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The Soteriological Approach To Christian Doctrine., F. E. Mayer
The Soteriological Approach To Christian Doctrine., F. E. Mayer
Concordia Theological Monthly
The Lutheran Confessions present all Christian doctrine from the soteriological standpoint, that is, from the meaning each has for our salvation. Each and every doctrine of Christian revelation must be viewed in actu, not only in statu; it must be within the focus of a real spiritual problem and be presented only in its soteriological significance.
Justification And Anthropology, Wenzel Lohff
Justification And Anthropology, Wenzel Lohff
Concordia Theological Monthly
The author suggests that contemporary difficulties with respect to understanding the article of justification arise in large measure from the fact that justification has been separated from its anthropological rootage. At the same time, Dr. Lohff argues that the doctrine of justification offers great help to modern man, who often feels trapped in his very humanness. Furthermore, justification, when proclaimed properly, makes Christian unity possible. He describes justification briefly as the right and unequivocal determination of a human practice: to always live anew the life of faith in the Gospel.
Open Letter To Charismatic Lutherans, Paul F. Hutchinson
Open Letter To Charismatic Lutherans, Paul F. Hutchinson
Concordia Theological Monthly
The author is pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, St. Louis, Missouri, and has been actively involved in aspects of the charismatic movement.
“The Log In Your Own Eye.", Paul G. Bretscher
“The Log In Your Own Eye.", Paul G. Bretscher
Concordia Theological Monthly
It is painful for me to write what I am about to write-about the log in the eye of my own church. I am not blind to some of the specks or even logs which concern many of my brothers. Every confusion and diffusion and diminution of the Gospel deeply disturbs me. But our first concern has to be the log in the eye of those among us who assume they are qualified to do eye surgery on their brothers. The Lord's judgment has a strange way of beginning at Jerusalem.
Doctrinal Emphases In The Missouri Synod, Erwin L. Lueker
Doctrinal Emphases In The Missouri Synod, Erwin L. Lueker
Concordia Theological Monthly
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has had the same doctrinal basis for 125 years. It is remarkable that within that period of time the loyalty of no group in Synod to that basis as given in the constitution could be seriously challenged. This, however, does not mean that there were no variations in emphases. This study is a brief synopsis of such variations. It is not concerned with difference, uniformity, contradiction, or inconsistency in doctrine (although some of these factors may be present) but with coordinating stresses. Examination of consistent adherence to basic insights is also beyond the scope of this …
The Christian Faith And Revelation, Fred Kramer
The Christian Faith And Revelation, Fred Kramer
Concordia Theological Monthly
The Christian faith rests solidly on God's own revelation of Himself and of His will with respect to man. Divine revelation is an act of God, not subject as such to the correction of the philosopher. Divine revelation has, however, a human correlative, namely theology. Theology, as the word is here used, is the church's speaking and teaching about God and His will. It is not itself revelation, which is always God's activity, but the church's speaking and teaching based upon divine revelation and therefore subject to correction, where it may need correction, on the basis of divine revelation.
The Presence Of Christ's Body And Blood In The Sacrament Of The Altar According To Luther, Norman Nagel
The Presence Of Christ's Body And Blood In The Sacrament Of The Altar According To Luther, Norman Nagel
Concordia Theological Monthly
The great feature of the 450th celebration of the Reformation is the extent of ecumenical participation. It might almost be said that our Roman Catholic brethren have taken over the show. Luther studies provide an index of the growth in mutual understanding, but what help is Luther at the heart of Christian unity, the doctrine of the Lord's Supper?
Moving Toward Lutheran Unity, Oliver R. Harms
Moving Toward Lutheran Unity, Oliver R. Harms
Concordia Theological Monthly
Two words in this topic seem to me very important: "moving" and "unity." They express thoughts that many persons seemingly have wanted to avoid or to ignore. There are those who say we are already at the point of unity. Others are sure we will never get there. Some flexibility in thought is required at both ends of this spectrum of opinion.
Some Thoughts On The Church In The Lutheran Symbols, Herbert J. Bouman
Some Thoughts On The Church In The Lutheran Symbols, Herbert J. Bouman
Concordia Theological Monthly
Near the end of 1536 Martin Luther wrote that "a seven-year-old child knows what the church is" (SA III XII). In our time great ecumenical gatherings expend incalculable amounts of time and effort in wrestling with the doctrine of the church, and first-rate theologians in all churches provide the printing presses with an unabating flow of materials in discussion of the problems and implications of ecclesiology.
Luther On Justification, John F. Johnson
Luther On Justification, John F. Johnson
Concordia Theological Monthly
Once upon a time every student of theology identified in any way with the Lutheran Confessions was able to read, pronounce, and understand the expression articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae. More importantly, he was not only able to read it; he believed with all his heart that this designation referred to the doctrine of justification. Indeed, this has always been the distinguishing mark of evangelical Lutheranism.
Changes In The Missouri Synod, Arthur C. Repp
Changes In The Missouri Synod, Arthur C. Repp
Concordia Theological Monthly
Have there been doctrinal changes in The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod? Few questions have disturbed that Synod more during the past quarter of a century. Both negative and affirmative answers have been staunchly maintained. ''Missouri has not changed its doctrinal stand" was the repeated claim made by Theodore Graebner, though few men changed their doctrinal position as much as he did in so short a time.
Notes On The Inerrancy Of Scripture, Robert Preus
Notes On The Inerrancy Of Scripture, Robert Preus
Concordia Theological Monthly
This study is o1fered as an approach to the problem of the inerrancy of Scripture as it concerns the Lutheran Church today. The attempt is to present a position that agrees with Scripture's testimony concerning itself and with the historic position of the Christian church. At the same time the attempt is made to be timely and to take into account contemporary issues raised by modern Biblical theology.
Dangerous Trends In Modern Theological Thought, K. Runia
Dangerous Trends In Modern Theological Thought, K. Runia
Concordia Theological Monthly
When we approach the problem of demythologizing from this starting point, it is beyond question that the Bible rejects every attempt in this direction.
The Word Of God In The Theology Of Lutheran Orthodoxy, Robert D. Preus
The Word Of God In The Theology Of Lutheran Orthodoxy, Robert D. Preus
Concordia Theological Monthly
The intention of this paper is not to offer a complete delineation of the doctrine of the Word of God in the theology of Lutheran orthodoxy, a project entirely too vast to be undertaken within our limited space. Our interest is to learn what the orthodox Lutheran teachers say to us on the specific issues now under debate. I have therefore restricted this study to a simple twofold purpose: (l) to present and analyze what Lutheran orthodoxy has said on the chief problems concerning the doctrine of the Word and (2) to offer significant observations regarding the real concerns and …
The Role Of A Brief Statement Since 1932, Carl S. Meyer
The Role Of A Brief Statement Since 1932, Carl S. Meyer
Concordia Theological Monthly
The year 1932 has been called the confessional high-water mark of the Missouri Synod because of the adoption of A Brief Statement in that year. Not only was it "Dr. Pieper's legacy of sound Scriptural teaching," but it was also, so it was maintained with evident exaggeration, the testimony of "a confessional unity of mind and heart embracing every pastor and congregation and enduring the test of searching examination by the 'norma normans' of Holy Scripture."
Reports On Interchurch Relations, Alfred O. Fuerbringer
Reports On Interchurch Relations, Alfred O. Fuerbringer
Concordia Theological Monthly
For The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod the year 1962 brings a number of very significant developments in interchurch relations, some of which will call for crucial decisions.
Functions Of Symbols And Of Doctrinal Statements, Erwin L. Lueker
Functions Of Symbols And Of Doctrinal Statements, Erwin L. Lueker
Concordia Theological Monthly
The following outline was given to the faculty of Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis, Oct. 9, 1959, as a guide for discussions of the functions served by confessional statements. In this presentation the writer did not attempt to give a complete historical survey of confessions, or to treat the most important confessions and statements, but to concentrate on the study of functions. Selections were made to show a variety of functions. Explanatory notes have been added for the orientation of the reader.
Kerygma And Didache In Christian Education, Richard R. Caemmerer
Kerygma And Didache In Christian Education, Richard R. Caemmerer
Concordia Theological Monthly
The present topic enables the discussion of a number of crucial questions. Kerygma, "proclamation," designates the message of the Christian Gospel. Didache, "instruction," has been employed to summarize the teaching of the Bible concerning Christian behavior. Are these terms employed with due attention to their Biblical usage? What is the relation of the one to the other? How are they to be used in religious education? Is religious education adequately structured by these two concepts in combination and in sequence? If so, what is the sequence to be?
The Vicarious Atonement In John Quenstedt, Robert D. Preus
The Vicarious Atonement In John Quenstedt, Robert D. Preus
Concordia Theological Monthly
The last decades have witnessed some significant and provocative studies in the doctrine of the Atonement. Two of these studies particularly have stimulated interest by the way in which they have broken with the old Lutheran and Protestant treatment of the doctrine while attempting at the same time to be entirely Biblical in the approach and presentation of the doctrine. On the one hand, Gustaf Aulen classifies the post-Reformation teaching as only a slight and more logical modification of the doctrine of Anselm, a teaching dominated by the idea of satisfaction and the legal motif. In contrast to this, Aulen …
The Word Of God In The Theology Of Karl Barth, Robert D. Preus
The Word Of God In The Theology Of Karl Barth, Robert D. Preus
Concordia Theological Monthly
The purpose of this series of articles is to acquaint the reader with the theology of the leading Protestant theologian of our day, Karl Barth. It is often more rewarding to examine one theologian of real stature rather than dissipate our limited space upon a more sketchy overview of the ideas of two or three well-known theologians. And Barth is the man whom we must still choose today. Certainly Bultmann and Tillich, whose theologies are philosophically oriented and structured, will have far less to offer the Christian Church. Brunner, who really never left the ground of liberalism, is no longer …
Luther And Sanctification, Philip S. Watson
Luther And Sanctification, Philip S. Watson
Concordia Theological Monthly
In a volume of sermons which he published in 1788, John Wesley took occasion to repeat a criticism of Luther that he had first made after reading his commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians many years before. "It has frequently been observed," he says, "that very few were clear in their judgment both with regard to justification and sanctification"; and he cites Luther as an example. "Who," he asks, "has wrote more ably than Martin Luther on justification by faith alone? And who was more ignorant of the doctrine of sanctification, or more confused in his conceptions of it?" …
A Lutheran Contribution To The Present Discussions On The Lord’S Supper, Hermann Sasse
A Lutheran Contribution To The Present Discussions On The Lord’S Supper, Hermann Sasse
Concordia Theological Monthly
The Lord's Supper has again become one of the main issues among the churches of Christendom as well as within individual denominations. This is the result of two movements which, though deeply rooted in the 19th century, have shaped the life of all Christendom since the beginning of this century: the Liturgical and the Ecumenical Movement. Since the deepest motive underlying both is what has been called "the awakening of the Church in the souls," future church historians may regard them as branches of one great movement which, like all great movements in the Western Church (Reformation, Pietism, Rationalism, etc.), …
Man As He Is: A Review, Arthur Carl Piepkorn, Leonhard C. Wuerffel
Man As He Is: A Review, Arthur Carl Piepkorn, Leonhard C. Wuerffel
Concordia Theological Monthly
The Lutheran pastor who uses a free Monday to hole up with a copy of Graduate Study Number III • of the School for Graduate Studies of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is in for an exciting and exhilarating experience. Part of the reason for this lies in the very way the book has come into being. The title page lists no author, and no part of the book was written by one person alone. The subtitle describes it as a symposium - the common end-product of an interplay of minds, in this case the minds of five capable representatives of …
The Significance Of Luther's Term Pure Passive As Quoted In Article Ii Of The Formula Of Concord, Robert D. Preus
The Significance Of Luther's Term Pure Passive As Quoted In Article Ii Of The Formula Of Concord, Robert D. Preus
Concordia Theological Monthly
The Lutheran doctrine of conversion, standing as it does between Calvinism and synergism, is always a difficult position to maintain and defend; for it is built on a paradox, a paradox of exclusive divine action and complete human participation. Faith is at the same time passive and active: passive in that man, blind and dead spiritually, in coming to faith only suffers God to work this change in his heart, active in that man himself believes and is in no way coerced in this nor divested of any of his faculties.
Justification By Faith In Modern Theology, Henry P. Hamann Jr.
Justification By Faith In Modern Theology, Henry P. Hamann Jr.
Concordia Theological Monthly
In one of his justly famous Gesammelte Aufsaetze entitled Die Rechtfertigungslehre im Lichte der Geschichte des Protestantis1mus Karl Holl quotes the scholar Lagarde as declaring that justification as a doctrine was dead-this was in 1873 - and that no one lived by it any longer. The far more pressing task, moderns tell us, is to show to modern man that there is a God. Whether there is a God at all is the problem he has to face, not something about God, say, that God justifies. To this criticism of the very raison d’ȇtre of this study we should reply …
A Critique Of Aulen's Christus Victor, George O. Evenson
A Critique Of Aulen's Christus Victor, George O. Evenson
Concordia Theological Monthly
One of the most significant theological books published in recent decades is Christus Victor by Gustaf Aulen. In it he suggests that there are three main ideas or theories of the atonement: the classic, the Latin, and the subjective-humanistic. That which makes the book both significant and controversial is the author's contention that the authentic Scriptural doctrine of the atonement is the classic idea, that Luther was an exponent of the classic idea and that therefore the orthodox Lutheran doctrine of the atonement differs markedly both from Scripture and from Luther. Aulen asserts that “the doctrine of Lutheranism became a …
The Doctrine Of Creation In Lutheran Theology, Jaroslav Pelikan
The Doctrine Of Creation In Lutheran Theology, Jaroslav Pelikan
Concordia Theological Monthly
The fundamental category in the Biblical doctrine of man is the category "creature." Whatever else Christian theology may have to say about the nature and destiny of man, it says in the limits described by that category. Its picture of man as sinner, therefore, must portray him as a fallen creature. It must not make him a creature of Satan because of his sin. Nor dare theology forget that it is precisely man's creaturely derivation from God that makes his sin so calamitous. Because the category "creature" is so fundamental, orthodox Christian theology has always felt compelled to draw a …
The Barthian Inversion: Gospel And Law, Thomas Coates
The Barthian Inversion: Gospel And Law, Thomas Coates
Concordia Theological Monthly
Is the influence of Karl Barth on the wane? One of Europe's foremost Lutheran theologians, Oscar Cullmann of the University of Basle, is of the opinion that it is. He attributes this development to Barth's postwar neutralism, which has struck an unresponsive chord in the hearts of those who discern in the Communist ideology the negation of every Christian principle.
Anglican Christology Of The Upper Stream From '"Lux Mundi" To "Essays Catholic And Critical.", Norman Nagel
Anglican Christology Of The Upper Stream From '"Lux Mundi" To "Essays Catholic And Critical.", Norman Nagel
Concordia Theological Monthly
When a certain theologian was asked what in English theology would most reward study, with twinkling and Teutonic eye he replied, "They don't have any." Now it is true that the issues which have most exercised churchmen in this country do not seem to have been primarily theological One ncvcr ceases to wonder at the thousands of parish priests in the sixteenth century who found no difficulty in making do whatever new or revised prayer book happened to come to them in the post. When divisions came, they were summed up in terms more of polity than of theology.
The Unity Of The Church, Paul M. Bretscher
The Unity Of The Church, Paul M. Bretscher
Concordia Theological Monthly
This is an anniversary year for the Lutheran Church. The Augsburg Confession, the foremost of our Lutheran symbols, came into existence 425 years ago. Prepared by Melanchthon and approved by Luther, it was read in German at the Diet of Augsburg on June 25, 1530. Copies of the German and Latin text were presented to Emperor Charles V. This 1530 version, known as the "unaltered" Augsburg Confession, has since that memorable day been the touchstone of what constitutes Lutheranism. It reflects in matchless form the deepest theological concerns of Luther, Melanchthon, and their colaborers. It served a threefold purpose: (1) …