Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career

by James M. Kittelson

Publisher:

Fortress Press

, 1986

Overview

Engaging and authoritative, Kittleson’s important and popular biography is here—represented with a new cover and new preface by the author. His single-volume biography has become a standard resource for those who wish to delve into the depths of the Reformer without drowning in a sea of scholarly concerns.

In the Logos edition of Luther the Reformer, you get easy access to Scripture texts and to a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Hovering over Scripture references links you instantly to the verse you’re looking for, and with Passage Guides, Word Studies, and a wealth of other tools from Logos, you can delve into God’s Word like never before!

Key Features

• Note from the author
• Illustrations, table, and maps
• Bibliographical references and index

Contents

Top Highlights

“Luther’s new understanding of a Christian as being both righteous and sinful at the same time worked a revolution. Christians lived in faith and hope. Those who were truly faithful were always beginning the walk of faith and had never reached its goal. Good deeds (in particular, acts of love for one’s neighbor) were part of this life, but neither they nor special spiritual exercises added anything to faith, which was created and constantly refreshed by the Word. Consequently, those who were truly faithful were not in a state of loving God, but rather of being loved by God. All they required was the Word.” (Page 120)

“Near the end of the disputation he declared, ‘The law says, ‘Do this!’ and it is never done. Grace says, ‘Believe in this man!’ and immediately everything is done.’” (Page 112)

“There he spoke of God’s righteousness as a quality God gave to believers and by which he made them acceptable in his presence.” (Page 89)

“trivium, which was composed of grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic” (Page 46)

“Here was what Luther called the ‘proper’ work of the law, which he often described as a hammer or an anvil that smashed down human pride and made room for God’s love. Luther loved plays on words and here chose to refer to the law by using the German word Spiegel. God’s law was a Spiegel (which could also mean ‘mirror’) that revealed to human beings what they truly were—in need of grace. Thus, when God was most terrifying and most righteous, he was in fact most gracious. God’s mercy was a loving hand within an iron fist.” (Pages 93–94)

Product Details

• Title: Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career
• Author: James M. Kittelson
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 336

About James M. Kittelson

James M. Kittleson is a professor of Church history and director of the Lutheran Brotherhood Foundation Reformation Research Program at Luther Seminary.