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32 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From Luther's own (foul) mouth, February 3, 2003
You need not listen too much to protestant historians or Catholic ones to learn the truth about Martin Luther - you can read Martin Luther's own words. This is what the author does - he cites the very words of the man whom protestants have come to love and admire.When he is not quoting Luther, he is much more often than not quoting Luther's closest associates, followers, and even protestant historians. I really get the impression that the vast majority of protestants - including present-day Lutherans - do not really know much about Martin Luther. And so, for the Catholic, it will show you the novel beliefs of this very rebellious man. The author even goes to great length to present the Catholic response to these teachings, and in very readable language. For the protestant, this book will make you think; it will present to you teachings of Luther in Luther's own words - teachings that you will have to answer for, since you hold this man in such high esteem. You will have to answer for why this man held morality in such low esteem, why this man instructed followers to not even try to "be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect", why and on whose authority this man abridged the Bible, why this man hated chastity and approved of divorce, bigamy, and polygamy, and a host of other teachings. I find most interesting that Martin Luther was unable to even have a civil conversation with a person who disagreed with him, resorting to personal insults, "ad hominem" attacks, and obscenity as a matter of course. These things impede real dialogue between Catholics and protestants even today. You don't think so? Well then, I direct your attention to some of the reviewers who bombed this book. Their tactics speak for my truth; How about John L. Hoh's (WELS) review on 2/6/2001. The first words in his review are, "I haven't read this book ..." I understand, Mr Hoh. The book is Catholic; you are a Lutheran; therefore the book MUST be bad. One should at the very least read the book before reviewing it, if for no reason other than respect for the truth. How about the reader from Milwaukee review on 6/6/2000. He criticizes the book because it has " ... absolutely NO balance ..." Well, Mr Milwaukee, it doesn't. It is made up of mostly protestant quotes and quotes from Luther himself - very little Catholic input. We let the Lutherans do the talking, and we reprint what they said. In addition, why should the book be "balanced"? What makes you think Luther had any balance? He was about as proud and opinionated as you can get. Finally, how about the reader from the Midwest review on 12/1/1998. He does not hesitate to pull out the personal insults, false accusations, and antagonistic language, calling the book "Papist Garbage", comparing it to a "pig wallowing", and running down the standard laundry list of false accusations about the popes. Tell me, Midwest; how many people do you think you are going to reach talking the way you do? What does the Bible say about faith without charity (Hint: see 1Cor 13:2). An excellent book - five stars.
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15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not scholarly enough: how about grisar and denifle, August 18, 2000
Fr. Hartmann Grisar(a Catholic scholar) has a 6 volume book on Luther that is out of print plus a 1 volume abridged edition. Fr. O'Hare does not have as much of a scholarly approach as Grisar and does not go in as much detail. For example, O'Hare does not give very much information on Luther's early life. I bought the book by O'Hare as a reprinted book published and reprinted by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc. in Rockford, IL. Denifle(another Catholic scholar) has written some books on Luther. Another out of print book I recommend is Luther in the Estimation of Lutherans (discussions about Luther by both Lutheran converts to the Catholic Church and Lutherans who have not converted to the Catholic Church)by a Catholic scholar. This title I got from a catalogue Preserving Christian Publications, Inc. which is a used Catholic bookstore in Boonville, NY and Albany, NY. Another book that discusses Luther's theology is Symbolism by John Adam Mohler(I do not know the full title of this book). The above reviewers have not done enough research. Yet another book that discusses Luther's theology is Three Reformers by Jacques Maritain. All these books are out of print and can bought at a Catholic used bookstore, can be found in any library especially Catholic libraries or through interlibrary loan or even through bibliofind.com and abebooks.com(used books websites). I recommend these books in addition to the ones by Fr. O'Hare as they provide more information and are more scholarly. I recommend that everyone should read these books to get more information. Yes, these books are from a Catholic perspective but they are also very scholarly and balanced. However, they have not been reprinted and unfortunately today's Catholic publishers do not reprint very many scholarly Catholic books.
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24 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Man for No Seasons, January 28, 2004
Msgr. O'Hare prefaces his well-researched and heavily quoted study of Luther by saying excessive language and emotion on all sides have degraded and clouded the whole Luther controversy. To clear the air, O'Hare proposes to damn Luther with his own words, and set the editorializing aside. O'Hare patiently explains that the testimony of Luther himself, along with that of his collaborators and subsequent Protestant authorities, will speak for itself. But then directly on the heels of this modest disclaimer, he proceeds to unleash a merciless and caustic invective against Luther that lets up for nary a page throughout the remainder of the 350-page text. Certainly, the Father's strident tone arises partly from his belief in the absolute authority of the Catholic Church, and partly as a response to the even more venomous (yet far less reasoned) tongue of his subject. Style issues aside, the book indeed presents a damning portrait of the Reformer: Luther's own words indeed betray his irrational, dismal and inconsistent theology, his vindictive and monstrously self-sufficient nature, his almost insanely personal, vituperative and frequently scatological method of argument.Between citations and diatribes, O'Hare manages to provide quite lucid explanations of the very complex concepts of Indulgences and Justification-concepts mangled by Luther to appeal to the basest instincts of his fledgling flock. Thanks in no small measure to him, multitudes to this day deplore the Mother Church based on a completely erroneous understanding of Indulgences and Justification. O'Hare convincingly demonstrates that far from introducing the Bible to the German masses, Luther merely eviscerated extant German translations in order to make it conform to his heretical theology. Luther's schizophrenic message which exhorted man to interpret Scripture for himself yet condemned him whenever he disagreed with Luther's own mercurial teachings had dire consequences throughout Europe--social chaos on the one hand, and brutal authoritarianism on the other. Luther got the ball rolling by inducing the German peasants to revolt against their oppressive princes, and then turned on them when they no longer obeyed. Outraged, he changed sides and encouraged these same princes to exterminate the peasants with gleeful abandon. The princes were only too happy to oblige. One suspects that O'Hare, certainly no ecumenist, undermines his case by overstating it. Surely there must be a good side to Luther, for no sane person could have followed the disgusting embodiment of evil portrayed in these pages. That the book has received the Imprimatur will reassure Catholic readers, but probably make some non-Catholic readers more skeptical. Regardless of to what extent O'Hare caricaturizes Luther the man, he is lucid and compelling when assessing Luther the theologian. All the contradictory, dehumanizing, illogical, and downright nonsensical elements of Luther's belief system are exposed and refuted. One wonders how he attracts followers at all. O'Hare himself offers an explanation: either they ignore his theology, misinterpret it, or change it. Nevertheless, Luther's theology took the Real out of Presence, the Divine out of Scripture, and the Revealed out of Religion. Spiritually and culturally we have been sinking into the abyss of paganism ever since.
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