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This study presents a picture of Martin Luther as a pioneer in mass communications. The text is divided into four sections and the conclusion; Martin Luther: man and his world, Luther and the German printing press, propaganda devices in Luther's Primary Reformation Treatises of 1520, and, propaganda and mass communications in Luther's liturgical reforms, religious broadsides, and preaching. The final remarks pertain to Luther's effect upon the reordering of society in the Western world.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University. / The purpose of this dissertation is to compare the concepts of human freedom and bondage and the interrelationship of God's grace and man's free will in regeneration and salvation in the writings of Martin Luther and James Arminius. Luther seems to deny all free will to man in his salvation and insists that salvation comes by grace alone. Arminius affirms man's free will to accept or reject God's grace and believes that salvation is the product of God's grace and man's free will cooperating. Luther and Arminius agree that all men sin and become bound in sin in such a way that they are unable to obtain salvation without grace. Both agree that sinful man lacks spiritual freedom to do good which will merit salvation. Both allow that man enjoys some freedom coram deo. However Arminius clearly affirms man's freedom to accept or reject God's grace, while Luther makes room for such freedom through the paradox of grace, although he denies that man has a free will coram deo. The problem of man's freedom and bondage is traced through the history of Christian thought. The anthropologies of Luther and Arminius are then compared. Luther's principles of Sola Gratia et Soli Deo Gloria are explored. They make God and His Spirit the active agent in salvation and man becomes but the passive recipient of God's work in him. Arminius with his principle of man's free will affirms that there are two active agents in man's salvation, God's grace and man's free will. Then an attempt is made to resolve these apparent differences by comparing the monergistic idea of a paradox of grace with the synergistic argument for free will. Finally, problems posed by these two views are summarized and criticised and a reconstruction of Luther's teaching of the will in bondage is attempted. [TRUNCATED]

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No comprehensive study of Luther's attitude towards monasticism is available in English. Most of the English works on Luther devote only a few pages or part of a chapter to this aspect of his life. Two reasons account for the cursory treatment. First, concern with the great themes of Luther's theology has led (Protestants at least) to concentrate on the theological aspects of his critique monasticism as a denial of the free grace of God, and as involving a mistaken view of perfection. Pelikan has commented: "Valid though this concentration on the theological aspects of Luther's polemic against monasticism is, it may obscure the bearing of that polemic upon the structures of the church." Moreover, a concern for theology 'pure and simple': (if such is possible) has led to a tendency to arrive at Luther's view of monasticism by a process of deduction from his great theme of justification by grace through faith alone, so that many of the niceties of his position, and especially the gentleness of his approach, have been obscured. Second, the cursory treatment is possible because there is a real sense in which the arguments Luther adduced in his major work on monasticism - though comprehensive and systematic - were by no means original. Yet, The Judgement of Martin Luther on Monastic Vows was the most decisive critique of monasticism ever presented. Summary, p. 2-3.

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study the researcher will reflect on the spirituality of Martin Luther as expressed in his letters to Philip Melanchthon written from Wartburg. Through such a reflection, based on biographical material, the researcher wishes to contribute to research that reflects on the spirituality of historical individuals. The first chapter will present a general introduction on how the researcher came to study the Spirituality of Martin Luther via inter alia a study on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. A short motivation will also be given on why biographical material (such as letters), the primary source for this study, should be seen as a suitable source for theological inquiry. The second chapter will reflect on a few contemporary works on Luther’s spirituality as well as the works of Scott Hendrix, Egil Grislis, Mark McIntosh and Sandra Schneiders to gain insight into the development of spirituality as a field of study and its current focus. The third chapter entails biographical accounts of Luther and Melanchthon with a primary focus on their lives up until Luther's safekeeping at Wartburg as well as a reflection on their friendship. The purpose will be to contextualize the letters and to give a better understanding of the people involved. The fourth chapter will summarize the content of the nine letters Luther wrote from Wartburg to Melanchthon. The summary will indicate the matters which were discussed between the two reformers and will be reflected on in order to find deeper insight into Luther's spirituality. Chapter five will consider matters of importance identified in chapter four, such as the Luther's identity and spirituality and his understanding and reference to Christ and God, while at Wartburg. The final chapter will reflect on the content of this study and the contribution that a study based on biographical material has to offer to spirituality as an academic discipline. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die studie wil die navorsers reflekteer oor die spiritualiteit van Martin Luther soos dit uitgedruk is in sy briewe aan Philip Melanchthon, geskryf vanaf Wartburg. Die hoop is om deur hierdie refleksie, gebaseer op biografiese material, ‘n bydrae te lewer tot navorsing wat reflekteer op die spiritualiteit van historiese individue. Die eerste hooftuk van die studie behels ‘n algemene inleiding wat sal verduidelik hoe die navorser daartoe gekom het om ‘n studie te doen oor die spiritualiteit van Martin Luther via, onder andere, ‘n voorafgaande studie oor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. ‘n Kort motivering sal ook gegee word hoekom biografiese materiaal (soos briewe), die primêre bron van dié studie, gesien kan word as ‘n gepaste bron vir teologiese ondersoek. In die tweede hoofstuk van die studie word daar gereflekteer oor sommige kontemporêre werke aangaande Luther se spiritualiteit asook die werke van Scott Hendrix, Egil Grislis, Mark McIntosh en Sandra Schneiders wat insig sal gee tot die ontwikkeling van spiritualiteit as ‘n studieveld. Die derde hoofstuk behels biografiese refleksies oor die lewens van Luther en Philip Melanchthon, met ‘n primêre fokus op hul lewens voordat Luther na Wartburg geneem is vir beskerming, asook ‘n refleksie op hul vriendskap. Die doel hiervan is om die briewe te kontekstualiseer en ‘n beter begrip van die betrokke mense te kry. In die vierde hoofstuk gee die navorser 'n opsomming van die inhoud van die nege briewe wat Luther vanaf Wartburg aan Melanchthon geskryf het. Dit sal ‘n aanduiding gee van die sake wat tussen die Hervormers bespreek was en waaroor verder reflekteer moet word vir dieper insigte tot Luther se spiritualiteit. Hoofstuk vyf fokus op die sake wat in hoofstuk vier geïdentifiseer is, asook Luther se identiteit en spiritualiteit en sy verstaan en verwysings na God en Christus. In die finale hoofstuk van die studie word daar gereflekteer oor die inhoud van die studie en die bydrae wat ‘n refleksie gebaseer op biografiese materiaal, te bied het aan spiritualiteit as ‘n akademiese veld.