Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Documentation: Authority In The Church, C. F. Walther, Arnold Krugler (Translator)

Concordia Theological Monthly

In 1879 Dr. Walther delivered a long essay to Iowa Lutheran congregations who were reluctant to join the Synod because they feared the Synod would arrogate to itself excessive authority over them. With extensive citations from Scripture, Luther, the Lutheran Confessions, and the Lutheran fathers, Walther developed his concept of the proper relationship between Synod and congregations.

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.

Justification In Luther's Preaching On Luke 18:9-14, Lowell C. Green

Concordia Theological Monthly

The author develops the thesis that Martin Luther rested his pastoral preaching on doctrinal preaching. In a careful examination of texts of Luther, he demonstrates this and raises the question concerning the continuing importance of doctrinal preaching.

The Just Shall Live By Faith, Otto W. Heick

Concordia Theological Monthly

When did Luther reach the reformation insight into the doctrine of Justification? The author reviews the literature on the question, and brings to the attention of American readers the work of Uuras Saarnivaara, which has received little scholarly attention since its publication.

Luther On Christ And The Old Testament, James S. Preus

Concordia Theological Monthly

Careful reading of this article will contribute to getting the hermeneutical debate in our Synod beyond the present impasse that has been created by a non-Lutheran posing of the alternatives by so many who are involved in the debate.

Campus Ministry And The University In The Mutual Task Of Liberation, Wayne Saffen

Concordia Theological Monthly

The author is Lutheran campus pastor at the University of Chicago. He delivered this address at the dedication of a striking ecumenical center for worship and religious services on the Edwardsville campus of Southern Illinois University on Oct. 18, 1971. In the address he challenged both the church and the university to become agents of God's program of setting people free.

The Other Understanding Of The Inspiration Texts, Traugott H. Rehwaldt

Concordia Theological Monthly

In this article the author evaluates the notes of Franz Pieper on the inspiration of Scripture, presents a summary of Herman Sasse's view on inspiration, and then offers certain counsel concerning the proper understanding of the inspiration of the Scriptures.

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 …

Let's Be Lutheran, Lloyd H. Goetz

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Word of God is His self-revelation in the person of Jesus Christ. This is God's final, complete, and greatest communication to man for his salvation.

Apostolicity And Ministry: A Lutheran View, Carl S. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

The author presents an historical survey of the Lutheran view of the ministry, with special emphasis on The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and concludes that the historic episcopate does not exist jure divino, and that fidelity to the apostolic Word is essential, not fidelity to apostolic succession.

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 …

The Service Conducted Facing The People, Charles Mcclean

Concordia Theological Monthly

The practice of ceremonial worship is closely related to the heart of the Christian faith. The Scriptures teach and the church confesses that Christ redeemed the whole man. Our bodies, too, share in the redemption accomplished by the Son of God, who Himself took flesh and blood of His virgin mother. Christ chose earthly, tangible elements -water, bread, and wine - to impart to men the salvation He accomplished.

Luther And The Principle: Outside Of The Use There Is No Sacrament, Edward F. Peters

Concordia Theological Monthly

On the basis of a thorough search of the Weimar Edition and other pertinent materials the author argues that Luther taught that a valid celebration of the Sacrament of the Altar requires the acts of consecration, distribution, and reception, but that the presence of Christ's body and blood is not limited to the moment of reception.

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.

A Consideration Of The Meaning Of Prayer In The Life Of Martin Luther, Deanna Marie Carr

Concordia Theological Monthly

The author considers the meaning of prayer for Luther’s religious life and shows how during the 16th-century Reformation Luther "renewed" the wholesome traditions that had surrounded prayer in the prior history of the Christian church.

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.

The Interior Warfare, Harry N. Huxhold

Concordia Theological Monthly

In a recent bulletin of the Academy of · Religion and Mental Health a psychiatrist quotes a Harvard junior, "Many students turn into themselves and become preoccupied with their own thoughts and emotions to the point of obsession.'' We should not be surprised. Your generation has been more sensitive to the nature of man and his interior struggle than most generations. The era of Freudian psychology and existential philosophy has exposed the depths of man's psyche to the point of nausea. It was not too long ago that we greeted the Freudian view of man as the clinical evidence of …

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.

Erasmus-Luther: One Theology, One Method, Two Results, Gottfried G. Krodel

Concordia Theological Monthly

Luther and Erasmus were both biblical humanists, both affirmed the grace of God as central, but each constructed a different theological system. Erasmus always regarded theology as a descriptive task, best advanced by continuous disputations. Luther saw the Gospel as the crystal-clear center of Scripture, the saving knowledge revealed by God. Because of this conviction, Luther viewed theology as the task of making assertions, of boldly confessing one's faith.

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 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 …

Beza And Melanchthon On Political Obligation, Eugene Linse

Concordia Theological Monthly

Martin Luther and John Calvin thought of themselves not as philosophers or politicians, but first and last as theologians and students of the Word of God. Accordingly, we should not expect to find them presenting a comprehensive political philosophy or even a general theory of politics, for they did not see this as the task to which they were called. Whatever each had to say about political ideology or practice tended to be largely theoretical and the consequence of first principles rooted and grounded on theology. Of necessity both spoke of matters pertaining to the nature and function of politics, …

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.

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.

Theological Education: Crisis And Renewal, Arthur Carl Piepkorn

Concordia Theological Monthly

In the course of the confessional revival in the Church of the Augsburg Confession during the 19th and 20th centuries, Lutheran theologians interpreted the statements of the Symbolical Books about the sacred ministry in three typical ways.

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.

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 Significance Of The Dogma Concerning Christ As Defined By The Council Of Chalcedon, Herbert J. Bouman

Concordia Theological Monthly

Jesus asked His disciples at Caesarea Philippi: "What do the people say about who I am? What do you say?" (cf. Matt.16:13-16). Jesus asked His enemies: "What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?" (Matt.22:42). The people, in turn, in perplexity and resentment asked Jesus: "Who do you claim to be?" (John 8:53). And when Saul of Tarsus was struck down near the city of Damascus and was confronted by the risen Lord, Saul's first question was: "Who are you, Lord?" (Acts 9:5)

Civic Order, Martin H. Scharlemann

Concordia Theological Monthly

Order is a gift. It may not be taken for granted. The tensions inherent in every social situation tend toward disruption unless they are harnessed toward creative ends.

Violence on our streets and in our cities has brought us up short to the realization that the social order is much like a garden: if left untended, it will produce only the weeds of exploitation, decay, frustration, and outrage. During some of the riots in our major cities we watched our television sea in sheer disbelief that this evil could erupt in our midst. Somehow we assumed that such things could …