At this year’s Reformation Heritage Conference, Carl Trueman recently gave a series of lectures and sermons detailing the German Reformation and addressing the role of tradition and history within the life of the believer. He first discussed the heart of the German Reformation along with its key figure, Martin Luther. His characterization of Luther is quite informative and entertaining. Recalling one bit of history, Trueman tells the story of Luther’s cold response to the news that Ulrich Zwingli, leader of the Swiss Reformation, had been killed on the battlefield. Reformation history is Trueman’s bread and butter. His lectures are engaging and quite helpful in grasping a world that is not far removed from our own.  

In the final three messages, Trueman dispells the false dichotomy between the bible and tradition. He talks about the faulty reasoning present in the argument that there is no place for tradition when it comes to the bible and christian living. Many people claim that all they need is the bible and that’s it. Forget about tradition or history. Yet they are fooling themselves by believing that tradition and history had nothing to do with the interpretation of Scripture that went into the translated bible they hold so dear. Trueman makes this point crystal clear.

The six messages are not only beneficial to the church historian or historical theologian but to every Christian who desires to live faithfully by the Word of God for the glory of God. It is a call to examine our past so that we might better engage the present. Listen to all six and be blessed.