Meeting Melanchthon: A Brief Biographical Sketch of Philip Melanchthon and a Few Samples of His Writing

by Scott Leonard Keith

Most scholars consider Melanchthon to be a Reformation enigma. He, the developer of the Reformation doctrine of forensic justification, is contrarily condemned as a synergist. Known well as the Protestant preceptor of Germany, he was Martin Luther's lifelong friend, colleague, teacher of Greek, and fellow reformer. Upon arriving at Wittenberg, Melanchthon was a theologian neither by trade nor by training. He was a classically trained expert in classical languages, neo-Latin poet, textbook author, Greek scholar, humanist, and above all, an educator Though he was offered a doctorate on several occasions, he was not a doctor of theology. Yet his influence on the protestant reformation of the 16th century is profound, both through the Loci Communes (the first Lutheran systematic theology) and the Augsburg Confession both of which came from his pen. Dr. Scott Keith, who has spent much time studying and translating this great reformer, has written this short biography by way of introduction. Also, Melanchthon speaks for himself in fresh translations of his work.

94 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2017

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful mini-biography of Melanchthon for the layman. The audiobook is only about two hours long. The first half discusses Melanchthon's background, upbringing, studies, writings, and interactions with Luther and others during the reformation. The second half consists of translations of Melanchthon's own works, bits and pieces from his Loci and such.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a disjointed read due to it being a reprinting of blog posts. The translations Keith provides from Melanchton himself are worth the price of the book. I am reformed so there are some things I naturally differ with Melanchton on. However, I see why John Calvin was eager to call Melanchton "the theologian" and even provided a "foreword" for the 1546 of the Loci Communes in French.