Books Of Impact – Biography

Here I Stand by Roland H. Bainton

A biography of Martin Luther

For years now my reading sometimes follows a pattern: a particular topic grabs my interest and I read broadly on the topic for months till the itch is scratched.

A while back Luther and the Reformation grabbed my attention. It was a pivotal time in world history where an individual just did what he was supposed to do right where he was and greatness was thrust upon him. Fascinating stuff. This book is the best of the many biographies I’ve read about him and is universally recognized as the gold standard. Written in the 50′s, the language is a bit higher than is commonly used today, so there are Luther biographies out there that are easier to read, but I haven’t found one that is more comprehensive. You can tell the author is a scholar and expert in his field. A little bit of background knowledge on the subject is helpful also.

So, the reason this book is on my list isn’t necessarily because of the book itself, but the topic. Luther stands tall among the giants who have marked and influenced Western culture. He not only led the Protestant reformation, but:

He translated the Bible into German, effectively creating the modern German language. This also created the norm that people should be able to read the Bible in their own language, and that they should read their Bible personally.

He was among the first individuals who expressed a personal conviction, stood up to the institutional powers and not only survived, but won. This opened the way for the rights of individuals and democracy. No Luther, no American revolution. No individualism. No personal quiet times. No priesthood of the believers.

He promoted literacy, even among women, because for him, to be a Christian, one had to read the scriptures.

He was the first best-selling author in history.

He reinvented church services. He wore regular clothes and sang songs in the language of the people. If you go to a contemporary church service now, thank Luther for blazing the trail. He was also an accomplished musician, writing A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, among others.

I could go on and have in previous blogs (click here to read), but my point is this. Luther changed the world. And he did it as an ordinary little monk in a remote region of Germany. His life should have been spent in obscurity, but he was in the right place at the right time for God to use him. I’m fascinated by the question of how one gets in position to be used by God to change things. Studying Luther’s life has held many clues for me, therefore this biography makes it on my list of books of impact.

Master’s Degrees I Wish I Had Time For

I love education! I would gladly spend the rest of my life in school if I could find someone to pay for it. In fact, I have at 3 different times begun a master’s degree. Each time I was redirected by 1)a distinct call from God to delay, switch topics and get married) 2) a job in my career field and 3) a distinct call from God to leave for the mission field. So I think often about what I would study if I were to go back to school again. Some in my field assume it would involve theology, which wouldn’t be a bad guess.

But sometimes I dream…If I had endless time and endless resources, what would I study?

Polar lichens – Yes, I said that right.

Lichen in Sweden

My original degree was in biology, a field that I worked in for several years and still love. In fact, had I pursued research, which would have been very cool,  I would have loved to have focused on polar climates. I totally have a thing for ice, glaciers, cold water animals and cold climate plants. And I find lichens amazing!  They are a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus and either an algae or a cyanobacteria. Let me stop now before you put me completely in the nerd category.

 

The Reformation and Martin Luther - This topic has fascinated me for
the last year and a half and I’ve read extensively on it. I’d love an extended chance to reflect on how one man stood up to the powers and institutions of his time, who loved and taught the scriptures and changed almost everything about western culture.

Human sexuality and cultural differences in how young people go about pairing up – I couldn’t come up with a better way to word that, so I’m clearly not ready to write a dissertation yet. But in my line of work, I often deal with the fallout of how young people manage their sexuality. And I seem to often do it cross-culturally. There is so much I don’t understand about how relationship things work in Europe that I think it would be worth my time to do some official research on how young people in Western Europe view sex, monogamy, marriage and the social implications therein.

Master of Divinity or MA in Biblical Studies - Of course, people in ministry typically have these types of degrees and I have pursued both at different times. While I would love a chance to study  this again, I actively read on and personally study in this field all the time. I often engage in intentional conversations around this theme, so studying it right now feels a bit like building a house I’m already living in.

The bottom line is that I love seeing God’s fingerprints on His creation. I think God’s people should be characterized by curiosity, hard work and sharp minds. I hope those traits would describe my intellectual pursuits in the coming years, no matter what the subject matter God lays before me.