Colloquia or Table Talks.
The “Table Talks” are therefore often cited by the papists to denigrate Luther's person and life, of course without reason. Walch writes:
“It is considered reasonable that nothing can be proven from the 'Table Talks' that could be detrimental to Luther. For although they may have come from him, as I have noted before, they are and remain table talks: talks that he spoke without prior consideration, that were written out without his knowledge and will, and after his death a special book was published, which he could neither see nor read through. Our godly scholars have long since remembered this, not without reason. I refer to Johann Gerhard, Leonhard Hutter, Johann Adam Schertzer, Johann Adam Osiander, Georg Zeämann, not to think of others [See comment below on Old Missouri]."
Although these “Table Talks", which only came out after Luther's death, are not equal in value and validity to those writings of Luther that flowed from his own pen or were rewritten by his friends and published with his approval — in part after a careful review — they are and remain — with a careful review — a thankful gift. They contain splendid explanations of the main points of the Christian faith (of the Holy Scriptures, of God's works, of Christ, of sin, of the Law and the Gospel, of faith, of good works, of the Pope, of enthusiasts, of marriage, of kings, princes and lords, of schools, etc.), beautiful meaningful, pithy sayings, far-sighted prophecies, instructive stories and especially a treasure of individual traits from his life.
We said that the “Table Talks” would be a thankful gift if carefully sifted. Such a sifting has been done in the present edition. Prof. Hoppe, an expert on Luther, has devoted many years of diligence to this new edition. The Introduction rightly states:
“Our edition is the best and most complete of all the editions that have appeared to date. It is the most complete, because we have included in an unabridged German translation the main sources of the 'Table Talks' that have only recently come to light, the diaries of Lauterbach about the year 1538 and those of Cordatus from 1537, Luther's trusted friends and table companions; the best, because we have eliminated from the “Table Talks” much that does not belong to them, partly duplicates, partly borrowed from other writings of Luther, partly not originating from Luther, but have renewed a large part of the “Table Talks” from these two main sources. Both men have copied from Luther's own mouth, at his table and otherwise, what he spoke.” (page 1)
In this extremely interesting introduction, the author gives further information about the various previous editions, in which many foreign things have been added and the originals have been treated arbitrarily, wrong translations occur, and about what distinguishes the new edition from the earlier ones.
Probably many a Lutheran Christian has the wish:
“If only I could have spent one evening with our dear father Dr. Martin Luther, the greatest man and hero of faith after the time of the Apostles! This wish, my dear reader, can and will be fulfilled for days and weeks by what is offered in this volume. It brings you, for the first time, Luther's Table Talks translated from the originals.” (Introduction. p. 1)
No one who acquires this magnificent edition of Luther's Table Talks will regret it. He will not stop reading until he has come to the end of it. The fruit will be: Growth in salutary knowledge and edification in the most holy faith.
.jpg "Off the Record with Martin Luther (book cover)")
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