Five hundred years ago, on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed a document onto a cathedral door bulletin board*. That one event, the culmination of years of protest by many, ushered in the Reformation and also, according to Nichols, took the world from the middle ages to modern times. But does the Reformation still matter […]
Reviews: Nonfiction
Review: John Knox by Simonetta Carr
John Knox is among the most colorful Reformers. From galley slave to royal preacher and devoted family man, he was both vigorous and gentle. When he explained the duties of rulers to Queen Mary of Scotland, she became speechless with amazement; when his mother-in-law worried about her sins, he consoled her with the gospel. Throughout […]
Review: Luther by Those Who Knew Him by E. R. Charles
This devotional and encouraging book presents Luther and his ideas through the eyes of various members of a family that knew him. From Fritz, a monk who travelled to Rome with him, and Else, who struggled with not being religious enough because she was not a nun, to Eva, a nun who rejoiced to share […]
Review: All Saints by Spurlock and Windle
When we think about church history, our minds often go back to Reformation times in Europe but, of course, God works throughout the whole world and all time. All Saints presents the harrowing recent history of persecuted Karen Christians in Myanmar (formerly Burma), as well as the miraculous story of a dying American congregation, All Saints, […]
Review: Martin Luther by Simonetta Carr
Very few people have had as great an influence on western civilization as Martin Luther. Yet, it wasn’t Luther himself, and those who think only about the man miss so much. Nor was Luther aiming to change civilization or even the church—no, Luther was a person gripped by the search for God’s forgiveness, whose eventual […]