Briskly paced, exciting read. The scope of Luther's life is staggering. Should he not be considered the most influential figure of the last two millennia? I find it truly fantastic that God used a single man to up-end the religious, economic, social, and even artistic, climates of Europe. What remained untouched?
This is a good read. Though the first Lutheran biography I've read, I'm a little surprised at how highly this work is praised. Many other biographies that I've read are styled and narrated better. Perhaps this is because to understand Luther you must understand the development of Luther's thought worldview before you consider any of his life's consequences. Luther is ever quotable and thankfully Bainton doesn't shy away from a modest number of quotes including excerpts from sermons and Table Talk. The biography is generally balanced considering its only a 400 page book. Luther was a complex man, mostly balanced but not without contradiction. This biography takes on the same sense of proportion. Like most biographers, Bainton seems eager to praise and quick to move past shortcomings.
"Here I Stand" highlights the man's theology and his passion for truth yet Bainton doesn't to show the reader the trailheads of all that the Reformation brought about. At the end of the book the reader is treated to brief sections on Luther's preaching, his hymns, his prayers and his depression.
At times, I found Bainton's writing style a bit bland. Lutheran quotations provided frequent relief. In the hardback Hendrickson edition, more than 50 illustrations are included and serve to compliment rather than distract from the author's ideas.
The Reformation is nothing less than a rediscovery of the Bible and the Gospel. Luther is nothing less than the Father of the Reformation. This is a good book of a great man.
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There is a newer edition of this item:
Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (Penguin Classic Biography)
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Customer reviews
The Best and Clearest History of the Reformation
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2018
Like his lectures at Yale delivered to divinity students, Roland Bainton's expositions of the Protestant Reformation and the circumstance which led to it, and their implications for those living in the modern world, flow with clarity and the easy confidence of a scholar who knows his subject and how to make it understandable and relevant for believers and skeptics alike. Arguably, the best concise history of the revolution in the Christian Church which changed the world irrevocably.
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2018
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Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2018
The Best and Clearest History of the Reformation
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2018
Like his lectures at Yale delivered to divinity students, Roland Bainton's expositions of the Protestant Reformation and the circumstance which led to it, and their implications for those living in the modern world, flow with clarity and the easy confidence of a scholar who knows his subject and how to make it understandable and relevant for believers and skeptics alike. Arguably, the best concise history of the revolution in the Christian Church which changed the world irrevocably.
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2018
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Top reviews from other countries
Kay
Inciteful understanding of the man, times period in history leading up to the reformation
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2022David Mcclean
Great read and learning material about Martin Luther
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2019Margaret Ball
Ideal for study work
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 21, 2019June Shrimpton
Highly Recommended
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2014
