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Psychology And Theology: A Return To Dialog, Alan C. Reuter

Concordia Theological Monthly

There is a close relationship between Christian theology and contemporary psychology. The Lutheran theological tradition is especially founded in an experiential matrix which gives it a common ground with psychological thought. However, this relationship between theology and psychology has not always been a clear or comfortable one.

Theology-Philosophy-Poetry: Toward A Synopsis, Erwin L. Lueker

Concordia Theological Monthly

From his background as professor of systematic theology, as well as that of his deep interest in philosophy and poetry and his writing in these fields over many years, the author sketches his impressions of the nature of the relationship between theology, philosophy, and poetry and indicates the current tendency toward a synopsis. The relationship between literature (especially poetry) and philosophy and theology is receiving increasing attention from scholars in all three areas. It is the author's conviction that the sensitivity of poets often makes them pioneers in recognizing new situations and impending changes and that some of the outstanding …

Evangelization And Humanization, Won Yong Ji

Concordia Theological Monthly

In his article Dr. Ji offers a review and critique of the Frankfurt Declaration and indicates the nature of a sound conjunctive relationship between evangelization and humanization in the Christian mission today. Variations of this article have appeared in Lutheran World, XVII (1970), 358-361, and Lutherische Rundschau, XX (1970), 468--472.)

The Christian-Marxist Dialog: Spurious Or Authentic?, Ralph L. Moellering

Concordia Theological Monthly

The author offers a descriptive analysis of the Marxist-Christian encounter to date, raising the question whether or not the stage has been set for authentic dialog to occur.

The Early Dark Ages Of The Church-Some Reflections, Edgar Krentz

Concordia Theological Monthly

The period of history from the Resurrection to the oldest document in the New Testament is in many ways the darkest in the history of the church. No document in the New Testament antedates the year 50, the generally agreed-on date for 1 Thessalonians. Even if we would date Galatians early, say A. D. 48/49 on the South Galatian hypothesis, we would push our knowledge back only a year and a half. The only other possible candidate for an earlier date is the Epistle of James, placed by a minority of scholars at a time prior to the Pauline Gentile …

Special Problems Affecting The Educational Task Of The Churches With A Chinese Language Ministry, Andrew Ch'iu

Concordia Theological Monthly

There are many problems under each of these headings, and many different solutions have been proposed for them. The main purpose of this paper is not to attempt to solve the problems but to point them out as starters for our discussion. Any suggested solutions in this paper are not meant to be final.

The Black Church: Its Implications For Lutheran Theological Education, Charles Shelby Rooks

Concordia Theological Monthly

I hope you will regard this speech as an exploration with you of some ideas and concerns and an occasion in the ensuing discussion to follow up on your particular levels of interest and current activity.

The Gospel In The Medieval Church, Carl A. Volz

Concordia Theological Monthly

A curious phenomenon of Protestant and Lutheran historiography since the 17th century has been a studied neglect of the millennium labeled by Renaissance scholars as the "Middle Ages." One reason for this indifference lies in the popular notion that the Reformation was preceded by a thousand years of sub-Christian superstition during which the strong Pauline accent of justification by grace through faith on account of Christ was almost totally ignored. By coloring these centuries dark, the reformers tend to stand in bolder relief as heroic men of God who appeared to correct long-standing abuses in the church. The more sharply …

Reflections On Bonhoeffer's Theology, Otto W. Heick

Concordia Theological Monthly

The difficulty of presenting a "theology of Bonhoeffer" which tries to relate organically the later fragmentary writings of Bonhoeffer to the more comprehensive studies of his earlier period has been recognized in a number of major studies since 1960. The famous essay on cheap grace written in 1937 protested against grace without discipleship and faith without obedience, drawing a sharp line of demarcation between the world and the community of saints.

The Reforming Role Of Religious Communities In The History Of Western Christianity, Carl Volz

Concordia Theological Monthly

Reformed Christians have traditionally been suspicious of, if not viscerally opposed to, one ancient institution of Christianity - monasticism. Ever since the upheavals of the 16th century most non-Roman Catholics in the West have been content to view the monks as being psychological eccentrics at best, or the spiritual heirs of Pelagius at worst. It is the purpose of this essay to indicate the vital role monasticism played in the continuing reform of Christianity, and to encourage Lutheran Christians, who stand in a similar reforming tradition, to approach the concept of communal religious life with understanding if not with sympathetic …

Communism And Religion In Russia And China, Walter W. Oetting

Concordia Theological Monthly

Scores of impressive books are appearing on the nature of Communism in Russia and China, on the history of Russia as background to what happened in 1917, reprints of Russian and Communist classics, and on the struggle between Christianity and Communism. A single reviewer could not hope even to list, much less review, this literature. The task that this reviewer has set for himself is to examine the "pick of the pack," especially those that have come across his desk for one reason or another. He writes this article with the intention of directing the attention of his colleagues in …

Christianity And Communism -An Ideological Comparison, Ralph L. Moellering

Concordia Theological Monthly

In his book Communism and Christ, Charles W. Lowry contends that we are living in a new religious age. As evidence he points to the post-World War II popular religious revival, to what he calls "a new priesthood" set up by psychiatry, to the influence of existential thought in philosophy and theology (consider Paul Tillich), and to the "collective neurosis" brought on by the crisis and anxieties of our hydrogen-missile age. "The final and conclusive proof that we have entered into a new religious era Lowry perceived in the expansion and menace of the "new universal salvation religion - Communism."

Early Christian Attitudes Toward The Roman State, Walter W. Oetting

Concordia Theological Monthly

The church always confronts the state. Sometimes the relationship is casual, as in the United States, where, generally speaking, the church is allowed to carry on its work with little interference. Often, however, the relationship is one of antagonism, as in the Soviet Union, where the state insists that it has no concern at all about religion but where the Communist party, closely tied to the State, is in continuous struggle to convince the people to forsake their piety. Sometimes the relationship is one of domination. Either the church dominates the state, as was theoretically true during the Middle Ages …

Toward A Japanese Theology: Kitamori's Theology Of The Pain Of God, Richard Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Christian theologians of the younger churches in Asia have complained, perhaps facetiously, perhaps seriously, that they have not yet produced a serious indigenous heresy. Behind this is the realization that Christianity is still largely a foreign, an imported, religion for most people of Asia. Christians gather in buildings of foreign architecture, sing unfamiliar melodies, and hear the Gospel preached in strangely foreign thought patterns. Their concern is not merely nationalistic but also evangelical They want the Gospel to be meaningful and relevant also in Asia.

The Readiness Of The World For The Mission, R. Pierce Beaver

Concordia Theological Monthly

"The Readiness of the World for the Mission" or "for the Gospel" has been a favorite argument in the promotion of the mission in Protestant churches for at least a century and a half. Thus John M. Mason, preaching in 1797, exulted in the fact that by the providence of God the most formidable obstacles to the spread of the faith, such as travel, language, manners, had already been overcome by those persons who were primarily serving science, wealth, and fame.

Christian Love According To 1 Cor. 13, George Klien

Concordia Theological Monthly

The cry for love is heard today particularly in connection with the union movements.

The appeal to the principle of love in the life and work of the church is certainly in order within the Christian communion. It is well that we beseech all our brethren by the mercies of God to have fervent charity among themselves, whether in correcting those who would put a "strait jacket of legalism" on the church, or in rebuking those who would license the church to appear in the daring dress of "evangelical" liberalism. The admonition to evidence love has always been needed; the …

The Eschatology Of Acts And Contemporary Exegesis, Robert H. Smith

Concordia Theological Monthly

For half a century New Testament exegesis has stood at the center of a storm over eschatology, and the eye of this storm is not all calmness. Two different exegetes skillfully and deliberately lay open the same passage of Scripture and arrive at conclusions that collide head on. Scholars disagree not only concerning what the New Testament says but especially about what the New Testament means in its eschatological statements.

Some Aspects Of The Asian Situation And Their Significance For Training For Service To The Church, R. Pearce Beaver

Concordia Theological Monthly

The revival of the ancient religions of Asia is one of the most important factors in the international situation which has developed since World War II. It may be regarded as part of a current worldwide revival of religion, or, on the other hand, there may be some ground to think that the Asian development stimulated a world movement. Religion is now more important as a factor in national and international affairs than has been the case for many centuries. The Asian churchmen, in the book Christianity and the Asian Revolution, state: "Nationalism imparts a new interpretation to religion. Instead …

Nietzsche's Final View Of Luther And The Reformation, Heinz Bluhm

Concordia Theological Monthly

Nietzsche began as an admirer of Luther and the German Reformation. The age of Luther ranked as high in his early opinion as the age of Goethe and Beethoven. From Menschliches, Allzumenschliches on, this favorable attitude toward Luther underwent a strong transformation. In the five years from 1878 to 1883, Nietzsche’s second creative period, Luther emerged as a highly questionable figure, even as a most regrettable event in the history of German and European thought and civilization. But all these severe pronouncements on Luther were only a prelude to the scathing denunciations to come in Nietzsche's post-Zarathustra writings.

Rudolf Bultmann's Concept Of Myth And The New Testament, Oscar Cullmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

Is it necessary to add a new contribution to the dossier, already too voluminous, of the debate revolving around the publication of Rudolf Bultmann, former professor on the faculty of Protestant theology at Marburg, titled The New Testament and Mythology? This small pamphlet, which may be considered a manifesto and has since been reproduced by the author in a slightly different form, appeared for the first time in 1941 under the title Offenbarung und Heilsgeschehen. The purpose of the author is to make the New Testament language accessible to the modern mind by eliminating what he calls the "myth" and …

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

Concordia Theological Monthly

The inscriptions and papyri have furthermore helped New Testament students see the great contrast between Christianity and the other religions of the empire. The Lord Caesar is in definite opposition to the Lord Christ. The papyri reveal the fact that the divine names "Lord" and "Savior" were applied by the Roman emperors to themselves. The abler among the Roman emperors endeavored to strengthen and convert ancient popular worship into worship of the state and its head. Already in 195 B. C. there is evidence of this patriotic deification of the Roman state, as is apparent from the worship of the …

The Grace Of God Gives Us Christ For Justification, Gerhard Schulze-Kadelbach

Concordia Theological Monthly

Our theme is a confessional statement. The statement as a whole as well as each of its terms makes sense only as a confession. We must consider this for a moment at the very outset. In doing so, our thoughts tend in two directions. The realization that we are dealing with a confessional statement implies above all that the assertion of our theme is possible only within the Church. The little word "us" points unmistakably to this fact: "The grace of God gives us Christ for justification."

The Relation Of The Liturgy To The Word, H. Richard Klann

Concordia Theological Monthly

The essential aim of this investigation is not merely the historical delineation of liturgical practices, nor the consideration of liturgical minutiae in their historical setting and development, nor the establishment of a theological basis against liturgical innovations, but rather to state the Lutheran principles by which a pastor will be able to judge the relation of the liturgy to the proclamation of the Word in the worship of a congregation.

A Critique Of Contemporary Lutheran Preaching, Erdman W. Frenk

Concordia Theological Monthly

Preaching, i.e., the public proclamation of the Word of God, is the chief function of the Christian ministry. It is duty number one on a pastor's functional docket. It is his first and foremost responsibility. It was this in the early Church. It became this again through the Reformation. It must be this in the Church of our day. At the top of any list cataloguing the duties of a pastor in the order of their importance, preaching must stand first. If there is one field in which the pastor will seek to excel, it is in preaching.

The Christian And Government, A. M. Rehwinkel

Concordia Theological Monthly

Government is not above the Moral I.aw, but subject to it. In fact, government exists for the maintenance of the moral order. "For he is the minister of God to thee for good; but if thou do that which is evil, be afraid" (Rom.13:4). Governments cannot abrogate the Moral Law nor any of the Commandments of the Decalog. The legislation and administration of law must be in harmony with the Moral Law. Governments are responsible to God. "For he is a minister of God."

Is Doctrinal Unity A Luxury?, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

By the grace of God we have been won for the proposition that the adherence to all doctrine revealed is not a luxury, but a necessity. And by the grace of God we repel, in the first place, all the arguments to the contrary. The argument is advanced that we Lutherans distinguish between fundamental and non-fundamental articles and thus eo ipso declare the non-fundamental articles to be unnecessary. Nothing could be further from the truth. To be sure, there is a great distinction between the fundamental articles and the non-fundamental ones. We say that the fundamental articles are necessary for …

Religion And The Modern World Picture, Theodore Graebner

Concordia Theological Monthly

The scientific world picture has undergone greater changes in the past forty years than in the preceding four centuries. For one thing, the materialistic view which controlled the study of the cosmos has crashed. But that is not all. To adapt our idea of the physical world to the demands of reason "requires of scientific thought one of the greatest changes in orientation which it has ever had to make in its secular effort." The words are those of Louis de Broglie in the volume announced (p. 261).

False Principia Cognoscendi In Theology, W. H. Dau

Concordia Theological Monthly

It is a fact, admitted also by scientists, that all theological knowledge, in the very nature of the case, must be derived from God Himself. It is a fact, furthermore, that God holds all who venture to speak for Him strictly to His Word when He declares: "To the Law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Is. 8:20. Lastly, it is a fact that God has issued a solemn warning by the first and the last writers of our Bible that no man shall dare …

Foreword, W. Arndt

Concordia Theological Monthly

As one at the beginning of a new year views the religious scene, it cannot be denied that in the Lutheran Church more discussion of questions of doctrine and practice is taking place than has been witnessed in it for at least one, probably for more decades. The great issue is again whether the course of strict, uncompromising confessionalism which this journal and its chief ancestor, Lehre und Wehre, consistently sponsored from the very beginning is morally, that is, in the court of God and our own conscience, defensible, and not only defensible, but right, proper, just, and required. The …

Reason Or Revelation?, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

Satan's paramour is the mistress of a thousand wiles. We cannot conclude this study of the evils of rationalism without studying the more subtle methods by which Satan would beguile us and lead us away from the truth of Christ and the certainty of His Word. If he cannot get us to falsify the Word, he will aim to keep us from applying the Word, from exercising our faith, from putting our sole reliance on the teaching of Scripture and the promise of the Gospel.