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A review by drbobcornwall
Rebel in the Ranks: Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the Conflicts That Continue to Shape Our World by Brad S. Gregory
4.0
October 31, 2017 marked the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's publication of the Ninety-Five Theses (whether or not on the door of Wittenberg Castle is a matter of debate). That act has been understood to have been the match that lit the Protestant Reformation, though it's doubtful that Luther thought he was doing anything of the kind. An anniversary of this magnitude, of course, requires a flurry of publications dealing with the matter at hand. Many a book on Luther and the Reformation have been published in the past year. One of them is this book by Brad Gregory.
Rebel in the Ranks is part biography, but it is more an exploration of the movement Luther launched, but which quickly took on a life of its own, and has implications for the world to this day. You might call this book -- from Luther to Trump! Only the first chapter, "A Reluctant Rebel" focuses specifically on Luther. Gregory offers a breezy but informative introduction to Luther and his move from "busy and burdened friar" to reformer. We're introduced to the main events that Luther undertook in his effort to challenge the status quo, and the writings that he used to advance his cause. We see a man who pushed the boundaries of the religious world, and then pulled back a bit when he saw how others, like his colleague Andreas von Karlstadt, took the reforms much further than he was comfortable with. Gregory does a nice job laying out the context of his efforts, including the discomfort among many in Germany with things going on in Rome. The issue of the indulgences is rooted in the feeling that funds were being diverted from Germany to build monuments in Rome. There is also the political dynamics of the Holy Roman Empire, which had come under the leadership of the young Charles V. Gregory notes that Luther may have launched the Reformation, but he never controlled it. By taking his stand on sola scriptura and the Holy Spirit made sure that no one could control it. "The Reformation will be uncoupled from the dramatic odyssey of the deeply religious man and will become the story of a no less dramatic and deeply contested movement."
The chapter on Luther takes up nearly a third of the book, with the remaining three chapters dividing the remainder of the pages. From this introduction to Luther we move in chapter two to the "Fractious Movement." We encounter Karlstadt, Zwingli, the revolutionary nature of the Peasants War, the Anabaptists, some of whom emerged from Luther's work and others from Zwingli, or on their own, but taking a very different tack. We see Luther appear again in conflict with Erasmus over free will, and with Zwingli over the Eucharist. Of course there must be a conversation about Munster.
By the time we move to chapter three, titled "A Troubled Era," Luther has passed from the scene and new forces emerge. There will be developments within Lutheranism as it spread into Scandinavia and people like Philip Melanchton sought to develop further Luther's legacy. We meet with Calvin and the Radical Reformation that emerged after Munster. We can't forget the Catholic Reformation and the wars that broke out in the Holy Roman Empire, France, England, the Laow Countries. As we take this journey we see reform taking multiple forms, with competition everywhere for control. We see an assertive Reformed Christianity taking form and expanding rapidly, often emerging out of Geneva. Again, we cover a lot of ground in a short amount of space. Not everything gets its due, but that's not the point.
Finally, in chapter four Gregory takes us from the seventeenth century to the present. He wants to show us how the Reformation principles morphed into something else, including a drive toward secularization. We begin in Holland where religious differences are tolerated but also controlled, with the pay off being economic growth. That vision would later pass on to England and then to the United States. Freedom is a primary there here, but as Gregory notes, its not without its draw backs.
This is an interesting and thought-provoking read. It is not a biography of Luther, though Luther plays a significant role in the story. The last clause of the subtitle catches the essence of the book and that is the "conflicts that continue to shape our world." If you're looking for a good, brief biography of Luther, I recommend Volker Leppin's [b:Martin Luther: A Late Medieval Life|34069326|Martin Luther A Late Medieval Life|Volker Leppin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1497855174s/34069326.jpg|55080066]. If you want to take a broader look at things, check out Rebel in the Ranks. I think you'll like it.
Rebel in the Ranks is part biography, but it is more an exploration of the movement Luther launched, but which quickly took on a life of its own, and has implications for the world to this day. You might call this book -- from Luther to Trump! Only the first chapter, "A Reluctant Rebel" focuses specifically on Luther. Gregory offers a breezy but informative introduction to Luther and his move from "busy and burdened friar" to reformer. We're introduced to the main events that Luther undertook in his effort to challenge the status quo, and the writings that he used to advance his cause. We see a man who pushed the boundaries of the religious world, and then pulled back a bit when he saw how others, like his colleague Andreas von Karlstadt, took the reforms much further than he was comfortable with. Gregory does a nice job laying out the context of his efforts, including the discomfort among many in Germany with things going on in Rome. The issue of the indulgences is rooted in the feeling that funds were being diverted from Germany to build monuments in Rome. There is also the political dynamics of the Holy Roman Empire, which had come under the leadership of the young Charles V. Gregory notes that Luther may have launched the Reformation, but he never controlled it. By taking his stand on sola scriptura and the Holy Spirit made sure that no one could control it. "The Reformation will be uncoupled from the dramatic odyssey of the deeply religious man and will become the story of a no less dramatic and deeply contested movement."
The chapter on Luther takes up nearly a third of the book, with the remaining three chapters dividing the remainder of the pages. From this introduction to Luther we move in chapter two to the "Fractious Movement." We encounter Karlstadt, Zwingli, the revolutionary nature of the Peasants War, the Anabaptists, some of whom emerged from Luther's work and others from Zwingli, or on their own, but taking a very different tack. We see Luther appear again in conflict with Erasmus over free will, and with Zwingli over the Eucharist. Of course there must be a conversation about Munster.
By the time we move to chapter three, titled "A Troubled Era," Luther has passed from the scene and new forces emerge. There will be developments within Lutheranism as it spread into Scandinavia and people like Philip Melanchton sought to develop further Luther's legacy. We meet with Calvin and the Radical Reformation that emerged after Munster. We can't forget the Catholic Reformation and the wars that broke out in the Holy Roman Empire, France, England, the Laow Countries. As we take this journey we see reform taking multiple forms, with competition everywhere for control. We see an assertive Reformed Christianity taking form and expanding rapidly, often emerging out of Geneva. Again, we cover a lot of ground in a short amount of space. Not everything gets its due, but that's not the point.
Finally, in chapter four Gregory takes us from the seventeenth century to the present. He wants to show us how the Reformation principles morphed into something else, including a drive toward secularization. We begin in Holland where religious differences are tolerated but also controlled, with the pay off being economic growth. That vision would later pass on to England and then to the United States. Freedom is a primary there here, but as Gregory notes, its not without its draw backs.
This is an interesting and thought-provoking read. It is not a biography of Luther, though Luther plays a significant role in the story. The last clause of the subtitle catches the essence of the book and that is the "conflicts that continue to shape our world." If you're looking for a good, brief biography of Luther, I recommend Volker Leppin's [b:Martin Luther: A Late Medieval Life|34069326|Martin Luther A Late Medieval Life|Volker Leppin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1497855174s/34069326.jpg|55080066]. If you want to take a broader look at things, check out Rebel in the Ranks. I think you'll like it.