Faith and Freedom: An Invitation to the Writings of Martin Luther

by Martin Luther, John F. Thornton (Editor), Susan Varenne (Editor)

A spiritual resource and compelling reading for the general reader from a riveting selection of Martin Luther's collected works. 

Faith and An Invitation to the Writings of Martin Luther is the first selection in decades for the general reader from the many dozens of volumes that constitute Martin Luther’s collected works. The selections included here, chosen for their pastoral tone, speak across the centuries and inform the spiritual concerns of today. Drawing on Luther’s Bible prefaces and commentaries, his treatises and sermons, his letters, his “table talk,” and his enduring hymnbook, Faith and Freedom will provide a spiritual resource for anyone seeking the heritage of modern Christian spirituality. Moreover, it requires no specialized knowledge of Reformation theology or Church history. Rich in language, direct, powerful, fresh in ideas, and often disquieting in their effect, the writings of Luther provide compelling reading.

Genres: Religion, Theology, Christianity, Biography

432 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2002

About the author

Martin 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.

Reviews

[Ian Caveny · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing collection of Martin Luther's writing that sheds more light on the man than the copious biographies and pseudobiographies that abound. For a man whose work and life has changed 500 years of Christendom, Luther has received his fair share of bad press, most undeserved and uncritical.

This collection reveals a pastor whose primary concern is the compassionate caring for his flock, not a fiery Reformer aiming for the destruction of the "Antichrist" (the papacy). In this collection, one gets the sense that Luther's motivations for his Reforming activity are first-and-foremost the protection and defense of his people from dangerous teachings that will destroy them.

The Luther of these writings is not the same as the Luther of the Bondage of the Will, where he performs his exegetical-prophetic work; instead, he performs exegetical-teaching work, pastoral homilies, and personal edifications.

The collection is excellent, and even though Luther can, at times, repeat the same topic over and over, and even though his views on some things are not as "modern" as most contemporary Christians, he is still a worthy guide and reminder of solid Reformation doctrine. He is also a passable humanist, with a solid grasp of Hebrew and Greek (necessary for his exegeses), a hymnist (of course!), and a fervent defender of the institution of marriage (and a defender of women, too). His economic theology includes the much-needed admonitions against greed that American theology rejects, but his political theology has aged poorly.

At some moments, Luther is "progressive" or prophetic; at others, he is a curmudgeon and irrelevant. But the weight and power of the former moments is far more worthy than the latter. Reading Luther the pastor is an indispensable resource for the modern pastor.

[Ryan Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great compilation of Luther's writing.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful sampling that works well to introduce the layperson to his writings.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book, although it was a slow read for me for some reason. Must reading....especially if you are a Lutheran and have not read much or any of Luther's works....it seems to be a great primer.