LECTURE

Socrates in the City
Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World

"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Eric Metaxas comes a brilliant and inspiring biography of the most influential man in modern history, MARTIN LUTHER, in time for the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

Historically, Luther is often painted as a rebel. The two iconic moments in his life—the Ninety-Five Theses and the Diet of Worms, where he bravely stated that he feared God’s judgment more than that of his representatives on earth, including the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope—seem to point to a man who was bold, defiant, and eager to watch the Catholic Church crumble under the weight of its own sins. But in his searing biography, Metaxas brings to life a much more complicated and fascinating figure. Luther was in fact a vigorous champion of the church and wanted nothing more than for Rome to avoid the fate it eventually succumbed to—the fate that, ironically, he helped bring about.

In MARTIN LUTHER, Metaxas dispels popular myths about the legendary figure, while tracing his life and influences, including the fateful lightning storm that caused him to give up his studies and become a monk, his scandalous marriage to a nun, and his clashes with scholars like Erasmus. In many ways, Luther was the first celebrity of modern culture—the quirky genius of Wittenberg, a hero to the common man, willing to speak truth to the highest seats of power. His decision to publish in German rather than in Latin was an unprecedented move that allowed him to communicate his ideas to ordinary citizens, inviting them into important discussions about the world in which they lived and the institutions that shaped their lives.

Luther’s writings and actions didn’t just spark a religious movement; they fundamentally altered the landscape of the modern world, by giving voice to ideas like the individual, personal responsibility, pluralism, religious liberty, and self-government. We take these values for granted now, but they all entered history through the door that Luther opened to the future. Written in riveting prose and impeccably researched, MARTIN LUTHER is the story of the man whose monumental faith and courage cracked the edifice of Western Christendom and gave birth to the ideals that lie at the heart of all modern life."