Description
A two-volume translation of the major texts produced by Luther in the critical years of the Reformation.
Volume I: The Basis of the Protestant Reformation
The four years from the Wittenberg disputation of 1517 to the Diet of Worms in 1521 provide one of the most dramatic stories in human history. In those years a young theological tutor emerged from obscurity to disrupt Western Christendom and to refashion a large part of it. They were years of prodigious activity for Luther himself, and there can be no true understanding of the Reformation apart from the writings, some long, some quite short, which came from his pen during those years.
Bertram Lee-Woolf has done great service to the study of Luther by translating the most significant of these writings. Introductions and explanatory notes make clear their historical context. The student will find them invaluable. Lee-Woolf’s lively and virile translation makes the authentic Luther step out of the pages, and brings the reader close to great events which are still formative in the life of the Church and the world.
Volume II: The Spirit of the Protestant Reformation
In this second volume of the Reformation Writings of Martin Luther there are two focal points of interest – the dramatic event at Worms, 1521, as seen in contemporary accounts as well as mirrored in Luther’s own writings, and Luther the pastor, at pains to build up simple folk in the Christian faith and life.
Luther’s immense Biblical understanding as shown in his Prefaces to the Psalms and the New Testament, and his exposition of the Church’s worship contained in the Preface to the Lord’s Supper and Order of Service, provide a luminous insight into Luther’s mind and purpose. The volume is very aptly sub-titled The Spirit of the Reformation. As with Volume I, Bertram Lee-Woolf’s translation brings to life the writer, his thoughts, and his times.
About the Author
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German priest and theologian whose intellectual revolt against certain practices of the Church led to the Reformation. He is regarded as the primary founder of Protestant Christianity, and as one of the pivotal figures of Western civilisation.
Bertram Lee-Woolf was educated at the Universities of Edinburgh, Halle, Marburg and Berlin and at the United Independent College, Bradford. He was Lecturer and Professor at New College, London and Extension Lecturer at the University of London and Oxford.
Contents
Volume I: The Basis of the Protestant Reformation
Preface
General Introduction
1. The Ninety-five Theses
2. A Short Exposition of the Decalogue, Apostles’ Creed, and Lord’s Prayer
3. An Appeal to the Ruling Class of German Nationality as to the Amelioration of the State of Christendom
4. The Pagan Servitude of the Church: A First Enquiry (De Captivitae Babylonica Ecclesiae Praeludium)
5. An Open Letter to Pope Leo X (1520)
6. The Freedom of a Christian
Appendix: Chronological Table of Luther’s Writings and of Contemporary Events
Index of Scripture References and Allusions
Index of Personal Names
Index of Subjects
Volume II: The Spirit of the Protestant Reformation
Preface
1. Fourteen Comforts for the Weary and Heavy Laden
2. Why the Books of the Pope and His Followers were Burned
3. A Word to Penitents about the Forbidden Books
4. Three Sermons Preached after the Summons to Worms
5. Luther at Worms
6. The Magnificat Translated and Expounded
7. Selected Biblical Prefaces
8. The Lord’s Supper and Order of Service
Index of Scripture References and Allusions
Index of Personal Names
Index of Subjects
Endorsements and Reviews
The two-volume Reformation Writings of Martin Luther is a significant contribution to Reformation studies, bringing together the German Reformer’s groundbreaking writings and ideas that ignited the Reformation in Europe. These volumes are an indispensable addition to the libraries of scholars, students, and enthusiasts of church history, especially the Reformation. Highly recommended! Marc Daniel Rivera In KristiyaKnow, March 2024
