Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Christianizing Of Abraham: The Interpretation Of Abraham In Early Christianity, Robert L. Wilken

Concordia Theological Monthly

The author traces through various interpretations of the significance of the story of Abraham in the early church in support of his thesis that each generation interprets the Scripture from the perspective of its own historical circumstance.

The Day Of Rest In The Old Testament, Hans Walter Wolff

Concordia Theological Monthly

In this lecture we shall be concerned with essentially one question: What does the Commandment to observe the sabbath have to say to modern theological thought and to practice in the church of today?

Worship And The Life Of The Church, John H. Tietjen

Concordia Theological Monthly

The How of Christian worship should be determined by the reason Why we worship: because God has acted in His Son and in His Spirit to inaugurate a new covenant for a new community.

First Communion And Confirmation, Berthold Von Schenk

Concordia Theological Monthly

The decision concerning the right age for First Communion is the prerogative of the pastor in the setting of his congregation. Every baptized child of God should receive the sacramental grace imparted in Holy Communion.

Brief Studies, Richard R. Caemmerer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Can Preaching Start a Chain Reaction?

A Review of Preaching and Worship in Contemporary Germany.

The Style And The Mission, John H. Tietjen

Concordia Theological Monthly

Today I set out on an adventure. I invite you to come along. The adventure is the Easter quarter experiment. It's called "'Style of Life in God: Mission in Community." My assignment this morning is to introduce the style and the mission. Let's be frank: my task is to motivate you to participate. The result I hope t0 achieve by this address is to elicit from you a commitment to take part in the experiment. I am happy for the assignment. I intend to participate and hope you will, too.

Life In The Spirit Today, Ewald Bash

Concordia Theological Monthly

In many ways nothing seems stranger than this moment to me-to be found in these circumstances talking about spirituality. In the years since the writing of Seven Days I have become engaged in almost constant activity. Those who live with me in the building at headquarters of The American Lutheran Church, I rather imagine, would be somewhat shocked to see me standing here; they don't regard me as a contemplative man, and I would be a phony if I came to you and pretended I was some sort of spiritual giant. Many times I have been lost, foundering at the …

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.

The Message Of The Deuteronomic Historian, Carl Graesser Jr.

Concordia Theological Monthly

In this study we propose to determine the main outlines of the message which the author(s) of the books of Joshua through Kings intended to speak to the contemporary Israelite people. Following a few introductory comments, the major structural elements utilized by the sacred historian (s) to construct this monumental work will be described. These elements will then be studied for the keys they contain to understanding the message of these books.

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.

Religious Music Among The Jews, Walter E. Buszin

Concordia Theological Monthly

"Where were you ... when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" With these words God challenged Job, who is referred to at times as the patron saint of musicians. God's words to Job serve to remind the Old Testament reader that already earlier, in prehistoric times, worship and song had been used together to glorify and extol the Creator. Ancient peoples, including Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and a veritable host of early generations of mankind, recognized that the primary function of music is to honor and worship the Deity. Africans, Asiatics, Mongolians, Europeans, …

Fellowship, Thomas Coates

Concordia Theological Monthly

On the morning of New Year's Day several years ago I stood in the outer court of Yasukuni Shrine in the city of Tokyo. New Year's Day, of course, is the highest festival day of the Shinto religion, when virtually all of the Japanese go to the shrines to pay their respects to their ancestors and begin the new year with "'a clean slate." For some time I watched with fascination as the worshipers bowed before the sanctuary, clapped their hands three times to awaken the attention of the spirits, cast their coins into the coffer, bought their good luck …

Worship: The Divine Alchemy, Thomas Coates

Concordia Theological Monthly

In medieval lore, scientists sought to use the process of alchemy to transmute base metals into gold. Alchemy proved to be a pseudoscience, for men have devised no method to create the precious metal out of elements that are common and coarse. But in a higher sense, and in the spiritual realm, God achieves that which to man is impossible: He takes these base, ignoble elements, these earthen vessels - our stumbling words, our faltering prayers, our paltry gifts, our flawed works, our frail and sin-scarred lives - and transmutes them into gold, into offerings fit for the King.

The Unity Of The Church And Her Worship, Walter E. Buszin

Concordia Theological Monthly

To possess a good understanding of the worship of the church one must possess as well an understanding of the doctrine of the church. Both, the church and her worship, are unique; each shares significant characteristics of the other. Both are creations of the Holy Spirit; both are spiritual in their very essence. The church can neither thrive nor exist without worship. Christian worship, on the other hand, is inconceivable without the church. The church is not only the locus operandi of all true Christian worship; it is also the agency of the Holy Spirit and as such prompts the …

To Know And To Do: A Review Article On Training Children In The Work Of Worship, George W. Hoyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Learning How Children Worship is the title of a recent book by Grace W. McGavran. So many things are left unsaid in this book about the God who is to be worshiped and about the tremendous things which that God has done and does to make worship by the children of men possible that the critical theological reader might miss the significance of the major thing which is being said. Miss McGavran poses the question: "Are the children aware of the times of worship and what it should be for them - a conscious effort to enter into the presence …

From Advent To Shrove Tuesday, Walter E. Buszin

Concordia Theological Monthly

Liturgical life and activity have not been at a standstill since the close of World War II. Already more than a decade ago more books on worship and liturgics were being published in English than in any other area of theological literature. It is likely that this is true also today. At present more courses in liturgics are being offered at theological schools of North America than ever before in American history; they continue to increase in quantity and quality from year to year. Services of worship conducted in American churches of our day reflect concern for decorum and order …

Early Christian Attitudes Toward The Roman State, Walter W. Oetting

Concordia Theological Monthly

The church always confronts the state. Sometimes the relationship is casual, as in the United States, where, generally speaking, the church is allowed to carry on its work with little interference. Often, however, the relationship is one of antagonism, as in the Soviet Union, where the state insists that it has no concern at all about religion but where the Communist party, closely tied to the State, is in continuous struggle to convince the people to forsake their piety. Sometimes the relationship is one of domination. Either the church dominates the state, as was theoretically true during the Middle Ages …

Christian Persons In The Making, William Edward Hulme

Concordia Theological Monthly

This morning we looked into the nature of spiritual illness and did so in a somewhat academic manner. Tonight we are going to look at the subject from a more subjective or existential point of view.

Three Words In Our Worship: Devotional Reflections, Arthur Carl Piepkorn

Concordia Theological Monthly

Hosanna is one of three words - the other two are Alleluia and Amen - that the church has taken over from the Hebrew into her worship in mere transliteration and without translation, as a frank and unabashed witness to her roots in the Israel of which she herself has become the successor under the New Covenant.

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.

Theology And Church Music As Bearers And Interpreters Of The Verbum Dei, Walter B. Buszin

Concordia Theological Monthly

In the very first issue of Musik und Kirche, published in January/February 1930, Christhard Mahrenholz stated in his foreword that no age or generation can afford simply to take for granted that a relationship exists between the church and her music. Mahrenholz emphasized at the time that the very nature of the problems involved demands that each generation study this question anew.

Parish Preaching, George W. Hoyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Only with difficulty can the propers of some summer Sundays after Trinity be made to demonstrate a certain thematic unity. And not every issue of a theological monthly should be expected to develop a common subject or a general theme. But volume III of the Reverend Fred H. Lindemann's work, The Sermon and the Propers, reviewed in this issue, gently urges that since "our Liturgy offers a set of Propers for each Sunday, we ought to make the best of what we have" (p. 47). Comment on this issue of the MONTHLY should attempt to do no less.

The Sermon And The Propers, Harry G. Coiner

Concordia Theological Monthly

There are at least three major considerations connected with this noble work of Pastor Lindemann which should be shared at the outset with the reader of this review. They are (1) the liturgical church (especially the Lutheran Church) needs these volumes; (2) the worship of the church will be blessed by the use of the material in them; and (3) these volumes represent a living gift which one, who now is with the saints triumphant, wished with all his heart to bequeath to the church on earth.

The Liturgical Movement: An Appraisal, Harry W. Reimann

Concordia Theological Monthly

This paper is an attempt to call attention to some of the observable blessings of the liturgical movement among Lutherans as well as to point to what are some of the observable dangers. There is no attempt to document these observations, and therefore the study will remain a quite personal appraisal and potpourri of convictions and suggestions.

The Hymn And The Liturgy, Harold W. Scheibert

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Lutheran Church is a liturgical church. It is in the mainstream of Western Christianity and uses a clearly defined form of the Western Liturgy. The Lutheran Church is also a singing church. Born with it in the 16th century were hymns that are still favorites of Christians everywhere. Lutherans have always used their hymns in their public liturgical worship. They still do so today. There must therefore be a relationship between the hymn and the liturgy. The hymns ought to have the same goal as the liturgy and the liturgy as the hymns. Specifically the hymns used with the …

Leiturgia-An Opus Magnum In The Making, Walter E. Buszin

Concordia Theological Monthly

The liturgical revival which is wending its way through the churches of Christendom today has made its influence felt also within the Lutheran Church. This movement is not chiefly a seeking after forms and ceremonies, nor is it merely a reaction against irreverent and amorphous worship practices. While excesses are to be noted within the movement, it is hardly just and fair to regard these as inevitable and essential earmarks of this liturgical revival, since revivals and movements in areas other than the liturgical likewise suffer because of the intemperate endeavors of a zealotistic minority.

The Order Of Matins, Timothy Strelow

Concordia Theological Monthly

The corporate worship of the Christian Church has always been associated with certain forms. The spirit of worship, of communion with God, in all ages has expressed itself in the use of various forms and orders of worship. It is, however, a fact that there are many who use these forms of worship with a great lack of appreciation or understanding. Often the so-called minor forms of worship are rejected. This negative attitude toward forms of worship may quite frequently be due to the gross mutilation of the pure forms. A negative attitude toward Matins may also be due to …

Give Attendance To Reading, Richard R. Caemmerer

Concordia Theological Monthly

"Give attendance to reading," St. Paul exhorted Timothy. This exhortation has sometimes been applied to contemporary ministers as follows: Let them keep up their private studies, their reading of the Bible and of the many other materials which enrich their mind and ministry. That is a useful and necessary exhortation. The original intention of 1 Tim. 4:13, however, is simpler. St. Paul tells Timothy that he is to minister faithfully and vigorously to his congregation till St. Paul himself will come. This ministry means bringing the Word of God to people. That he is to do through three routes: reading …

The Relation Of The Liturgy To The Word, H. Richard Klann

Concordia Theological Monthly

The essential aim of this investigation is not merely the historical delineation of liturgical practices, nor the consideration of liturgical minutiae in their historical setting and development, nor the establishment of a theological basis against liturgical innovations, but rather to state the Lutheran principles by which a pastor will be able to judge the relation of the liturgy to the proclamation of the Word in the worship of a congregation.

Rome And The Lutheran Liturgy, Irvin Arkin

Concordia Theological Monthly

The fundamental reason why this topic was chosen by the author is a rather deep-rooted curiosity of many Lutheran liturgiologists concerning Rome's views and reasons to Lutheran liturgics in general and the Lutheran Liturgical Movement in particular. This curiosity is whetted and agitated by the liturgical movement which is taking place presently in the Roman Church under the influence of the German Benedictines and the Austrian Augustinians. Such names as Ellard, Reinhold, and Hellriegel immediately bring to mind the vast task these men are undertaking in America to restore meaning to the liturgy for the Roman laity.