‘A compelling biography of one of the greatest men of the modern age. Stanford is particularly brilliant on the tensions inside Luther’s private and spiritual life. This is a very fine book, written with a flourish.’ Melvyn Bragg
The 31st of October 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther pinning his 95 ‘Theses’ – or reform proposals – to the door of his local university church in Wittenberg. Most scholars now agree that the details of this eye-catching gesture are more legend than hammer and nails, but what is certainly true is that on this day (probably in a letter to his local Archbishop in Mainz), the Augustinian Friar and theologian issued an outspokenly blunt challenge to his own Catholic Church to reform itself from within – especially over the sale of ‘indulgences’ – which ultimately precipitated a huge religious and political upheaval right across Europe and divided mainstream Christianity ever after.
A new, popular biography from journalist Peter Stanford, looking at Martin Luther from within his Catholic context, examining his actual aims for Catholicism as well as his enduring legacy – and where he might fit within the church today.
‘Peter Stanford makes the life of Luther into a thrilling narrative, told from a modern Catholic perspective’ Antonia Fraser
The 31st of October 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther pinning his 95 ‘Theses’ – or reform proposals – to the door of his local university church in Wittenberg. Most scholars now agree that the details of this eye-catching gesture are more legend than hammer and nails, but what is certainly true is that on this day (probably in a letter to his local Archbishop in Mainz), the Augustinian Friar and theologian issued an outspokenly blunt challenge to his own Catholic Church to reform itself from within – especially over the sale of ‘indulgences’ – which ultimately precipitated a huge religious and political upheaval right across Europe and divided mainstream Christianity ever after.
A new, popular biography from journalist Peter Stanford, looking at Martin Luther from within his Catholic context, examining his actual aims for Catholicism as well as his enduring legacy – and where he might fit within the church today.
‘Peter Stanford makes the life of Luther into a thrilling narrative, told from a modern Catholic perspective’ Antonia Fraser
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Reviews
Peter Stanford's timely biography gives a vivid portrait of a deep flawed man.
Of all the books published this year to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, this is probably the most important and one and the best for a mass market. He has endeavoured to create a painstakingly researched profile of Luther himself, offering important background on the world he lived in and the theological and political context of the time in which he lived. The result is a popular and lively biography.
Stanford is the author of Martin Luther - Catholic Dissident, which among many other things seeks to humanise a man who did more than most to shape the modern world.
An accessible, easy-to-read biography which introduces the reader to complex theology, history, and sociology ... This is a biography for those who wish to dip their toes in Christian history without wading in too deep, and thus is a book for priests and people alike.