Martin Luther: A Spiritual Biography - eBook

This book is a biography on Martin Luther. The author described Luther's life from birth to death while focusing on his developing theology. The author summarized and quoted Martin Luther's own letters and writings. He also noted what people who knew Luther at the time said about him and some of what was going on in the world that influenced what he wrote about (actions by the Pope, Emperor, Turks, etc.). I thought that the author did a good job of showing the good along with the bad in a way that showed Luther as human but remained respectful of all the positive that Luther did. You get to know the man, not the legend.

The author covered where Luther went, what he experienced, his family life, and his health issues. But mainly he focused on what Luther's beliefs were, why he believed these things, and how these beliefs changed over his lifetime. Initially, this was handled by explaining what types of debates Luther was dealing with, what he said, and who influenced his thinking. Near the end, this became more topical--for example, what did Luther say about Jews (or Muslims, death, etc.), how did that change, and why did it change?

I found this book very interesting and informative. I felt like the author explained the various theological concepts clearly so I could easily understand the points being made. Overall, I'd highly recommend this biography to anyone interested in Martin Luther or the Reformation.

I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.