Book Review- Here I Stand

For my TBR Pile Challenge and my non-fiction reading challenge I read Roland Bainton's book Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, which, as you may guess, is about the life of Martin Luther.

Here's the synopsis from Goodreads: Here is an authoritative, unforgettable biography of Martin Luther, the great religious leader, who entered a monastery as a youth and who, as a man, shattered the structure of the medieval church. Luther spoke out against the corrupt religious practices that then existed. His demanded that the authority for doctrine and practice be Scriptures, rather than Popes or Councils, echoed around the world and ignited the Great Reformation. Accused of heresy and threatened with excommunication and death, Luther maintained his bold stand and refused to recant. In his crusade to eliminate religious abuses, he did more than any other man to establish the Protestant faith. 

This is one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read and I must say was extremely well written for being history, which can, in the wrong hands, come off as hard to read. Bainton does an excellent job of portraying the life of Martin Luther without whitewashing it but giving the plain and simple facts. There were things that Luther did that we may squirm to admit but Bainton still included them.
With this book I felt like I was better able to understand the exact theology that was being debated by Martin Luther and the Catholic church during that time. I loved that Bainton included long passages of quotes from Luther and others, especially from Luther's writings and sermons.  Luther was a fascinating man and I could not imagine being in his position during this time. His trust in God and bravery were inspiring.
Here are a couple quotes from the book that I liked. The whole book was so great that I actually only photographed two quotes from it because I didn't know where to start!

"I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift from God."

After his daughter dies- "How strange it is to know that she is at peace and all is well and yet to be so sorrowful!" I loved this quote as it really summed up my feelings with my grandfather passing away.  

There's not much more I could say about this but to read it! :)

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