Religion Commons^™

Verbal Inspiration- A Stumbling-Block To The Jews And Foolishness To The Greeks, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

It is unworthy of a Christian to charge Holy Scripture with errors. - It might be well to emphasize and elaborate some of the points touched upon in the preceding articles. First, it is unworthy of a Christian to let fallible men exercise authority over Scripture. It is a shameful thing for a Christian theologian to revise and correct Scripture on the authority of some historian or some professor of natural history. Theologians are doing just that.

Verbal Inspiration- A Stumbling-Block To The Jews And Foolishness To The Greeks, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

We are asked to give up the doctrine of verbal inspiration because of the alleged erroneousness of the Bible. The moderns are asking us to do that. And our own flesh is suggesting it. We find it impossible to do so. One reason for that is that the arguments advanced by the rationalists against the infallibility of Scripture are in conflict with sound reason. We shall demonstrate this in a later article, and that demonstration will serve a good purpose.

Dignified Methods Of Church Publicity, August Brustat

Bachelor of Divinity

Church publicity is an important phase of church work. It is the MEANS by which we call to the attention of immortal souls the truth of salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Methods of church publicity are an important part of the curriculum of a theological Seminary. Prospective ministers of the Gospel will be greatly aided in their future parish duties if dignified ways and means of publicizing the Gospel are called to their attention in the course on Practical Theology.

Teaching Situations, Outlines, And Lesson Plans, P. E. Kretzmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

One of the strangest distinction which is observed when men are being trained for the ministry and, for that matter, when men are in the ministry, is that which prompts ministers to lay just about the exclusive emphasis of their office on preaching, that is, on delivering the sermons and addresses in public gatherings of the Christian congregation. No doubt this is the most conspicuous part of the ministry and one upon which success depends in a very vital way. We are prone to quote the statement from our Lutheran Confessions "Es ist kein Ding, das die Leute mehr bei …

Lectures On Galatians, Wm. Dallmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

The saving Gospel we have been learning is also the social Gospel we shall be learning.

"Brethren, ye were called unto freedom. Only use not this freedom for an opening of the flesh." Freedom is to be used, not abused for a cloak of wickedness, 1 Pet. 2: 16. A frightful abuse of freedom was that of the Anabaptists at Muenster, in Westphalia, at the time of the Reformation.

General Synod Liberalism In The U. L. C. A., Theodore Graebner

Concordia Theological Monthly

The CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY has frequently expressed editorial amazement over the teachings which are permitted to represent the theology of the United Lutheran Church through pages of the Lutheran Church Quarterly, edited jointly by the faculties of the theological seminaries at Gettysburg and at Philadelphia. Particularly the book reviews have been permitted to express views which diverge considerably from the doctrine of the Lutheran Confessions. But it is rarely that a single issue of the Quarterly contains so much as the October issue of this year (1940) to discourage those who have been hoping for an upward trend in the …

Reason Or Revelation?, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

Rationalism is an evil thing, working untold harm. And harmonizing Scripture as practiced by Lutheran theologians is a form of rationalism. The harmonizers operate with the principles of rationalism. True, they do not apply them as widely as the gross rationalists. They restrict the harmonizing operation to selected portions of the Christian doctrine. But there they are engaged in the evil business of rationalism, in a wicked and harmful business.

Ba∏Tizω, K. G. Manz

Concordia Theological Monthly

It is a sad fact that men, swayed by a fatal bias, will make rash statements about, and posit propositions in regard to, Baptism which can be maintained neither in the face of the Scriptures nor before the forum of history. This is true, for instance, in reference to the question of immersion in the administration of Holy Baptism. The importance of the subject demands that we consider soberly what the Bible and the early history of the Church teach us in regard to the mode of baptism.

The Means Of Grace From The Administrative Angle, P. E. Kretzmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

The topic which is here to be briefly treated, chiefly on the basis of a problem which has recently been suggested for discussion, has been broached in the columns of this journal before, although not in an exhaustive manner. It is clearly not a mere academic question, nor may it be placed in the category of the adiaphora or a priori included in the field of casuistry, although certain situations may cause it to be placed under that heading. The problem, as it is before us, involves chiefly three loci in dogmatics, namely, De Ecclesia, De Ministerio Ecclesiastico, and De …

Why Preach?, John H. Fritz

Concordia Theological Monthly

Preaching, if it is to serve its divine purpose, must have a very definite objective. This the preacher should not only know, but of this he should be conscious. What is the objective? Why preach?

Reason Or Revelation?, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

There are more rationalists in the churches than go by that name. It is not a nice name. Rationalism is, as we have shown in the preceding articles, an ugly, wicked thing. It sets itself above Scripture, above God. Who would want to proclaim himself a rationalist? Our Liberals indeed are not ashamed of the name. But the great majority of theologians dislikes it. However, many of them, very many of them, are doing the very same thing the rationalists have been doing, and they do it because they like it. They fall into two groups. The first group, made …

The Social Implications In The Gospels And In The Book Of Acts, P. E. Kretzmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

What are social implications? We might ask first: What is meant by "social"? Obviously the answer is: Anything that Involves two or more people as distinguished from a situation that concerns one person, or individual, alone. To satisfy one probable Inquiry at once, we hasten to say that we want to forestall any suspicion as to any inclination toward a social gospel by stating that the message of the Gospel as we find it in the Holy Scriptures, although commonly proclaimed before social groups, is definitely addressed to the individual, since faith is clearly a matter of the individual, as …

The Doctrine Of Offense, Arthur Weber

Bachelor of Divinity

The fundamental thought of this thesis revolves around the word skandalon. For that reason it will be necessary to begin with a study of its etymology in the effort to bring out the full connotation of the word as it is used in the Bible. It is apparent from the following etymological study that the word skandalon means "a stumbling block or trap which causes one to fall.”

Qualifications Of A Chrisitan Minister And Teacher And Teaching Procedures As Exemplified In The Life And Teaching Of Jesus, Leonard Thaemert

Bachelor of Divinity

What were the qualifications of Jesus for this important work? We have only a few glances into His rich but brief life here on earth; but all of these are significant, and indicate that He was steadily pursuing a definite purpose and fitting Himself for a specific service. If we consider what He did after the age of thirty, we are led to the conclusion that all His earlier years were spent in study, in meditation in prayer, in direct communion with the Father as preparatory for His three years of service. How significant this is to see in Him …

A Criticism Of The Madras Conference From The Standpoint Of A Christian Believer, Wilbert Griesse

Bachelor of Divinity

What a wonderful thing it would be if all the denominations could get together on a common ground and work together against ·the forces of sin and hell: What an impression that would make upon the world! Such a condition would greatly further the cause of missions. It was especially the younger churches that were crying for unity. The younger churches cannot understand the divisions and the multiplied organizations of the mother churches. If they are all Christian, why are they not united?

The Articulus Catholicus, Martin S. Sommer

Concordia Theological Monthly

We have all heard, and had impressed upon us, that the true doctrine concerning justification by faith alone is the articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae. The truth of this statement has often been confirmed and established in our publications. But this article concerning justification by faith alone is not only the articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae, but it is also the articulus catholicus; that is to say, it is a teaching which has always been taught by all faithful teachers everywhere in the Christian Church.

The False Arguments For The Modern Theory Of Open Questions, C. F. Walther, Alex Wm. Guebert

Concordia Theological Monthly

Finally, the proponents of the modern theory of open questions advance the argument that there are doctrines of faith in the Bible which God did not reveal in clear-cut, unmistakable terms.

The False Arguments For The Modern Theory Of Open Questions, C. F. Walther, Alex Wm. Guebert

Concordia Theological Monthly

After having shown that the theory of open questions cannot be supported by assuming a gradual growth of dogmas through successive decisions of the Church, we shall prove In the following paragraphs that a doctrine must not first gain a so-called symbolical recognition before it can become a dogma of the Church and must not therefore be placed in the category of open question until such recognition has been achieved.

Holy Scripture Or Christ?, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

Men are asking us to substitute for the authority of Scripture the authority of Christ or at least to subordinate the former to the latter. If we did that, we would be left without any authority for our teaching and without any foundation for our faith. And that means, of course, that there would be no Christian theology and no Christian religion.

The False Arguments For The Modern Theory Of Open Questions, C. F. Walther, W. Arndt

Concordia Theological Monthly

The assumption of a successive origin of dogmas through so-called decisions of the Church, by which some men seek to uphold the modern theory of open questions, militates, In the second place, against the relationship existing between Scripture and Christian faith.

Holy Scripture Or Christ?, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

In his History of Christian Doctrine G. P. Fisher points out that "among Protestants and Roman Catholics the old question respecting the seat of authority in religion is once more eagerly disputed. Since Coleridge and Schleiermacher insisted that the primary object of faith is not the Bible but Christ, there has been a growing tendency to regard the Scriptures less as an authoritative manual of revealed tenets in theology and morals than as the medium of disclosing to us the personal Christ and the import of His mission and teaching.

The False Arguments For The Modern Theory Of Open Questions, C. F. Walther, W. Arndt

Concordia Theological Monthly

In the first place, it is not true that our dogmas come into existence gradually and that hence there are articles of faith "which are still in the process of formation, and others which as yet have either not at all or merely by way of beginning been drawn into the stream of events in which dogmas take shape." It is not true that some articles of faith have come down to us "as undecided, unfinished questions, incomplete structures, as open questions," because concerning these things one does not yet find unanimous agreement in the Lutheran Church.

The False Arguments For The Modern Theory Of Open Questions, C. F. Walther, W. Arndt

Concordia Theological Monthly

A further argument for this theory is the view that evidently for ecclesiastical unity not more is required than agreement in the teachings laid down in the public confession of the Church; that these are the only ones fixed by the Church itself; that on these only the Church has made pronouncements and decisions; and that everything else has to be considered as belonging to the category of open questions.

The Administration Of The Sacraments, Th. Laetsch

Concordia Theological Monthly

Our Lord Jesus Christ in the night in which He was betrayed instituted, and Himself administered, His Holy Supper. To this day this Sacrament remains His Holy Supper, a heavenly banquet which He Himself has spread and which He Himself serves to all attendants Says Luther: "We know that it is and is called the Lord's Supper, not the supper of the Christians. For the Lord ha not only instituted it, but also prepares and administers it Himself.

The Province Of Human Reason In Religion, M. S. Sommer

Concordia Theological Monthly

At the very outset it is necessary to define what I mean by human reason. By this term I mean the entire sum of natural knowledge and powers of the human mind, including intuition and conscience and the ability to reason correctly. This human reason is a very precious gift of God and is therefore also to be prized very highly. It is a sign of great folly, corruption, aye, of Satanic delusion, to despise and teach others to despise God's gifts in nature. "For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received …

Lutheran Hymns In English Translation Or The Contribution Of Nineteenth Century Translators In England To English Hymnody, Hans Bruss

Bachelor of Divinity

Christian song, as it has been in the past, so it is today a tremendous influence in the life of God’s people here on earth. Next only to the Bible, the Hymnody of Christendom is probable the most influential medium of religious culture that we possess. The Hymnody of the Christian Church can be compared to wells of living water. From these wells Christians drink deeply in public worship. By these wells Christian spiritual life is awakened, educated1, and sustained. From these wells Christians find strength and inspiration for their tasks during the week; they find power to carry on …

The Christian Apologists Of The Second Century Their Message And Mission, Clarence Bopp

Bachelor of Divinity

This book shows us that the Jewish people stil1 regarded Christ as an impostor, and were then still expecting a Messiah who would be a glorious ruler. It also indicates that the traveling opponents of Christianity were still exerting their influence. Therefore the Christian apologists of the second century had to keep the Jews in mind. In dealing with them Justin argues from the Old Testament, to show that the prophecies of the Messiah can be fulfilled only in Jesus Christ; he also attacks their ceremonialism and formalism. Thus apologetics against the Jews in the second century is still of …

The Minor Biblical Prereformers Of The Xv Century, Walter Litke

Bachelor of Divinity

We cannot speak of “Pre-reformers” unless we have a clear conception of the tem “reformation”. Too often we leave the Reformation historically unexplained as if it were a sudden upheaval in the life of the church, a change as sudden as the inversion of an hour glass. But no Reformer just drops from heaven. “In spite of its originality and freshness, the Reformation by no means interrupted the continuity of human affairs - on the contrary, it was, on the one hand, preceded and its way prepared by pious and enlightened men, who preached almost the very doctrines that distinguished …

Evil Spirits, R. T. Du Brau

Concordia Theological Monthly

This nomenclature no doubt harks back to the impure and unclean spirit of idolatry. To the ennobled and regenerated Christian soul, uncleanness was inseparable from the pagans' worship of their lesser divinities, or demons, both from a physical and psychical point of view. This is echoed by an emphatic longer descriptive phrase, occurring once only, and this in Luke 4:33.

The False Arguments For The Modern Theory Of Open Questions, C. F. Walther, W. Arndt

Concordia Theological Monthly

In the foreword of the present volume of this journal we stated in which sense one may without hesitation speak of open questions. At the same time we declared that we reject the modern theory of open questions. It appears necessary, however, that we point out how untenable the arguments are which are advanced In support and justification of this theory.