Review: Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World

by Eric Metaxas
5 stars
Genre: biography
Subgenres: religion, history, medieval
 There was a time when if you had asked me to name the turning point in history when western

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civilization really began, I probably would have named the signing of the Magna Carta. (Even though that ground-shaking document was only an agreement between a king and his nobles – not the people – and lasted all of about three months before the king reneged.)

After reading Martin Luther by Eric Metaxas, I have changed my mind. Having grown up Catholic and then converting to Lutheranism (does one convert from Catholic to Lutheran or just dial back?) after getting married, I was somewhat familiar with the story of Martin Luther. I didn’t necessarily have the same reverence for Luther as others who grew up in the Lutheran tradition, but I always found his story fascinating.
 
Metaxas does a wonderful job of bringing to the life the saga of this angst-ridden monk (including his penchant for writing about his biological functions) and the intricacies of how he improbably managed to escape execution by the inquisition.   
But to the point with which I started this review, there was so much about Luther I didn’t know, including the numerous ways his work started a chain reaction that went far beyond matters of faith. While maybe not completely responsible, Luther started the revolution that turned Western civilization from the autocratic, largely theocratic society it had become during the Middle Ages into one where, if not the “measure of all things,” man certainly could think for himself.
 
There were also a lot of interesting similarities between Luther and our founding fathers. (A comparison they might have appreciated.) For example, his repeated conciliatory letters to the pope reminded me a great deal of the Olive Branch Petitions. That he spent many years in semi-hiding was also something I think they could relate to.


The only downside to Metaxas’ retelling of Luther’s story is his vocabulary choices. I consider myself to have a fairly advanced vocabulary, but I found myself looking up words every few pages. (I’m glad I had the ebook version!) Plus, he used a lot of Latin, sometimes translated, sometimes not. This took me by surprise as Metaxas doesn’t speak this way in his podcasts. IMO, it made this book less “accessible” to those who could really benefit from a deeper understanding of Luther.
 
Vocabulary choices aside, this isn’t not some dry dusty tome – any more than Luther is a dry, dusty monk. It’s well worth taking the extra time to look up those words so you can savor the richness of his story.