The Life of Martin Luther (Part 8): Erasmus and the Bondage of the Will (1525)

Volker Leppin returns to the podcast for a discussion on his recent book Luther und die Juden (for which there is an upcoming English version Luther and the Jews through Fortress Press). In this episode we look at the influence of medieval Bible commentators on Luther's own hermeunetic and how Luther treats Judaism in some of his writings from the 1510's and 1520's. (The podcast will look at later Luther writings like On the Jews and their Lies when we get to that point in the timeline in the current Luther series.) Volker Leppin is the Horace Tracy Pitkin professor of Historical-Theology at Yale University and a leading scholar in the study of Luther, the Reformation, and the Middle Ages. Some of his recent works include Medieval Spirituality: An Introduction, Francis of Assisi: The Life of a Restless Saint, and Gottespuren: Das christliche Europa vor seiner Entzauberung.  (He was previously on the podcast to discuss his book Sola: Christ, Grace, Faith, and Scripture Alone in Martin Luther's Theology)

The Reformation in Germany was more than a reform of worship, church practice, preaching, and theology (as big as these changes were), but also had widespread societal effects including how poverty was tackled. In this episode, Dr. Anna Marie Johnson discusses this wider influence of the Reformation and her recent book Reforming Faith: The Wittenberg Circle and the Reformation of Christian Life.  Shownotes: -Dr. Johnson's facult bio page which has a list of her works and contributions to the field of Reformation studies -The following books are referenced and mentioned in the episode: -- John M. Frymire's The Primary of the Postils: Catholics, Protestants, and the Dissemination of Ideas in Early Modern Germany -- Scott H. Hendrix's Martin Luther: Visionary Reformer and Luther and the Papacy: Stages in a Reformation Conflict 

Special guest Dr. Jack Kilcrease returns to the podcast today joining Andrew, James, and Connor to discuss the 16th-century humanist Desiderius Erasmus, his contribution to the Reformation, and Luther's theological treatise against him. Read more about Jack on his website. Shownotes: -Bondage of the Will can be found in Luther's Works, Volume 33 -We also mention the J.I. Packer translation -the Gerhard Forde quote on the hermeneutical difference between Luther and Erasmus comes from The Captivation of the Will: Luther vs. Erasmus on Freedom and Bondage  

Andrew, Kyle, and James discuss Johann Eck's theses against Luther and other Reformers, Luther's sharp polemics, the burning of the papal bull, the Diet of Worms, Luther's stay at Wartburg Castle, and his translating the New Testament into German.  Shownotes: -Johann Eck's 404 Theses -Go to this website to let Luther insult you -Herman Selderhius' book Martin Luther: A Spiritual Biography -The phone app game mentioned is "Luther-- The Journey" -Luther's Preface to the New Testament can be found in Luther's Works Volume 35   We refer to two previous episodes of our podcast: -Our episode with Stephen Chester, on the Reformers, the New Perspective on Paul, and Pauline Interpretation -Our episode with Volker Leppin on the Leipzig Debate

1518 is a pivotal year for Luther, and when things start to get serious. James and Andrew discuss the meeting of Luther's Augustian order in Heidelberg where Luther articulates a "new" theology of sin and grace and his 'Theology of the Cross' and the meeting of Luther with Cardinal Cajetan that reveal a difference in their understanding on papacy.  Shownotes: -Both the Heidelberg Disputation and Luther's writing on his meeting with Cajetan (titled "The Proceedings at Augsburg") can be found in Luther's Works, Volume 31  -The theses from the Heidelberg Disputation can be read online here -Andrew references the Mockingbird article "Theologians of Glory versus Theologians of the Cross: An Intro and Definition" -Scott Hendrix's book Luther and the Papacy: Stages in a Reformation Conflict -James mentions the book Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings (where the work "Disputation Against the Scholastics") can be found in, and is a good introduction to the key primary works from Luther -A compilation of works by Cardinal Thomas Cajetan: Cajetan Responds: A Reader in Reformation Controversy, edited by (and with an introduction from) Jared Wicks

Andrew and Kyle tackle development from the pre-Reformation Luther to the, let's say, 'half-Reformation' Luther who posts the 95 Theses. Enjoy! Please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] We appreciate your thoughts of our show.  Shownotes:  -Robert Kolb's book Luther's Wittenberg World: The Reformer's Family, Friends, Followers, and Foes -The quote about Spalatin was from Lyndal Roper's book Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet  -Amy Mantravadi's historical-fiction novels Broken Bonds and Face to Face -Look here to see artwork of Lucas Cranach -Luther's commentary on the Psalms can be found in Luther's Works, Volume 10 -Brian T. German's book Psalms of the Faithful: Luther's Early Reading of the Psalter in Canonical Context -Andrew discusses his own article "Between Two Testaments: Luther’s Shift in Attitude Toward the Book of Revelation" which was published in Logia Vol. 32, No. 3 -The article above referenced Scott Hendrix's “Luther against the Backdrop of the History of Biblical Interpretation" found in the journal Interpretation vol. 37 and Erik Herrmann's article “Luther’s Absorption of Medieval Biblical Interpretation,” from The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther’s Theology -R.C. Sproul's book Luther and the Reformation: How a Monk Discovered the Gospel -Lowell Green's book How Melanchthon Helped Luther Discover the Gospel -Ernst Bizer's book Fidex ex audita -The book on the Finnish interpretation of Luther that we mentioned is Union with Christ -

Andrew, Connor, & James dive into a period critical for Luther's intellectual and spiritual growth.  Shownotes Diogenes Allen & Eric Springsted's book Philosophy for Understanding Theology Jordan Cooper's Substack post Martin Luther's Relation to Aristotelian Ethics Denis R. Janz's book Luther and Late Medieval Thomism Website for the 'Luther stone' in Stotternheim Berndt Hamm's book The Early Luther: Stages in a Reformation Reorientation Jean Gerson's classic work The Consolation of Theology Steven Ozment's book The Age of Reform, 1250-1550: An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe

In this episode, Kyle, Andrew, and James look at young Luther in his student years in Eisenach and Erfurt. We discuss the history of those places (including some interesting 20th century history of those places under communism), Luther's thirst for clarity and certainty that his law studies didn't satisfy, and the penitential system of the medieval church. We hope you enjoy. Shownotes -Herman Selderhuis' book Martin Luther: A Spiritual Biography -Robert Kolb's book Martin Luther as He Lived and Breathed -Ernest Becker's book The Denial of Death  -Article: "Martin Luther's Germany" by John Dornberg, Washington Post, Oct. 2nd, 1983 -Article: "Martin Luther" by Elizabeth Pond, Christian Science Monitor, April 20th, 1983. -Article: "The Luther Anniversary in East Germany" by Robert Goeckel, World Politics, Vol. 37, No. 1 -the Wiki article on Johann Hilten 

In the second episode of out Luther series, we continue our discussion on the middle ages (the good, the bad, and thing in between), the intellectual currents of Luther's time, and Luther's origins. (At this rate, we may be in for a longer series!) Enjoy. We are curious to hear your thoughts on the podcast, please reach out to us as [email protected] Shownotes: -James mentions the book Long Before Luther by Nathan Busenitz - The quote about the "toughness and readiness" that Luther would have gained from his upbringing in Mansfield comes from Lyndal Roper's book Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet - The argument from Aquinas is taken from the book Summa of the Summa (edited by Peter Kreeft)

Andrew is joined by friends of the show the Rev. Connor Longaphie and the Rev. Dr. Kyle Tomlin to discuss the life of Martin Luther. This is the first of a multi-part series. In this episode, we talk about the backdrop of the word that Luther was born into. Shownotes: The quote that Andrew refers to in the beginning is from H.H. Kramm's The Theology of Martin Luther Andrew recommended the following biographies of Luther for further reading: Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet by Lyndal Roper Martin Luther as He Lived and Breathed by Robert Kolb Martin Luther: A Spiritual Autobiography by Herman Selderhuis Kyle recommended Martin Luther: A Life by James Nestingen The clip of the Eric Metaxas interview Andrew was referring to can be viewed here.