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Erasmus On The Study Of Scriptures, Carl S. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Erasmus (1469-1536) was the editor of the first published Greek New Testament printed from movable type (1516). He translated the books of the New Testament into Latin and also paraphrased them (except Revelation) in that language. He published the notes of Lorenzo Valla (1406-1457) on the New Testament. He must likewise be accounted as one of the important theologians of the first half of the 16th century as well as an earnest advocate of the study of Scriptures.

Editorial, Arthur Carl Piepkorn

Concordia Theological Monthly

Who was Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam?

The Influence Of Zion Theology On The Centralization Of The Cult, Kurt Hendel

Master of Divinity Thesis

This particular study of the relationship of Zion theology to the centralization of the cult arose out of a general interest in the influence of the various Israelite traditions particularly on the prophets. I developed this interest while studying the use of traditions by the prophet Hosea. I chose to study Zion theology, because it seems to be a living tradition among the faithful Jews even today. Since Zion theology is so intimately connected with Jerusalem, I felt that it would be interesting to examine the particular role which Zion theology played in the centralization of the cult at Jerusalem. …

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.

Situationism And Law In Christian Ethics, Paul Jersild

Concordia Theological Monthly

Our purpose in these pages is to focus on the question of law in Christian ethics and consider in what sense we can speak of the "law of God." This question is raised in a quite critical manner in situation ethics, and for that reason we shall discuss the subject in relation to this approach, and particularly in relation to the work of Joseph Fletcher. Our concern is to present a theological basis for the law-a basis that is notably lacking in situation ethics - and seek to clarify the relationship between love and law in the Christian understanding.

Methods In Studying The Biblical Text Today, John Reumann

Concordia Theological Monthly

A rich variety of methods exists today for studying Scripture - text criticism, philology, literary criticism; source, form, and redaction criticism, Religionsgeschichte, and a host of other "Geschichten" - so that the Bible is probably the world's most closely and minutely studied book. But how can all these techniques be put together into a method, in the classical sense of meth' hodos, a "way" "after" something, a way for getting from one point to another, from the text to the practical goal that concerns us here, proclaiming or communicating the text today?

Brief Studies, Arthur Carl Piepkorn

Concordia Theological Monthly

Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

The Church of God, World Headquarters

Preaching And Liturgical Life, Robert M. Starenko

Concordia Theological Monthly

Preaching is an event, a living, pulsating action of God, as real today as it was yesterday, as vital for contemporary man as it was for first-century man. Preaching is always an eschatological event, part of the on-going action of God through His Son so that wherever that Word is proclaimed, God is calling and gathering His people, bringing them together into the oneness of Christ's body, the church, leading men to response, fitting them for service in His world.

Editorial: The Task Ahead, Herbert T. Mayer

Concordia Theological Monthly

September marks the beginning of a new academic year at Concordia Seminary and provides a natural stimulus to look at the task ahead of us. It promises to be an exciting year: a major task force is subjecting the total curriculum to analysis. We may not recognize the place after they are through. This would be good in the eyes of many pastors, students, and faculty. The students set another ball of curriculur revision in motion last year. Unfortunately, only one-third of that group will be on campus this year. In the judgment of some, the Denver convention of The …

The Mission On Which We Are Sent, Paul E. Jacobs

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Affirmations on the Mission of the Church which The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod adopted at the Detroit convention in 1965 are part of the evidence of the ongoing struggle of one part of the church to understand what and why the church is in the world. The struggle has not been easy nor has it been without conflict. The affirmations call us to see the church's mission in terms of people rather than church structures. They compel us to wrestle with the standards of comfort and convenience by which we continually serve ourselves. They plead with us to …

The Gospel Promise To Abraham, Norman C. Nagel

Concordia Theological Monthly

"How were the people in the Old Testament saved?" That question is raised by students of the Scriptures in many contexts. The wary teacher usually responds by asking for a definition of the word "saved." A related question is posed this way: ''What is the nature of the gospel in the Old Testament?" Such queries open the door to a flood of concerns about the relationship between the Testaments. That flood will not abate in the wake of this brief article. The ravens and doves of biblical theology will hardly be satisfied with anything less than a preservation of past …

Freedom In Christ-Gift And Demand, Edgar Krentz

Concordia Theological Monthly

"Freedom," a word we often hear and a concept we highly prize, is surprisingly rare in the New Testament. A rapid survey of the words eleutheria, eleutheria, and eleutheros in a concordance will show that in any sense other than the sociological (free man as opposed to slave) the term is practically confined to Paul. He is the only one to use freedom consistently in a religious sense.

The Particularity Of The Gospel: Good News For Changing Times, John H. Elliott

Concordia Theological Monthly

Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou, who changest not, abide with me." In this transitional period of modern history when change and change by revolution are the order of the day, the plaintive plea of the popular hymn seems to assume an ever more urgent note. But the question is this: How effectively, if at all, can the notion of the unchangeableness of God expressed in this hymn aid an atomic age society in coping with population explosions, sexual, racial, and campus revolutions, and the threat of worldwide nuclear annihilation? Can men of our time indeed …

Gospel Freedom, Robert H. Smith

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Western world has understood freedom in two basic ways. For one school of thought freedom is the right and the power to do what one wishes. A man is not free if he is behind bars or in a captive nation or lying crippled in a hospital - no matter what his state of mind. Persons or powers beyond his control dispose his life and dictate orders to him, and to say that he is free is to play fast and loose with the language.

Justification By Works: Fate And The Gospel In The Roman Empire, Robert L. Wilken

Concordia Theological Monthly

A prominent theme in the Christian writings of the second and third centuries is that men are "rewarded and punished according to the quality of their works." It is sounded in the middle of the second century by Justin Martyr in his First Apology: "We have learned from the prophets and declare as the truth, that penalties and punishments and good rewards are given according to the quality of each man's action." A century later, Origen, in Contra Celsum, lists this belief as an article of faith alongside the resurrection and virgin birth.

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 …

The Gospel And The Ecumenical Movement, Robert P. Scharlemann

Concordia Theological Monthly

The first conference on "Life and Work," held in Stockholm in 1925, appealed to Christians to repent the divisions among them and to make the gospel the decisive power in all areas of life. This conference - the "Nicea of ethics," as it came to be called-was not summoned to discuss the theological or dogmatic questions which divide the churches; it was called to address the churches' task of working together in the public life. The invitation declared the world situation to be so serious that Christians could not afford to await the reunion of churches before setting "hearts and …

The Correspondence Of The Tübingen Theologians And Jeremiah Ii On The Augsburg Confession And Translation Of The First Answer Of The Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah Ii To The Lutheran Theologians Of Tübingen In 1576, George Mastrantonis

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The first part of this paper is, therefore, concerned with the setting, while the second is an introduction to the correspondence dealing especially with its translation from the Greek into English.

The New Testament Concept Of Shame, Richard Paul Bode

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Is the society which gave birth to the New Testament a guilt society or a shame society? Is the function of shame in the New Testament psychological or sociological? To what degree does the sanction of shame determine the behavior and life of the followers of Christ? These are some of the initial questions which aroused interest in carrying out the present study. The function of shame in the early Christian community and its usage in the New Testament does not conform precisely to either the Eastern or the Western view of shame: nor does it merely occupy a mediating …

Editorial, George W. Hoyer, Arthur Carl Piepkorn, Herbert M. Zorn, Oliver R. Harms

Concordia Theological Monthly

Denver, Theological Comments

Will the Decision on Fellowship at Denver Make a Difference?

Fellowship and the Younger Sister Churches

Synodical Conventions: A Theological Perspective

Theses On Ecumenical Truth And Heresy, John George Huber

Concordia Theological Monthly

Out of love and zeal for both truth and unity, the following theses are presented to my beloved colleagues in the Southern California District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod as a constructive contribution to the current debate on altar and pulpit fellowship. They do not represent an official policy, but are only a personal, unofficial opinion offered for exploratory discussion. They reflect the "hernial stance" of one who lives in the tension of obedience to Jesus Christ while simultaneously remaining a responsible member of a changing synod and a changing world.

Documentation: A Response To Some Critical Questions, Reuben C. Baerwald

Concordia Theological Monthly

Many critical questions have been raised about Synod’s New York resolution on fellowship with the American Lutheran Church(ALC). These questions challenge the reality of the doctrinal agreement and point to many problems and differences in church practice. The following material picks up many of these questions (some from a widely distributed essay, “To Join or Not to Join,” by Robert Preus), and provides a positive response.

A Survey Of Trends And Problems In Biblical Interpretation, Edgar Krentz

Concordia Theological Monthly

Any man fool enough to accept the assignment described in the title above deserves his fate. He is like the mythological traveler approaching ancient Thebes. To go forward means to meet the Sphinx and her dread riddle; to miss the answer means to be thrown headlong down a precipitous cliff and face destruction. Yet the possibility that one may deprive Oedipus of his glory by answering the riddle leads one to trudge along the dusty path under the hot sun.

General Lutheran History In America, Curtiss Brooks Barby

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This study is an attempt to consider the basic philosophical tenets which guided general Lutheran history in America, as well as the historiographical concerns used to support these tenets. According to Abdel Ross Wentz, there are two ·areas of source material which might be considered for such an attempt. The first area concentrates on a group of works which is very large. It includes a complete list of volumes and pamphlets dealing with the various aspects and details of the Lutheran Church in America. If this source was used, it would embrace some thirty thousand titles.

The Propugnaculum Ecclesiae Of Josse Clichtove As A Critique Of Luther's Formula Missae And As Compared To The Sacrosanctum Concilium Of Vatican Ii, Joel H. Kuznik

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

It is the intent of this thesis to make available by summary and translation the thought of Clichtove's Propugnaculum ecclesiae: (1) as a response to Luther's Formula Missae et communionis; (2) as a prototype of sixteenth-century theology of worship; and (3) as a contrast to the 1963 Sacrosanctum Concilium, the "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy" of Vatican II.

The Role Of The Symbols In Australian Lutheranism, Elvin Janetzki

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

To what extent has the theology of leading churchmen manifested the confessional concern and allegiance evidenced in the statements cited above? How have they understood the term “confessionalism”? Have confessional consciousness and concern been matters of form and law rather than spirit and life? Have they taken high priority in constitutions and been argued in theolo3ical documents and debates but been neglected and taken for granted by the pastors and the laity of the church in home and congregation? How does confessional consciousness and concern compare with other factors and influences that have helped to shape the theology and life …

A Comparative Study Of Protestant Sex Education Literature Past And Present, Donald Becker

Bachelor of Divinity

The way in which this challenge is being successfully met through the current sex education materials of various Protestant denominations compared with the way in which this challenge was not met in the sex education materials of the past is the focal point of this research project. The main purpose or intent of this thesis is not that it be a critical analysis of those materials which have been published or used for the teaching of sex within the church in the past. Instead, in view of the fact that the more recent sex education materials represent a number of …

The Place Of The Law-Gospel Polarity In The Hermeneutical Theology Of Gerhard Ebeling, David G. Truemper

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The present study is an attempt to investigate, in the work of one of the theologians primarily responsible for the contemporary interest in hermeneutical problems, the role that the Law-Gospel Polarity plays in the process of hermeneutics. Gerhard Ebeling, a one-time student of Rudolf Bultmann whose work was first introduced to American theologians by James M. Robinson under the label, “The Hew Hermeneutic,” was chosen as the subject of this investigation because of the extensive use that he makes of the distinction between the Law and the Gospel, and because of his frequent appeals to, and his many studies in, …

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.

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.