A Good Brief Introduction to Martin Luther from the BBC

As you might know, this year sees the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's nailing of his 95 Theses to the castle church door in Wittenberg.

So, this week, in honour of that, BBC Radio 3 has been broadcasting a series of essays on Luther and his "Reformation Gang." The first programme is on Luther himself and it's a great 14 minute introduction to the man from Lyndal Roper, the Regius Professor of Theology at the University of Oxford (a.k.a. "the Other Place").

Listen to it while it's still online! Professor Roper packs a lot of Luther's life into a really interesting short programme and gives the sort of balanced introduction to the great Reformer that, while not hiding his flaws, will draw you in to want to know more about Luther and the Reformation. This isn't hagiography, but fantastic history.

The other programmes in the series are on Thomas Muntzer, Katharina von Bora, Johann Walther, and tonight's will be on Philip Melanchthon. (And if you don't know who any of those people are, then you need to listen!) If they're anything like the first programme, it promises to be an incredible series. I'll definitely be listening to them all.

Anyway, just wanted to recommend this to give you a chance to listen while the programmes are still online. (And don't worry, you don't have to be a traditional Radio 3 listener to enjoy them!)