Christian Liberty

Rating:
Summary: Read It!
Review: Concise and easy to read. This is one of Luther's best efforts at explaining the nature of the Christian life. I'm not Lutheran, but I enjoyed reading it.

Rating:
Summary: Great Tract!
Review: Not being Lutheran, I welcome the opportunity to study the man who came in third place in the "Person of the Millennium" poll.

This slim book contains his discourse on "Christian Liberty," that is, the relationship to faith and works. All the hearsay finally dies with this book, since you hear Luther's own words on the matter.

He asserts that Christian Liberty is paradoxical, that the Christian is a perfectly free lord to all, but also a perfectly dutiful servant, subject to all. This paradox comes because of man dual nature: spirit and element. His main point is that by the Atonement, we all become free, but because of the atonement, we have an obligation to serve other people in chaity.

I like this edition. The translation is actually a translation, and Mr. Grimm block the text into paragraphs for easier reading. Moreover, he provides the scriptural references that Luther merely alludes to. Thus, the book becomes lecture notes for our review and pondering.

The cover illustration is eye-catching. It shows Luther taking his stand before some potentate. It reflects the energy that you feel in the words, the drive that empowered a man to shake all of Europe. It shows the energy that drove this man to liberty.