My Conversations with Martin L

`My Conversations with Martin Luther' by the recently deceased Professor Timothy F. Lull, the president of the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and a distinguished Luther scholar, is a delightfully light introduction to Luther's writings, and something of an advertisement for Lull's much weightier work, `Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings'. Professor Lull seems to have quite a fan club among working Lutheran pastors and teachers in the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), as the book was recommended to me by at least two different Lutheran professionals. Given that build-up, I was a bit disappointed in the book. The conceit of Professor Lull's encountering Herr Doktor Luther on five different occasions, three of which take place in Wittenberg, Germany and other Luther `haunts' is clever, but not dramatically realized. Professor Lull is certainly does not have the skills of dialogue writing of one of his other heroes, William Shakespeare. The conversations briefly touch on a broad range of Luther's main subjects over the huge range of his writings, covering even more territory than that published in the mighty 55 volume translation of his Latin and German writings into English. Professor Lull has the good Doctor read from passages in Lull's anthology and comment upon them. The realization of Luther's character in the dialogue does not succeed in making this voice capture Luther as a `man of his age'. Rather, it is Luther mellowed by his observation of events in the world over the last 450 years plus conversations, in eternity, with some of his worldly antagonists, such as Henry VIII of England. The most dramatic mellowing is found in the fifth conversation, where Lull and Luther tour the museum build on the grounds of Buchenwald, outside Weimar. Late in his life, Luther wrote strong statements against the Jews, which were used in Nazi justifications for their `final solution', the extermination of European Jews. The opinions of Lull's Luther are almost totally rescued due to the conceit of Luther's conversations in heaven with the 20th century Lutheran theologian, Dietrich Bonheoffer, who was executed by the Nazis for association with the failed plot to assassinate Hitler. The time spent on Luther's reformed anti-Semitism parallels the ELCA's 1994 pronouncement disavowing all of Luther's anti-Jewish writings and all the evil uses to which those writings were put. While I delight in the fact that it was my very own Northeastern PA Synod which lead the effort for making the pronouncement, I have to wonder what in the world took them so long! I am often surprised by the durability of low-level anti-Semitism among otherwise wonderfully God-fearing Lutherans. The value of Lull's book increases if your familiarity with Luther and his works is small. For those like me with a modicum of knowledge, the greatest value of the book is in Lull's for the journeyman scholar is his Appendix I, offering

I appreciated the device Lull uses of having visits from Luther. It was a good way to review some Reformation theology and history. Lull's imagination of what heaven is like (according to Luther in the book) was quite interesting. It was very easy to read, although it could have used a little proofreading from place to place.

This small book, intimately written, is worth ever moment spent with it. Not only is it delightful in its character development and story, but it is theologically enlightening and reveals a very human and strongly authentic Martin Luther. It is a delicious read.

Timothy Lull, seminary president and Luther scholar and friend, lets us in on five fleeting but insightful, instructive, probing and sometimes quite humorous conversations with the 16th century reformer whose wisdom and faith still shape the Church today. In one conversation Lull has an honest talk with Luther about the still painful subject of his diatribes against the Jewish people of his day. This book provides a nice introduction to folks who would like to meet Luther for the first time. And it provides fresh perspective for those who have had their own conversations and debates with Luther along the way.