As celebrations of the five-hundredth anniversary of Martin Luther's initiation of the most dramatic reform movement in the history of Christianity approach, 47 essays by historians and theologians from 15 countries provide insight into the background and context, the content, and the impact of his way of thought. Nineteenth-century Chinese educational reformers, twentieth-century African and Indian social reformers, German philosophers and Christians of manytraditions on every continent have found in Luther's writings stimulation and provocation for addressing modern problems. This volume offers studies of the late medieval intellectual milieus in which his thought was formed, the hermeneutical principles that guided his reading and application of the Biblethe content of his formulations of Christian teaching on specific topics, his social and ethic thought, the ways in which his contemporaries, both supporters and opponents, helped shape his ideas, the role of specific genre in developing his positions on issues of the day, and the influences he has exercised in the past and continues to exercise today in various parts of the world and the Christian church. Authors synthesize the scholarly debates and analysis of Luther's thinking and point tofuture areas of research and exploration of his thought.

Introduction: Luther s Thought and its role in the Twenty-First-Century Global Societies; I. Luther s Life; 1 Charlotte Methuen: Luther s Life; II. The medieval background and origins of Luther s thought; 2 Theodor Dieter: Luther as Late Medieval Theologian: His Positive and Negative use of Nominalism and Realism; 3 Volker Leppin: Luther s roots in Monastic-Mystical piety; 4 Martin Wernisch: Luther and Medieval Reform Movements, Particularly the Hussites; 5 Erik Herrmann: Luther s Absorption of Medieval Biblical Interpretation and His Use of the Church Fathers; 6 Robert Rosin: Humanism, Luther and the Wittenberg Reformation; 7 Gerhard Muller: Luther s Transformation of Medieval Thought: Discontinuity and Continuity; 8 Volker Leppin: Luther s Transformation of Medieval Thought: Continuity and Discontinuity; III. The hermeneutical principles that guided Luther s teaching and preaching; 9 Mark Thompson: Luther on God and History; 10 Johannes von Lupke: Luther s Use of Language; 11 Vitor Westhelle: Luther s Theologia crucis; 12 Robert Kolb: Luther s Hermeneutics of Distinctions: Law and Gospel, Two Kinds of Righteousness, Two Realms, Freedom and Bondage; IV. Luther s treatment of the traditional topics of western Christian theology; 13 Steven Paulson: Luther Doctrine of God; 14 Johannes Schwanke: Luther Theology of Creation; 15 Notger Slenczka: Luther s Anthropology; 16 L ubomir Batka: Luther s Teaching on Sin and Evil; 17 Risto Saaarinen: Justification by Faith: The View of the Mannermaa School; 18 Mark Mattes: Luther on Justification as Forensic and Effective; 19 Mattheiu Arnold: Luther on Christ s Person and Work; 20 Jeffrey Silcock: Luther on the Holy Spirit and His Use of God s Word; 21 Jonathan Trigg: Luther on Baptism and Penance; 22 Gordon A. Jensen: Luther and the Lord s Supper; 23 David P. Daniel: Luther on the Church; 24 Jane E. Strohl: Luther s Eschatology; V. Luther s view of sanctified living; 25 Jane E. Strohl: The Framework for Christian Living: Luther on the Christian s Callings; 26 Jane E. Strohl: Luther on Marriage, Sexuality and the Family; 27 Ricardo Rieth: Luther s Treatment of Economic Life; 28 Eike Wolgast: Luther s Treatment of Political and Societal Life; 29 Carter Lindberg: Piety, Prayer, and Worship in Luther s View of Daily Life; 30 Gregory Miller: Luther s Views of Jews and Turks; 31 Paul Rajashekar: Luther as a Resource for Christian Dialogue with Other World Religions; VI. The genre in which Luther shaped his theology; 32 Mary Jane Haemig: The Influence of the Genre of Exegetical Instruction, Preaching, and Catechesis on Luther; 33 Ronald K. Rittgers: How Luther s Engagement in Pastoral Care Shaped Luther s Theology; 34 Anna Vind: Luther s Thought Assumed Form in Polemics; 35 Christoph Burger: Translation of Scripture and Hymns Shaped Luther s Theology; VI. The Impact and Reception of Luther's Thought in History and in the twenty-first Century; 36 Timothy J. Wengert: The Wittenberg circle; 37 Heribert Smolinsky: Luther s Roman Catholic Critics; 38 Amy Nelson Burnett: Luther and the Schwarmer; 39 Irene Dingel: Luther s Authority in the Late Reformation and Protestant Orthodoxy; 40 Paul R. Hinlicky: The Use of Luther s Thought in Pietism and the Enlightenment; 41 Heinrich Assel: The Use of Luther s Thought in the Nineteenth Century and the Luther Renaissance; 42 Thomas A. Brady, Jr.: Marxist Evaluations of Luther s Thought; 43 Theo M. M. A. C. Bell: Roman Catholic Luther Research in the Twentieth Century: From Rejection to Rehabilitation; 44 Kenneth G. Appold: Luther s Abiding Significance for World Protestantism; 45 Pilgrim W. K. Lo: Luther and Asia; 46 Luther in Africa; 47 Nestor Luiz Joao Beck: Luther Studies in Latin America; Conclusion: Venturing into the Study of Luther; Appendices: Sources and Resources, and Glossary