Rating: 
Summary: good book
Review: Terrific book..blows away the fallacy of free will. Luther debates with Erasmus on the subject. Luthers answers are right to the point and are scripture.
Rating:
Summary: Still a Masterpiece
Review: There are few books which written over 400 years ago are still applicable today; Martin Luther's masterpiece, The Boncage of the Will, is one of those books. Anyone desiring to know more about the root of dissent between Luther and the Catholic Church must read this book. In his treatise Luther systematically demolishes Erasmus' arguments in favor of free-will. Luther brilliantly illustrates why the will is in total and complete bondage and enslavement to sin, and why free-will is a completely meaningless term. Luther argues that the only thing the will is free to do is to sin and rebel against God. Luther shows that salvation is totally dependent on the grace of God and His sovereign Will. To say that even a small part of the human will can prepare itself to receive God's grace is an utterly ludricous sentiment. Erasmus believes that a human being by a very small effort can earn God's grace. Luther totally destroys this view and shows that to espouse such a view makes one worse than the Pelagians, who held that it took numerous great works to earn God's grace. This book is as applicable today as it was when Luther first wrote this book. When so many Protestant Churches hold to a soteriological view more akin to that of Erasmus, it is absolutely vital that the truth of the Reformation be brought back into the spotlight. Read this book to gain a greater understanding of the major area of disagreement among the Reformers and the Catholic Church of the time, and also to understand that our salvation is not predicated on any meritorious work that we accomplish, but simply on the grace of God.
Rating: 
Summary: too spiteful
Review: This book contained some good arguments for the bondage of the will, but Luther clothed these arguments in such poisonous, sarcastic invective for Erasmus that it turned me off to Luther's way of thinking. This wouldn't have disturbed me so much had I thought Luther was right, but in my view he's a little off the mark. His treatment of the gospel inferences that point to some kind of *personal* responsibility or liability in faith wasn't very strenuous. This is a good book, worth the read for perspective and insight, but at the same time I would not, unlike some orthodox Lutherans, put this book on a similar par with the Bible.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful book, but not easy reading
Review: This book is a "must-read" for the growing Christian. It lays out the basis of our salvation and our faith in Christ. However, it is probably not a book to read while lying by the pool. You must spend extra time reading it in ordert to comprehend the author's (and translator's) meaning. It's the type of book that's easy to get frustrated with and simply put down.
Rating:
Summary: One of Luther's Best
Review: This book is a must for anyone interested in the doctrine of predestination. Luther himself declared this book to be one of the best he had ever written. The book is a response to "The Diatribe Concerning Human Freedom" by Erasmus. While I do not agree with everything Luther espouses in this book, it is still a great work by a masterful theologian. The contents cover what Luther believed concerning human free will, God's knowledge and future contingents, predestination, prevenient and efficacious grace, as well as the providence and glory of God. Luther is somewhat overbearing at times in his responses to Erasmus, but this simply helps the reader to understand Luther's personality a little better (he had a very head strong personality). If you are studying the issue of predestination, free will, etc. and you have not read this book, then you are not getting a well rounded view of all the issues (theologically or historically).
Rating:
Summary: One of Luther's Best
Review: This book is a must for anyone interested in the doctrine of predestination. Luther himself declared this book to be one of the best he had ever written. The book is a response to "The Diatribe Concerning Human Freedom" by Erasmus. While I do not agree with everything Luther espouses in this book, it is still a great work by a masterful theologian. The contents cover what Luther believed concerning human free will, God's knowledge and future contingents, predestination, prevenient and efficacious grace, as well as the providence and glory of God. Luther is somewhat overbearing at times in his responses to Erasmus, but this simply helps the reader to understand Luther's personality a little better (he had a very head strong personality). If you are studying the issue of predestination, free will, etc. and you have not read this book, then you are not getting a well rounded view of all the issues (theologically or historically).
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: This is a work that every Christian must read. In an era where Arminianism is passing itself as the true gospel among protestent denominations, Luther's work would provide enormous insight into the real message of the reformation. Luther systematically exposits Scripture on his way to utterly destroying Erasmus' view of free will. He clearly shows that man is in bondage to sin and, without grace, cannot do anything but sin. In the process, he clearly defines the doctrine of total depravity and points to salvation by grace alone as the true gospel message. It is a shame that most of today's evangelical Christians have no idea what battles were truly being waged during the reformation. I fear most evangelicals today, given their Arminian position on salvation, would have sided with Erasmus and Rome against Luther.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: This is one of the best and most important books ever written. In this book Luther explodes the myth of human freedom, and shows from scripture that our wills our bound to our fallen nature until our hearts are changed by God's work in our lives. This book is important and Informative both as a theological work, and as a part of the history of the Reformation.
Rating:
Summary: The hinge on which all else turns
Review: this is the doctrine which, said luther, all else turns. This was luther's finest diatribe (he said he thought more clearly in a state of anger). luther fought tooth and nail with rome's representative, disiderus erasmus. These two historical giants go toe to toe and Scripture to Scripture, as luther maintained that free will "was a fiction without a name." The bondage of the will is the cornerstone of reformation theology and should be read by all christians who wonder why luther and calvin fought so hard for it.
Rating:
Summary: Luther was not an anti-rationalist
Review: This text is indeed a cornerstone of Reformed thought and Luther's arguments are utterly destructive of the Romanist nonsense it was his task to combat. He must, however, be read carefully! He does often write as though reason itself were suspect, but we must understand his meaning from context. As another reviewer writes: "I am wary of this [Luther's use of logic], being ever mindful that reason and logic are opposed to faith, are of the fleshly world instead of the spiritual, and are therefore Satan's tools." This is certainly true of fallen human reason. But God Himself is rational, and according to John 1:1 Jesus Christ is his very Logos (a word which may well be translated "logic"). If Luther were contending that God is anti-rational, he would be departing from Scripture. However, I think he was merely drawing the proper *logical* conclusion from the doctrine of the Fall: that human reason is not autonomous but must be firmly yoked to the Word so that "every thought is made captive to Christ." The alternative is that Christians are not permitted to use logic! And in that case we might as well become Romanists.
| 
