One of my all-time favorite books is Roland Bainton's biography of Martin Luther called Here I Stand. When the world was experiencing an era of cataclysmic change, a German monk emerged who linked the medieval world to the modern world. That man was Martin Luther. There is little doubt that God conspired to have Luther emerge "for such a time as this." The Holy Roman Empire was disintegrating with the emergence of the European Nation-states, the Renaissance brought the revival of classical learning, Gutenberg's printing press was illuminating away the Dark Ages, and there was a postmodern-like distrust of institutional religion. The age was ripe for Reformation, and Luther became its unlikely herald.Bainton writes lyrical history. I have literally read my paperback copy of this book so many times that it is tattered, patched and repaired with scotch tape. Bainton's research is meticulous and his observations and prose are inspiring. As a Baptist, and a step-child of the Reformation, Luther is a personal hero to me. Luther's courage and his fallibility make him an attractive model of a Christian man, and Bainton portrays him masterfully.
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