In this book, John Maxfield gives the reader a glimpse of what Luther was like as a university lecturer commenting orally on biblical texts. He also shows how Luther set out to form his students spiritually by outlining the contours of a new religious identity through his interpretation of the stories found in the book of Genesis.

Scholars such as Mickey Mattox and Ulrich Köpf have stressed the continuing influence of medieval tradition on Luther's view of spiritual formation. Slightly modifying their analysis, Maxfield's main thesis is that Luther's reading of the texts actually yields a “radically untraditional” view of the Christian life (4) and a “revolutionary break” with the monastic outlook (75).

After clarifying how Luther viewed the Bible and the appropriate way to study it, Maxfield shows how Luther crafted a new conception of the Christian life by locating the pursuit of holiness, not apart from the world, but within the three worldly orders that God established: civil government, the household, and the church. In chapters devoted to each of these topics, the author elucidates how Luther used the Genesis stories, from Adam to Joseph, to speak to the concerns of his day. Following Karlfried Froehlich, Maxfield calls Luther's approach an “affective interpretation” of the biblical texts, which seeks to reveal the existential implications of the Genesis stories and uses them to promote the self-analysis of the hearer or reader (64).

This book provides helpful insights into Luther's understanding of the Old Testament and of the new elements of his religious outlook.