A Reformation Reader: Primary Texts with Introductions, 2nd ed.

by Denis R. Janz

Publisher:

Fortress Press

, 2002

Overview

Although deeply political, economic, and social, the European Reformations of the sixteenth century were at heart religious disputes over core Christian theological issues. Denis Janz’s A Reformation Reader is unabashed in its generous selection of key theological and related texts from five distinct Reformation sites. Along with plenty on the late-medieval background, the Lutheran, Calvinist, Radical, English, and Catholic Reformations are all well-represented here.

Janz’s selection of more than 100 carefully edited primary documents captures the energy and moment of that tumultuous time. The new edition incorporates a dozen readings by and about women in the Reformation, adds a new chapter on Thomas Müntzer and the Peasants' War, and adds illuminating graphics.

With Logos Bible Software, this volume is enhanced with cutting-edge research tools. Scripture citations appear on mouseover in your preferred English translation. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Powerful topical searches help you find exactly what you’re looking for. Tablet and mobile apps let you take the discussion with you. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

• Presents a broad selection of key texts from the sixteenth-century European Reformations
• Provides more than 100 primary documents
• Contains information and graphics new to the second edition

Contents

• The Late Medieval Background
• Martin Luther
• Thomas Müntzer and the Peasants’ War
• Zwingli and the Anabaptists
• John Calvin
• The Reformation in England
• The Counter/Catholic Reformation

Top Highlights

“faith does not extend to the belief that I am at this moment inwardly and outwardly receiving the sacrament correctly.” (Page 388)

“In the first place, when pressed by the temporal power they have made decrees and declared that the temporal power had no jurisdiction over them, but that, on the contrary, the spiritual power is above the temporal. In the second place, when the attempt is made to reprove them with the Scriptures, they raise the objection that only the pope may interpret the Scriptures. In the third place, if threatened with a council, their story is that no one may summon a council but the pope.” (Page 98)

“Two things in particular are a great help to amendment of life—a forcible withdrawal from any vice to which our nature inclines, and a fervent pursuit of any grace of which we stand in particular need. Especially study to avoid and overcome those things that most displease you in other people.” (Page 11)

“And although they allege that this power was given to St. Peter when the keys were given to him, it is clear enough that the keys were not given to Peter alone but to the whole community.” (Pages 100–101)

“all Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except that of office” (Page 98)

Praise for the Print Edition

The best one-volume primary-source collection available for students of the European reformations. The selections are substantial enough to sustain serious study and discussion, whether the topic is key religious texts or the thoughtful reactions of urban men and women. Ideal for one-semester surveys.

—Mark U. Edwards Jr., advisory member, faculty of divinity, Harvard Divinity School

The diverse voices, experiences, issues, and personalities that shaped the European reformations in various contexts are expertly lifted up in this stellar collection of theologically pertinent texts from men and women. An excellent teaching tool and a gem of a potable Reformation library that brings an international community of readers into firsthand contact with the fathers and mothers of the ‘reformed’ Protestant and Catholic Christianity.

—Kirsi Stjerna, former professor of Reformation church history, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, PA

Product Details

• Title: A Reformation Reader: Primary Texts with Introductions
• Author: Denis R. Janz
• Edition: Second Edition
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Print Publication Date: 2002
• Logos Release Date: 2012
• Pages: 472
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Reformation › Sources
• Resource ID: LLS:REFREADERREV
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-12T05:23:32Z

About Denis R. Janz

Denis R. Janz is Provost Distinguished Professor of the History of Christianity at Loyola University, New Orleans. He is the general editor of A People’s History of Christianity series and author of Luther and Late Medieval Thomism, Luther on Thomas Aquinas, and World Christianity and Marxism.