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Luther And The Late Medieval Augustinians: Another Look, David C. Steinmetz

Concordia Theological Monthly

The question of the relationship of Martin Luther to the theological traditions of his own order, to which he was exposed in a lesser or greater degree, has remained one of the interesting, if unsolved problems of Luther research.

The New Testament Period, Terence Y. Mullins

Concordia Theological Monthly

If we are to approach the New Testament as part of the action of God in history, then we are committed to studying it by examining the situation at the start of the New Testament period, observing the changes and change agents (including the writing of the New Testament itself) which a historian may identify as operating during the New Testament period, and then describing the situation as it existed at the end of the New Testament period. To do this we need some way of marking off the beginning and the end of the New Testament period.

The Political Function Of Luther's Doctrina, James R. Preus

Concordia Theological Monthly

Theology is implicitly political; Luther’s career as theologian demonstrates this principle clearly. By attacking the papacy's doctrine, Luther attacked the framework of society in 16th-century Europe. The doctrine of faith had explosive political implications, and Luther found himself increasingly forced to place limits on the political conclusions drawn from his work by his followers, chiefly through his construction of the two-kingdoms teaching.

Beyond The One Hundred And Twenty-Fifth Anniversary, Oliver R. Harms

Concordia Theological Monthly

These comments form a sequel to an earlier editorial which was entitled "Why Missouri?" The issue remains the same. The future of Missouri, even as its reason for existence, depends on Missouri's readiness to be the church of the Gospel.

Of Congregational And Synodical Authority, John Constable

Concordia Theological Monthly

It is the blessing and the bane of the church in the 20th century that it is both the inheritor and the victim of its own organization. Among people who cry for the ''good old days" of simple truths, simple faith, and simple organization there is always the specter of complex reality. Gone are the days, we are told, when a member of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod could quote a father of the first, 16th or 19th century to support a proper thesis. Yet all seem to do it to underpin a modern position. Paul, Luther, and Walther are cited …

Műntzer's Translation And Liturgical Use Of Scripture, Joyce Irwin

Concordia Theological Monthly

If one were to adhere to the popular myth about Thomas Müntzer, one might expect few or only negative results of a study devoted to Müntzer's use of Scripture. The legend begun by Müntzer's enemies and perpetuated over the centuries is that Müntzer had little use for Scripture and relied mainly on dreams and personal inspiration for his source of divine revelation. This view receives its most extreme formulation among general historians or scholars in tangential fields who rely on secondary literature. For instance, the Germanist Paul Beckmann says: "With Müntzer the revolutionary attitude gets out of bounds because it …

Adolf Stőcker: A Christian Socialist Advocate Of The "Free Folk Church.", Ronald L. Massanari

Concordia Theological Monthly

The author discusses the importance of Adolf Stoecker’s understanding of the Gospel in sociopolitical terms as it affected the "free folk church" movement in 19th-century Germany.

Readers will note but perhaps not agree with Stőcker's design for the church's social ministry. Students of 19th-century Germany will remember with distaste Stőcker's and-Semitism.

The Reformation As A Youth Movement, John W. Constable

Concordia Theological Monthly

The parallels between then, the period of the Reformation, and now are striking: changing social patterns brought on by a growing money economy, a movement that grew out of the university experience of the reformers, a period of more time for thought, young people that were beginning to criticize the society in which they found themselves, and an establishment against which many were directing their darts of opposition.

The Sense Of Church History In Representative Missouri Synod Theology, David W. Lotz

Concordia Theological Monthly

Based on representative Missouri Synod writings from the late 19th century, the author describes and documents an "antihistorical bias" that has provided impediments to an appropriate appreciation of church history in Missouri Synod theology.

The Inspired Community: A Glance At Canon History, Everett R. Kalin

Concordia Theological Monthly

The leaders of the Early Church who gave us the first lists of New Testament Scriptures asserted the inspiration of these books but did not regard inspiration as the basis of their uniqueness. They saw the inspiration of the Scriptures as one aspect of a much broader activity of inspiration in the church. This article investigates the interrelationship between inspiration and canonicity and attempts tentative contemporary applications of the fathers' perspective.

The Primitive Baptists Of North America, Arthur Carl Piepkorn

Concordia Theological Monthly

By the beginning of the 1820s a strict "particularism" had been reigning without a serious challenge among the Baptists of the American South for nearly two generations. In the course of the next 15 years their associations and churches felt the full divisive force of the Baptist version of the "new measures" issue - mission societies, tract societies, Sunday schools, religious fairs and festivals to raise funds for the church's work, temperance societies, and theological seminaries.

Scripture, Confession, Justification, Carl S. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

From the very outset of the immigration movement which became part of the Missouri Synod, there was a strong confessional stance. The "Brief Outline of the Emigration Code," in its first paragraph, contained a confession of faith. Those who signed the code said that they had accepted "the tenets of the Lutheran faith, as contained in God's Word of the Old and New Testaments, and set forth and confessed in the Symbolical Writings of the Lutheran Church."

Editorial, Gilbert Amadeus Thiele

Concordia Theological Monthly

Martin Luther at Worms: A Tribute and a Reminder

History And Dogma In Christology, Walter R. Bouman

Concordia Theological Monthly

Careful examination of a recent convention resolution of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (Resolution 2-16, “To Affirm Historicity of New Testament," Denver 1969) provides a basis for the author's discussion of the way in which church bodies can best prepare doctrinal statements and of the proper role of historical investigation and dogmatic formulations in the process of framing the church's Christological confession.

The Curse Of Canaan And The American Negro, L. Richard Bradley

Concordia Theological Monthly

This survey of past interpretations of Gen. 9:25-27 supplies a helpful perspective from which to understand how the notion of white supremacy and Negro slavery in America were persistently justified on the basis of "the curse of Canaan." The article grew out of a course in black history which the author recently taught while a student at Concordia Theological Seminary, Springfield, Ill.

J. S. Bach: New Light On His Faith, Christoph Trautmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

The author relates the history of the Calov Bible that Johann Sebastian Bach had acquired at age 48 (now in the Concordia Seminary Library, St. Louis) and indicates the significance of the numerous marginal annotations Bach inscribed in that Bible. The article is taken from Musik und, Kirche, vol. 39, no. 4 (1969), with the permission of the Bȁrenreiter-Verlag, Karl Vőtterle KG. The translation was provided by Hilton Oswald, editor at Concordia Publishing House.

Documentation -Statements Adopted By The Faculty Of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Mo., Unknown

Concordia Theological Monthly

Because announcements about criticisms leveled against the faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, could lead members of the Synod to doubt the faithfulness of the faculty to its confessional commitment and in order to reassure the members of the Synod concerning the confessional position of the faculty, the undersigned members of the faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, make this declaration

Christian Humanism And The Reformation: Erasmus And Melanchthon, Carl S. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

A closer examination of the relationship between Erasmus and Melanchthon - contemporaries who were both Christian humanists and ecclesiastical reformers, though they never met each other face to face - illuminates several significant aspects of the complex interrelationship between Christian humanism and the Reformation.

What's Going On Here?, Donald L. Jerke

Concordia Theological Monthly

There's a cartoon around which shows a perplexed father driving home from the local high school PTA meeting with his wife; he says, "Twenty years ago I was told I wasn't as smart as my father. … Today rm told I'm not as smart as my teen-ager …. Where did we go wrong?"

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.

A Checklist Of Luther's Writings In English, Part Ii, George S. Robbert

Concordia Theological Monthly

A Checklist of Luther's Writings in English

A Conversation Between Pasquil And German: Theological Mood And Method, 1537, Robert Kolb

Concordia Theological Monthly

Like the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles were forged for use in confessional confrontation and were the product of a complex political-ecclesiastical situation. Luther composed this confession of faith not for himself but at the request of his prince. Elector John Frederick of Saxony ordered the summary of the chief articles of faith as a position paper to be used in possible negotiations with representatives of the Roman party after Pope Paul III promulgated a bull of convocation for a general council in June 1536. The Smalcald Articles were but one literary reaction to the papal bull of convocation. Other …

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.

Erasmus The Exegete, Marvin Anderson

Concordia Theological Monthly

Erasmus appears everywhere in the theological controversies of the 16th century. Discovery in 1506 of his beloved Lorenzo Valla's New Testament Notes encouraged Erasmus to continue the task of editing, annotating, and paraphrasing the New Testament. Whatever can be said about Erasmus, his dedication to this task has earned the gratitude of generations of Christians. His latest encomium is Erasmus of Christendom. An analysis of Erasmus’ devotion to New Testament study adds depth and breadth to the philosophy of Christ. Heirs of the 16th century should ponder the life work of Erasmus in this 500th anniversary of his birth. In …

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 …

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.

Alfred O. Fuerbringer Bibliography, Nolan R. Bremer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Alfred O. Fuerbringer Bibliography

A Tribute To An Evangelical Ministry, Arthur C. Repp

Concordia Theological Monthly

One can hardly speak of a Fuerbringer without bringing in some church history. This is especially true of Alfred O. Fuerbringer, who traces a line of ministers as forebears back to the 17th century through his father's side, and two centuries farther back on his grandmother's side, including one of the signers of the Formula of Concord in 1577-1580 (Martinus Bungerus). He has an even more intimate relationship with the Missouri Synod, for his grandfather was one of the Saxon founders. Two of his predecessors to the presidency of Concordia Seminary were related to him, C. F. W. Walther, who …

The Gospel And The Smalcald Articles, Walter R. Bouman

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Smalcald Articles (hereafter abbreviated as S. A.) provide us with an excellent focus for the problems and possibilities which the 16-century confessional documents pose for 20th-century Lutheranism. The fact of our historical distance from the 16th century confronts us with the most obvious problems.