Book of the Week: Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet by Lyndal Roper

Martin Luther was a phenomenal figure. He kicked off and led the Protestant Reformation that forever changed Christianity, profoundly affecting theology, worship and church polity. He standardized the German language, modernized and revolutionized printing and publishing to make it what it has become, and indirectly contributed to the creation of news reporting as we know it.

Yet there is a dark side to the famed church reformer. A significant number of historians and scholars link Nazism to Luther’s polemics against the Jews. While antisemitism existed widely across Europe in the sixteenth century, Luther provided the rationale and the theoretical basis for this gross prejudice that led to the deaths of millions and discriminatory actions against a whole race of people. The Reformation also led to incessant wars in Europe, some lasting decades.

October 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and some Christians have mixed feelings toward the occasion. Some are clear that it should not be a time of celebration as it led to a fracturing of the church and to deep disunity among Christians. Instead, it is an event to merely observe or, at best, commemorate, since it was such a watershed period in the history of Christianity.

Several books have been published to coincide with the 500th anniversary, including Lyndal Roper’s “Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet.” Roper’s Luther was a giant among men and women but he was also highly problematic and difficult, not given to compromise or negotiations, and quick to take offence and even to retaliate. Opportunities to heal breaches with the Catholic Church were spurned because Luther was unwilling to give an inch, and he did not want to collaborate with other noted reformers, such as Huldrych Zwingli in Zurich.

What Luther did forever affected Europe and large parts of humanity elsewhere. Five hundred years of Protestantism is a reminder.