Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther is considered as the most readable of Luther’s biography. It paints a clear picture of the man and his role in history. It was done by Roland H. Bainton, a professor, author, historian and ordained Congregational minister. Bainton in his academic career wrote more than thirty books, which proved to be influential in the Christian history. Although Luther was regarded as a controversial theologian, and a heretic leader of a revolutionary movement, Bainton described him as a devoted, courageous and brave Christian, who maintained his bold stand in his struggle to eliminate religious abuses, hence doing more than any other reformer to establish the Protestant faith.
Bainton described the early life of Martin as an Augustinian friar. Despite becoming a Catholic priest, he was brave enough to air his radical ideas on matters he viewed misleading in the Catholic Church. He studied at the University of Erfurt and was made a doctor of theology. This education background gave him the knowhow on matters pertaining religion. On one of his trips to Rome, he was angered by the level of corruption in the clergy. He was displeased further by the priests selling indulgences to people as a way of offering remission from the punishment of one's inequities. By this time, Martin Luther believed that salvation was acquired through faith, and not through personal effort. As a result, this was his turning point as he was not in agreement with most of the clergy practices on matters pertain salvation. Through Bainton’s biography, the reader can gain insight into the struggles Luther faces in dealing with his faith and the spiritual and emotional pain endured while trying to figure out how God would be considered just yet harsh. He did not understand why the church had to emphasize that not even hours of confession by an individual would make someone gain forgiveness from God.
Bainton described how Luther finally realized that justification by faith was along in the Holy Scriptures. Through the cross, he would experience peace with God. According to him, he was saved through faith by grace. He spent his time intensely studying the Bible more so the letters by Apostle Paul. He was no longer scared of the clergy and, therefore, taught in his lectures and discussions, his newfound ideologies with a lot of enthusiasm. He was most especially passionate about the role of Christ as the only mediator between God and man.
Bainton describes Luther as an outspoken priest, such that people flocked the Wittenburg’s church to listen to him as he preached. He publicly condemned the abuse of church power especially on realizing that the Pope was selling the church merits to buy building funds.
The people who bought the merits were assured of total or reduced punishment for their sins and for their relatives who had died. It is after this that the priest nailed the 95- Thesis on the Castle Church door of the university’s bulletin board. The argument primarily challenged the clergy’s practice of selling the merits while at the same time outlining that receiving grace was purely a personal experience with God as explained in the Bible. This act apparently threatened the pope’s authority and hence was a threat that had to be dealt with immediately. This part as explained by Bainton brings out Luther as a daring and brave priest who is ready to change the practices that seemed ungodly. Not even the church’s highest authority scared him. The 95- thesis was the primary symbol of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
Luther’s radical writings were bound to trigger a reaction, especially in the church. He was therefore in 1521 officially excommunicated from the church by Pope Leo X. Bainton’s book title was derived from Luther’s utterances “here I stand” when he was summoned before the Diet of Worms two months later, an assembly that was chaired by the emperor Charles V in Worms. The meeting demanded that Luther renounces his views concerning his newfound ideologies on matters to do with salvation, but he stood his ground.
Consequently, he was issued with the Edict of Worms that declared him a “convicted heretic” alongside banning all his writing. Luther came to a realization that his life was in danger, and he escaped to the Wartburg Castle through a planned “kidnapping” where he lived with friends for a year.
Luther was determined to make the reformation. Not even the highest authority would stop him. In his seclusion, Bainton described how the now excommunicated Catholic worked tirelessly to translate the New Testament into German. He assigned different roles ton his fellow reformers of distributing the Bibles among the German people. Although this period was regarded as a turning and glorious moment in the Bible history as many people got to read and interpret the Bible for themselves, it was a dark time for the man behind this developments. There are claims that Luther was deeply troubled by evil spirits, and hence, he made the statement, “driven the devil away with ink” (Fairchild 2016 n.d).
Despite knowing that he was under the threat of arrest and death, Bainton describes how Luther courageously went back to the Wittenburg church where he taught and preached. He was very bold in his message, which emphasized that salvation was only through Jesus through faith and not by price. He also encouraged his listeners to avoid taking the papal authority and also disengage from clerical errors. He was somehow able to escape arrest. He composed hymns, put together leaflets, published hymnbooks, organized Christian schools and wrote instructions for use by teachers and pastors.
Bainton brings out one of the acts that showed Luther’s bravery beyond measure. He shocked both his supporters and friends when he married Katherine von Bora. The lady was previously a nun but had abandoned the convent to join Martin Luther in his ministry. The author wrote a final chapter, “the measure of a man” that described Luther’s last years. Although Luther suffered from various ailments, he chose to remain active in his mission of fighting for religious reforms.
Bainton’s biography brought out the dynamic thinking of Martin Luther. Although receiving a lot of positive criticism from most scholars, some discredit the strange way of documenting the references. The critics felt that instead of referencing byline at the end of the book, he should have considered using footnotes or endnotes. The author is quite biased too for he seemed to diminish Luther’s writing in the final chapter, “the measure of a man”. He goes ahead to write that he wished Luther had died before writing his final writings, which were presumed to be full of insults to the church.
In conclusion, Bainton’s biography of Martin Luther elaborates that the reformer is a devoted, courageous and brave Christian, who maintained his bold stand in his struggle to eliminate religious abuses, hence doing more than any other reformer to establish the Protestant faith. His work can make the reader to be emotionally drawn to the events of that time. The book describes his early life and the circumstances that shaped his desire for reformation. The biography is highly recommended to an audience that longs to understand the life of Martin Luther and those who seek to understand how the Lutheran theology developed.
Bibliography
Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950.
BBC. Martin Luther (1483-1546). n.d. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/luther_martin.shtml (accessed mARCH 9, 2016).
Fairchild, Mary. Martin Luther Biography . January 25, 2016. http://christianity.about.com/od/lutherandenomination/a/martinlutherbio_2.htm (accessed March 9, 2016).
Speliopoulos. Book Review – Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther – Roland H. Bainton. December 5, 2011. https://speliopoulos.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/book-review-here-i-stand-a-life-of-martin-luther-roland-h-bainton/ (accessed March 9, 2016).
