Katharina and Martin Luther

Michelle DeRusha

Description

Their revolutionary marriage was arguably one of the most scandalous and intriguing in history. Yet five centuries later, we still know little about Martin and Katharina Luther's life as husband and wife. Until now. Against all odds, the unlikely union worked, over time blossoming into the most tender of love stories. This unique biography tells the riveting story of two extraordinary people and their extraordinary relationship, offering refreshing insights into Christian history and illuminating the Luthers' profound impact on the institution of marriage, the effects of which still reverberate today. By the time they turn the last page, readers will have a deeper understanding of Luther as a husband and father and will come to love and admire Katharina, a woman who, in spite of her pivotal role, has been largely forgotten by history.Together, this legendary couple experienced joy and grief, triumph and travail. This book brings their private lives and their love story into the spotlight and offers powerful insights into our own twenty-first-century understanding of marriage.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• History of religions
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 31 janvier 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493406098
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2017 by Michelle DeRusha
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-0609-8
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Interior design by William Overbeeke
Endorsements
“Strip away the veneer of the differences between the Luthers’ marriage and the typical modern marriage of today, and what shines forth is a picture of what God has always intended marriage to be: an obedience to him and to each other that glorifies him and is a picture of Christ’s relationship to the church.”
From the foreword by Karen Swallow Prior , professor of English, Liberty University
“Those who read this book not only will be rewarded with a detailed account of one of the most fascinating marriages in history, but also will be introduced to the customs, cultural context, and historical significance of Katharina and Martin Luther’s life together. Though I had often studied Luther, I had no idea of the opposition he and Katie received when they chose to marry and the harassment Katie received as a widow. No wonder it is sometimes said that the impact of this marriage was as great in the social sphere as the Ninety- five Theses in the religious sphere. Here is a story of a growing love accompanied by sorrow, the joys of marriage, and faith in God’s providence. These well-researched pages are filled with unexpected treasures.”
Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer , pastor emeritus, Moody Church, Chicago
“When Martin Luther wrote his Ninety- five Theses , he famously charted a new course for the church. He couldn’t have known, however, how his stance would eventually lead him to marry a former nun named Katharina. In Katharina and Martin Luther , Michelle DeRusha gives us a fascinating peek into the Luthers’ individual lives, their theological wrestlings, and an unexpected partnership that redefined yet another biblical institution—Christian marriage. The Luthers, through DeRusha’s masterful portrayal, remind us again and again how the grace of Christ truly affects all of life.”
Christine Hoover , author of From Good to Grace and Messy Beautiful Friendship
“This is a powerful book, not only for a pastor and his wife but for everyone who wants to get behind the scenes of Luther’s life and ministry in Reformation Germany. What a dedicated woman Katharina was! She and Luther were almost strangers on their wedding day, but he soon learned how skillful she was in cooking, teaching, handling money, nursing the sick (he himself had many ailments), and teaching children. I promise that this book will hold your attention and open your eyes.”
Warren W. Wiersbe , author; former pastor of Moody Church, Chicago
“Though I’ve been a Christian for over thirty years, I admit I didn’t know a lot about Martin Luther and even less about his wife, Katharina. We owe Michelle DeRusha a debt of gratitude for her impressive commitment to tell the story of their unlikely marriage. This book is a gift for believers everywhere, a reminder of how the transformational grace of God can leave a lasting and unforgettable legacy.”
Emily P. Freeman , author of Simply Tuesday
“Martin Luther had a wife? We forget—if we ever knew—this important part of the great man’s life. In so doing we miss what C. S. Lewis called ‘the clean sea breeze of the centuries,’ the vital lessons and inspiration we need from the past. Michelle DeRusha helps us restore what we have lost.”
Stephen Mansfield , author of Ask the Question ; founder of The Mansfield Group
“This is no dusty, dry-bones textbook tale. Michelle DeRusha masterfully pulls back the curtain on a revolution lit by conviction and sustained through tragedy and scandal. Equal parts history, destiny, and rogue love story, Katharina and Martin Luther is a testament to the power of surrender, a necessary reminder that the future is shaped where courage and truth collide.”
Shannan Martin , author of Falling Free: Rescued from the Life I Always Wanted
“As a Lutheran, I thought I knew everything I needed to know about the Luthers. Was I ever wrong. This book is a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at one of the most well-known Christians couples of all time. It’s well researched but entirely accessible. This is the Luthers’ story, but in important ways, it’s the story of all of us. I highly recommend this captivating book.”
Jennifer Dukes Lee , author of The Happiness Dare
Dedication
For my dad the most Lutheran Catholic I know
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 2
Copyright Page 3
Endorsements 4
Dedication 5
List of Illustrations 9
Foreword 11
Preface 15
Acknowledgments 19
Map: The Luthers’ Locations 22
Introduction: The Story of an Unlikely Life 25
1. To the Cloister School 31
2. A Nun without a Choice 46
3. A Family Rift 56
4. The Good Monk 68
5. The Road to Damascus and a Nail in the Door 83
6. Hear This, O Pope! 96
7. The Risks of Freedom 106
8. Escape 124
9. Marriage Makeover 136
10. Tying the Knot 149
11. Backlash 162
12. Hausfrau Extraordinaire 175
13. Two Pigtails on the Pillow 192
14. A Family Affair 213
15. The Noblest, Most Precious Work 224
16. In the Valley of the Shadow of Death 235
17. ’Til Death Did Them Part 246
18. A Chancy Thing 269
Appendix 275
Notes 283
Selected Bibliography 311
About the Author 317
Back Ads 319
Back Cover 322
List of Illustrations
The Luthers’ Locations 22
Ruins of the Marienthron convent in Nimbschen, Germany 42
Contemporary Cistercian nun in habit, scapular, and wimple 53
Luther as an Augustinian monk 76
Drawing of Wittenberg, 1536 84
The Black Cloister (today known as Lutherhaus ), Wittenberg 85
Paintings of Martin Luther and Katharina Luther, 1526 155
Luther and Katharina’s living room in the Black Cloister, Wittenberg 177
Painting of Luther and family making music 225
Castle Church, Wittenberg 251
Image of woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder, depicting Katharina Luther in mourning 252
St. Mary’s Church, Torgau 266
Epitaph of Katharina Luther, St. Mary’s Church, Torgau 267
Katharinenportal (Katharina’s door), Black Cloister, Wittenberg 270
Foreword
T he five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation, marked by Martin Luther’s public disputation against papal indulgences (later known as the Ninety- five Theses ) made on October 31, 1517, will certainly bring revived interest in the life and legacy of one of church history’s most influential figures. And justifiably so, for few have had as much impact on the world both inside and outside the church as Martin Luther. The Protestant Reformation that Luther set into motion ushered in the modern age, an age of world-changing developments. These include the Enlightenment, widespread literacy, the rise of the individual, and innumerable shifts in culture, education, and the arts. In fact, one cannot study literature (my own field) without at least a passing familiarity with Luther’s writing because his impact on the world, including the world of letters, is so far-reaching.
But until I read this fascinating account by Michelle DeRusha of Luther’s marriage to Katharina von Bora, I knew nothing about this central part of Luther’s life and work. It’s a shame, really, that when we study history, even church history, scant attention is usually given to domestic life. There are various reasons why that’s so, but one is our lingering embrace of a sharp—and artificial—division drawn in the nineteenth century between the public sphere and the private sphere.
Biography, whether the reading or writing of it, can go a long way toward correcting this error. The examination of a person’s whole life, one placed within the context of his or her work and times, offers a crash course in a myriad of subjects, as well as a powerful demonstration that one thing always touches on another. Public and private cannot be separated in a person any more than hydrogen and oxygen can be separated and still be water. A person’s public works are shaped and formed by his or her private life, and vice versa. This biography of a marriage, then, goes even further in reconciling the public and private parts of a life that has left such a legacy.
In the case of Martin Luther, marriage—both his theological views of the institution and his own marriage—was central to his work as a reformer. Luther’s decision to marry played a pivotal role not only in his private life, but in the public impact of his ministry in reforming the church and its teachings on marriage. For it is one thing to preach a doctrine; it is another to practice it. This truth is particularly applicable to Luther’s situation because he took considerable aim at the contemporary church’s teaching on sex, marriage, and celibacy. Luther’s controversial marriage allowed him to take a heretofore abstract doctrinal topic into the realm of lived experience. Luther’s marriage extended his efforts at reforming orthodoxy to orthopraxy. Simply by marrying, and thereby embodying the doctrine he was teaching, the power of Luther’s reforms was magnified. Luther’s theology of marriage, one refined by practice, changed the way Christians thought about marriage and thereby shaped the very institution of marriage in ways that continue today.
But it wasn’t just getting married that allowed Luther to influence the institution of marriage. As the account that follows in these pages shows, Luther’s decision to marry Katharina von Bora specifically also contributed to the Protestant understanding of marri