Freedom of the Christian - if you haven't read it yet, do it!
Freedom of a Christian, an overview
For those unfamiliar with the work, here is a little background: Published in one of Luther's most essential years (1520) in advance of his trial at the Diet of Worms, Luther publishes a series of works (often referred to as the three great treatises) that essentially rob from the church to give to the Christian. Address to the German Nobility chips away papal authority, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church undermines the sacramental scheme - especially the reliance on penance, and Freedom of the Christian underscores the doctrinal shift that becomes the hallmark of the European Reformation. It also reinforces the message of the previous works (the spiritual equality of the laity and freedom from the system that has burdened them).
This short work focuses on two theses put forth by Luther: 1) The Christian is perfectly free from all, subject to no one. And, 2) The Christian is perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all. With these Luther asserts how Christ accomplishes everything for the Christian, truly freeing him from everything. But also how the Christian is not merely free from but free for the neighbor. It is focused on the most important issue of the Reformation: justification, and how that relates to good works.
Luther brilliantly and succinctly demonstrates the Christian's relationship to God through Christ. Here we get Luther's happy (or as this translation renders it "joyous") exchange theology that Christ takes all of the sinner and the sinner receives all of Christ. Therefore the Christian becomes a spiritual king and priest. All this happens by faith not works. The good tree makes the good fruit, not the other way around.
The outer man, as Luther puts it, is to then be put into sync with the inner person, the soul which has already been justified. Since the sinner will want the outer person to run amok. It is this sinful inclination that still exists that makes it clear one cannot trust in their own works. Here we also see Luther's law and gospel hermeneutic laid out. The law, he says, shows what to do but cannot do it. Most importantly, once the Christian is freed from its demands, he can live for its purpose - to benefit the neighbor.
This was the first major theological work I had encountered, and it still stands out after so many which have come after it. I recall reading this my freshman year in college and thinking, "I have completely misunderstood and undersold grace." That may have been the first time I truly thought like a Lutheran, and I owe it to this work. As such, I hold it in the highest regard and cannot speak highly enough about it.
Regarding 1517's Edition
Now let us look at this specific version, since this is not the only English version available. I believe this is the 5th version to come into my library. As far as the physical book itself, 1517's compares or excels against most of the competition as it maintains it's convenient small size in both page size and book thickness, making it an easy fit on most any shelf and in most any library and travels easily if it were brought to a class or book group. The cover material they use is their very fine quality soft cover. The color/cover art leaves a bit to be wanting to some other versions. The text is in a very reader friendly size/spacing without being "large print".
My biggest hang-up - and as petty as it sounds it really did get to me - is the title. The name of this blog reveals my issue: it really should (but doesn't) say "Abridged Version" in the title or on the cover. One can discover this easy enough from the words about the translation on the back and in the book's introduction. But as a consumer who already has a familiarity with the work (and a love for it), when I see the title I don't even think to read the back because I think I already know what I am getting. But this edition is abridged. I could tell reading it (although not to what extent it was abridged as it still covered the general treatise pretty fully). Though the book size is comparable to many complete editions, the translation is noticeably shorter once you get into it (more on why that is in a second). For someone like me, that makes a big difference. There is a place for an abridged version, especially those less inclined to some of the features of a 16th century theological treatise. The introduction even acknowledges this, putting in the introduction, "While an accurate translation, it is not an academic one. Our intention was to simply make one of Luther's great works available for attendants of Here We Still Stand 2020." While that appeals less to someone like me it also can be very appealing to many others. And as one who wants every Christian to read this work, emphasizing the uniqueness of this edition in the title could help its appeal. Something like The Freedom of The Christian: An Abridged and Easy-to-Read Translation or the like. As both a warning to more scholastically interested Lutheran readers like myself and as an appeal to more casual readers more clarity in the title/cover could go a long way in improving this book (since let's face it, we do often judge a book by its cover).
The other reason a title change might add to the genuineness and uniqueness of this book is that a significant portion of it is made up of material other than Luther's treatise. Whereas Luther's work takes up 36 pages, you also have an 8-page introduction, a 3-page concluding remarks by the translator, and an 18-page essay on Christian freedom by Scott Keith (oddly noted on the back of the book as a "brief essay" when it makes up nearly a third of the book). All of these pieces are meant in their own way to help make clear the points Luther is making. That extra material makes up such a significant enough amount of the book its thickness matches that of non-abridged versions. But these again add to the reader friendly quality of the book that are under-utilized as a selling point.
The translation is noticeably smooth and easy to read. Adam Francisco deserves credit for the work in both his bringing the German (this is a translation of the German not Latin edition of the work) to English and in his seamless abridgement that would not be noticeable to one new to Freedom of The Christian and still able to capture most of the key points. The layout of sentences and paragraphs is also good. I am sad that my favorite quote from the work appears to have not made it in this abridgement.
Scott Keith's essay was a solid contribution, but I do wish it were more directly connected to Freedom of The Christian. While discussing the same topic, and the final section of his essay a wonderful addition as it takes us more into Luther's concept of vocations as God-pleasing, the work as a whole stands alone instead of communicates with and builds from Luther's treatise. The essay's references to theologians of my seminary - James Nestigan and Gerhard Forde - definitely win brownie points with me (even if he had no idea he'd be sucking up to me by referencing them, LOL).
Conclusion
Overall this book was a fast, easy read of one of the greatest theological works ever written. And while for someone like me it would not be my first choice edition, props should be given for its accessibility. It really is a shame this was not made clear in the title/cover to both capitalize and clarify its unique place among American translations of this great work. 1517 put in every effort to make the concept of Christian freedom clear.
Armchair Grade: B
To buy your copy of Freedom of the Christian click here
No comments:
Post a Comment