The Annotated Luther, Volume 1: The Roots of Reform
Overview
Volume 1 of The Annotated Luther series contains writings that defined the roots of reform set in motion by Martin Luther, beginning with the Ninety-Five Theses (1517) through The Freedom of a Christian (1520). Included are treatises, letters, and sermons written from 1517 to 1520, which set the framework for key themes in all of Luther’s later works. Also included are documents that reveal Luther’s earliest confrontations with Rome and his defense of views and perspectives that led to his excommunication by Leo X in 1520.
These documents display a Luther grounded in late medieval theology and its peculiar issues, trained in the latest humanist methods of the Renaissance, and, most especially, showing sensitivity toward the pastoral consequences of theological positions and church practice.
Key Features
- Provides annotations and key background information for people, events, and theological issues during the Reformation
- Identifies Scripture references to which Luther alludes, but does not include, in his text
- Includes commentary from top Luther scholars
- Clarifies the historical setting with maps, illustrations, timelines, artwork, images, and photos
Contents
- The Ninety-Five Theses [or] Disputation for Clarifying the Power of Indulgences
- Letter from Martin Luther to Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz, Dated 31 October 1517
- A Sermon on Indulgences and Grace by the Worthy Doctor Martin Luther, Augustinian Friar in Wittenberg
- Heidelberg Disputation
- The Proceedings at Augsburg (1518)
- A Sermon on the Meditation of Christ’s Holy Passion
- Sermon on the Sacrament of Penance, 1519
- The Holy and Blessed Sacrament of Baptism
- The Blessed Sacrament of the Holy and True Body of Christ, and the Brotherhoods
- Treatise on Good Works
- To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation concerning the Improvement of the Christian Estate, 1520
- The Freedom of a Christian
Top Highlights
“One thing and one thing alone is necessary for the Christian life, righteousness, and freedom, and that is the most holy word of God, the Gospel of Christ.” (Page 490)
“The theology of the cross recognizes that human beings cannot approach God through their own rational and moral resources—though God nonetheless remains the standard by which rationality and morality are measured. While a theology of glory falsely claims to know God from God’s works in creation, a theology of the cross actually knows God from the sufferings of the cross of Christ.” (Page 73)
“His approach to the problem betrayed a method of investigation, shared with other humanist scholars of the day, which insisted that to understand a topic fully, one had to return ad fontes (to the sources), where the earliest sources were more reliable than later ones.h What this study revealed to Luther was that the ancient church had understood the satisfaction owed for temporal punishment of sin quite differently than the church of his day. In Luther’s studied opinion, the pope had authority to grant indulgences but could offer them only for ecclesiastical punishment established in canon law, which had nothing to do with divine punishment.” (Pages 21–22)
“For each mortal sin, penitential books used by the priests specified certain penalties. Because most persons committed so many mortal sins over their lifetimes as to accumulate more works of satisfaction than could be done while alive, and because the Bible insisted that only the pure in heart would ‘see God’ (that is, participate in the heavenly, beatific vision), God mercifully established a place of purgation (Latin: purgatorium) where the remaining temporal punishments could be satisfied under the overarching assumption that, for the sake of divine righteousness, punishment had to be exacted for every sin.” (Page 15)
Praise for the Print Edition
The advent of The Annotated Luther series should be cause for celebration among scholars, pastors, students, and others eager to have easy access to so many of Martin Luther’s key writings. If the appealing layout, rich images, and erudite editorials featured in volume 1 are an indication of what’s to come, then The Annotated Luther will quickly become the go-to resource for learning about Luther’s work and context.
—Hans Wiersma, Augsburg College
Wengert and his colleagues have produced a valuable text for classroom use and personal study. This is an excellent start to what promises to be a fine series.
—Kathryn A. Kleinhans, Wartburg College
As congregations and members of congregations face an increasingly more diverse and chaotic world, their struggle for what it means to be Christian in their context increases, not unlike Christians in Luther’s day. I am thrilled that Fortress Press is publishing The Annotated Luther, Volume I: The Roots of Reform. The individual works included in this volume are central to the particular witness Lutherans can share for a life of faith in the world and how it can be a witness of hope in the midst of pluralism and change. The essays and study tools, included alongside the original texts, bring these works to life for us today. I encourage you to include this series in your congregation’s library and use it for group or personal study.
—Gordon J. Straw, program director for Lay Schools for Ministry, Congregational and Synodical Mission Unit, ELCA
- Title: The Annotated Luther, Volume 1: The Roots of Reform
- Authors: Martin Luther, Timothy J. Wengert
- Series: The Annotated Luther
- Volume: 1
- Publisher: Fortress Press
- Print Publication Date: 2015
- Logos Release Date: 2015
- Pages: 544
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Reformation; Theology › Early works to 1800
- ISBNs: 9781451462692, 9781451465358, 1451462697, 1451465351
- Resource ID: LLS:ANNOTLUTV1
- Resource Type: text.monograph.collected-work
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T21:53:14Z
About Timothy J. Wengert
Timothy J. Wengert is Ministerium of Pennsylvania Professor of Reformation History at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is a representative for ELCA on the Commission on Faith and Order of the National Council of Churches. He is author or editor of several books including Reading the Bible with Martin Luther: An Introductory Guide and Law & Gospel: Philip Melancthon’s Debate with John Agricola of Eisleben over Poenitentia and coeditor with Robert Kolb of The Book of Concord.