Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther

Bainton really draws his reader into the life of Luther by carefully unfolding historical events which led up to the reformation and events that helped to shape Luther's thinking during and following the Reformation. The book is also nicely lavished with engravings and illustrations which helps the reader get a better understanding of what Bainton is trying to communicate. Moreover, the book contains a very exhaustive bibliography to help the reader branch out into further research and reading.

This book is written in a chronological format from Luther's birth to his death, and every major event which occurred between. This text is certainly a must for anyone who wants a better understanding of Martin Luther. Moreover, it is also a crucial text for anyone wanting a better understanding of the Reformation. I cannot begin to describe the depth and breadth of this work. I highly recommend this text!!!!


Food for thought   August 26, 2003
Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA)
69 out of 72 found this review helpful

This is a philosophical biography of Martin Luther. Although it provides some details about Luther's personal life, early upbringing and later family life, the focus of the book is on Luther's struggle to reform the Catholic church. The book is dense with summaries of Luther's writings, and it appears in a relatively small font, so it is not a quick or light read. It assumes a familiarity with Christian ideals and scripture; nevertheless, you don't need to be a Bible scholar to appreciate its discussion.

This book is filled with passages that made me stop, think and reflect, and then dog-ear the page for return visits. Bainton quotes Luther: "Faith is a living, restless thing. It cannot be inoperative. We are not saved by works; but if there be no works, there must be something amiss with faith." Later, "Music is to be praised as second only to the Word of God because by her all the emotions swayed...The Holy Spirit himself pays tribute to music when he records that the evil spirit of Saul was exorcised as David played upon his harp....This precious gift has been bestowed on men alone to remind them that they are created to praise and magnify the Lord." Through reading this book, I became much more aware of the tremendous influence that Luther had on shaping numerous aspects of modern Western society. Anyone with any interest in any form of Christianity should become acquainted with the ideas of Martin Luther, and reading this book would be a good start.


COMPREHENSIVE YET CONCISE   June 1, 2000
STEPHEN MATTOX (BRIGHTON, MA United States)
50 out of 52 found this review helpful

Martin Luther is a monumental figure who lived during complex, tumultuous times, but Bainton delivers a biography that portrays his subject in a clear and concise manner.

The first part of this book deals with Luther's days as a monk, his crisis of faith, and the development of his theology that ultimately led to his break from Rome, spearheading the Reformation. The central portion of the book deals with the conflict with Rome, appropriate emphasis being given to the Diet of Worms. The greatest strength of this book is that the events of Luther's life, his words, and his work are always presented within their greater context. Not only is the Lutheran movement followed, but also much attention is given to the state of the Catholic Church during Luther's lifetime. Also given their proper attention are competing Protestant movements, humanism (particularly as pertaining to Erasmus), Anabaptism, the Peasant Revolt, and German nationalism.

Much of the book is of course spent discussing the theological issues that were at stake. As I read these passages a mental picture of a triangle emerged, with the three points being God, Man, and Church. Bainton does a good job of explaining how Luther, Rome, and other parties differed in their views as to the nature of each of these three entities, and more importantly how they differed in their views as to how these points of the triangle properly related to one another - God to Man, Man to Church, and Church to God (the three sides of the triangle if you will). My one complaint is that occasionally when discussing the finer theological points, Bainton will inject his opinion in such a way that it is difficult to tell if that opinion is shared by Luther. In those sections the book reads more like the transcript of a sermon than a biography.

The latter stages of the book get away from the conflict with Rome, and explore the contributions Luther made to the building of the new Protestant traditions. I enjoyed this section thoroughly because, after all, simply tearing down the old is no big trick; it's the creation of something new, something better that is the real test. Luther's contributions in translating the Bible to German, his writings, his musical compositions and other endeavors are all well covered by Bainton.

One note about Abingdon Classics: these are small paperbacks with very fine print. So if you have difficulty with small print, get the other paperback version or the hardback.

One final note: The bit about the triangle is purely my own invention; Bainton's discussion is not nearly so hackneyed. It's just how I got a handle on the issues, and how I could best discuss the theological passages of the book.


Good biography of a great man   July 31, 2001
Carl A. Redman (Austin, TX United States)
35 out of 40 found this review helpful

Time magazine labeled this book "the most readable Luther biography in English." This description isn't exactly flattering, but nonetheless, I did find this biography of Martin Luther "readable." In fact, I very much enjoyed this book.

Martin Luther is truly an amazing man. For those that know little or nothing about Luther, I would highly recommend this book. The book traces the life of Luther, from his 95 theses criticizing the Catholic church and the papacy to the Leipzig debate to the Diet of Worms. Along the way, Bainton outlines in detail the players and ideas of the Reformation. All angles of the movement are considered, including the different sects that break off from Luther's movement and also the ideas of Erasmus.

The parts of the biography that I most enjoyed were about Luther's personal life. Luther had a wonderful family and home that he led, and it was very interesting to read about his relationship with his wife and children. The chapter about Luther's struggle for faith and his bouts with depression was also very intriguing. The theme and title of the book is "Here I Stand," and by reading this book one becomes fully aware of how hard it was for Luther to stand up for what he believed, but also that what he stood up for is truly amazing and unbreakable.


"a mighty fortress" of a book.   March 26, 2001
Cipriano (Planet Claire)
29 out of 32 found this review helpful

Here I Stand was a required reading in my college course in Church History, and so my first meeting with it over a decade ago was not entirely of my own free will. But I enjoyed it then, and I enjoyed it even more when I recently dusted it off and read it again. Bainton's book powerfully reminds us that there is no way to appreciate and understand the history of Christian religion if one bypasses the enormous contribution of Martin Luther. If not for Luther's depth of brutal honesty in his own struggle to know God we may all still be living in times when the Word of God was chained to the pulpit. As Luther ineffectually fought his way toward God through "works" he once stated "I was myself more than once driven to the very abyss of despair so that I wished I had never been created. Love God? I hated him!" Bainton recounts how that during 1516-17, Luther's study of the book of Galatians resulted in his revelation of "the just shall live by his faith," a concept which reconciled for him, once and for all, the issue of the "justice" of God with the "justification" of God. This revelation unleashed the greatest REFORMATION in Christian thinking that could have been imagined at the time. Luther composed his Ninety-Five Theses and was quick to gain his reputation (in the religious world) as "the son of iniquity". Bainton chases this increasingly interesting story with novel-like tempo, and follows Luther through all of his personal crises, his hidings, false identities, public trials and public triumphs. Friends and foes emerge with all the hilarity and villainy of a great medieval romance... and as the world's greatest non-conformist theologian, Luther barges onto the scene in a very beer-spattering Robin Hood-like way. I found one of the papal bulls referring to the havoc that Luther was wreaking at the time to be particularly hilarious: "Arise O Lord, and judge thy cause. A wild boar has invaded thy vineyard." A wild boar indeed! It is great fun to watch Martin Luther trample. As I close the book now for the second time, I am no less amazed and breathless at how RADICAL a "stand" Luther took. For me he is a hero to the end. The quintessential INDIVIDUAL.

An entertaining, beautifully illustrated, and most of all IMPORTANT book. Of this opinion, I cannot... I will not... recant!