Church History - Post-Reformation : Luther

The works of the Great Reformer on their importance to the faith, life and history of the Christian Church. Contains Luther's expositions of various biblical books, including his "Reformation writings" and other occasional pieces

"Ebeling is a scholar of distinction and writes on a subject of stature."-- Geoffrey Bromiley, Christianity Today "This 'introduction' to Luther's way of thinking is a series of commentaries on the main themes of Luther's thought: letter and spirit; law and gospel; person and work; faith and love; the kingdom of Christ and the world; Christian man and secular man; God hidden and revealed. The themes are introduced by aptly chosen passages from Luther's writings and they are discussed with a theological shrewdness which is born of a thorough acquaintance with Luther, the creative theologian, and an intense participation in the theological struggles of today.... This is a very suggestive and rewarding book."-- Wilhelm Pauck, Theology Today "Gerhard Ebeling will be remembered as one of the most distinguished and influential theologians of the twentieth century.... The unity among theological profundity, ethical sensitivity, human wisdom, and the refined style of his German prose constitutes a permanent intellectual treasure to be gratefully enjoyed time and again as we enter into the uncertainties of the new millennium."-- Hans Dieter Betz, The Journal of Religion "Ebeling does more than interpret and relate Luther's thought for us, he actually introduces us to Luther himself.... He furthers our understanding of both Luther and the contemporary hermeneutical issues by dealing with the way Luther grasped and spoke the word of God."-- Carter Lindberg, Interpretation

"I cannot.. I will not... recant Here I stand." This authoritative and inspiring story paints a vivid portrait of the crusader who spearheaded the Reformation. Considered one of the most readable biographies of Martin Luther, this volume is an illustrated look at the German religious reformer and his influence on Western civilization. Martin Luther entered a monastery as a youth and as a man shattered the structure of the medieval church. Luther spoke out against the corrupt religious practices that then existed. His demand that the authority for doctrine and practice be Scriptures, rather than Popes or Councils, echoed around the world and ignited the Great Reformation. Accused of heresy and threatened with excommunication and death, Luther maintained his bold stand and refused to recant. In his crusade to eliminate religious abuses, he did more than any other man to establish the Protestant faith. With sound historical scholarship and penetrating insight, Roland Bainton examines Luther's widespread influence. He re-creates the spiritual setting of the sixteenth century, showing Luther's place within it and influence upon it. Richly illustrated with more than 100 woodcuts and engravings from Luther's own time, Here I Stand dramatically brings to life Martin Luther, the great reformer. Bainton published Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther in 1950. As of 2008, it is still in print. Kenneth Scott Latourette, in the chapter notes for "Luther and the Rise and Spread of Lutheranism" in his History of Christianity, lauds Bainton's biography of Luther as "A superb combination of accurate scholarship based upon a thorough knowledge of the sources and secondary works with insight, vivid, readable literary style, and reproductions of contemporary illustrations. It also contains so valuable a bibliography as to render needless an extended one in this chapter." In his chapter on Luther's writings in Invitation to the Classics, Mark A. Noll singles out Bainton's biography: "Of the many superlative treatments, a half-century old study by Roland Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, has justly won a reputation as a classic work on a classic subject."