substantial works
luther left a considerable amount of written works. if the more or less precise transcription of some conferences is taken into account, they add up to more than 600 titles. he was first and foremost a theologian, but also a preacher and a writer, who could express difficult topics in simple language, whether it be Latin or German.
according to yves congar, a dominican, “luther was one of the greatest religious geniuses in history…who completely redesigned christianity.”
You are reading: How many books did martin luther write
Luther’s major writings are listed below by type.
theological writings
the translation of the bible into german
During his imprisonment by Saxony’s Elector Prince Frederick the Wise at Wartburg Castle, Luther translated the New Testament into German. It was his first big achievement. It was published in 1522, with a foreword by Luther and illustrated by Lucas Cranach. luther completed his translation of the bible in 1534. the great diffusion of luther’s translation, thanks to the printing press, made it available to german speakers and helped to establish the german language.
sermons
luther left many sermons on different subjects, mainly in german:
- on how to contemplate the holy sufferings of Christ ;
- on marital status ;
- on prayer and processions during the week of rogations (before the ascension, for the harvests) ;
- on preparation for death ;
- on the sacrament of penance;
- on the holy and venerable sacrament of baptism;
- on the venerable sacrament of the body of Christ and on the fraternities ;
- on usury (sermons on the tree) ;
- on the new testament.
doctrinal writings
Among his doctrinal writings should be cited the many letters of Luther and writings on controversies.
in the lessons on the epistle of paul to the romans given between 1513 and 1515, luther frees himself from the medieval tradition to better explain the message of saint paul: god did not endow man with a quality of justice, but he forgave him unconditionally and helped him on the path of sanctification.
in 1520, the treatise on good works presented salvation by grace and considered faith as the only good work. faith persuaded the believer to act within the church and in society, thus freeing himself from seeking salvation through works.
See Also: Jason Reynolds – Book Series In Order
in 1520, luther published his prelude on the babylonian captivity of the church, in which he dealt with the sacraments: he withheld baptism and the last supper and He asked if penance should be kept. he clearly rejected the other four “sacraments” established by the church, namely confirmation, extreme unction, ordination and marriage. he considered the last supper “captive” if the wine was reserved only for the priests.
in 1522, luther published a treatise on the state of marriage in german to establish and explain the rules on marital status, which he considered much more important than the cloistered life. he praised the marriage and arbitrated in potential divorce cases.
In 1523, in a brief treatise, Luther recalled that Jesus Christ was born a Jew.
the German catechism or larger catechism (1529) explained the ten commandments, the confession of faith, the Our Father and the two sacraments: baptism and the Last Supper. Regarding baptism, Luther opposed the Anabaptists who refused to baptize little children. because those who participated in the last supper, the bread and the wine, along with the promises of salvation, were at the same time the body and blood of christ. As for “penance”, confessing your sins to a brother was beneficial, but it shouldn’t be mandatory or a detailed catalog of sins.
the smaller catechism was written in the same year in simpler language and was intended for “uneducated” pastors and preachers.
the augsburg confession presented by melanchthon at the diet of augsburg in 1530, was based on many of luther’s texts, especially his confession of faith written in 1538 after the treatise on the last supper of christ. forms one of the “symbolic books” of the Lutheran churches.
in the esmalkaldic articles, written in 1537, luther reaffirmed his views on justification by faith, on the secondary role of works, on the condemnation of the mass as a sacrificial ritual and on the harmful effects of cloistered life.
controversial writings
writings against the pope
each of the 95 theses published in wittenberg was expressed with a few lines of indignation against the sale of indulgences, these constitute the most famous writings of luther. 3 quotes:
- will be damned forever along with those who teach it, those who believe that indulgence letters assure salvation.
- Christians should be taught that he who sees his neighbor in need , neglects him/her to buy indulgences, he/she doesn’t buy the pope’s indulgence but the indignation of god.
- why doesn’t the pope build saint peter’s basilica with his own funds and not with the money of poor believers as it is richer today? than the richest man?
the lecture on the papacy in rome and the image of the papacy, published in 1545, were luther’s last writings. They were extremely critical. The latter was illustrated with lewd scenes painted by Lucas Cranach, a friend of Luther.
See Also: Frank E. Peretti – Book Series In Order
The ruling on monastic vows was published in 1522, three years before Luther left the Augustinian order. it was a voluminous text against monasticism. It was dedicated to his father who had disapproved of his entering the monastic life in 1505. Luther considered his vows to be opposed to faith, evangelical freedom, the commandments and reason. he particularly criticized the vow of chastity.
political writings
in 1520, his appeal to the Christian nobility of the German nation on the amendment of the Christian state was addressed to the emperor and the German nobility, here Luther dealt with the universal priesthood of Christians and the ecclesiastical responsibility of power temporary ; he suggested abolishing celibacy for priests and masses for the dead, and reforming education.
on temporal authority and the limitations to obey it was published in 1523. luther exalted temporal authority, basing himself on divine laws, but rejected the obligations imposed by faith. It is the doctrine of the “two kingdoms” to which Christians submitted, one temporal and the other spiritual.
luther spoke about the peasant war in his satirical writings against the hordes of peasants who rob and murder.
luther also reflected on the use of weapons. he expounded his views in several different treatises, namely on temporal authority in 1523 and can soldiers be in a state of grace? (1526).
in his sermon to the armies, luther portrayed the turks as enemies of god. in his war against the turks, luther admitted the role of the emperor but questioned his universal power, because he was not the head of christianity nor was he the protector of the gospel and faith.
in 1536 luther published the duty of the civil authorities to oppose corporal punishment to the anabaptists, in which he approved the repression in the city of münster when it was captured in 1525 and where juan de leyden had instituted a theocratic and polygamous regime.
During his last years of life, Luther seemed to confuse Jews, Turks, papists and sectarians, all accused of favoring the antichrist. in some writings about the jews, such as his commentary on genesis in 1535, against the observance of the sabbath in 1538, and david’s last words in 1534, luther considered that by not accepting jesus as the messiah, the jews aroused anger of god against them. the pamphlets titled on the jews and their lies, on shem hamphoras and the lineage of david all written in 1534 (at the time the elector of saxony expelled the jewish communities from his jurisdiction) were caricatures even calling for violence, for example persecuting Jews out of their homes.
In his exhortation on prayer against the Turks published in 1541 after Suleiman the Magnificent invaded Hungary, Luther portrayed the Turkish peril as divine punishment and urged his countrymen to repent .
other texts
other texts not written by luther should also be added, these include lessons transcribed by his students and also his after-dinner talk that he had not necessarily given permission to publish. some of these apocryphal texts were used by their Catholic detractors.