Ink Against the Devil

Luther and His Opponents

Harry Loewen

• Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781771120814
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: History of Religion

Sixteenth-century Reformation Europe was a tumultuous time during which many defining ideas of the modern era were formulated. The technological advancement augured by the Gutenberg press allowed the unprecedented circulation of ideas among a growing legion of literate Europeans. The writings of radical reformer Martin Luther were perhaps most influential of all. His opposition to the universal Roman Catholic Church fundamentally challenged the elites and their institutions. Along the way, Luther was opposed by the Church, the political powers of the day, and competing religious ideologies. Ink Against the Devil distills the major impulses from these debates that continue to resonate to this day. This book will appeal to both lay and professional scholars of the Reformation and its major players with prose that is accessible and free of jargon. Loewen directly addresses the debates between Luther and his many foes, including Humanists like Erasmus and the sectarian opponents found among contemporary Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Of particular interest will be a focus on anti-semitism throughout Luther's published writings and sermons. There may be no other examples of this book's scope in such a natural, narrative presentation.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• My Earlier Luther Book
• The Title
• My Target Audience
• A Word of Thanks
• List of Abbreviations
• i: In Search of a Gracious God
• ii: Luther’s Early Red-Hot Pen
• iii: Dissenting Groups and Why They Opposed Luther
• iv: The Enemies Within: Luther and the Wittenberg Radicals
• v: “The Soft-Living Flesh of Wittenberg”: Luther’s Struggle and the Revolutionaries
• vi: “I Commanded Them to be Killed”: Luther and the Peasants
• vii: Two Riders of the Human Will: Luther Opposes Erasmus and Humanism
• viii: Luther Knew and Opposed the Evangelical Anabaptists
• ix: “I Told You So”: Luther and the Anabaptist Kingdom in Münster
• x: Much Ado about Spirit and Matter: Luther and the Spiritualists
• xi: Three in One or One in Three? Luther Opposes the Rationalists
• xii: To Believe What You Like? Luther and His Opponents on Tolerance and Religious Liberty
• xiii: “Drive Them Out of the Land!” Luther on the Jews
• xiv: The Cross and the Crescent: Luther Opposes the Turks and Islam
• xv: “An Institution of the Devil!” Luther’s Last Battle Against the Papacy
• xvi: Conclusion and Evaluation
• Epilogue
• Selected Bibliography
• Index