The Lord be with you
The Second Martin: The Life and Theology of Martin Chemnitz is a book by former LC-MS president JAO Preus II (1920-1994) and published by Concordia Publish House. After the death of Martin Luther, his followers began to splinter (much like the followers of John Calvin). Lutheranism was rocked by challenges both from without and within. In this volatile mix came Martin Chemnitz. He, and his associates, was largely responsible for the survival of Lutheranism. Not only did they pull together early expressions of the Lutheran Faith, like the Small and Large Catechisms of Luther, the Augsburg Confession and the Apology of the Augsburg Confession by Melanchthon, but he was the prime mover in getting the Formula of Concord and the Epitome of the Formula of Concord composed and accepted. He, and his associates, was also the prime movers in getting all our accepted confessional book gathered into the Book of Concord and published in 1580. I feel it is safe to say that the evaluation of a Roman Catholic scholar about Chemnitz is accurate: “If the second Martin had not come, the first would not have prevailed.”
In spite of the tremendous influence of this man, Preus’ book is the first English biography of him. Preus, however does a great job. The first part of the book is about Chemnits’s times (who were the big players, political issues, etc.). The second part is about the man himself. Of special interest is the effort to get the Formula, Epitome, and then the Book of Concord accepted. The third part covers his theology. In many ways, the third part could be a stand-alone book dealing with key theological issues. These issues continue to resurface in each generation. This is why the Book of Concord is such a treasure for Lutherans. Here we have a rock-solid testimony about what it means to be a Lutheran Christian. If you don’t agree with the Book of Concord, you may well be a Christian, but you are not a Lutheran Christian. We have Chemnitz to thank for that solid foundation. We also have Preus to thank for this excellent biography.
The book is a little over 400 pages, counting end notes.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor