The Life of Martin Luther (Part 3)

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.

James and Andrew finally get around to completing the English Reformation series, and also give updates on life and a peak at upcoming episodes of the podcast. Shownotes: Richard Hooker, The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, Vol. 1 Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Later Reformation in England, 1547-1603

We are reposting our 2024 episode from our conversation with Volker Leppin. (The podcast will be on break through January and resuming in February with some exciting new content). Check out Volker Leppin's latest works that have come out since this episode originally aired: United with Christ: Martin Luther and Christian Mysticism and Francis of Assissi: The Life of a Restless Saint.  Formally published Episode Details: Renowned Luther scholar Volker Leppin comes on the podcast to for a great discussion on his most recent book Sola: Christ, Grace, Faith, and Scripture Alone in Martin Luther's Theology from Lutheran Quarterly Books and the famous debate between Martin Luther and Johann Eck in June and July of 1519 known as the Leipzig Debate which proved to be a turning point in Luther's understanding of Scripture's authority.  Volker Leppin is the Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of Historical Theology at Yale Divinity School. Prior to Yale, he taught church history at University of Jena and University of Tübingen. He is the author of many books, monographs, and articles in church history, especially on the Middle Ages, the Reformation, and Martin Luther. He is especially known for his biography of Luther titled Martin Luther: A Late Medieval Life.  SHOWNOTES: The works about Luther that Dr. Leppin mentions were significant for him were: Karl Holl's "Luther", presented as a lecture on Oct 31st 1917. Gerhard Ebeling's book Evangelische Evangelienauslegung: Eine Untersuchung zu Luthers Hermeneutik Heiko Oberman's book Luther: Man Between God and the Devil  (Andrew also brought up Oberman's book The Dawn of the Reformation: Essays in Late Medieval and Early Reformation Thought)

In the past few years, Roman Catholicism (and to a lesser extent Eastern Orthodoxy) has been attractive to people (including younger people) looking for tradition, beauty, and stability in a world that is often chaotic. What are the "pitfalls and possibilities" (to quote Doc Brown) of this 'Current Catholic Moment'? John Hoyum, a Lutheran pastor and academic, joins Andrew and James on the podcast today to discuss this topic and things related to it. This conversation was inspired from his recent article "Reformation Christians and the Current Catholic Moment". SHOWNOTES: In today's episode, James brings up the book Long Before Luther: Tracing the Heart of the Gospel from Christ to the Reformation  John brings up the following resources (which he also references in his article above): -video of Ryan Burge's statistical analysis of the alleged religious revival -Daphne Hampse's book Christian Contradictions: The Structures of Lutheran and Catholic Thought -Jaroslav Pelikan's book The Riddle of Roman Catholicism -Herman Sasse's book Here We Stand

We were delighted for Amy Mantravadi to return to the podcast to discuss her book Face to Face: A Novel of the Reformation,the second of her two-part novel series. (She joined us to discuss the first book Broken Bonds on an episode earlier this year.) Amy is a regular contributor at 1517 and writes about theological and historical topics.  SHOWNOTES The following works are brought up or referenced in this episode: -Amy's previous work The Chronicles of Maud trilogy. -Robert Kolb's Bound Choice, Election, and the Wittenberg Theological Method -Rudolf & Marilynn Markwald’s book Katharina von Bora: A Reformation Life -Martin Luther's Bondage of the Will  -Martin Luther's “Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants” (1525), which can be found in Luther's Works, Volume 46 -Coming Soon: Amy's talk “How the Bondage of the Will Changes My Life” will be featured in an upcoming video from the 1517 YouTube channel.    

A mix of topics on this episode. We continue to promote James' Substack Rogues and Reformers about his use of comic books as teaching tools for Reformational theology, and we focus particularly on what the Joker's story can teach us about human depravity and gospel-grace. Then, we go to Andrew's latest Mockingbird article on what the former KISS guitarist the late Ace Frehley can teach us about human depravity and gospel-grace. Then, yes, we get to the English Reformation and look at Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, & Lady Jane Grey. Shownotes: -Rogues & Reformers Issue #6: The Joker- The Laughable Myth of Inherent Goodness  -Andrew's article "Ace and Grace" –We reference former Doth Protest episode "Lady Jane Grey" –Peter Marshall's book Heretics & Believers –Eric Ives' book Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery –Diarmaid MacCulloch's book The Boy King: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation

Andrew and James continue their chronological walkthrough of the English Reformation discussing Katherine Parr, Edward VI, Martin Bucer, and the 1549 and 1552 Books of Common Prayer. Enjoy! We want to hear from you. Pease send feedback to [email protected] Episode Shownotes -Luther-scholarship that has identified Max Weber as a misinterpretor of Luther's 'two-kingdoms' teaching includes William Wright's book Martin Luther's Understanding of God's Two Kingdoms: A Response to the Challenge of Skepticism and Michael P. DeJonge's Bonhoeffer's Reception of Luther. -Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook's article ”Katherine Parr and the Reformed Religion” in Anglican Theological Review Vo. 72, No. 1 - A.G. Dickens' classic text The English Reformation -  

Andrew and James return to have a catch-up episode- with each other and with you. James started a substack called "Rogues & Reformers" on how Reformational theology can inform our read of comic books and superheroes. Andrew discusses a church trip he went on walking in the footsteps of Paul the Apostle. We offer what we hope can be a pastoral word on the murder of Charlie Kirk.   Shownotes James' Substack "Rogues & Reformers" Itinerary and info on Andrew's Trip