A Reformation Reader Guide

Five hundred years ago the posting of a number of theses by an Augustinian monk turned the world upside down. Plenty has been written of this, and if I simply tried to list here all the books that have appeared this year – and the past few years – on the Reformation, I would keep very busy indeed.

I will not be so reckless. Here I wish to mention just some of the better ones that have recently appeared, as well as list some of the older classic volumes. This will be my second offering on this. I have already written a brief bibliography on the Reformation earlier this year.
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2017/02/11/reformation-500-years-reading-guide/

Since so many new volumes keep pouring off the presses, and since I am including some other older ones as well, it is worth doing another bibliography, while we still have a few weeks left in this 500th anniversary year. Here then is some of my recommended reading:

General works

Bainton, Roland, The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. Beacon Press, 1952.
Bainton, Roland, The Age of the Reformation. D. Van Nostrand, 1956.
Barrett, Matthew, ed., Reformation Theology. Crossway, 2017.
D’Aubigne, J. H. Merle, History of the Reformation on the Sixteenth Century. Baker, 1846, 1976.
D’Aubigne, J. H. Merle, The Reformation in England, 2 vols. Banner of truth, 1868, 1962.
Elton, Geoffrey, Reformation Europe. Harper & Row, 1963.
Dickens, A. G., The English Reformation. Schocken, 1964.
Dickens, A. G., Reformation and Society in Sixteenth-Century Europe. Thames and Hudson, 1966.
Evans, G. R., The Roots of the Reformation. IVP, 2012.
George, Timothy, Theology of the Reformers. B&H, 1988, 2013.
Kolb, Robert and Carl Trueman, Between Wittenberg and Geneva: Lutheran and Reformed Theology in Conversation. Baker, 2017.
Landry, Eric and Michael Horton, eds., The Reformation Then and Now. Hendrickson, 2017.
Littlejohn, Bradford and Jonathan Roberts, eds., Reformation Theology: A Reader of Primary Sources with Introductions. Davenant Press, 2017.
Lutzer, Erwin, Rescuing the Gospel: The Story and Significance of the Reformation. Baker, 2016.
MacCulloch, Diarmaid, All Things Made New: The Reformation and Its Legacy. Oxford, 2016.
MacCulloch, Diarmaid, The Reformation: A History. Penguin, 2005.
McGrath, Alister, Christianity’s Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution. HarperOne, 2007.
McGrath, Alister, The Intellectual Origins of the European Reformation. Wiley-Blackwell, 2003.
McGrath, Alister, Reformation Thought: An Introduction, 4th Edition. Wiley-Blackwell, 1988, 2012.
Marshall, Peter, Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation. Yale, 2017.
Nichols, Stephen J., The Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World. Crossway, 2007.
Owen, Chadwick, The Reformation. 1964.
Reeves, Michael, The Unquenchable Flame. B&H, 2010.
Reeves, Michael and Tim Chester, Why the Reformation Still Matters. IVP, 2016.
Thompson, Mark, et. al, eds, Celebrating the Reformation. Apollos, 2017.
Trueman, Carl, Reformation: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Christian Focus, 2011.
Vanhoozer, Kevin, Biblical Authority After Babel: Retrieving the Solas in the Spirit of Mere Protestant Christianity. Brazos Press, 2016.
Van Neste, Ray and Michael Garrett, eds., Reformation 500. B&H, 2016.

See also “The 5 Sola Series”:
Barrett, Matthew, God’s Word Alone. Zondervan, 2016.
Schreiner, Thomas, Faith Alone. Zondervan, 2015.
Trueman, Carl, Grace Alone. Zondervan, 2017.
VanDrunen, David, God’s Glory Alone. Zondervan, 2015.
Wellum, Stephen, Christ Alone. Zondervan, 2017.

I review this series here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2017/06/20/5-solas-series/

Luther – biographies and theology

Althaus, Paul, The Ethics of Martin Luther. Fortress Press, 1965, 1972.
Althaus, Paul, The Theology of Martin Luther. Fortress Press, 1966.
Bainton, Roland, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Abingdon Press, 1950.
Bayer, Oswald, Martin Luther’s Theology. Eerdmans, 2003, 2008.
Forde, Gerhard, On Being a Theologian of the Cross. Eerdmans, 1997.
Hendrix, Scott, Martin Luther: Visionary Reformer. Yale University Press, 2017.
Kolb, Robert, Martin Luther and the Enduring Word of God: The Wittenberg School and Its Scripture-Centered Proclamation. Baker, 2016.
Kolb, Robert, The Oxford Handbook of Martin Luther’s Theology. Oxford, 2016.
Kolb, Robert and Charles Arand, The Genius of Luther’s Theology. Baker, 2008.
Lohse, Bernhard, Martin Luther’s Theology. Fortress, 2011.
McGrath, Alister, Luther’s Theology of the Cross. Blackwell, 1985.
Marshall, Peter, 1517: Martin Luther and the Invention of the Reformation. Oxford, 2017.
Mattes, Mark, Martin Luther’s Theology of Beauty. Baker, 2017.
Metaxas, Eric, Martin Luther. Viking, 2017.
Nichols, Stephen, Beyond the 95 Theses. P&R, 2016.
Oberman, Heiko, Luther: Man Between God and the Devil. Doubleday, 1992.
Roper, Lyndal, Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet. Random House, 2017.
Sproul, R. C. and Stephen Nichols, eds., The Legacy of Luther. Reformation Trust, 2016.
Trueman, Carl, Luther on the Christian Life. Crossway, 2015.
Wengert, Timothy, ed., Dictionary of Luther and the Lutheran Traditions. Baker, 2017.

Calvin – biographies and theology

Godfrey, W. Robert, John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor. Crossway, 2009.
Gordon, F. Bruce, Calvin. YUP, 2011.
Littlejohn, Bradford and Jonathan Tomes, eds., Beyond Calvin: Essays on the Diversity of the Reformed Tradition. Davenant Press, 2017.
McGrath, Alister, A Life of John Calvin. Wiley-Blackwell, 1991.
McNeill, J. T., The History and Character of Calvinism. OUP, 1954.
Mueller, Richard, Calvin and the Reformed Tradition. Baker, 2012.
Niesel, Wilhelm, The Theology of Calvin. Baker, 1980.
Parker, T. H. L., John Calvin: A Biography. Presbyterian Publishing, 1975.
Reid, W. Stanford, ed., John Calvin: His Influence in the Western World. Zondervan, 1982.
Selderhuis, Herman, ed., The Calvin Handbook. Eerdmans, 2009.
Selderhuis, Herman, John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life. IVP, 2009.
Wendel, Francois, Calvin: The Origins and Development of His Religious Thought. Baker, 1995.

See also the 8-volume Calvin 500 Series:
Ford Lewis Battles, ed., The Piety of John Calvin (P&R, 2009).
David Hall, Calvin in the Public Square (P&R, 2009).
David Hall, The Legacy of John Calvin (P&R, 2008).
David Hall, ed., Preaching Like Calvin (P&R, 2010).
David Hall, ed., Tributes to Calvin (P&R, 2010).
David Hall and Matthew Burton, Calvin and Commerce (P&R, 2009).
David Hall and Peter Lillback, eds., A Theological Guide to Calvin’s Institutes. (P&R, 2008).
David Hall and Marvin Padgett, eds., Calvin and Culture (P&R, 2010).

These 70-plus volumes should keep you busy for a while. Happy reading.

(Australians: A number of these books can be found at Koorong.)

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