Martin Luther

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by Martin E. Marty

Viking Press

Due/Published February 2004, 224 pages, cloth

ISBN 0670032727

In Martin Luther, Martin E. Marty, rooted in his own Lutheran tradition yet deeply committed to helping enrich a pluralist society, brings to powerful life the devout Reformation figure whose despair for a perilous world, felt anew in our own times, drove him to a ceaseless search for assurance of God's love. It was one that led him steadily to a fresh interpretation of human interaction with God--as born solely from God's grace and not the Church's mediation--and to the famous theses he posted at Wittenberg in 1517.

Luther's persistence in this belief, and in his long battle with Church leaders--embellished by rich historical background--make Marty's biography riveting reading. Luther's obdurate yet receptive stance, so different from the travestied image of "fundamentalism" we currently face, restored the balance between religion and the individual. Martin Luther is at once a history, a story of spiritual passion and grace, and an intellectual biography.

Review

“God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world.” -- Martin Luther

In many ways, Martin Marty uses this famous quotation by Martin Luther to guide his exquisite new biography of the theologian and religious reformer. The book shows a firm grasp of Luther’s historical context and lucidly explains the theological and political battles he fought against the Catholic Church and a variety of European princes. Marty also has a deep appreciation of and sensitivity to Luther’s profound struggle to find meaning and deepen his faith in god. This engrossing biography portrays Luther as a religious reformer and man, albeit a religious man with frequent doubts and misgivings. Luther, as other biographers have discussed, was far from perfect – though he was a hero to the common man, he gave license to the brutal suppression of peasants and his writings on Jews are filled with anti-Semitic attitudes . Marty acknowledges those shortcomings, but rather than condemning Luther, he allows Luther’s words and actions to speak for themselves. He presents Luther’s failings within the broader context of his frequently contradictory personality and his incongruous impulse to revolutionize religious expression while adhering to authority. Marty’s biography brilliantly focuses Luther’s personality, belief, and profound impact on the religious and political institutions of the West.