The Ninety-Five Theses and Other Writings

Martin Luther’s writings are key to understanding the conflict present in the church in the Middle Ages. Many of the topics covered in this book are as relevant today as they were then. Well worth the purchase.

I had no good sense of Martin Luther before reading this book. Knowing the name is different from reading what he wrote.So much of this book is important.Luther wrote in a direct, personal, and often funny way about the issues of faith and salvation. It is impossible not to like Luther after you read these collected writings. Each section had important points. I've read the book twice. I may read it through once more before I put it back on the shelf.

Wifey said it was a great read --

Great resource

I counted and read all 95. There are some other writings in the book, too, that I have yet to get to. Author does a nice job giving the historical context behind how the 95 theses came about and adding some clarification.

Great book, great man

Very good read.

This is what Luther wrote, not a book “about” him. No spin.

‘Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it’, is a well known quote attributed to many. The implication is that we must learn from our mistakes - as though education alone will solve our problems. The subtext here, of course, is that history has been a bloodbath. Others have responded to the effect that we are incapable of avoiding this scenario for various reasons. Saint Paul makes an accusation: ‘Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to depravity…’, this depravity of mind is the trigger for the doom of a repeated history.The Bible is explicit: we had the truth but did not hold on to it. We moderns are cynical about ‘The truth’ in the same way that an abused wife is cynical about love. To embrace God one must suspend cynicism and dare to believe. But are we believing the right thing?Enter Luther.Martin Luther lived 500 years ago and had to recover Christianity from a long period in which it had been forgotten. A form of Christianity, to Luther an idol, had corrupted the Church and turned it into the false Prophet [a biblical symbol of corrupt religion]. The Catholic Church had fallen into apostasy, selling indulgences, making up its own rules and declaring an infallible Pope. There was no connection between church practice and the Bible. The printing press and circulation of the Bible in the languages of the people has opened a can of worms. In fact it was at the city of Worms, in Germany, that Luther took his famous stand.When we read Luther, we are reading the words of a man prepared to die for his beliefs. It doesn’t make them right, but start reading him and it is immediately apparent that he has definitely discovered something worth shouting about. Luther had discovered what the apostles had taught: how to receive the eternal life that Jesus promised. The answer, like all answers, was glaringly simple only after Luther had recovered it. Luther wasn’t the first, of course, but he was the one to popularise his discovery and challenge the system with the greatest interest in opposing it, the Catholic Church.Luther is a lovable, sincere, intelligent and articulate writer, the voice of a generation, but he was volatile man and this got him into deep water. This book is a very well chosen compilation of Luther’s writings that gives the reader a very real feel for the man and his big idea. The translation is excellent, the text absolutely compelling! It provides fascinating insights into 16th century life in Europe and clearly describes the issues that Luther was facing and responding to. It’s an education.One may feel that such a book is for specialists and is outmoded and irrelevant. Luther is dealing with eternal issues, vitally relevant today as our society careens off the rails. ’Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it’.

Good

Not an easy read, but well worth the effort in exchange for an insight into the motivations and thoughts that shaped Luther’s belief.

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