Anniversary Lecture Series Overview
Course 1: Martin Luther | Course 2: Luthernism | Course 3: The Messiah
Course 4: The Book of Daniel | Course 5: How Christians Ritualize Death
Course 6: Putting the “M” Word Back into Christian Discipleship
Lecture Series Pdf Files | Lecture Series Video Files
Course 1 - The Life of Martin Luther and the Reformation
Taught by Ralph W. Klein, Christ Seminary-Seminex Professor of the Old Testament emeritus, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
In these illustrated lectures, we will follow the life of Luther from his birth in 1483 to his death in 1546. Along the way Luther published an amazing number of books and essays and was the guiding theological light in what was to become the Lutheran church. Video and Pdf files of a selection of the lectures are available. You can download a pdf file of the Power Point presentation and watch a video of each session when they become available.
September 12th and 14th – Luther: The Road to Reformation; November 10, 1483-October 31, 1517.
Martin Luther came from peasant stock. After nearly being struck by lightning as a college student, Luther decided to discontinue his study of law, become a monk, and enter the Augustinian monastery at Erfurt, Germany. A trip to Rome was shocking to him and shortly thereafter he transferred to the young University of Wittenberg, where he became a professor of Old Testament. On October 31, 1517, he distributed the Ninety-five theses, which were to embroil him in great controversy and eventually start the Reformation. Major figures in Luther’s early life will be introduced.
The lecture Power Point presentation is available for downloading in pdf format.
Lecture #1 - The Road to Reformation - September 12, 2011.
The video presentation Video Lecture #1 - The Road to Reformation is available.
September 19th and 21st – Luther: The Greatest Years 1517-1522
In a series of dialogues with church officials in 1518-1519 Luther clarified and deepened his criticism of the church of his day. In 1520 he published three of his most important essays dealing with lay governance of the church, the sacraments, and the freedom of a Christian. Excommunicated by Pope Leo X in January 1521, he refused to recant at the Diet of Worms later that year. At his hideout in the Wartburg castle he translated the New Testament into German and published it in September, 1522.
The lecture Power Point presentation is available for downloading in pdf format.
Lecture #2 - Luther: The Greatest Years- September 19, 2011.
The video presentation Video Lecture #2 - Luther: The Greatest Years is available.
September 26th and 28th – Luther: Husband, Father, Hymn-writer and Teacher; Fissures within the Ranks 1523-1529
The first Lutheran hymnal, containing eight hymns was published in 1524. In 1525 Luther married a former nun, Katharine von Bora, and in the same year he opposed an uprising of German peasants. Polemical publications arose on all sides, including cartoons and pictures. Luther revised the order of the worship service, and he produced catechisms for pastors and lay people in 1529. A meeting at Marburg failed to resolve the conflict between Lutheran and Reformed theologians on the manner of Christ’s presence in the Lord ’s Supper. At the Diet of Speyer, followers of Luther were first called Protestants.
The lecture Power Point presentation is available for downloading in pdf format.
Lecture #3 - Luther: Father, Husband, Hymn-writer and Teacher - September 26, 2011.
The video presentation Video Lecture #3 - Luther: Husband, Father, Hymn-writer and Teacher is available.
October 3 and October 5 – Luther: the Final Years 1530-1546
In the remaining seventeen years of his life, marked by chronic illness, Luther continued to preach and expound the faith. The Augsburg Confession was presented in 1530—the most important Lutheran Confessional Document (although Luther as an outlaw was not able to attend the conference where it was drafted). In 1534 Luther published the complete Bible in German, including the Apocrypha. Luther wrote the Smalkald Articles in 1537 (another of the Lutheran Confessions) and was involved in controversy with those who wanted to abolish the law and in a controversy dealing with the domestic life of Philip of Hesse. One of his most controversial publications was issued in 1543 in which he was harshly critical of Judaism. He died in 1546 in Eisleben, the town of his birth. His last written words: “We are beggars. That is true.”
The lecture Power Point presentation is available for downloading in pdf format.
Lecture #4 - Luther: The Final Years - October 3, 2011.
The video presentation Video Lecture #4 - Luther: The Final Years is available.
Suggested reading:
Scott H. Hendrix. Martin Luther. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2010.
Martin E. Marty, Martin Luther. New York: The Penguin Group, 2004.
| Monday Evenings (7:00 pm - 8:00 pm) | Wednesday Mornings (10:00 am - 11:00 am) |
| Monday Evenings (7:00 pm - 8:00 pm) | Wednesday Mornings (10:00 am - 11:00 am) |
