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A Reformation Reader: Primary Texts with Introductions
Although deeply political, economic, and social, the European Reformations of the sixteenth century were at heart religious disputes over core Christian theological issues. Denis Janz's A Reformation Reader is unabashed in its generous selection of key theological and related texts from five distinct Reformation sites. Along with plenty on the late-medieval background, the Lutheran, Calvinist, Radical, English, and Catholic Reformations are all well-represented here. Janz's selection of more than 100 carefully edited primary documents captures the energy and moment of that tumultuous time. The new edition incorporates a dozen readings by and about women in the Reformation, adds a new chapter on Thomas Mntzer and the Peasants' War, and adds illuminating graphics.
472 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 5, 2024
Read excerpts for class
December 3, 2020
Useful for wetting one's appetite for the Reformation era period. The author pulls from Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, and Anabaptist writers of the period. Janz's commentary does reflect a typical mainline Protestant of the 20th century; as a confessional Reformed believer, it's a little hard to stomach at times. If you read it, go and read the sources in their full context later and refer to this to build a library or get excerpts.
June 2, 2022
I'd really put this at 3.5 if I could. A nice selection of texts, but sometimes a little boring. It's not really Janz' fault on that since he's just gathering primary texts and I think these ones were very good representations of the authors. Regardless, I'd still recommend it to someone who wanted to know about the Reformation, seeing all sides or point of views.
October 28, 2022
A great resource for anyone looking to read primary sources from the Reformation era. Spans from Thomas A Kempis (1400) to Teresa of Avila (1562).
Recommend for Seminary students, history buffs or anyone looking to learn more about church history and/or Protestant/Catholic theology!
Recommend for Seminary students, history buffs or anyone looking to learn more about church history and/or Protestant/Catholic theology!
November 30, 2017
Excellent overview and collection of works during and after the Reformation period and exploration of America.
January 22, 2019
I read selections for a Reformation class in seminary. Excellent resource.
November 23, 2019
A useful compendium of primary sources from a liberal mainline Protestant perspective, with expected commentary from the same viewpoint.
November 21, 2020
Useful compendium of primary source documents. I will refer to it in the future.
February 17, 2017
The Christianity that shapes our world today, was profoundly influenced by the Reformation -- Roman Catholicism as much as evangelical Protestantism. For conservative evangelicals who prize the notion of sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), the Reformation represents a great restoration of the importance of Scripture and a revival of the true and saving doctrine of justification by faith on the basis of the merits of Christ alone, and by God's free grace.
Any study of the Reformation does well to focus on the many documents and books written in that era. Some of the truly great Christian writings hail from that era. Luther's commentary on Galations, and Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion deserve the attention of Christians of our own era as much as they shaped those in the midst of the Reformation. But there are scores of additional writings by other lesser known figures of that time, which do much to open our understanding of what actually was happening in that time, now nearly 500 years ago.
A Reformation Reader, edited by Denis Janz, brings these lesser known documents, and figures, to light. Zwingli's Swiss Reformation work and writings; the Anabaptist movement and their writings – most notably the the Schleitheim Confession; and the English reformers Cranmer and Cromwell all are illuminated through Janz's inclusion of key documents and insights into their role in the Reformation era. The context of the Reformation is made more vivid and clear by his inclusion of pre-Reformation Catholic authors and sentiments, and a discussion of the counter Reformation and the Catholic Council of Trent.
Janz introduces each section with a brief introduction to that segment of the Reformation. The pre-Reformation, Luther, Calvin, Swiss Reformation, Anabaptist movement, English Reformation and the counter Reformation movements are all represented. Janz brings up various scholarly disputes in how to interpret the Reformation. He does a good job staying neutral and explaining what the questions are. He presents documents that are able to challenge both viewpoints, and he encourages a study of the texts themselves.
This book includes a wide array of material. It certainly would serve well as a text book for covering the history of that era. The role of women in society in that day is explored alongside the other more typical theological disputes. Janz includes the writings of female characters throughout the book to serve that goal.
The book is more than a textbook, however. It provides a fascinating amount of material for the average Christian lay reader to explore. I enjoyed the historical perspective and the inclusion of many of the original writings of the key players in the Reformation. Most readers today don't acquaint themselves with historical writings of that era, and so the selections from Calvin's Institutes and Luther's writings, for instance, allows for a first encounter with some of the key leaders in the Church's history. It is hoped that this book will spur on its readers to desire a deeper reading of the classic writings of the Christian faith. I know it has done that for me.
I will point out just a few of the many interesting selections I enjoyed here. They are selections from Thomas a Kempis' The Imitation of Christ, Erasmus' The Abbot and the Learned Lady, some of the actual indulgences of the era of Luther, Luther's 95 Theses, Luther's Preface to the New Testament, Zwingli's Of Freedom of Choice in the Selection of Food, Zwingli's 67 Theses, the Anabaptist Schleitheim Confession, an autobiographical account of Calvin's life, letters and judgment concerning Servetus, and Thomas Cranmer's Preface to the Great Bible.
I highly recommend this book, and the study of this important time in Christian history. My thanks go out to James Pfeiffer of Augsburg Fortress Press for providing me with a review copy of this book at my request.
Any study of the Reformation does well to focus on the many documents and books written in that era. Some of the truly great Christian writings hail from that era. Luther's commentary on Galations, and Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion deserve the attention of Christians of our own era as much as they shaped those in the midst of the Reformation. But there are scores of additional writings by other lesser known figures of that time, which do much to open our understanding of what actually was happening in that time, now nearly 500 years ago.
A Reformation Reader, edited by Denis Janz, brings these lesser known documents, and figures, to light. Zwingli's Swiss Reformation work and writings; the Anabaptist movement and their writings – most notably the the Schleitheim Confession; and the English reformers Cranmer and Cromwell all are illuminated through Janz's inclusion of key documents and insights into their role in the Reformation era. The context of the Reformation is made more vivid and clear by his inclusion of pre-Reformation Catholic authors and sentiments, and a discussion of the counter Reformation and the Catholic Council of Trent.
Janz introduces each section with a brief introduction to that segment of the Reformation. The pre-Reformation, Luther, Calvin, Swiss Reformation, Anabaptist movement, English Reformation and the counter Reformation movements are all represented. Janz brings up various scholarly disputes in how to interpret the Reformation. He does a good job staying neutral and explaining what the questions are. He presents documents that are able to challenge both viewpoints, and he encourages a study of the texts themselves.
This book includes a wide array of material. It certainly would serve well as a text book for covering the history of that era. The role of women in society in that day is explored alongside the other more typical theological disputes. Janz includes the writings of female characters throughout the book to serve that goal.
The book is more than a textbook, however. It provides a fascinating amount of material for the average Christian lay reader to explore. I enjoyed the historical perspective and the inclusion of many of the original writings of the key players in the Reformation. Most readers today don't acquaint themselves with historical writings of that era, and so the selections from Calvin's Institutes and Luther's writings, for instance, allows for a first encounter with some of the key leaders in the Church's history. It is hoped that this book will spur on its readers to desire a deeper reading of the classic writings of the Christian faith. I know it has done that for me.
I will point out just a few of the many interesting selections I enjoyed here. They are selections from Thomas a Kempis' The Imitation of Christ, Erasmus' The Abbot and the Learned Lady, some of the actual indulgences of the era of Luther, Luther's 95 Theses, Luther's Preface to the New Testament, Zwingli's Of Freedom of Choice in the Selection of Food, Zwingli's 67 Theses, the Anabaptist Schleitheim Confession, an autobiographical account of Calvin's life, letters and judgment concerning Servetus, and Thomas Cranmer's Preface to the Great Bible.
I highly recommend this book, and the study of this important time in Christian history. My thanks go out to James Pfeiffer of Augsburg Fortress Press for providing me with a review copy of this book at my request.
December 30, 2016
I read selections of this text for a graduate level seminary course in Reformation history and theology. I found the translations very accessible and the variety of texts impressive. Brief historical introductions were given for each chapter, and the individual texts were also accompanied by note of explanation. The selections were very manageable in length while comprehensively including the authors' arguments. This text will be a useful resource for me for years to come.
June 10, 2016
I read selections from this text as a part of a topics in church history course focusing on the Reformation. It is broken up into many sections dealing with various primary resources. I found each section to be manageable in length, making the book easier to read. This is a great resource to anyone interested in learning in depth about the Protestant Reformation.
April 1, 2009
This compilation of primary resources is a great guide to anyone interested in Reformation Movement history.
May 5, 2016
Sampler of key Reformation players and issues
July 28, 2025
An EPIC compilation of primary texts from the Reformation Era!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews