Book Review: Here I Stand

Here I Stand is a biography of the church reformer, Martin Luther. I loved this book. I always find history interesting and biographies in particular do a good job of holding my attention. I think that perhaps, the author painted too rosy of a picture and defended anything that might be considered ‘unflattering.’ However, this was rare and very light. In particular, I expected to hear more about Luther’s supposed anti-Semitism, but it wasn’t covered much.

It struck me that Luther didn’t pull any punches at a time when throwing punches in the religious sphere usually meant being burnt alive. That is pretty intense. The continual comparison of the pope to the antichrist was stunning. I cannot imagine having the courage (reckless abandon?) to do such a thing.

What caught my attention is the comparison between this and the very little resolve the Church has for conflict today. Culturally, harsh words in defense of doctrine are looked down upon and tolerance is the value of the day. At the same time, the church culture here in the U.S. goes off the other extreme as well. On issues that are not as essential as say, wild church abuses, Christians demagogue constantly. Luther was not afraid of controversy, but his controversy was over close-handed, non-negotiable issues.

Luther was willing to call out from the mountaintops what he saw as ugly abuses. He could not even get on the same page as Zwingli because of (seemingly) small discrepancies about communion and spoke loudly about it.

The hand of God in Luther’s life was readily apparent. He was coming onto the scene during a time period in which growing resentment of Rome, the printing press and emerging German nationalism paved the way for his meteoric rise. I have heard history professors cite this evidence in a manner similar to evolutionary atheists. Almost exasperated they claim ‘But of course X thing occurred, look at all of these mechanisms that enabled X’s existence and growth.’ It’s a play on the logical fallacy, post hoc ergo propter hoc, which posits if something happens after another thing, it must have been caused by that first thing. Instead what we’re confronted with here, is looking back these factors were in place to allow something to happen, but not why these factors were in place. As Christians, it is obvious to see the sovereignty of God working in Luther’s life. Frederick the Wise was perfectly placed and tempered to provide sanctuary to Luther from Rome (and other enemies.)

Finally, the piece that meant the most to me and that I found the most encouraging, was Luther’s continual battles with depression. For me, it has been hard reading books like Gospel Wakefulness and Desiring God, because most of the time, I don’t experience the joy that those men seem to speak of. Luther on the other hand, seems gripped by struggles and low points. However, he also found great joy in his family and students. That has been much truer to my experience. And encouraging.

Luther also apparently married his wife to “spite the devil.” Romantic.