Doth Protest

James and Andrew get into Martin Luther's hermeneutics (methodology of interpeting the Bible) in his two perhaps most well-known commentaries: his commentary on Galatians and Genesis, and how they've influenced biblical theology since. Enjoy!

James, Andrew, and Kyle take us through some important central writings of Lutheranism that emerge in the late 1520's and early 1530's, as well as the escalating political situation in the Holy Roman Empire due to the religious divide and the Ottoman Turkish threat from the outside.

We reference the following works:

The first of several episodes where we cover the later years of Martin Luther. Today, Andrew and Connor look at Luther as a liturgist, lute-player, and hymn author, how the major Reformers across the two main branches of the Reformation agreed on 14 of 15 points of doctrine, the pivotal Diets of Speyer (from which the term "Protestant" was born), and the relationship of Martin Luther with his father in his father's last years.

Kyle and Andrew return for this exciting new episode of our series on Luther where we cover Luther's marriage to Katharine von Bora, his conflict with the radical reformer Thomas Müntzter, and Luther's teaching on the 'Two Kingdoms'.

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).

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.

-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. 

We refer to two previous episodes of our podcast:

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. 

-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!

-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

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