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Review
| Martin Luther: A Brief Introduction to His Life and Works, by Paul R. Waibel. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2005. 152 pages. $12.95, paper.
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| While there is no shortage of books about Martin Luther, accessible, understandable, and pedagogically useful accounts of Luther are harder to find. Paul Waibel's Martin Luther joins the readable ranks of works like those of Roland Bainton's Here I Stand (1950) and Martin Marty's Martin Luther (2004). The short book opens with a concise biographical introduction to Luther's life and times. After narrating the familiar story of Luther's early life, his strained relationship with his father, and Luther's neurotic though strangely attractive monastic devotion, Waibel carefully describes the political firestorm Luther created by posting the 95 Theses and later refusing to recant his written meditations on religious and doctrinal reform. After noting Luther's connections to other major Reformation figures like Ulrich Zwingli, Waibel examines the pastoral work in which Luther participated, namely preaching and the composition of hymns. This captures Luther as monk and as parish minister, two dimensions of Luther that rarely receive concurrent attention. A short and clear chapter on Reformation and Medieval conceptions of salvation follows Luther's biography, and here Waibel deftly argues that Luther's greatest theological concerns involved his ontological standing before his God and the nature of human-divine interaction and reciprocation. |
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Chapters 3-6 summarize and discuss not only pivotal moments in Luther's life, but also foundational documents written and published by the controversial reformer. Beginning with Luther's 95 Theses (1517) Waibel argues that these document's significance lay in their innovative program for Christian devotional life, a call to "follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ" (47) rather than to embrace the "works-righteousness" (47) of medieval Christianity. Waibel then discusses Luther's pivotal works of 1520, the address to German Christian nobles, a treatise on doctrine and ritual, and a book on practical theology, offering concise summaries of them. He explains the contest of each document and narrates the circumstances that surrounded Luther during the composition of each work. Waibel argues that these three works outlined the changing contours of Luther's theology. Concerning Bondage of the Will Waibel masterfully describes and summarizes Luther's debate with humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus, heated conversations that resulted in Luther's major book. According to Waibel, this book underscored the major differences between Protestant Reformers and Christian humanists over the human role in salvation. In addition, Waibel suggests that this work illuminates differences between Protestants and Catholics even today. |
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A chapter notes two of Luther's writings deal that with views of the Jews in Reformation Europe (That Jesus was Born a Jew, (1523) and On the Jews and Their Lies (1543). Luther hoped that Jews would "convert" Jews to Christianity in his time but he also both hoped and expected that many Jews would convert to Christianity in the days of the Apocalypse. This theological hope, however, appeared nowhere in Luther's prescriptive for treatment of Jews: the destruction of crops, razing of homes, and the burning of Jewish religious literature. In a postscript Waibel suggests that understanding Luther's "biblical" view history provides a key to understanding his bold and provocative stands, his personal idiosyncrasies, and in general the sixteenth-century Protestant worldview. Ultimately, Waibel contends, studying Luther gives "insight" into the "perennial [human] search for truth and meaning" (106) because Luther himself grappled with these questions and believed firmly that spiritual vitality emerged through the crucible of suffering and struggle. |
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Despite the book's resounding successes, readers might identify and subsequently criticize Waibel's slightly Protestant sounding comparison of Protestant and Catholic schemes of salvation. Furthermore, Waibel's suggestion of Luther's (and other Reformers') notion of sola Scriptura as a rejection of church tradition suggests a decidedly Protestant reading of Luther. The work of Luther scholar Eric Gristch, for example, demonstrates that Luther interpreted the Bible, at least in part, through the lens of church councils and a more expansive notion of Christian tradition. Waibel's assertion that Luther's larger importance lay in his understanding of "perennial" human questions has a moderately moralizing tone to it, though this contention is entirely viable and certainly accurate. Finally, a recent book about Luther is absent from Waibel's helpful bibliography: Stephen Nichols, Martin Luther: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought (Presbyterian & Reformed, 2003). These quibbles aside, Waibel's brief and lucid account of Martin Luther succeeds masterfully by effectively and engagingly presenting not only the complexities that defined Luther as a person, but also explaining the vicissitudes that framed Reformation Europe. Two maps offer a visual representation of Reformation Europe, chapter summaries highlight salient points, an annotated chronology of Luther's writings explains the evolution of Luther's thinking, and a brief bibliographic essay provides orientation to and direction for further study. Waibel's Martin Luther could be used in both regular or Advanced Placement world history or European history courses and students (both high school and undergraduate) will surely appreciate the readability of Waibel's book and his careful contextualization of Luther's most important writings. |
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| Second Baptist School, Houston, Texas |
Phillip Luke Sinitiere |
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