Dan Harmon (1)

Martin Luther: The Great Reformer by Edwin P. Booth. Epiphany library section 12 A: Teen, Religion/Devotions/Prayer. This version of Luther’s biography is for teens, or adults who want an easier version than the Luther bios for adults in section 2 B of our library. We also have several Luther bios for middle schoolers in section 10 A: a chapter book by Frederick Nohl and a book in storybook format with illustrations and maps by Paul Maier.
This version covers his entire life and fleshes out Luther well: of hardy, peasant stock, a rough sort of man, yet gentle and sensitive in matters of family and the heart. Readers visualize how hard life was in this era, full of risk, illness, plagues, superstition, poverty, harshness. Most people were very poor. Imagine the stamina it took for young Luther and a fellow monk to travel by foot from Germany to Rome!
After his 95 Theses resulted in the start of the Reformation, Luther was excommunicated by the Pope and would have been executed had he been captured. At that time, when he felt he had to risk travel, he masqueraded as a knight. Some clever German college students realized “Sir Knight” must be Dr. Luther when they observed him reading a book of the Psalms in Hebrew!
One of his most influential achievements was his translation of the Bible into German. So many Germans read Luther’s powerful translation, for the first time in their native tongue, that most of them soon adapted his speech patterns and vocabulary, modernizing the German language in just a few years.
If you have never read a Luther bio before, start with this one. Then you can dig into the Kittleson or Nestingen versions for a deeper discussion of his arguments with the Catholic church, his trials, various meetings with political and religious officials as the Reformation took hold and spread across Europe, and how his ideas influenced younger theologians and religious movements. We also have the DVD feature film, Luther, starring Joseph Fiennes. Borrow any of these items for up to three weeks.… (mer)