Customer Reviews

Young Man Luther

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having had to read this for a college class, I approached it with a certain resignation, but found that my Lutheran background was at first helpful in understanding the context, and then made more clear in comprehending the "big picture." Erickson proposes some unusual connections, but in light of our increasing knowlege of what makes people "tick," it is not too farfetched. Given that the reformation was a significant watershed in the political, religious and ethical world, it is worthwhile to have a better understanding of who this guy (Luther)was, and what could have pushed him from devoted Catholic priest to the impetus for a massive schism. It was more than the sold indulgences, and understanding what had influenced his life as a child, as well as what continued to influence him as a reformer, made more clear the personality and motivations, the heart and mind of the man who opened the church to the common man. With that opening, the "church" was no longer on such a pedestal, the priest was no longer too elevated for common folk, and subsequently, the progress of the Renaissance was inevitably, though slowly, available to all, rather than the select few. A man of such importance deserves to be understood.

This is Erikson's breakthrough work in psychohistory. He reads the inner conflicts of Luther and connects them convincingly with great historical events. In this particular case he chooses a historical figure whose violence in some way undermines and contradicts the very religious vocation his life is built upon. Erikson shows how the revolutionary Luther in conflict with his own violent father and himself turns against the world of corrupt medieval indulgence- laden Catholicism and uses his own personal energy and story to create a powerful change in history, the Reformation.
This is an admirable piece of theorizing and research combined and a fascinating read.

Erickson's work is intelligently written and is perfect for stimulating the first year history graduate student towards broadening his or her thoughts on history and historical figures. That said, the work is also a tedious read that at times is little more than a pedantic stream of the author's consciousness. In the end, one does not really feel that much has been learned about the inner life of Luther, or about his time and place. A worthy work to be sure, but certainly also a minor one of limited value.

Erikson has written a brilliant book about how one man's religious obsession, his desperate need to find a loving God and forever escape a God of devouring terror, was univeralised and turned into history. Luther is painted as a compulsive sometimes hysterical man trapped in the adolescent stage, hungry for "grace" as a solution to his arrested emotional development. He further develops the notion that man must find God by himself and his Bible has had a huge effect on the Western World. This book articulates some of the most trenchant insights on psychology, history, and religion.

A friend recommended this book and I attempted to read it but it was just too heavy of a read for me.

This might've been a worthwhile study if Erikson had not watered down his Freudianism. For example, Luther displays numerous traits of what Freud would describe as an anal personality: not only was he angry and uptight, he was obsessed with farts, butts, and feces. Does Erikson pursue this angle? Not consistently. Instead, he suggests renaming the anal stage the "independence stage" and compares Luther to a typical adolescent. This sort of watering down in endemic here.

Erikson focuses on the notion that Luther went through an identity crisis. Unfortunately, Erikson's notion of an "identity crisis" is so bland and general that it is hard to imagine anyone who has not gone through such a crisis, and thus it says little about Luther in particular. Further, Erikson's ambiguity about Luther becomes annoying as he constantly swings from criticizing his behavior to defending him as a supposedly great man. He frequently gets off track and explores side issues.

Finally, Erikson's understanding of the Reformation is limited at best. He blindly accepts every anticlerical cliche about the Catholic Church, and offers simplistic versions of German history and politics. On the other hand, he does offer occasional insights and throws out some spicy tidbits about Luther's private life. A curious mix of purience and dullness which left me wishing for what might have been.

The father-son relationship Erikson explores here is very interesting. The most convincing aspects of his analysis are those most closely based on Luther's own writings, such as Luther's deep paralyzing dread at celbrating his first mass in front of his earthly father, as he mediates on behalf of that same father with his heavenly father.

Erikson's spirit lives on in the same tension found in "Amadeus," where Mozart confronts his father's same brand of wrath--suspecting that his son is wasting himself in something unproductive and immoral.

Erickson probably is speculating, in the manner of an archaelogist, when he broods about what Young Man Luther may have witnessed around the house in his violent father's relationship with his mother.

Psychiatrists need this kind of book. Taking on the really big personalities helps them understand the rest of us. Helps them use all the gears on the 18-speed; lets them press all the buttons they will never need to service the only vital end of the market for shrink services: the troubled youth market, the only one with the cash to invest in the counseling arts. Before you're too far gone for anyone to care about.

Perhaps it also helps the rest of us to escape, to focus on something we don't know much about, and aren't very good at: but to be satisfied anyway. Ibn Khaldun said that was a particular affliction of academics. That's the good news: if you can't bear this book, maybe you're a really talented academic with a bright future. The rest of us are just reading it in an attempt to find meaning in our latest airplane flight. We're developing a fear of facing the pilot on the way out, since he's such an imposing father figure. Then we realize he's repeating cheesy little "good byes" and our confidence returns--he's not challenging us at all, he's one of us. Amen.

Granted, Erikson's book makes for a great read, but lacks any real credibility. This book, along with his book on Gandhi, demonstrate that one can read anything into people when seperated by time and space. Take everything you read with a grain of salt. There are many more Luther bios that are more accurate and useful.

With what there is about luther can fill less than a hundred pages. There is too much on other topics instead of connecting them to luther. If he does than they are extremely weak.