Hans Schwarz, a widely known scholar of Luther and Christianity, has created this volume on the teachings of Martin Luther especially for those unfamiliar with Lutheranism. Too often Luther’s work has been considered only of interest to Lutherans, despite the influence he has had on Christianity and society.
The first chapter outlines what is distinct about the Lutheran faith starting with Schwarz’s observation that Lutheranism (like Roman Catholicism) finds itself linguistically tied to the juridical language of Latin. For Lutherans, the key legal concept is justification by faith in Christ, which is known through Scripture. Schwarz notes that this is distinct from the interests of the Greek-speaking churches who are more centered on deification and the penetration of the Spirit into the soul.
The second and third chapters prove of note to anyone interested in modern history. Schwarz discusses Luther’s involvement and correspondence with Henry VIII of England, Christian II in Denmark, Zwingli, and Calvin, as well as leaders in eastern Europe. The third chapter examines the idea of “grace alone” in the history of churches—noting that, with the Joint Declaration on Justification, both Roman Catholics and Lutherans claim the graciousness of God as a building block for unity between the churches. This is not to say that there are not differences between the two traditions, which Schwarz clearly explains, but that there is mutual appreciation for Luther’s articulation of this theology of grace.
Schwarz’s understanding of philosophy shines through in the fourth, fifth, and six chapters, which explain Luther’s view of what human beings know of God through reason and through Scripture. Those that claimed natural knowledge of God were often criticized by Luther for projecting their own desires on God and expecting God to be in accordance with our own limited reason. Yet Luther did proclaim that all people in some way have a sense of God as something greater than themselves. Schwarz, whose knowledge of Luther’s works is vast, puts forward passages from a variety of places in Luther’s canon to provide the reader with a nuanced understanding of Luther’s theology of the God, who is known by every human heart and entered history in the flesh to be known more fully. Similarly, Schwarz explains two key dialectics in Luther’s thinking—first, law and gospel, and second, the two ways God rules. Schwarz succinctly and clearly brings the novice reader to understand and appreciate these concepts.
The second half of the book speaks to Luther’s social thinking and his influence on education, modern understandings of vocation, human communication, economics, science, patriarchy and marriage, and hymns. Schwarz demonstrates how Luther’s thinking permeates contemporary thought and language while also calling the reader to think about what we might learn from Luther to help us with contemporary problems.
Schwarz’s book is both concise and nuanced. He does not simplify complex concepts but articulates them clearly. A special gift of this book is its attention to history; there are details that will be new to even the Luther scholar as well as his intended new-to-Luther reader. Rather than the usual biography of Luther, Schwarz’s book explains Luther’s thought and how it affected his world and ours. The questions at the end of each chapter are helpful to readers in community and demonstrate what a fine teacher Schwarz is. This book will encourage a novice reader to begin study of the many works Schwarz quotes. All in all, this book answers the call for a work on Luther that introduces his remarkable thought to an audience beyond Lutherans. May it be widely read.
