History of Christianity Commons^™

A Study Of The Cross, Harold Krueger

Bachelor of Divinity

The scope of this thesis is: to give to the reader a clearer picture and understanding of that most sacred symbol, the cross. The history of the cross both before and after Christ will be considered first; the more important types of the cross will then be examined, and finally thought will be given to its liturgical use.

Luther's Endorsement Of The "Confessio Bohemica.", Jaroslav Pelikan Jr.

Concordia Theological Monthly

As a result of the research that has been carried on in the past half century on the theology of the Reformation. we are now in an advantageous position for a historical and theological evaluation of the faith of the Reformers. What began as purely historical investigation has become instead a recovery of Reformation insights that had been lost in the intervening centuries. For this reason contemporary theological scholarship has been compelled to buttress its systematic presentations with historical material and to make its historical study relevant by drawing theological conclusions from it.

The Salutary Use Of Corporate Prayer With Special Reference To The Community Of The Congregation, Howard E. Claycombe Jr

Bachelor of Divinity

In the life of the Christian prayer is to the soul as breathing is to the body. We sing in the hymn "Prayer is the Christian's vital breath un-uttered or expressed.” Although we know the reasons for praying, the how and the why of it all, and although volumes have been written on the subject, yet it appears that much of the praying in our church is very formal and awkward. We know how and why to pray but do we really pray? The purpose of this study is to particularly isolate and point up the problem of praying together. …

The Spheres Of Action Of The Inquisition In The Counter-Reformation, Paul E. Krohn

Bachelor of Divinity

In this paper, we will endeavor to set down the special spheres of action of this institution in regard to the quenching of various heresies which arose within the church. As we refer to the term heretics at various times, let it be understood that we are viewing people as heretics as those who deviated from the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. This will be done only for the sake of clarity, not to prove that they were either wrong or right in their beliefs.

Religious Conditions In England, E. George Pearce

Concordia Theological Monthly

Ever since the days of the Reformation the group of islands lying off the northwest coast of the European continent have been a stronghold of the Protestant faith and a city of refuge for suppressed minorities from every part of Europe. True, there were days when the fanatical views of Queen Mary or the despotism of the Stuart kings reversed the process and · drove thousands of nonconformist Englishmen into exile in Holland and America. Generally speaking, however, once the half-hearted politico-religious reformation of Henry VIII was over and the Protestant faith had imbedded itself in British hearts during the …

St. Paul's Usus Practicus Of Holy Baptism, John Theodore Mueller

Concordia Theological Monthly

It may safely be said that the average Lutheran Christian does not think of his Baptism often enough and that the average Lutheran pastor does not remind his parishioners often enough of the great value and importance of Holy Baptism. There are, of course, exceptions, but these only establish the rule. If this appears as a rather severe indictment, let the reader bear in mind that due grateful appreciation of the meaning and blessing of Holy Baptism involves a most weighty point in Christian sanctification in which we never become perfect and that, because of our perverse Old Adam, we …

A Survey Study Of The Lutheran Schools Of The Missouri Synod In Minnesota, 1857-1947, Walter L. Rosin

Bachelor of Divinity

The objectives of this survey are the following:, To state briefly the principles underlying the parochial school; to sketch the development of the Christian Day School in the state of Minnesota to the present; to show the results of the school; and to indicate the current trends within the Day School system in Minnesota.

Outline For A History Of The Old Testament Canon, Rudolph Gehle

Concordia Theological Monthly

There is one final question which is of importance in this study. The question is this: What Books Belong to the Canon, and How Are They Identified and Distinguished From All Others? This question will be discussed in three sections, namely: 1. The Canon of the Jews. 2. The Canon of Christ and the Apostles. 3. The Canon of the Christian Churches.

Luther The Reformer, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

Luther would say: I did not reform the Church. He said: "It was God's Word which, while I slept or made merry, accomplished this great thing." (XX: 20.) The gracious and almighty God accomplished this great thing. "What is now going on in the world is not my doing. It is not possible that a mere man should begin and carry forward such a movement. . . . Another man is at the wheel [Ein anderer Mann ist's, der das Raedlein treibt]."

Soeren Aaby Kierkegaard, John Theodore Mueller

Concordia Theological Monthly

Essays on Kierkegaard (just as such on many other great men) usually tum out to be no more than mere glimpses of the man and his work given by writers who are either for or against him, just as their studies have led them to see in him either a very great man or (to say the least) a very great enigma. It is therefore extremely difficult to arrive at an objective judgment of Kierkegaard by the study of biographies and historico-doctrinal monographs, no matter how many of them one may read. But to peruse his original writings is to …

The History Of Scholasticism And Its Influence On The Church And Education Of The Middle Ages, Walter Huber

Bachelor of Divinity

This is to be a Bachelor of Divinity Thesis in the field of Church History. Immediately, however, it becomes evident that in the coverage of the above subject we cannot restrict ourselves within the bounds of Church History. It is impossible altogether to divorce Church History from general history. When one is taken and isolated from the other, both automatically suffer an infinite loss. Apart from the history of the world we cannot understand the history of the Church; and with the Church throughout all Christian ages playing so great, influential, and important role in the general history of mankind, …

The Independence Of The Early Irish Church, P. E. Kretzmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

In the annals of the past one frequently finds a twilight zone, where tradition and history meet, where fact must be distinguished from fancy and mythical accretion. It is rather challenging and intriguing to evaluate both secondary and primary sources in the effort to determine just which points may be regarded as the nuclear truth. In the history of the Apostles, for example, only that is acceptable without question which we find in the New Testament. With regard to later accounts and church tradition we must exercise great care to separate truth from legend. Thus we may, from the apocryphal …

Christian Worship Of The Ante-Nicene Church, Harold Krenz

Bachelor of Divinity

"Worship is man's response to God's revelation of Himself." In this sense worship consists of divine revelation and public response. This paper is devoted to the latter aspect of worship. It is the purpose of this paper to study the early origins of man's outward response to the revealed truths of Christianity; how the form of Christian worship was influenced by the Old Testament worship, how it received its indelible color from the Blood of Calvary, and how it began to develop into the highest and most beautiful of the aesthetic arts by the time the Christian religion became a …

Church Union, L W. Heidemann

Bachelor of Divinity

It is the purpose of our paper to show from History and from scripture that we have no reason to become disheartened in our position of strict confessionalism and determined separation from such unions which are based on compromise instead of complete doctrinal unity. History shows that this position serves the best interests of Christ and His Church. The Bible demands that this be our position.

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?

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 …

Erasmus On Luther, Wm. Dallmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

Erasmus, like Luther, was an Augustinian; like Luther, a priest; like Luther, a preacher-at Paris; like Luther, a Doctor of Theology-of Turin; like Luther, a teacher-at Cambridge 1511-1514.

Andreas Carlstadt declared Erasmus "the prince of theologians," superior to St. Ambrose and St. Augustine.

I do not see among the old theologians any they can legitimately prefer to you," wrote Bude.

The Norm And Rule Of Doctrine In The Chrisitan Church Before The Reformation, Theo. Dierks

Concordia Theological Monthly

That the Gospel of Christ Crucified is contrary to all worldly wisdom is clearly affirmed by St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, 1, 18 ff. He therefore warned the Colossians: ''Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ," 2, 8, and speaks of himself as "casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ," I Cor.10, 8.

Walther, As Christian Theologian, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

Dr. Walther gave undying allegiance to the sola Scriptura. The doctrine of the authority and inspiration of Scripture lay close to his heart. But there was another matter which lay-yes, we may put it thus - still closer. The one thing which he stressed above all things, which he had in view in all his theological work, and in the interest of which he fought so staunchly and persistently for the sola Scriptura, was the Gospel of the grace of God in Christ.

Walther, As Christian Theologian, Theo. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

Dr. C. F. W. Walther meant much to his generation. Shortly after his death Dr. F. W. Stellhom wrote: "The Lutheran Church of our country, yea, I may say, of this whole century, owes more to Dr. Walther than to any other single person.'' (Lutherische Kirchenzeitung, June 1, 1887.) The fifty years that have elapsed since his last illness ended his work at the Seminary, on November 3, 1886, have not diminished his influence among us. We have been living on his theology. And the present generation cannot afford to dispense with it. There is a great blessing in store …

Walther The Preacher, J. H. Fritz

Concordia Theological Monthly

One hundred twenty-five years ago, October 15, 1811, Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther was born at Langenchursdorf, Saxony. His father was a minister. His grandfather and great-grandfather also had been ministers in the Lutheran Church. According to his own confession, Walther, living in a rationalistic age, did not learn to know his Savior until he was eighteen years of age. He studied theology at the University of Leipzig, was graduated there in 1833 and, after having been a private tutor, was ordained in 1837 at Braeunsdorf. Joining the Saxon emigrants under Stephan, Walther arrived in St. Louis in 1830. Shortly afterwards …

Frederick August Craemer, W. G. Polack

Concordia Theological Monthly

Some time ago, in conversation with one of our retired ministers who had received his theological training under Craemer at Springfield, Craemer was referred to as the "forgotten man of the Missouri Synod." Of course, this is not true of those who know the man who served as the head of our Practical Seminary for over forty years. They have not forgotten him, especially not those who were trained for the ministry by "Onkel” Craemer. Their eyes light up when they think of him, and what they say of him is spoken in a tone of profound love and admiration. …

The Greatness Of Luther's Commentary On Galatians, R. T. Du Brau

Concordia Theological Monthly

If some theologians and historians declare to have been disappointed with Luther's Galatians, it is because they looked for a commentary more learned and critical than popular. It was not intended to be a critical study in the present philological sense of the term. Nor does the work hold out the slightest shred of comfort to the Modernist. During the stormy years that gave birth to this commentary Luther had too much practical work of prior importance on his hands to find leisure for comparative and critical exegesis.

The Primitive Christians, E. G. Sihler

Concordia Theological Monthly

They were first called Nazarenes or Galileans. The name Christians, or Messiah believers, was first applied to them at Antioch (Acts 11, 19), and, it seems, in scorn. The Messiah in whom the Jews hoped was something entirely different. Their conception of Him was connected with the Temple tax, which was annually sent to Jerusalem from all the provinces of the Roman Empire.

The Virgin Birth Of Christ, Edgar Reinhold Pflug

Bachelor of Divinity

It shall be our object to trace the history of the controversy over this doctrine from its very beginnings to the present time; to state briefly and to refute the arguments of the opposition; and finally to search out the true Biblical version of the Lord’s birth, of which we are confident that it will also be the view upheld by the Lutheran Church from its very inception.

Luther And The Peasant War, Paul List

Bachelor of Divinity

The period of transition between the Middle Ages and the Modern Era was an era of upheavals, political and social. This was nothing new in the history of the world. We observe such epochs at the beginning of the Christian Era and at the Fall of the Roman Empire. They are at once periods of death-struggles, and heart-beats of a new life. Such times are always marked by great leaders and great events---great in this sense that they strike the keynote, that they, set the pace, for time to come.

The Agape Of The Early Christian Chuech, F Breuer

Bachelor of Divinity

The Agape is defined as "the social meal or love-feast of the primitive Christians which usually accompanied the Eucharist." It extended from the days of the Apostles to the ninth century in the Western Church and in the Eastern Church it still exists in some form or other. In this paper, however, we have restricted ourselves to the first two centuries of the Christian Church and shall consider the Agape under the following heads: 1) the evidence of the meal and its designation; 2) the sources of first-hand information; 3) the origin and purpose of the meal; 4) the constituents …

The Doctrine Of The Sacraments In The Apostolic Fathers, Louis Breitenbuecher, Louis F. Brighton

Bachelor of Divinity

What is the teaching of the Apostolic Fathers concerning the sacraments? What do they teach of Baptism and of the Lord’s Supper? Is the number of sacraments restricted to two or is there reason to believe that the Romish Church finds in these writings ground for its teaching of seven sacraments? In treating first on Baptism and then on the Lord’s Supper these questions will be taken care of.