Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Holy Ordination And The Call In The First Hundred Years Of Lutheranism And In The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, Walter C. Kalbhen

Bachelor of Divinity

This thesis is primarily a historical, not a systematic study. The contents will attempt to give basic concepts and beliefs of the doctrines and practices as they have appeared in the Lutheran Church from the time of the Reformation.

Tyndale's Dependance On Luther, Richard Bode

Bachelor of Divinity

The purpose of this investigation is to determine to what extent William Tyndale, the translator of the Bible into the English tongue, was dependent upon Martin Luther. No attempt shall be made to compare the historical significance of the two men, for there can be no doubt that the labors of Luther made a much greater impact and had a much more far-reaching effect than those of Tyndale.

Current Lutheran Thought In America On Church-State Relations, Robert C. Seltz

Bachelor of Divinity

The purpose of this thesis is to give a summary report of some of the thinking that Lutheran theologians in America have been doing on church-state relations since Conrad Sergendoff made that statement. Representative writers from the various Lutheran bodies have been consulted, although the scope of this report is necessarily not exhaustive.

The Wycliffite And Lutheran Element In The English Reformation, Walter M. Schoedel

Bachelor of Divinity

The period which this thesis discusses is one of the most important periods in English History. The years 1300 to 1550 show to the world why the Church of England is no longer a member of the Roman Church, This thesis endeavors to show how the teachings and works of John Wycliffe in the 14th century help lay the foundation and groundwork for the real beginning of the Reformation in England in the 16th century, and how the Lutheran element from the continent fits into the scheme of events during the early years of the English Reformation. Again we have …

Luther And The Canon, Erwin Prange

Bachelor of Divinity

The questions to be answered by the thesis are the following: What is Luther's attitude toward the Scriptural canon and what is the basis of or the key to his attitude? It will not be within the scope of the thesis to define or investigate Luther's doctrine of the "word " except where it may have direct and immediate bearing upon his treatment of the canon. His doctrines of inspiration and of the Holy Spirit will also not be considered separately but only in the immediate context of his attitude toward the canon.

A History Of Lutheran Missions To Islam, Robert E. Jones

Bachelor of Divinity

The paper attempts to gather the facts of the history of Lutheran Missions to Islam. The pursuit of these facts was hindered chiefly by two things. The first is that there is a lack or written material on this phase of missions. A large part of Lutheran Mission work today touches Islam only incidentally and the records of such work generally fail to mention Islam as a separate consideration. This is especially true in areas where Muslims and other peoples live side by side but as distinct groups, as in South India and the Near East. A comprehensive history of …

Martin Luther The Formative Years, Erwin A. Gerken

Bachelor of Divinity

As one thinks of this great Reformer, this man of God, theologian, Bible translator, catechist, hymnist, bold champion of the freedom of the conscience, founder of the Lutheran Church, leader of the Reformation which carried Christendom back to the Bible - one hesitates to attempt to write a thesis on his formative years. Yet it is so arresting and inspiring, that in joy, yet with all humility, I shall attempt in the following pages to describe this man and trace his development in thought and life which led to the posting of the Ninety-five Theses on October 31, 1517.

Luther's Doctrine Of Justification According To The Holl-Walther Controversy, Robert Hoeferkamp

Bachelor of Divinity

In the following chapters the course of this controversy will be traced, an investigation of certain critical quotations From Luther will be carried out, and some definite conclusions as to the chief arena of disagreement will be reached. In order to achieve the proper historical perspective, we shall trace in this first chapter the doctrine of justification in the· sixteenth century as set forth by Luther, Melanchthon, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Osiander, and the Formula of Concord.

The Defensor Pacis Of Marsilius Of Padua And Its Relation To The Reformation, August Bernthal

Bachelor of Divinity

Any event in history that is linked in either a small or large way to the Reformation demands investigation. In examining the causes and the background of the Protestant uprising in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; historians usually make mention of the Defensor Pacis written by Marsilius of Padua in 1624. Some make much of it. Others ignore it. Yet the Defensor Pacis, directed as it is against Pope John XXII, remains the most daring and the most independent ecclesiastic-politica1 work of the entire medieval period. Whether this document in any way influences the Reformation this thesis will endeavor to …

The Origin And History Of Indulgences Up To The Time Of The German Reformation With Emphasis On Luther's Attitude Toward Them, Orval M. Oswald

Bachelor of Divinity

This thesis is being written with the hope of giving a clear and accurate account of the origin and development of the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Indulgence up to the time of the German Reformation, with particular emphasis on the effect it had on the people and Luther’s reasons for opposing it. Entire volumes have been written on the history of indulgences alone, and countless pages on their relationship to Luther' and the Reformation. It is an impossibility to consider all the material written on this subject in a thesis of this sort, but the author feels that he …

Luther And Calvin On The State And Heretics, Henry W. Reimann Jr

Bachelor of Divinity

In history it is equally important to trace the background of any person, event, or movement. The revelations of the scholarship devoted to the study of the young Luther are evidences of this. The problem of this paper also has a background. That background is the Middle Ages. Both Luther and Calvin were to some extent products of the Middle Ages.

The Struggle For Religious Liberty In New England, Richard Meyer

Bachelor of Divinity

The purpose of the paper is to set forth the various forces at work in the struggle for religious liberty in New England and to show how that liberty was obtained.

Erasmus And The German Reformation, Roland H. Seboldt

Bachelor of Divinity

To understand the attitude of Erasmus, it is necessary to look into the background of his times and to study the early influences upon his life. The life span of Erasmus covered a period of events which was a time of great flux and change. It was in this period that the Middle Ages gave way to modern times. Feudalism and serfdom were losing their prominence. Humanism spread over Europe from its cradle in Italy. Scholastic philosophy was losing its hold, bowing to the efforts of the humanists, mystics, and reformers.

Economic Aspects Of Reformation, Robert Boedecker

Bachelor of Divinity

The economic developments which antedated and accompanied the Reformation are one phase of that movement's history. Their study is not a complete explanation. No Christian could consider such a view. Yet the economic activity of the Europe of that day did have its influence on the Reformation, while the Reformation, at the same time, left its mark on the future course of economic development. Though a minority would disagree, that interaction was inevitable and appears certain to our eyes. Nor did that come by chance. Though with less clarity than in former periods, yet it is apparent that the hand …

Albrecht Durer And The Lutheran Reformation, William Scar

Bachelor of Divinity

This dissertation is a study of Albrecht Dürer's life and work with a theologioa1 interest. This is in no way a complete discussion of the artist's life and works. The selection of works treated in chapter four is not a good cross section of his drawings, woodcuts. copper engravings, etchings, and paintings. They are a careful selection of his works of art showing how he gradually employed true Christian or Biblical teaching in his religious subjects. The author endeavors to show in this paper that Albrecht Dürer made a contribution to the work of Martin Luther and his associates as …

Background And Beginnings Of Organized Youth Work In The Missouri Synod, Henry E. Simon

Bachelor of Divinity

So that the reader may more easily and more fully understand various details described in the following pages it seems· advisable to offer a few words in explanation, showing the development of this thesis. It will be noted that the first two chapters deal with ·the background •from which our youth societies began to emerge. We have endeavored to picture this background from the various writings and expressions gleaned from different early periodicals and books. Thus the LUTHERANER, DISTRICT SYNODICAL REPORTS, LEHRE UND WEHRE, and other writings up to the turn of the century were thoroughly scanned for any notices …

The Reformation In The Relation To Elementary Education, E P. Weber

Bachelor of Divinity

While here and there a practical deduction may be drawn, the one aim of this paper is to present from a historical angle the Reformation in its relation to elementary education. In order to limit ourselves to the requirements of a treatise of this sort, we shall refer for the most part only to the educational thoughts of the Reformation author, Martin Luther.

The Doctrine Of Justification By Faith The Leimotif Of The Apology Of The Augsburg Confession, Lorman Petersen

Bachelor of Divinity

The purpose of this thesis is not to present Catholic doctrine and refute it, but, self-evidently, to show that the Doctrine of Justification by Faith is the Leitmotif of the Apology. We make no claim that we have accomplished our purpose, or that we have done justice to this great Christ centered Confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. We have only scratched the surface of this document so rich in Christian doctrine. Melanchthon was a master-mind, and it takes a master-mind to follow him.

The Knowledge And Use Of The Bible In The Medieval Age, Martin Bertermann

Bachelor of Divinity

In attempting to show precisely to what extent the new learning pervaded the countries of Europe during the Middle Ages, and, specifically, just in how far the Bible was known among the clergy and laity, one must be careful to strive for the golden mean in interpreting a flood of literature which usually goes to one of two extremes. The first of these divergent opinions is the one mentioned above, that the Bible, as almost wholly unknown by the clergy and laity of the Middle Ages. And this would seem to be substantiated by no less an authority than Luther …

The Influence Of Scholasticism On Luther, Ewald Otto

Bachelor of Divinity

To sketch the influence of scholasticism and of the scholastics on Luther would require much more time for research than is possible for this paper. Moreover, even to make a selection of scholastics and to determine all the points in which they influenced the hero of the Reformation would call for a greater opus than this pretends to be. It is my purpose, therefore, to consider three scholastics only, namely, Occam, Biel, and Gerson, and to take cognizance of just a few of the ways in which their teachings had an effect on the life and teachings of him whom …

The Minor Biblical Prereformers Of The Xv Century, Walter Litke

Bachelor of Divinity

We cannot speak of “Pre-reformers” unless we have a clear conception of the tem “reformation”. Too often we leave the Reformation historically unexplained as if it were a sudden upheaval in the life of the church, a change as sudden as the inversion of an hour glass. But no Reformer just drops from heaven. “In spite of its originality and freshness, the Reformation by no means interrupted the continuity of human affairs - on the contrary, it was, on the one hand, preceded and its way prepared by pious and enlightened men, who preached almost the very doctrines that distinguished …

Lutheran Hymns In English Translations, W Harry Krieger

Bachelor of Divinity

Nothing makes so forcible and lasting an impression as contrast, nor are truths taught more easily through the employment of another method of presentation. Perhaps, then, in prefacing a study of Luther’s hymns, no better means of evaluating the Reformer’s real worth could be used than a contrast of the German Hymnology of the Medieval Period with that of the Reformation.

Thou Art Peter, Reinold Waldemar Janetzke

Bachelor of Divinity

TU ES PETRUS ET SUPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM," Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church". These words, written in gigantic letters of gold, appear around the beautiful dome of St. Peters in Rome which the genius of Michelangelo erected above the dust of a Galilaean fisherman. As the Church of St. Peter in Rome, the grandest and most eminent basilica in the world, triumphantly rises above the grave of this Galilaean fisherman, just so does the ecclesiastical system of Roman Catholicism find its foundation upon the confession of this Apostle and upon the …

The New England Theology, Theodore Wuggazer Jr

Bachelor of Divinity

In order to discuss intelligently the peculiar form which the Calvinistic Theology assumed in America, and to which it later developed, it obviously becomes necessary to set up a standard by which the American form of Calvinism is to be judged. It is the object of this paper to show, after a fashion, to what extent the theologians of New England of the 17th and 18th centuries deviated from Old Calvinism. For this purpose we must dwell briefly on the work of the Reformer, John Calvin, and on the chief tenets of the Calvinistic or Reformed Theology. In respect to …

The Attitude Of The Lutheran Church Of The 16th And 17th Centuries Towards Missions, Herbert H. Umbach

Bachelor of Divinity

In this thesis it shall be our aim to see on the basis of the facts at hand what really was the sentiment of the 16th and l7th. century Lutheran Church as regards the sphere of missions. And of course, in the treatment of a subject like this, aiming at a presentation of historic facts, there is but little room for originality. I have not, therefore, sought so much to be original as to be truthful, and have endeavored to gather from every accessible source all such historic data as tended to establish the object in view. The old principle …

Michalangelo And Luther - A Parallel, Oliver Rupprecht

Bachelor of Divinity

In the case of Michelangelo and Luther, whose labors extend largely into the same period of time, the parallel becomes doubly attractive. For a comparison of this nature is not dependent on a similarity or an identity of occupation of the persons concerned, unless, of course, the purpose be that of setting forth the success in a single field of human activity and learning. It may aim solely at a delineation of personal characteristics and an evaluation of historical importance, together with a summary description of the man's chief works, without resorting to a detailed presentation of his achievements which, …

Luther And The Peasant War, Paul List

Bachelor of Divinity

The period of transition between the Middle Ages and the Modern Era was an era of upheavals, political and social. This was nothing new in the history of the world. We observe such epochs at the beginning of the Christian Era and at the Fall of the Roman Empire. They are at once periods of death-struggles, and heart-beats of a new life. Such times are always marked by great leaders and great events---great in this sense that they strike the keynote, that they, set the pace, for time to come.

A Critical Comparison Of Luther's Bible Translation And The King James Version, Martin Poch

Bachelor of Divinity

The period of the Reformation, however, changed all this and with the shackles of Rome removed the Bible again came into its own, and so to this period then we owe the finest translations, foremost among these model versions being the German and the English.

A Compairison Of Dr. Carl Ferdinand Wiilhelm Walther And Dr. Joseph Agusustus Seiss As Preachers, E H. Buchheimer

Bachelor of Divinity

In making a comparison between Dr. Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther, (1811 - 1887) and Dr. Joseph Augustus Seiss,(1823 - 1904) as masters of sacred rhetoric in the American Lutheran pulpit, we must, in order to come to a clear understanding of these men as preachers, take into consideration their early training and the times in which they lived, when the Lutheran Church was just beginning to take root in this country and when preachers and sermons played a different part in congregational life, than they do today.

A study of the early years of their lives shows that a divine …