Freedom of a Christian: With Related Texts (Hackett Classics) - Hardcover

Martin Luther

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0872207676 ISBN 13: 9780872207677

Publisher: Hackett Publishing Co, Inc, 2009

Synopsis

Perhaps the clearest and most influential statement of the principles driving the early Protestant reformers, Martin Luther's On the Freedom of a Christian (1520) challenged the teachings and authority of the old Church while simultaneously laying out the blueprint for a new one.

About this title

Review:

The translations are accurate and clear, and the introductory essay does a wonderful job of distilling complicated theological controversies into terms that are comprehensible by an undergraduate audience. The edition's greatest asset, though, is the range of texts that it includes. By including works by Luther's Catholic opponents and his erstwhile allies, this edition demonstrates that "On the Freedom of a Christian" represented not only a high point in Luther's thought, but also a starting point in a debate that spanned Christendom and had massive social and political implications.--Philip Haberkern, "Boston University"

A highly readable translation, with excellent contextualization and annotation.--Joel F. Harrington, Vanderbilt University

With a few key primary sources, [Helfferich] introduces the Reformation in all its complexity. While emphasizing the centrality of religion and belief in the Reformation movement--including key theological concepts of Luther and the mainstream Reformation, of Catholic theologians, and of Mu]ntzer and the more radical elements in the Reformation--the texts collected in this volume also introduce readers to its social, cultural, and economic aspects, topics of so much of the recent scholarship on the Reformation.

The work includes an excellent general Introduction that, in a lucid and systematic manner, presents the reader with those key aspects of the period's Christian thought and practice against which Luther would react in "On the Freedom of a Christian." And although individually brief, the cumulative effect of the various introductions [to each related text] is to provide the reader with a broad range of information about the Reformation in general.--Robert J. Christman, " Luther College""

With a few key primary sources, [Helfferich] introduces the Reformation in all its complexity. While emphasizing the centrality of religion and belief in the Reformation movement--including key theological concepts of Luther and the mainstream Reformation, of Catholic theologians, and of Mu]ntzer and the more radical elements in the Reformation--the texts collected in this volume also introduce readers to its social, cultural, and economic aspects, topics of so much of the recent scholarship on the Reformation.

The work includes an excellent general Introduction that, in a lucid and systematic manner, presents the reader with those key aspects of the period's Christian thought and practice against which Luther would react in On the Freedom of a Christian. And although individually brief, the cumulative effect of the various introductions [to each related text] is to provide the reader with a broad range of information about the Reformation in general.--Robert J. Christman, Luther College

The translations are accurate and clear, and the introductory essay does a wonderful job of distilling complicated theological controversies into terms that are comprehensible by an undergraduate audience. The edition's greatest asset, though, is the range of texts that it includes. By including works by Luther's Catholic opponents and his erstwhile allies, this edition demonstrates that On the Freedom of a Christian represented not only a high point in Luther's thought, but also a starting point in a debate that spanned Christendom and had massive social and political implications.--Philip Haberkern, Boston University

A highly readable translation, with excellent contextualization and annotation.--Joel F. Harrington, Vanderbilt University

Synopsis:

In this, the first complete English translation based on Luther's own German text, John Frymire renders Luther's distinctive style into modern, readable American English. He also offers an introduction to Luther's life and work, thorough notes on historical and Biblical references in the text, an annotated bibliography, and a selection of related documents designed to help students set this seminal work of Reformation thought into its historical and theological context.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hackett Publishing Co, Inc
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0872207676
• ISBN 13: 9780872207677
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160
• Editor: Tryntje Helfferich