On the Freedom of a Christian
by Martin Luther · Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen
Assigned by 4 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1520
- Era
- Renaissance
- Form
- Theology
- Language
- German
- Length
- Short · 60 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThree TreatisesFortress Press, 1970Prints the essay with the two other 1520 treatises it was written alongside.
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The last and mildest of Luther's three reform treatises of 1520, sent to Pope Leo X with a conciliatory open letter. It turns on a pair of claims Luther calls paradoxical: a Christian is perfectly free, lord of all and subject to none, and at the same time a perfectly dutiful servant of all. Faith alone justifies, so no work can earn salvation; but faith frees a person to serve a neighbour without calculating a reward. Luther compares the union of the soul with Christ to a marriage in which the riches of one become the riches of the other.
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The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns On the Freedom of a Christian are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.