The Bondage of the Will
The Bondage of the Will, by Martin Luther, is one of my favorites. The particular version I have read, and enjoyed, is translated(from the original Latin) by J. I. Packer and O. R. Johnston. Luther wrote the book in response to a work by Desiderius Erasmus , Diatribe seu collatio de libero arbitrio (Discussion, or Collation, concerning Free-Will), who defended the idea that man has a free will, is not in bondage to sin and that his choices, good or bad, are not determined by God. Luther's reply De servo arbitrio (On the Bondage of the Will) , thoroughly critiques Erasmus's 'Diatribe', (as Luther terms it) and shows the absurdity of his arguments. Luther defends God's freedom, and asserts than man is not free but a slave to his own desires. I found this book not only instructive, but very 'entertaining' as well. The reason being that Luther uses sarcasm as a large part of his attempts to demonstrate the nonsense of the 'Diatribe's' sta...