Selections from the Table Talk of Martin Luther

About this book

When Martin Luther promulgated his “95 Theses” 1n 1517, he probably did not envision the initiation of the historical division of the indivisible Church, beginning what we now know as the Protestant Reformation. For his opposition to such practices as indulgences and Papal infallibility, he was excommunicated by Pope Leo X, and later, at the Diet of Worms, was declared an outlaw of the state. Luther made use of the new printing technology of Gutenberg to disseminate his writings. The first publication of his “Table Talk” (Colloquia Mensalia) was in 1566 arranged into 80 chapters. The complete work was published in Stuttgart and Leipzig in 1836 in the equivalent of 2,780 pages. Captain Henry Bell undertook the translation of these selections from the high German and published it in 1561. The topics are drawn from conversation with many of the great minds of Luther’s day and cover topics from The Word of God to Imperial Diets. - Summary by Larry Wilson