From years of encountering Luther with his students in seminar, Herman Selderhuis has grown to appreciate the personality as well as the thought of Martin Luther. Like an old friend, he does not hesitate to place the unattractive alongside the intriguing and alluring aspects of his person. Above all Selderhuis seeks to share with readers the way in which this fellow human being, with sometimes flagrant flaws (cf. his discussion of Luther's writings on the Jews, pp. 286–8) alongside great gifts and talents, embodies the Christian experience that flows from immersion in Scripture, where Luther believed God was addressing him. Selderhuis places the man in his historical context and explains his actions and his message within his late medieval central European milieu, while pointing to what makes him a figure whose life is worth exploring five hundred years later.
Luther's controversies, confession of the faith and method of practice, biblical interpretation and proclamation, his interactions with friends and foes as well as political leaders, all offer extensive details that can (and have) fill(ed) volumes; Selderhuis has chosen judiciously the elements of the unfolding career that spark interest and deepen the reader's understanding. He wisely does not try to identity a moment of Turmerlebnis or ‘reformational breakthrough’ but instead deems it ‘better to speak of a reformational development that began in 1513 and was completed in 1518’ (pp. 84, 110–12). While I might date the beginning a bit earlier and the end a bit later, this decision to focus on a process rather than one chief moment in that process points to a healthy development in recent Luther research. The depiction of key events in Luther's life sketches the drama of these turning points and the inner struggles which the reformer experienced in them in a vivid manner that draws readers into the time and place (for example, the account of the Diet of Worms at pp. 151–68, or the Peasants’ Revolt at pp. 201–5).
‘God, the Devil, and death were everyday topics in the world into which Martin Luther was born’ (p. 21). Selderhuis's account begins, demonstrating not only that they were mentioned but also that they were present in Luther's consciousness throughout his life. The devil's assaults included, Luther complained, the physical afflictions that plagued him time and time again (pp. 278–82). His account could have profited from a rehearsal of more specifics on this piety uncovered through the work of Bernd Hamm and others, who in recent years have been exploring the rich veins of the monastic-mystical piety that had as formative an impact on the Augustinian brother as did his instruction in the Ockhamistic philosophy and theology in university lectures. None the less, this volume clearly and helpfully brings twenty-first century readers into a world of indulgences (pp. 93–8) and debates over the freedom or bondage of the will (pp. 205–9) with sensitivity to both late medieval world views and our contemporary way of thinking.
Selderhuis emphasises that Luther's proposals for reform were ‘radically different from’ the reform movements that had been going on in the fifteenth century: ‘He wanted to articulate an entirely different vision of man's relationship to God’ (p. 33). This account gives details of this vision at key points in its development within the narrative recounting Luther's career. Succinct discussions of Luther's ‘theology of the cross’ (pp. 108–10) and ‘distinction of the two kinds of righteousness’ (pp. 110–12), for example, help readers taste the basic elements of Luther's new definition of being Christian without overpowering them with specific arguments and technical definitions. One vital aspect of Luther's way of thinking that does not come through as clearly as it might is his assessment of the power of the promise of the Gospel, in oral, written and sacramental forms. For Luther, these forms served as God's instrument of actually effecting forgiveness of sins, life and salvation in his chosen people.
The author also provides sufficient description of the political structures and tensions of the Holy Roman Empire and its relationship with the papacy to clarify for modern readers why certain events unfolded as they did without overwhelming readers with all the intricacies of these systems.
Many developments in Luther's story embrace his relationships with others. This volume treats these relationships, such as that with his parents (pp. 25–36, 44–6); his Augustinian brothers (pp. 49–54, 86–7); his colleagues, including Melanchthon (pp. 121–4); his foes, for example Johannes Eck (pp. 2–143); and his wife, Katharina von Bora, and children (pp. 188–201, 215–27), with sensitivity and insight.
The most exciting events in Luther's life, according to most historians, took place in the years before 1522. However, Luther's leadership in forming the ecclesiastical scene that would endure, despite many changes, to this day took place after 1522. Selderhuis pays attention to the details of the reshaping of piety and church practice as well as the reformer's conflicts with Roman Catholic and other critics during the final two decades of his life, highlighting his work of bible translation, for instance, and his lectures on Scripture that created works highly appreciated by his students.
The essence of Luther's life, as Selderhuis constructs his ‘spiritual biography’, is captured in his final paragraph: ‘When [Luther] entered the monastery, he was asked the question posed to all novices: “What do you seek here?” Luther answered that he was seeking God. That was indeed true. He sought God in Erfurt and found him outside Jerusalem’ (p. 313).
