History 131: Topics in World History
Dr. C. Weber
11F
I. STUDY GUIDE: Roland Bainton's Here I Stand, Week 1 (Chapters 1-5)
Note as you read: a) Luther's humanity and concern over spiritual matters and b) the impact his
culture, education and scholarship made on him. (Pages listed are only intended as clues to
answering the questions. Other information in the book may also be helpful.)
LUTHER'S EARLY LIFE [Some pages listed below are from pages in the book after chapter 5.]
Watch for the following: influence of his family life on his character, his personal struggles and
identity crisis, his spiritual struggles (34, 40-1) and growth (especially celebration of his first
mass and trip to Rome), influence of his education, his temperament, religious training and his
reasons for pursuing monasticism (33-4), his relationship with peasants, middle class, and nobility
(103, 146, 208, 220-1), influence of Scripture on his life (47-8), his differences with the Church
(69, 78-9, 90, 83, 88), attack on indulgences (55, 63-4), the purpose of the 95 Theses, his use of
Scripture (67, 174), the attacks made on Luther by Exsurge Domini (1520) and the Edict of
Worms, Luther's illnesses and depressions.
Chapter 1. What is Luther's significance according to Bainton? How does Bainton view Luther's
crises? Why is Luther a "gothic figure"? What was his socio-economic background? How was
he influenced by the Renaissance (20, 37, 88, 93, 95, 96, 109)? What were his major concerns?
What aspects of medieval religion contributed to Luther's depression and what means of salvation
did the medieval church offer (20-23)?
Chapter 2. What was his monastic life like and how did he respond to it? What was his
"thunderstorm of the spirit," and what issues and feelings were involved? What was "the weak
spot of all medieval religion" (32)? How did Luther pursue holiness? What "good works" did he
try and how effective were they? What were "superfluous merits," relics and indulgences and
what role did they play in medieval religion? What was the purpose of pilgrimage to Luther and
what interested him in Rome? What were his impressions of Rome and what spiritual impact did
it have (37-38)?
Chapter 3. What was Wittenberg like? What issues did Luther confront here? What role did
Staupitz and the mystics play and how did Luther respond to it? What was Luther's "most
devastating doubt" (44)? Why did Luther begin teaching and what influence did his early
teaching have on him? What new realizations did he come to? How did he explain justification
by faith?
What does Bainton say about Luther's relationship to Aquinas and the Scholastics (24, 44, 51-52,
94, 109, 169-170)?
Chapter 4. What were Luther's original issues with the Church and how much did he protest
against them (51-52)? What were indulgences and what were they used for both spiritually and
materially? Why did Luther initially attack them (55-56)? Why did Luther attack indulgences
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and what according to Bainton was his most serious charge (62-63)? How and why did the
theses become the "talk of Germany"?
Chapter 5. How did Luther defend his views on indulgences? How did he attack penance,
primacy of the Church, the pope and Church councils? What role did George Spalatin, Cardinal
Cajetan, and Frederick the Wise play? What authorities did Luther appeal to?
II. STUDY GUIDE: Roland Bainton's Here I Stand, Week 2 (Chapters 6-10)
Chapter 6. Why did the pope become more conciliatory? How were both sides
becoming more definite? Note role of Carlstadt, Melanchthon, John Eck. Why did Luther think
that the pope was Antichrist? How did Luther's views compare to those of John Wyclif and
John Hus at the Leipzig debate?
Chapter 7. How did Luther's views relate to the Renaissance (67, 88, 93-99, 109, 171, 193199)? How was the Renaissance both a "menace to Christianity" and something the
Reformation could identify with? How did Luther and Erasmus compare in their views? How
was Luther a nationalist?
Chapter 8. What does Luther like and dislike of the Church in his Babylonian Captivity? What
is Luther's view of Communion? of the role of the priest? of the sacraments? What is his view
of individualism and how is it different from the Renaissance and Scholastic (109)? What is
"Exsurge" (1520) and what views does it condemn and not condemn (112-114)? In conclusion,
what views of Luther were taken most seriously by the Church?
Chapter 9. Why did Luther appeal to the emperor and what theological reasons did he give
(116-120)? How did Luther react to the bull of excommunication?
Chapter 10. How did Frederick devise a hearing for Luther and why did the emperor agree?
What was Luther charged with at the Diet and how did he respond? What did the Diet decide?
III. STUDY GUIDE: Roland Bainton's Here I Stand, Week 3 (Chapters 11-18). Focus on
the questions given below.
Chapter 11. What happened during Luther's "Patmos"? What happened to him in Wittenberg?
What theological issues emerge?
Chapter 12. How did Luther respond to violence? How was it arranged for him to go back to
Wittenberg?
Chapter 13. What were Luther's main concerns? Why is the "character of God" so important to
Luther?
Chapter 14. On what premises did Luther base his social, economic and political views? What
were his specific views in these areas? What support did he give for these views? What kind
of state and ruler did Luther desire?
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Chapter 15. What reforms did Luther advocate? How does Erasmus respond to Luther? What
new directions do Muntzer and Carlstadt take?
Chapter 16. What was Luther's view on the Peasant War? How were his ideas used to justify
the rebellion (208-14)? What was the impact of this turmoil?
Chapter 17. What is the "school for character"? What were Luther's views on marriage,
family, parent-child relations, role of women?
Chapter 18. What did the Diet of Speyer and the Augsburg Confession accomplish?
ALSO NOTE: How did Luther contribute in translation and music (254-256, 266-271)? How
did he make preaching central (272-273)? How did he cope with his struggle for faith and
depression (281-283)? What was the last part of his life like and what is the summary of his
life by Bainton (292, 300-302)? What is Bainton’s view of his attitude toward Jews (296298)?
“Luther: Giant of His Time and Ours” from Time, October 31, 1983, pp. 100-103.
What was Luther’s legacy in religion, politics, as a German, as a thinker, to German culture, to
Roman Catholics, and to Nazi Germany? What is the “boldest assertion” about Luther’s
importance?