Reviews for Faith and Freedom: An Invitation to the Writings of Martin Luther

The average rating for Faith and Freedom: An Invitation to the Writings of Martin Luther based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-06-24 00:00:00 Joseph Vendetti An engrossing collection of Martin Luther's writing that sheds more light on the man than the copious biographies and pseudobiographies that abound. For a man whose work and life has changed 500 years of Christendom, Luther has received his fair share of bad press, most undeserved and uncritical. This collection reveals a pastor whose primary concern is the compassionate caring for his flock, not a fiery Reformer aiming for the destruction of the "Antichrist" (the papacy). In this collection, one gets the sense that Luther's motivations for his Reforming activity are first-and-foremost the protection and defense of his people from dangerous teachings that will destroy them. The Luther of these writings is not the same as the Luther of the Bondage of the Will, where he performs his exegetical-prophetic work; instead, he performs exegetical-teaching work, pastoral homilies, and personal edifications. The collection is excellent, and even though Luther can, at times, repeat the same topic over and over, and even though his views on some things are not as "modern" as most contemporary Christians, he is still a worthy guide and reminder of solid Reformation doctrine. He is also a passable humanist, with a solid grasp of Hebrew and Greek (necessary for his exegeses), a hymnist (of course!), and a fervent defender of the institution of marriage (and a defender of women, too). His economic theology includes the much-needed admonitions against greed that American theology rejects, but his political theology has aged poorly. At some moments, Luther is "progressive" or prophetic; at others, he is a curmudgeon and irrelevant. But the weight and power of the former moments is far more worthy than the latter. Reading Luther the pastor is an indispensable resource for the modern pastor.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-10-20 00:00:00 Garry Bollinger Great compilation of Luther's writing.