Martin Luther

A Spiritual Biography

By: Herman Selderhuis

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Famous for setting in motion the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther is often lifted high as a hero or condemned as a rebel. But underneath it all, he was a man of flesh and blood, with a deep longing to live for God.

This biography by respected Reformation scholar Herman Selderhuis captures Luther in his original context and follows him on his spiritual journey, from childhood through the Reformation to his influential later years. Combining Luther’s own words with engaging narrative designed to draw the listener into Luther’s world, this spiritual biography brings to life the complex and dynamic personality that forever changed the history of the church.

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An excellent and thoroughly well researched work

The author did a masterful job. He provides a comprehensive look at this incredibly important man and servant of God.

Well done!

Compelling and engaging. The organization, content, and reader are excellent. This is one of the best introductions to Luther’s life and theology. I even found myself laughing out loud and shedding a tear or two.

Outstanding

This book is one of the best I have read on Martin Luther. What I enjoyed is this book quite quickly gets you into the thick of Luther’s struggle with the church. It provides a fairly detailed view of both the opponents and his proponents to his views. Much detail conveyed in a great performance by Grover Gardner.

A Good Introduction, But Not Without Its Problems

Herman Selderhuis offers readers a good introduction to the complex life of Martin Luther, the circumspect monk whose struggle for assurance and eventual opposition to the Pope triggered the Protestant Reformation.

The author tells the story at a relatively quick pace (12 hours as an audiobook, 350 pages in print) and weaves together his public ministry of writing and teaching with the inner turmoil and gospel hope from which his ministry grew. Thus the book's subtitle "A Spiritual Biography." Selderhuis explores Luther's inner life with care and regularly draws the connection for the reader between what's going on internally with his response to outward circumstance.

Though Luther's story is quite familiar, Selderhuis' work feels fresh. Even familiar scenes such as the Diet of Worms teem with details that paint a vivid picture for the reader.

I did find, however, two features of his writing to be unfortunate. At times Selderhuis adopts a thematic rather than chronological approach to the biography. For example, he talks about the death of Luther's father surprisingly early in the narrative, as part of a discussion of the reformer's early life, even though his father emerges multiple times—quite alive!—throughout the rest of the book. These diversions from the chronology confuse the story and threaten the narrative thread.

Furthermore and perhaps inevitably the author corrects popular—and some not-so-well-known—legends about Luther. Some of these are necessary (e.g., did Luther say, "Here I stand, I can do no other"?), but many felt nit-picky, better left for a footnote rather than woven into the narrative.

My greatest disappointment with the book is the comparatively light treatment of Luther's anti-Semitism. It is well-known—and Selderhuis affirms—that the Nazis co-opted Luther's writings in support of their heinous policy toward the Jewish people.

Of course Luther could not have known how his writings would be used 400 years later, and he is not responsible for the actions of Hitler. Nevertheless he is responsible for his own actions, and the bravado and brash talk that Protestants love when it appeared at Worms led him to utter truly reprehensible things about Jews.

We cannot pin blame for the Nazis on Luther, but the relationship between the two is not incidental. To this day Luther's words hinder many Jewish people from considering the truth of the gospel he preached.

This book will be useful as an introduction for those new to the great reformer, and as a refresher for those generally familiar with his life and work. Notwithstanding my criticisms above I recommend Martin Luther: A Spiritual Biography. His life testifies to the superabundant grace of God who delights to employ flawed people to effect great change.

My favourite biography of Luther

This is the most balanced and insightful biography that I have ready yet.Very thankful for it.