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jvanwagoner's review against another edition
5.0
Finally found a copy of Erasmus' Discourse on Free Will
I've been looking for this little gem for years, and this was the only copy I could find in English; I couldn't find anything on the Kindle. This book is an out-of-print edition published in 1961. It is the translation by Ernst F. Winter. There were newer editions available, but they were relatively expensive. This edition also briefly excerpts from Luther's famous response, covering only about 20% of his writing. I ordered a cheap Kindle edition of that so I could read the whole thing. I found it interesting that I could find Luther's discourse almost anywhere, but it took a lot of work to find Erasmus' arguments.
So you'll understand my slant: I strongly believe in free will (I'm LDS). I thoroughly enjoyed Erasmus' discourse and thought he did an excellent job using Biblical proofs, thoughts of the Christian Fathers, and logic to prove his point. He had a section on Old Testament proofs, another on New Testament proofs, another where he responded to apparent Biblical defenses against free will, and another part responding to explanations Luther had used in the past against free will.
The excerpts from Luther mainly show strong personal attacks on Erasmus and assertions, but the compiler chose not to highlight the best parts of Luther's response. I am in the process of reading the complete reaction of Luther and will have a better idea of its strengths. I'm afraid I have to disagree with several of Luther's basic assumptions and interpretations of Paul. However, I am still curious to hear his arguments from a direct reading of one of his most famous works.
Once again, this book should mainly be read for Erasmus' discourse rather than for Luther's since it is just excerpted. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the great debate on free will.
Note that I wrote this review on 6/30/2011.
I've been looking for this little gem for years, and this was the only copy I could find in English; I couldn't find anything on the Kindle. This book is an out-of-print edition published in 1961. It is the translation by Ernst F. Winter. There were newer editions available, but they were relatively expensive. This edition also briefly excerpts from Luther's famous response, covering only about 20% of his writing. I ordered a cheap Kindle edition of that so I could read the whole thing. I found it interesting that I could find Luther's discourse almost anywhere, but it took a lot of work to find Erasmus' arguments.
So you'll understand my slant: I strongly believe in free will (I'm LDS). I thoroughly enjoyed Erasmus' discourse and thought he did an excellent job using Biblical proofs, thoughts of the Christian Fathers, and logic to prove his point. He had a section on Old Testament proofs, another on New Testament proofs, another where he responded to apparent Biblical defenses against free will, and another part responding to explanations Luther had used in the past against free will.
The excerpts from Luther mainly show strong personal attacks on Erasmus and assertions, but the compiler chose not to highlight the best parts of Luther's response. I am in the process of reading the complete reaction of Luther and will have a better idea of its strengths. I'm afraid I have to disagree with several of Luther's basic assumptions and interpretations of Paul. However, I am still curious to hear his arguments from a direct reading of one of his most famous works.
Once again, this book should mainly be read for Erasmus' discourse rather than for Luther's since it is just excerpted. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the great debate on free will.
Note that I wrote this review on 6/30/2011.
yosoytico's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.75
Discourse on Free Will by Desiderus Erasmus and Martin Luther is a compilation of debating treatises exchanged by this Catholic Humanist and Protestant Reformer regarding the topic of human agency in salvation. The book begins with Erasmus’s lengthy defense of human free will and the ability to choose or reject the saving grace of God. This is followed by a condensed counterargument where Luther responds to Erasmus’s arguments and theology. While this text played an influential role in the Protestant Reformation and shaped many later debates about free will both in Protestant and Catholic circles, it may come across as rather dense and long-winded for modern readers. Careful readers will also note that this edition edits Luther's response to about 1/4th of how much he fully wrote in response to Erasmus for the sake of brevity.
I personally found Erasmus's arguments in favor of free will to be the more compelling side of this debate, although I am also sympathetic to Luther who was not just responding to a theological question, but also to the corrupt theological institution of the Medieval Catholic Church and the Papacy.
I personally found Erasmus's arguments in favor of free will to be the more compelling side of this debate, although I am also sympathetic to Luther who was not just responding to a theological question, but also to the corrupt theological institution of the Medieval Catholic Church and the Papacy.
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