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Prolegomena According To Karl Barth, Robert D. Preus

Concordia Theological Monthly

In a former article I pointed out by way of introduction that Karl Barth by his raking cognizance of both exegesis and church history ranks rightfully above most of his contemporaries as a dogmatician of stature. In the present article I shall try to examine Barth's opinion on the subjects of theology and dogmatics more specifically. We shall find that Barth takes a position on the matter of prolegomena very close to that of the 16th- and 17th-cenrury Lutheran and Reformed teachers, that his position is in the main both Scriptural and sane. Here, although we shall perhaps discern nothing …

Theology And Science, Paul M. Bretscher

Concordia Theological Monthly

Less than a generation ago most people noted in science only its immediate anthropological implication. They argued whether man was descended from simian stock or, regardless of his ancestry, whether he was the inevitable outcome of predetermining causes. In either case the concept of God was next to irrelevant, and Christian theology seemed on its way out.

Toward An Evangelical Philosophy Of Science: The Historical And Recent Background, Oscar T. Walle

Concordia Theological Monthly

The general title of our discussions indicates that we are interested in the search for a unifying discipline or point of view which may bridge or fuse what Carl Henry calls. "the cleavage between science and religion . . . one of the defacing characteristics of our culture." This author ably states the case when he says, "Evangelical theology, if it is to make a major contribution to synthesis, must propound a Christian philosophy of science tracing the implications of the sovereignty of God for all branches of science." It is the purpose of this presentation to call attention to …

Faith Healing: A Discussion, Edward J. Mahnke

Concordia Theological Monthly

Is it right to promise health or material advantage to people who practice a religious life? This question is basic to the considerations involved in the practice of faith healing.

Man threatened by foreign powers, missiles, disaster plans. evacuation routes, tossed back and forward by doctrines of every kind, finds himself shaken. He is uncertain about God. He needs health and money to maintain control of his life and future. In Deut. 8:17, 18 the Lord insists that He is the source of all goodness. But He also warns man not to think of God as a resource by which …

A Review Of Von Weizsäcker's Am Anfang, August C. Rehwaldt

Concordia Theological Monthly

During the winter of 1919/20 Victor von Weizsȁcker delivered a series of lectures on natural philosophy at the University of Heidelberg. Because of conditions of war only a fragment of these lectures has been preserved. This was published under the title: Am Anfang schuf Gott Himmel und Erde. The opening sentences of the lecture proper are: "We begin by referring to a particular historical document, the oldest, perhaps, in existence, the creation account of the Bible. We shall see that it contains all the most important problems of natural philosophy." This paper is an attempt to share some of Weizsȁcker’s …

Brief Studies, John W. Klotz

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Pastor, Modern Science, and our Society

Brief Studies, August C. Rehwaldt

Concordia Theological Monthly

Conference on Religion in the Age of Science Star Island, N. H.

The Contribution Of Archaeology To The Interpretation Of The New Testament, Raymond F. Surburg

Concordia Theological Monthly

The pastor, the missionary, the parochial school teacher, the Sunday school and weekday school teachers, the Christian youth leaders, and others use the Bible in their respective fields of labor in the Lord's vineyard. If these Christian workers and leaders are to fulfill the intention of the divinely appointed ministry of reconciliation and accomplish the perfecting of the saints through the Word of Truth, a correct and adequate understanding of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, together with their proper application, is essential. The explanation and the application of the Word of God must rest upon a sound and self …

Some Observations On Current Cosmological Theories, Paul A. Zimmerman

Concordia Theological Monthly

It has been rightly said that there are fashions in science as in all other fields. This fact has been demonstrated lately by the large number of articles dealing with cosmological problems that have appeared in the last two years in both popular and scientific journals. There has been striking evidence of increased interest in cosmology, the study of the universe, and in cosmogony, the study of the origin of the universe and the world. One of the most popular programs of the British Broadcasting System in 1950 was a series of lectures on the origin of the world and …

Some Phases Of "After His Kind" In The Light Of Modem Science, August C. Rehwaldt

Concordia Theological Monthly

Some would estimate the number of species of animals to be about 1,073,000. Others say that there are about 3,000,000 species of animals. The wide range of difference between these two estimates is due to the diversity of opinion as to the concept "species." Since evolution is the background of modern biology, the term species is accordingly defined as an evolving group and net as an aggregation with set bounds and limits. Darwin's Origin of Species takes this view. Opposed to this view is that of the Bible, which speaks of natural groups of plants and animals and calls such …

The Moral And Spiritual Qualifications Of The Biblical Interpreter, Raymond F. Surburg

Concordia Theological Monthly

The existence of many different Christian sects and denominations, although all purport to base their theological tenets on the Bible, has been a source of great perplexity to Christian and non-Christian students of the religious life of the past and present. While a number of reasons have been advanced for this situation, one of the underlying causes has been correctly stated by Burrows when he wrote: "Wrong methods of interpretation and use have prevented Christians hitherto from arriving at any unity in their understanding of the Scriptures."

Reflections Of A Lover Of The Scriptures And Nature, August Rehwaldt

Concordia Theological Monthly

One of the theses which Ayres would nail to the laboratory door is: "That we can keep science and belief separate by relegating our religion to the Sabbath day." The implication of this seems to be that a man cannot at one and the same time be religious and scientific any more than he can be a child of the world and a child of God at one and the same time. Religion and science are incompatible, some think. But are they?

Foreword, W. Arndt

Concordia Theological Monthly

God be praised! The firing has ceased, the unparalleled carnage is ended, the weary troops are returning home, the activities of peace are gradually resumed. Though in some countries the war continues, the United States no longer is involved. In His mercy the great Ruler of the Universe has once more called to the thundering billows of war, mountainous in their height, all-devastating in their fury: "Be still!" and the wild sea is growing quiet. All who will hear He bids in a different sense: "Be still!" adding, "and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the …

Freedom And The Modern Physical World Picture, Th. Graebner

Concordia Theological Monthly

A discussion of the problem of free will as affected by the new physics cannot claim finality in any sense. The modern world picture is not complete, for one thing, and we are free from agreement on the epistemological background of the doctrine of freedom. Yet the problem of the will remains the most fascinating in philosophy, and the possibilities which modem physics offers towards the solution are arresting enough to deserve more than passing notice. Any serious study of the subject unfortunately involves factors of a subjective nature, which make their results arrived at of little absolute worth. Is …

Is The New Science Hostile To Religon?, Theodore Graebner

Concordia Theological Monthly

The question is raised in a letter which just comes to hand from Rev. H. J. S. Astrup of Zululand, South Africa, who calls himself "an unknown far-away man," but whose labors in the South Africa mission-field are not unknown to us. Rev. Astrup particularly refers to a recent book of Sir James Jeans, The Mysterious Universe, a book which in this reader's opinion "has upset many person's faith," particularly in its bearings on the Christian's belief in creation.

The Shifting Sands Of Science, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

Men are colling upon the Christian Church with increasing insistence that it adjust its teachings to the findings of science. The Western Christian Advocate of December 22, 1027, declared: "New discoveries have necessitated new statements of our faith. Our views of the Bible, our ideas as to God's relationship to the world, have got to be reconstructed. . . . The heterodoxies of one day have become the orthodoxies of the next." w. K. Wright, in A. Student’s Philosophy of Religion, demands that he, the student, draw no conclusions in conflict with the dicta of present-day mental and physical science. …

Has Our Church A Quarrel With Science?, P E. Kretzmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

He who makes clear distinctions teaches well. So says the old Latin proverb. Or: He whose definitions are clear at the outset, will most likely succeed in presenting his subject in a convincing manner. Let us therefore begin with some definitions, in keeping with the wording of our topic.

The Superman, C W. Faye

Concordia Theological Monthly

This is a revision, amplification, and bringing up to date of an oration delivered and published a number of years ago. I should like to add that I have sometimes felt in preparing this paper that what Bergson, for instance, has been driving at has eluded me. I have tried to present fairly and justly the doctrines of the thinkers mentioned in this paper. Even If I have failed to discover what they wished to teach, I feel pretty confident of having found out what the bulk of their followers think they teach. For practical purposes that is sufficient; for …