Both the state of Luther scholarship and the condition of the church have changed radically since the middle of that century of light, when J. G. Hamann lamented: What a shame for our times that the spirit of this man who founded our church lies thus under the ashes. What a power of eloquence, what a spirit for interpretation, what a prophet! How good the old wine will taste to you! Though Theodosius Harnack a hundred years later hailed the renewed study of Luther\u27s theology as one of the most joyous developments in theological scholarship, his own work remained the only really significant book on his theology in the nineteenth century. What an upsurge of Luther studies since the festivities of 1917 and the renewal of Luther scholarship through Karl Holl and other stalwarts
