Jul
24
Book Review: Here I Stand
Filed Under Books, Christian History
I admit a lifelong aversion to all things historical and biographical. Whether it was a bad history teacher in high school or my own generational arrogance I cannot say. However, Hebrews 11 is having its way with me. I am growing in my appreciation of biography and history as I read more of it, especially as it relates to the history of the church. Despite my aversion to all things historic, I have known from very early on in my Christian growth that I should spend time at some point studying the life of Martin Luther. If you are a Protestant of any flavor, there is no excuse for not knowing at least a cursory amount of information on the universally recognized father of the Reformation. It was this growing love for history combined with a nagging guilt of Luther ignorance that lead me to read Here I Stand: A life of Martin Luther, by Roland Bainton.
I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Bad writers can ruin good history with relative ease. The life of Martin Luther is fascinating history. Bainton’s scholarship and writing style provides just the right setting to highlight the life of Luther in a way that avoids being cumbersome while at the same time providing rich depth. I read this book a chapter at a time over the course of a month, frequently finding myself sad to reach the end of a chapter and anxious to begin the next. Someone looking for an intricate scholarly analysis of Luther would find this book wanting but for the average minister or lay person, Bainton provides pleasurable readability.
Anybody who knows anything about Martin Luther knows that Luther had a propensity for being highly opinionated on a number of topics. His opinions have caused varying responses in people, some of whom rightly understand Luther’s historical context and some who do not. Luther’s vitriol poses difficulty for the biographer. Bainton handles Luther’s peculiar personality exceptionally well. He shows the very real internal struggles in Luther’s life that lead to the growth of this theology. He aptly shows the corruption of the Roman Catholic church to which Luther responded. There are places were Bainton openly confesses that Luther was overly sensitive and outright grumpy. At other times Bainton takes time to explain why a particular aggressive comment of Luther’s was justified in light of the ecclesiastical context of 16th century Germany and Europe.
I also appreciated Bainton’s decision to handle some parts of Luther’s life in chronological order while dealing with other issues on a topical basis. The book is mainly split in that order. The first half covers the chronology of Luther’s conflict with the Roman Catholic church. The latter part of the book deals with various themes in Luther’s life including the effect of his theology on marriage, state, and church.
I found three parts of this book especially interesting. First, I found Bainton’s portrayal of Luther to rightly show Luther’s desire to reform the church based on the Bible. I have heard Luther spoken of as a hot-headed reactionary who hated the church and wanted to start over based on his own ego-maniacal views of the Bible. Over and over again, through Luther’s own words and Bainton’s analysis you see Luther’s desire for the church to be built upon and nourished by the Word of God. It is for this cause that Luther was willing to fight, write, preach, and die. Secondly, Bainton did an excellent job describing the oddity of Luther’s depression. Luther is known commonly as a man who struggled with severe depression. What is odd about his depression is Luther’s enormous output in the midst of his darkest days. The most common symptom of depression is inactivity and withdrawal. Luther fought his depression with extreme exertion and a strong grasp on the Word of God. Certainly there is wisdom here for those who struggle with the darkness of depression. Lastly, I especially enjoyed the look at Luther’s marriage which Bainton provides. Luther’s profound effect on the Christian family may not even now be fully explored. To read the anecdotes of Martin and Katie’s marriage are at times humorous and other times profoundly meaningful and challenging. Many a mighty theologian has been shown to be an imbecile in his own home; for Luther this was not the case.
I cannot end my review without saying, “This book has pictures!” Let’s be honest, we really never make it past kindergarten. A good book should have pictures in it. Bainton has included in his biography over 100 illustrations of woodcuts taken from Luther’s own time. It was a pleasure to read the history as well as to see the art, sometimes beautiful sometimes satricial, that grew out of the conflicts in which Luther found himself.
In conclusion, I lay upon you the same guilt I felt before reading this book. Every Protestant should study the life of Martin Luther. He is the father of the Reformation. Given this mandate, the church is in desperate need of a good, readable biography, universally appealing to layman and minister alike. Bainton has provided the church with such a book. You are under obligation to read this book. It will do your soul good. And who knows when the church will again have need of men with the courage of Luther? This book serves Christian training that the church might find us ready should she need defending again.
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