Martin Luther was one of the most influential figures of the last millennium, with around 900 million people worldwide belonging to Protestant churches that trace their origins back to the Reformation he started five hundred years ago. His thinking and his writing were always original, fresh, controversial and provocative. They evoked strong reactions then, and still do today.

This book offers an accessible way into that thinking by looking at the way he approached a wide range of issues in his own time, and how some of that thinking might give us new ways to approach contemporary issues. Examining his approach to topics such as sex, freedom, prayer, evil, pilgrimage and Bible translation, it illustrates vividly the mind of this man who was very much of his time, yet whose ideas still speak creatively to the modern world. It combines scholarly insight into some of the key issues surrounding the study of Luther today, while being written in a style that makes it accessible to the non-specialist. The result is a book that serves as an ideal handbook for those wishing to get inside the mind of this most remarkable man.