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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.

Companions Of The Augustana, E. George Pearce

Concordia Theological Monthly

How many of us Lutherans have wished at one time or another that our church might be called by another name? As an introductory thought, I should like you to consider the title of this essay, "Companions of the Augustana," as a possible alternative.

Erasmus, Luther, And Aquinas, Philip Watson

Concordia Theological Monthly

One of the most recent additions to the growing Roman Catholic literature on Luther is a study of his doctrine of the bondage of the will in the light-as the subtitle of the German edition says-of the Biblical and ecclesiastical tradition. Its author, Harry J. McSorley, endorses Luther's own view of the outstanding importance of his De servo arbitrio as dealing with the most central issue of his reforming work. He also endorses Luther's claim that his primary concern was a reformation, not simply of practical abuses but of doctrine, and he fully agrees that no area of doctrine in …

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?

Were The Reformers Mission-Minded?., Thomas Coates

Concordia Theological Monthly

The subject "The Reformation and Missions" might well suggest a very short paper indeed. Both theologically and practically, the Reformation period is notable chiefly for its lack of missionary emphasis.

The Gospel And Mass Communication, Martin E. Marty

Concordia Theological Monthly

The gospel and its mission are effected in a world which they do not have to themselves. Others also build community by offering sôtêria and shalôm. In our time the mass communicators are decisive, and those who care both for gospel and world have to come to some sort of understanding of communication.

Biblical Humanism And Roman Catholic Reform: (1501-1542) Contarini, Pole, And Giberti, Marvin W. Anderson

Concordia Theological Monthly

Reginald Pole deserves careful attention by students of the Reformation period. Pole delivered one and shared in a second of three confessions which assumed Roman Catholic guilt for the splintering of Christendom. Adrian VI excoriated the Curia in his Instructio of Jan. 3, 1523, read to the Diet of Nuremberg by Francesco Chieregati.

Development Of Worship Skills, George W. Hoyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

A review of bibliographic material in the areas of liturgy and worship at once requires both a definition of terms and a selection of accents. A choice in the direction of liturgiology might appear to be more academically profound; but an accent on worship would probably be more theologically sound and probably more practical for most.

The Church Hymn And Its Way Into Music, William Mudde

Concordia Theological Monthly

When the thunderstorm of the Reformation appeared on the heaven of the life of the church, it looked as if it would destroy the harvest of European music. With its protest against the Mass as an opus operatum, the Reformation also opposed the artificial music that accompanied the Mass. As formulated in the Motu Proprio of Pius X, the music shrouded the Mass in beautiful garments of sanctity and Roman Catholic universality. What substitute did the Reformation offer? Surely not something that one could actually call "art," but rather sacred folksong. Tolerated only as an evil in the Roman Catholic …

The Spirit Of Man: The Subject As Seen By Theologians, George W. Hoyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

The National Catholic Reporter, which, like jokes about the Model T, is doing more to sell its product than the reverent sober sell could ever hope to do, has a column on the front page called "Cry Pax." Just to look at the title is to rejoice in the spirit of man. There's the feel of "A plague o' both your houses!" the sobering sound, "Peace, peace when there is no peace!” and at the same time the sense of the kiss of peace, or the Pax Domini, "The peace of the Lord be with you always," to which the …

Laurentius Valla (1407-1457): Renaissance Critic And Biblical Theologian, Marvin W. Anderson

Concordia Theological Monthly

When Laurentius Valla penned those words, he was writing the fuse scientific treatise on Latin grammar since John Duns Scotus. Leonardo Bruni died in the same year Valla’s treatise appeared. The year 1444 marks the return of Renaissance scholars to a philological analysis of classical texts. This method, which Valla soon applied to Biblical study, revolutionized medieval Biblical scholarship in the century before Trent. Valla's purpose was to revitalize Catholic faith. Protestants and Catholics still owe their fresh awareness of Scripture to the labors of Valla.

Vatican Council Ii Addresses Protestantism, Carl S. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Second Vatican Council made no overt bid to all Christians to return to Rome. It did not condemn those outside the Roman Church. Instead, the Council spoke kindly to those who are not under the jurisdiction of the Pope. The pronouncements of the Council about nonRoman-Catholics are earnest and deserve serious attention. Although they are not addressed directly to Protestantism, they speak about Protestantism and in that sense they may be regarded as being addressed also to Protestants.

Martin Chemnitz' Views On Trent: The Genesis And The Genius Of The Examen Concilii Tridentini, Arthur Carl Piepkorn

Concordia Theological Monthly

"In recent centuries one or the other of [the] pillars supporting the Tridentine system have appeared to tremble, but as a whole the system has always survived the various crises which had only brought about certain individual degenerations. Beginning with 1958-1959, through a whole concourse of historical and spiritual factors, and certainly under an impulse of the Holy Spirit, the [Roman] Catholic Church (and more generally the entire Christian world) abandoned the Tridentine system on all fundamental themes. The brief intervening time cannot distract us from the global dimensions and the definitive significance of this abandonment."

What Does "Inerrancy" Mean?, Arthur Carl Piepkorn

Concordia Theological Monthly

This paper is primarily a terminological study rather than a theological one. It inquires into the meaning of, rather than into the justification for, a term that has become a staple of dogmatic discussion in our own and other denominations.

Brief Studies, Erwin Lueker

Concordia Theological Monthly

Ṻberlieferung: tradition und Schrift in der evangelischen und Katholischen Theologie der Gegenwart

The Function Of Historical Theology In The Theological Training Program, Walter W. Oetting

Concordia Theological Monthly

What is the function of historical theology? Since many of you students are not sold on the value of studying history, to say the least, we need to know at the very outset why it is important for theological students to study the history of the church.

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.

Melanchthon The Churchman, Gilbert A. Thiele

Concordia Theological Monthly

In presenting Melanchthon as churchman we try to erect a little monument to him as a man of and for the church. To assist us in bringing some order into a large mass of fact and interpretation which has been accumulating over four centuries, we have thought it good to distribute our tribute over several areas.

The Influence Of The Reformed Tradition On The Elizabethan Settlement, Lowell H. Zuck

Concordia Theological Monthly

Though the Church of England is now well past its 400th birthday, the sources of its distinctive doctrines and polity are still somewhat unclear. If we can agree that the conclusions reached by Queen Elizabeth I and her Parliament of 1559 were basic to the future shape of the Anglican Church, it is natural then to go into an examination of whether the outcome of the settlement depended primarily on Elizabeth, on someone else perhaps, or upon compromise between Elizabeth and her advisers. Needless to say, the still more difficult question of possible divine intervention in human affairs scarcely comes …

The Ecumenical Movement And The Lutheran Church, Hermann Sasse

Concordia Theological Monthly

Church history knows of great movements which sweep through the whole of Christendom, irrespective of national and denominational lines, and bring about profound changes in the inner life and the outward appearance of all churches. Such movements were Pietism and Rationalism in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the great European Awakening in the 19th century. Such a movement is the Ecumenical Movement, which in our time is penetrating all churches of Christendom, including Rome and the Eastern churches. The effects may prove to be as far-reaching as those of the great movement of the 16th century which we call …

What About Vestments For Pastors?, Arthur Carl Piepkorn

Concordia Theological Monthly

In various forms this question has been asked again and again. The following pages are an attempt to answer the question for the Church of the Augsburg Confession in America.

An Historical Survey Of Old Testament Theology Since 1922 (Concluded), Delbert R. Hillers

Concordia Theological Monthly

The sole contribution of the Netherlands to modern Old Testament theology is the Hoofdlijnen der Theologie van het Oude Testament of Th. C. Vriezen, professor of Old Testament at the University of Groningen. Opposing both the "mummifying process" of absolutizing the Old Testament as God's Word and the opposite fault of making it only man's word, Vriezen calls for a "theological Biblical criticism," and wishes in his book to bridge the gap between scientific Old Testament study and its use for practical, religious purposes. As is indicated by the title, Hoofdlijnen, he restricts his discussions to matters of major importance …

Suggested Principles For A Hermeneutics Of The Lutheran Symbols, Arthur Carl Piepkorn

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Symbols have various intended uses. They can serve as a legal club, in order to enforce conformity with their teaching by a clergyman or instructor who has solemnly committed himself to teach and practice according to them, under pain of dismissal for having obtained money or other emoluments under false pretenses. But this is certainly an opus alienum. Their proper office includes serving as a norm of teaching and of administering Sacraments, to which an individual solemnly and voluntarily committed to them strives conscientiously to conform; as a Symbol, that is, an identification among Lutherans, since they are the …

Friction Points In Church-State Relations In The United States, Carl S. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

The encroachments of aggressive churches, especially the Roman Catholic Church, and the voraciousness of power-hungry governmental agencies are dominant trends in church-state relations in the United States. Education remains the largest single area in which conflicts arc found. Augusta, Maine, and Hartford, Conn., can bear ample testimony to this fact. However, there are other aspects of the question. The conflicts touch family relations, race relations, labor relations. Conflict arises from a desire to promote social reform, as in Ohio by the demands of pastors for antigambling legislation.

Labor, Industry, And The Church, David S. Schuller

Concordia Theological Monthly

The church stood amazed before the rising form of the industrial giant. Its size was frightening enough, but its two heads of unionism and management struck terror into her heart. The church felt she should say something to the monster. But then what could she say? It certainly didn't look like a membership prospect. And so the church pretended she didn't see it. But the church's heart continued to pound. And way down deep she felt guilty. She had a message - even for such two-headed giants. And she should be speaking.

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) …

Factors In Lutheran Unity, E. George Pearce

Concordia Theological Monthly

Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem in the fourth century, advised his people that when they attended a divine service in a strange city, they ought not merely to enquire for the church or for the lord's house, because Marcionists and Manicheans and all manner of sects professed to be the Church and called their meeting places the House of the Lord; but they ought to ask: Where is the Catholic Church? The name "Catholic," used in all the early creeds and in the writings of the Fathers, came into use first to distinguish the universal Christian Church from the national Jewish …

Did Luther Teach That Christ Committed Adultery?, Arthur Carl Piepkorn

Concordia Theological Monthly

As every paster discovers, Roman Catholic ignorance - clerical hardly less than lay-of Lutheran and Luther's theology is often abysmal.

Something of a new nadir, however, was achieved by the Rev. Richard Ginder in the Roman Catholic weekly, Our Sunday Visitor, Vol.XLII, No.44, February 28, 1954, page 12, when he wrote: "Did Martin Luther believe that Jesus was God?

"In his Table Talk,' Weimar edition, ii, 107, one reads the following hair-raising blasphemy: 'Christ committed adultery first of all with the woman at the well about whom St. John tells us. Was not everybody about Him saying: "Whatever has He …

The Theologians Of Lutheran Orthodoxy On Polygamy, Celibacy, And Divorce, Arthur Carl Piepkorn

Concordia Theological Monthly

"Successive" polygamy-remarriage after the death of one's spouse-is licit for all Christians, but simultaneous polygamy is not.

Both polyandry and polygyny are wrong, but the former is even less defensible.

In the Old Testament, God bore with the polygamy of the patriarchs. While their polygamous unions contradicted the monogamous ideal of the divine institution, the patriarchs were not adulterers, and their wives were not whores. They must have had a revelation, or at least a consciousness, that God had dispensed them from the requirement of monogamy. The prophets do not condemn polygamy. Not fleshly lust, but the ardent desire for …

The Rise And Fall Of The Schmalkaldic League: The Treaty Of Passau, 1552, Theo. Hoyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

There are several reasons that suggest the truce of Passau as a subject for special consideration at the present time. One is, of course, the date. Since 1883 we have followed up the great outstanding events in Reformation history by church-wide celebrations, beginning with Luther's birth and ending, in 1946, with Luther's death. But several events following Luther's death were to be of immense importance to the Lutheran Church; one of them is the Schmalkaldic War, ending in the truce of Passau, 1552, and the Religious Peace of Augsburg. 1555. - Another reason: We have seen a veritable flood of …