The Large Catechism of Martin Luther

By 1529, the year of publication of Luther's Large Catechism, parishioners took the Gospel for granted. Many had forgotten at what great peril the freedom of their faith had been won. In the Large Catechism Luther set out to inculcate the centrality of the Gospel that was largely neglected and whose freedom was frequently abused. Whether Luther is therefore dealing with the Ten Commandments or the Lord's Supper, the dynamic of the Word of God as Gospel provides the cutting edge for what he says. To obscure the Gospel is to lose everything; to illuminate it is to gain all it promises. But it is not a Gospel with a purely individualistic thrust. To risk all for the Gospel is to relate one's self to society and the Christian community. And it is this corporate dimension of the Gospel, involving him who believes all to serve all, which gives Luther's exposition of the basic ingredients of the Christian faith such significance and relevance. Therefore the Large Catechism is a primary source for an understanding of the Christian ethos in action in Reformation Christianity. The Gospel is particularized. The social situation comes alive in concrete terms in a language whose meaning is unmistakable and clear.

About the Author:

"Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 February 18, 1546) was a German monk, theologian, and church reformer. He is also considered to be the founder of Protestantism.

Luther's theology challenged the authority of the papacy by holding that the Bible is the sole source of religious authority and that all baptized Christians are a general priesthood. According to Luther, salvation was attainable only by faith in Jesus as the Messiah, a faith unmediated by the church. These ideas helped to inspire the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western civilization.

Luther's translation of the Bible into the German vernacular, making it more accessible to ordinary people, had a tremendous impact on the church and on German culture. The translation also furthered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation of the English King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of congregational singing within Christianity. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage within Protestantism.
Luther is also known for his writings about the Jews, the nature and consequences of which are the subject of scholarly debate. His statements that Jews' homes should be destroyed, their synagogues burned, money confiscated, and liberty curtailed, were revived and given widespread publicity by the Nazis in Germany in 1933 45. As a result of this and his revolutionary theological views, his legacy remains controversial." (Quote from wikipedia.org)