Luther’s Works, Volume 50
Overview
Volume 50 of the American Edition of Luther’s Works is the third and final volume of letters in this series; it presents 89 letters written by Luther in the period from January 1532, to February 14, 1546, a date four days prior to Luther’s death.
Top Highlights
“Zwingli and Oecolampadius have intensely fought against this teaching18 and have maintained as the central point that Christ is able to be corporeally present [only] in heaven, at only one place, and not in the sacrament.” (Volume 50, Page 5)
“Conditional baptism must be abolished in the church. In case one either doubts11 or simply doesn’t know12 that a person has been baptized, one is simply to baptize unconditionally, and as if that person never had been baptized.” (Volume 50, Pages 14–15)
“If you wish to be fair, then you will attribute the fact that I shun this unity not to stubbornness, but to the urging of my conscience and to the force of my faith.” (Volume 50, Page 9)
“ But he was even dearer to God, who desired to have him.” (Volume 50, Page 51)
“The condition which for Luther has to be fulfilled before unity could be proclaimed, however, is the securing of Christ’s real presence in the Lord’s Supper. This could be accomplished only by affirming that in the Lord’s Supper Christ’s true body and blood are distributed to the believer and also the unbeliever. If Bucer cannot join in this affirmation—and Luther envisions this as a real possibility—then unity could not be established, argues Luther, and this for two reasons: (a) Luther’s own conscience demands affirmation of the confession that Christ’s body and blood are offered to believers and unbelievers alike; and (b) a minister’s responsibility for the faith of the communicants permits no yielding at this point, since unity means altar fellowship.” (Volume 50, Page 6)
- Title: Luther’s Works, Volume 50
- Authors: Martin Luther, Jaroslav Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, Helmut T. Lehmann
- Series: Luther’s Works
- Publisher: Fortress Press
- Print Publication Date: 1975
- Logos Release Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Theology › Early works to 1800; Lutheran Church; Bible › Criticism, interpretation, etc.--History
- ISBNs: 9780800603502, 0800603508
- Resource ID: LLS:42.110.150
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-28T20:19:52Z
Reviews
1 rating
Glenn Crouch
12/28/2021
This third and final volume of Luther’s Letters was a fascinating read - and I especially enjoyed his letters to his dear wife, Katherine. There is often a brutal honesty in the way Luther writes, that gives us a valuable insight into the man and his world. We hear about his dreams, his fears, and of course his bodily functions - we hear about the quality of the food and the beer - we see his anger, his impatience, and at times his mistakes and flaws. Too often, our Christian heroes (and heroines) are made out to be these impossibly perfect people - but here we see a real person, struggling to serve his Lord, his family and his community. This volume also gives us his letters in the weeks prior to his death, and once again those to his wife in this period are well worth the read. The many footnotes are invaluable in filling in the history and references made in the letters! I am so thankful to have read these 3 volumes of Luther’s letters and recommend them to all who wish to get to know the Reformer better, and to get to know his world as it was!