am not persuaded of his way of viewing baptism and repentance as all the same thing, but his heart is clearly in the right place: baptism is meant to reassure those who have faith.
There's lots more and maybe someday I will sit down and read it. The audiobook on Canon Plus has too much music, but I liked the reader.
November 2, 2023
I should have read this (larger) catechism many years ago. Luther begins with the Ten Commandments as what God requires of us that we are unable to do because of sin. He then moves to the Apostles Creed as a summary of what God has done in Christ to make it possible to know and obey Him by the Spirit. He then moves to the Lord's Prayer as a summary of what Christians should pray. It is clearly stated an argued.
March 8, 2020
This is a great read. It definitely helped me better understand and hopefully articulate what I believe. And hopefully it will aid in my teaching as well! Also, Luther has some lines in here that are just funny! But in all seriousness, this was a fairly simply reach considering the subject matter. Very accessible. The book is a perfect size, and it is quite convenient to have both the large and small catechisms together.
March 26, 2012
I love to read Martin Luther's writings. He is clear and concise. I greatly admire the man as well.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews