This year marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s 95 theses and for many the possibly revolutionary start of the Reformation. Hundreds of books and conferences have already commemorated that event this year; most of them have focused on the consequences of his actions. This talk will focus instead on what Luther meant to do and what he did, with special attention to how revolutionary his actions were or not.

Craig E. Harline is the De Lamar Jensen Professor of Early Modern History at BYU. Harline has published numerous books on the religious history of Europe since the Middle Ages, including Way Below the Angels: The Pretty Clearly Troubled But Not Even Close to Tragic Confessions of a Real Live Mormon Missionary; Conversions: Two Family Stories From the Reformation and Modern America; Sunday: A History of the First Day from Babylonia to the Super Bowl. His newest book is A World Ablaze: The Rise of Martin Luther and the Birth of the Reformation.