A fascinating and well-written biography of one of the most influential men in church history. The account of Luther's emergence from within the Roman Catholic Church to become a prominent religious dissenter and champion of justification "sola fide" occupies the majority of this work. This portion of the work almost mandates a second or third reading due to the sheer number of characters which interplay in the complicated ecclesiastical and governmental milieu of Luther's day. The latter portion of the book contains a comparatively brief, but helpful, overview of Luther's Bible, his reform of the liturgy and music (especially congregational song!), and his often criticized (and perhaps somewhat misunderstood) anti-Semitic sentiments. A must-read for anyone interested in Reformation history.

Full review and highlights at https://books.max-nova.com/here-i-stand

Halloween 2017 is the 500th anniversary of a turning point in Western history. Although few actions have changed the world as much as Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the church door at Wittenberg, it was barely mentioned in my formal education. Bainton's "Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther" filled an important gap in my understanding of the world. Bainton introduced me to the complex issues of religion, politics, and history needed to comprehend the daring and the significance of Luther's rebellion against the Catholic Church. Before reading this book, I had a completely inadequate appreciation for the unfathomable bravery and conviction Luther must have had to stand alone against the enormous power of the Church. But German being German, there's a word for this:

The word he used was Anfechtung, for which there is no English equivalent. It may be a trial sent by God to test man, or an assault by the Devil to destroy man.

The story of Luther is at heart a religious and intellectual one. As Bainton writes, "Luther was above all else a man of religion. The great outward crises of his life which bedazzle the eyes of dramatic biographers were to Luther himself trivial in comparison with the inner upheavals of his questing after God." The book explains how the early 1500's saw the primacy of Christianity contending with the challenge of Erasmian Humanism and the birth of nationalism. I was surprised to learn that Luther and Erasmus were correspondents and enjoyed Bainton's exploration of their perspectives on rationality and religion. Luther's religious fundamentalism and unshakeable faith was core to everything about him - simultaneously admirable and a bit disturbing. How are we to judge Luther in our modern age of religious fundamentalism? And yet, Luther was clearly not one to blindly trust in authority - his disposition was ferociously rational as he pointed out the hypocrisies in the Church. Bainton helped me wrap my mind about this seeming contradiction between Luther's faith and his rationality:

The reason why faith is so hard and reason so inadequate is a problem far deeper than logic. Luther often railed at reason, and he has been portrayed in consequence as a complete irrationalist in religion. This is quite to mistake his meaning. Reason in the sense of logic he employed to the uttermost limits.

Luther himself is a fascinating personality. Even more than his famous defense of himself at the Diet of Worms, what really struck me about Luther is what he didn't do. He never advocated for violence and although his Protestant theology got caught up in the waves of religious/nationalist wars that roiled Europe thereafter, he himself was completely nonviolent. I was astounded by his willingness to risk his life - completely defenseless - in the service of his ideas - even while enduring the constant refrain, “Are you alone wise and all the ages in error?”

And while the serious side of Luther's life gets a full treatment, Bainton doesn't neglect his lighter side either. I particularly enjoyed the sections about Luther's marriage and his influence on German domestic life. His humor shines through in such passage as:

When Luther looked at his family in 1538, he remarked, “Christ said we must become as little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. Dear God, this is too much. Have we got to become such idiots?”

Bainton's book filled a major gap in my understanding of the Western history of ideas. He made me feel the inner struggle of Luther as he wrestled with Scripture - carefully explaining the subtle points of doctrine and enlivening the issues with historical context and Luther's own pointed commentary. Given Luther's enormous impact, Bainton's book deserves a read by anyone seeking to understand how the West thinks about religion, authority, and faith.

I am not giving Martin Luther 5 stars, but this book is an absolute first rate biography. It's balanced, gripping, and informative.

And, dare I say it, the book makes me really sympathize with Martin Luther. At a time when so many of the leading protestant figures are lifestyle gurus, this beer guzzling man who seems to have had a profound sense of the importance of true religion (even if his religion wasn't true) feels like the kind of religious figure needed right now. Not some new age retreat master telling you to seek peace in the rhythms of the seasons, but someone telling you God isn't impressed with your yoga pants spirtuality and he's the one who made your babies poop and scream.

Luther is like that meme of "well that escalated quickly." He jumped from a perfectly valid criticism of the practice of indulgences to saying the pope was the anti Christ in about a month. But this book made me appreciate how much of the reformation was done without his direction, since he spent a good deal of time in hiding. And by the time he returned he acted as more of a moderating force than we often give him credit. He still endorsed some pretty horrible things, but given the times he lived in he did at least occasionally in writing argue for the freedom of religion. Even if in the next paragraph he was advocating for killing the rabble rousing anabaptists.

Listen folks. I like Martin Luther. I find him fascinating and oddly modern and some of the quotes of what he said were so on point I've got to give him credit. I disagree with how he went about doing what he did, but at least he was entertaining.

But but but but he was definitely bad for the world and he was completely off his rocker and should have apologized and stuck to being a monk. The German nationalism he inspired didn't end so well.

This was a great insight into the life of Martin Luther. Bainton recalls his story in a way that is both scholarly and accessible, and touches on both his life and his theology.

A great book that was not written for the quick reader. It is a book that sums up the life if the great reformer and how he set the wheels in motion to reform the church. As a Baptist preacher, I appreciate his stand against the evils and arrogance of the Roman Church during this time of corruption. May all of us when approached with the same challenge of standing for Gods Word, "Here I stand, I can do no other."

As a staunch and long-standing RC, I, of course, knew absolutely nothing about Martin Luther beyond the notion that he messed up everything for us back in the 1500's and made way for all those churches where you could still believe in Jesus and not have to get up for Mass on Sunday. I experienced Bainton's book via the Audible route, as I am wont to do these days for a lot of non-fiction, and though the minutiae of a good deal of ML's idiosyncratic takes on religion became, at times, more whelming than I had the ears for, still, I have to say that his basic premises made sense, and despite what was probably a pretty annoying way of going about things (no doubt necessarily, given that the Popes were distracted by selling all those indulgences), the guy stuck to his guns, made his points, and jump started a Reformation. Four stars for content (and for the Audible reader), maybe minus a star for minutiae.

A classic work that I've gone to several times in my life. It is a bit dry to read but I always come away with some new insight (most recently on the role of Anfechtung (depression and spiritual struggle) on Luther's theological insights and work).

Excellent!

I normally do not like biographies but this was wonderful.

When I last read this book (sometime between 2000 and 2004 when I was in college), I thought it was good, but I didn't really retain a lot except for the exciting parts (95 theses, Diet of Worms, and all that). This time around I took my time and also took about 40 pages of notes, and I am impressed by what an excellent biography this is. It balances the historical, theological, and political perfectly. It presents Luther with all the praise and credit he deserves but doesn't veer into hagiography by shying away from the negative aspects of Luther's character. All in all an amazing book.

Martin Luther stands among those rare individuals who shifted the flow of history and changed the world. The scholarly religious debate he sought when he nailed his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church door became the genesis of a movement that not only tore apart the ancient unity of Latin Christianity, but reshaped the social, political, and (eventually) economic destiny of the Western World. There can be no understanding of how the modern world emerged and grew from the medieval one without a basic understanding of the man Martin Luther. This book is an excellent place to begin.

Luther was an unlikely world-changer. This man who shook the world was a son of modest parents, not a high born aristocrat, in an age when such things mattered. He suffered from extreme bouts of depression and elation that some today are tempted to identify as Bipolar disorder. His mind was set firmly in medieval traditions. Yet he changed Western Christianity forever, helped to bring about major political realignments that eventually made possible the nation state, sowed the seeds for a Capitalist economic system, and produced a prodigious body of work of such erudition and power that he is widely seen as the father of the modern German language.

Here I Stand is a sympathetic interpretation of Luther. When it does touch on his less admirable behavior (such as his brutal response to the Peasant’s Revolt), it rationalizes and downplays it. The bulk of his most questionable activities are only touched on in the most cursory and dismissive fashion in the last, short chapter of the book. Saying the author whitewashed Luther’s most egregious words and actions wouldn’t be wrong.

Though biased in Luther's favor, it is thorough, informative, and well written. Even when delving deeply into fine points of arcane theology, Bainton manages to hold the reader's interest with flowing prose that is clear and concise. This is the book's greatest virtue, and the chief reason why Here I Stand is a good starting point for an examination of the life and ideas of Martin Luther.

Debated rating this 5 stars simply because the last 100 or so pages were absolutely enrapturing, but the rest of the book was simply fine. Thus, I meet in the middle and give it a healthy 4 stars.