Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World

598 Pages·2016·27.44 MB·English

by  Eric Metaxas

E M
ALSO BY RIC ETAXAS
Amazing Grace:
William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery Bonhoeffer:
Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness
Miracles:
What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life
7 Women and the Secret of Their Greatness
If You Can Keep It:
The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty
AS EDITOR
Life, God, and Other Small Topics:
Conversations from Socrates in the City

VIKING
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014
penguin.com
Copyright © 2017 by Eric Metaxas Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages
diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized
edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing
any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue
to publish books for every reader.
Map by Jeffrey L. Ward
Photograph and illustration credits appear here.
ISBN: 9781101980019 (hardcover) ISBN: 9781101980033 (e-book)
ISBN: 9780525558224 (international export)
Version_1
This book is dedicated to my friends Markus Spieker and Dr. Gregory
Alan Thornbury
CONTENTS
ALSO BY ERIC METAXAS
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
MAP OF CENTRAL EUROPE IN 1517
CHRONOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
Pastor, Rebel, Prophet, Monk
CHAPTER ONE
Beyond the Myths
CHAPTER TWO
Lightning Strikes
CHAPTER THREE
The Great Change
CHAPTER FOUR
A Monk at Wittenberg
CHAPTER FIVE
The “Cloaca” Experience
CHAPTER SIX
The Theses Are Posted
CHAPTER SEVEN
The Diet at Augsburg
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Leipzig Debate
CHAPTER NINE
The Bull Against Luther
CHAPTER TEN
The Diet of Worms
CHAPTER ELEVEN
An Enemy of the Empire
CHAPTER TWELVE
The Wartburg
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Revolution Is Near
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Luther Returns
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Monsters, Nuns, and Martyrs
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Fanaticism and Violence
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Love and Marriage
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Erasmus, Controversy, Music
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The Plague and Anfechtungen Return
CHAPTER TWENTY
The Reformation Comes of Age
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Confronting Death
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“We Are Beggars. This Is True.”
EPILOGUE
The Man Who Created the Future
PHOTOGRAPHS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
APPENDIX: FREDERICK’S DREAM
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHRONOLOGY
1483 Luther is born in Eisleben on November 10 and baptized the following day. He is the eldest of what
history believes to be eight children born to his parents, Johannes “Hans” Ludher and Margarethe
Ludher née Lindemann.
1484 Luther’s parents move to Mansfeld when he is around six months old. This is where they will raise
all of their children and remain for the rest of their lives.
1490 Martin is sent to school in Eisenach.
1496–97 Martin attends school in Magdeburg for one year.
1501 Martin goes to the University at Erfurt.
1505 Martin begins his law studies at Erfurt.
1505 Martin vows to become a monk on July 2 while traveling through the village of Stotternheim. He
enters the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt and takes holy orders.
1506 Martin meets Johannes von Staupitz.
1507 Martin is ordained and performs his first Mass with his parents and others in attendance.
1508 In the fall, Staupitz sends Luther to Wittenberg for a year.
1509 While at Wittenberg, Martin receives his bachelor’s degree in the Bible.
1510–11 Martin makes walking pilgrimage to Rome.
1511 Staupitz transfers him to Wittenberg monastery, where he will remain throughout his life.
1512 Under a pear tree, Staupitz persuades Luther to study for his doctorate. Luther earns his doctorate.
1513–17 Luther lectures on Psalms, Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, laying the exegetical foundation for
all that lies ahead.
1517 Luther posts his Ninety-five Theses (traditionally on October 31) and mails a letter and the theses to
Archbishop Albrecht at Magdeburg.
1518 Luther speaks at the Heidelberg disputation in April. Melanchthon arrives in Wittenberg.
1518 Luther travels to the diet at Augsburg in October and appears before the papal legate Cardinal
Cajetan.
1519 Leipzig debate with Johannes Eck in July.
1520 Luther writes his three powerful works: To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation; The
Babylonian Captivity of the Church; and The Freedom of a Christian.
1520 Leo X writes the papal bull Exsurge Domine, giving Luther sixty days to appear in Rome to answer
the accusations of heresy.
1521 The sixty days expire, and Leo X officially excommunicates Luther. Luther burns the bull and other
writings in Wittenberg.
1521 Luther appears at the Diet of Worms in April.
1521 In May, following Luther’s imperial condemnation as a heretic and outlaw, Frederick arranges for
him to be “kidnapped” and taken to his exile at the Wartburg Castle, where he remains incognito for
ten months.
1521 In December, Luther travels incognito to Wittenberg for a short visit. Cranach paints a portrait of
him as Junker George.