Martin Luther's Theology: A Contemporary Interpretation

Oswald Bayer is professor emeritus of systematic theology at the University of Tübingen, Germany, and director of the Luther Academy Sondershausen-Ratzeburg. He is also an ordained pastor of the Lutheran Church of Württemberg and was the editor of Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie from 1986 to 2006. His research focuses especially on Luther and Hamann.

Oswald Bayer is professor emeritus of systematic theology at the University of Tübingen, Germany. The author of several books in German, he is also an ordained pastor of the Lutheran Church of Württemberg and president of the senate of the Luther Academy in Ratzeburg.

Forty years of in-depth research on Martin Luther’s theology uniquely qualifies Oswald Bayer to present this comprehensive introduction to Luther’s thought, written for those lacking an academic background in theology.

Bayer’s noteworthy study explores the basics of Luther’s understanding of theology, discussing his response to the “philosophy of science” tradition, the formula by which he studied theology, and the basic philosophy that informed him. Bayer then takes Luther’s stance on Christian dogmatics and ethics and applies it to our own theological understanding in the modern age. With such a complete Lutheran dogmatic concept---the first of its kind offered---the stunning inner consistency of Luther’s theology and its ease of application to contemporary studies become unmistakably clear.

Mark Mattes, Grand View College
"Over four decades of careful research come together in this masterful interpretation of Luther's theology by Oswald Bayer, one of Germany's premier Luther scholars and systematic theologians. With Bayer, we encounter Luther through a fresh lens, a view that honors Luther's existential depth but also his historical and social breadth. For Bayer's Luther, both intellect and affect, both disputation and pastoral care, are inseparable. Here in Bayer we thereby encounter that rare theologian in which the reader not only learns about grace but actually experiences grace in the very study of his theology."

Steven D. Paulson, Luther Seminary
"An exquisite, scholarly presentation of Luther's theology and, at the same time, an original contribution in systematic theology. What a fitting culmination of Bayer's painstaking work over forty years in the field of Luther research. . . The translation by Thomas Trapp is lively and faithful both to Bayer and Luther, making this book read like a good novel. . . Profound and accessible, practical and faithful to the complexity of Luther's theology and preaching, Bayer's masterpiece will inform and inspire and set the bar for Luther research and theology itself in the years to come."