Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

The Fourth Gospel Yesterday And Today, John W. Montgomery

Concordia Theological Monthly

In this paper a comparative study will be made of the work of four Johannine interpreters who are widely separated both in time and in theological approach: Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560), Luther’s irenic associate, rightly designated the "preceptor of Germany"; Aegidius Hunnius (1550-1603), an uncompromising representative of early Lutheran confessional orthodoxy; Father Marie-Joseph Lagrange (1855-1938), one of the greatest Roman Catholic Biblical scholars of the twentieth century; and Charles Kingsley Barrett, an English Methodist, who since 1958 has served as professor of divinity at Durham University, and who is the author of a highly reputed commentary on the Greek text of …

The Teaching Of The New Testament Concerning The Church, Bruce M. Metzger

Concordia Theological Monthly

Today the word "church" has a wide of meanings. These include: (1) the totality of Christian believers as the Church universal; (2) a local congregation, whether gathered at one place for worship or not; (3) a building used for public worship; (4) a denomination; and (5) the clerical profession. Of these five common meanings. only the first two appear in the New Testament; the others are of later development. For example, though today we speak of "the church which is located on such-and-such a street," the earliest known reference to a church building dates from the second century. During the …

Payrus Bodmer Xv (P75) And Text Of Codex Vaticanus, John Theodore Mueller

Concordia Theological Monthly

Under this heading Prof. C. L Porter of Christian Theological Seminary in the Journal of Biblical Literature (December 1962) very interestingly and convincingly compares P75, a newly discovered manuscript, with the well-known Codex Vaticanus, commonly designated Codex B.

The New Year And All Things, Martin H. Franzmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." ( Col. 1:17)

"It was the worst of times; it was the best of times." It always is. Any fairly clever theologian or fairly clever historian can always make out a pretty good case for both. It is rather difficult today, but for us in America at least most of our troubles are in the future.

Theology And The Human Spirit, Edgar M. Krentz

Concordia Theological Monthly

Ludwig Ernst Fuerbringer Hall, the new home of the library of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, is named after the third president of Concordia Seminary.

The Pastor And Books, Carl A. Eberhard

Concordia Theological Monthly

It was Dr. Herbert H. Farmer of Cambridge, England, lecturing at the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville some years ago, who told of a minister coming into his study one day and seeing a set of Goethe's works. He tapped them on the back and asked: "Any sermons in Goth?"

The Theological Library And The Tradition Of Christian Humanism, Jaroslav Pelikan

Concordia Theological Monthly

Theology is a creation of the human spirit. It is, I am persuaded, vastly more than this. Indeed, if it is right theology, it is a creation of the Divine Spirit Himself. I am speaking as a university professor and scholar in the field of the humanities, to which theology as a creation of the human spirit belongs, and as one who believes that today the creativity of the human spirit needs all the help it can get.

Fathers, Brethren, And Distant Relatives: The Family Of Theological Discourse, Jaroslav Pelikan

Concordia Theological Monthly

For the theologian, one Book is enough, and a thousand books are not too many. This paradox interprets the meaning and prescribes the role of the theological library. For the task of the theologian, of every theologian, is the exposition of the Sacred Scriptures. Yet to perform his task of expounding that one Book the theologian needs a great many books.

The Church As The People Of God United In The Word Of God, James W. Mayer

Concordia Theological Monthly

The word "church" has come to mean so many things that it is difficult to think of church with any ontological precision. Our present study is an examination of the nature of the reality that is ekklesia, and the bearing that the unique quality of its being has on certain problems of fellowship. Although we at times use terms borrowed from the philosophers, we have nonetheless set ourselves the task of thinking in strictly Biblical categories, wherein reality cannot be contemplated apart from the personal Lord, by whom and in whom the reality exists; where being cannot be abstracted from …

The Inclusive Nature Of Holy Baptism In Luther's Writings, Harry G. Coiner

Concordia Theological Monthly

Though our action or behavior does not make the sacrament valid, nevertheless legitimate concerns are to be expressed from time to time regarding our understanding and employment of Baptism. Luther reminds us that Baptism is no human trifle devised or invented by men, but it is instituted by God Himself; for He strictly commanded that we must be baptized, or we cannot be saved; let no one regard it as a trivial matter, like putting on a new red coat. He expressed his estimation of Baptism in strong terms.

Theology As Habitus Practicus Theosdotos: A Lutheran Emphasis, Henry J. Eggold

Concordia Theological Monthly

The theologians of the 17th century distinguished between the abstract and the concrete use of the term "theology." Only in an abstract, accidental, and relative sense did they call theology "doctrine ... or even a book or a system exhibiting theology."

The Word Of God In The Theology Of Lutheran Orthodoxy, Robert D. Preus

Concordia Theological Monthly

The intention of this paper is not to offer a complete delineation of the doctrine of the Word of God in the theology of Lutheran orthodoxy, a project entirely too vast to be undertaken within our limited space. Our interest is to learn what the orthodox Lutheran teachers say to us on the specific issues now under debate. I have therefore restricted this study to a simple twofold purpose: (l) to present and analyze what Lutheran orthodoxy has said on the chief problems concerning the doctrine of the Word and (2) to offer significant observations regarding the real concerns and …

The Crisis Of Theological Historicism And How It May Be Overcome, William Mundle, Herbert J. Bouman (Translator)

Concordia Theological Monthly

Our theme, the crisis of theological historicism, is to be taken in a double sense. In the first place, I am thinking of the crisis which the historical approach has precipitated in theology and, in the second place, of the problems created by a consistent application of the historical method in historical research itself. As we shall see, both are related. To limit the theme, I shall confine myself to the questions connected with New Testament exegesis. However, a contest fought out in this arena will naturally have far-reaching consequences for the total understanding of theology.

Religion In America And The Church's Use Of Mass Media, Carl Schalk

Concordia Theological Monthly

There is little doubt that the church today faces a unique opportunity as well as a unique responsibility in communicating the message of God in Christ to man today.

The greatest need is for the churches to listen to what God says to them and through them. Yet the churches have equal responsibility to determine the best ways in which they can pass on to those who do not hear and who do not listen, what they know and believe about their Lord and Savior.

Freud's Superego And The Biblical Syneidesis, Allen Nauss

Concordia Theological Monthly

This paper is an attempt to define the terms "superego" and "conscience" as they appear in Freud's works and to compare his usage of these concepts with the συνείδησιζ of the New Testament. No application to man's problems of today will be made. This is rather an attempt at clearing the air, as it were, by calling attention to some similarities and differences between the Biblical and the Freudian meaning and usage of these concepts.

Editorial Comment, Paul M. Bretscher

Concordia Theological Monthly

Two feature articles in this issue of our journal arc devoted to a discussion and review of A Brief Statement.

A Brief Statement-Guidelines And Helps For Study, Unknown

Concordia Theological Monthly

Documents such as A Brief Statement are functional; they are intended to perform a service and have validity and worth because, and insofar as, they do perform a service. As Lutherans, who receive and embrace the Holy Scriptures as the pure fountains from which the people of God must drink to live, we live in the conviction that the one functioning power in the life of the church is the Word of God.

The Role Of A Brief Statement Since 1932, Carl S. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

The year 1932 has been called the confessional high-water mark of the Missouri Synod because of the adoption of A Brief Statement in that year. Not only was it "Dr. Pieper's legacy of sound Scriptural teaching," but it was also, so it was maintained with evident exaggeration, the testimony of "a confessional unity of mind and heart embracing every pastor and congregation and enduring the test of searching examination by the 'norma normans' of Holy Scripture."

Cosmology, Ontology, And The Travail Of Biblical Language, Langdon B. Gilkey

Concordia Theological Monthly

This is a paper on the intelligibility of some of the concepts of what we commonly call "biblical theology," or sometimes "the biblical point of view," or "the biblical faith." Although my remarks relate only to the Old Testament and at some points concern only two distinguished American representatives of the "biblical viewpoint," G. E. Wright and B. Anderson, the number of scholars of both testaments whose thoughts are based on the so-called "biblical view," and so who share the difficulties outlined below, is very great indeed.

The Nature Of Spiritual Illness, William Edward Hulme

Concordia Theological Monthly

Our purpose this morning is to describe the nature of spiritual illness, a theological perspective of the person - as this person lives in our kind of world. All of us are sick to a degree, and so, when I talk about the nature of spiritual illness, I believe that you will see yourself in some of the things I say. In a sense, then, we are holding up a mirror. Since we have such a glorious answer to the spiritual illness this need not be the cause for despair as it would be if we had not the good …

Reports On Interchurch Relations, Alfred O. Fuerbringer

Concordia Theological Monthly

For The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod the year 1962 brings a number of very significant developments in interchurch relations, some of which will call for crucial decisions.

The Total Ministry Of The Church, C. Thomas Spitz

Concordia Theological Monthly

Our topic is an imposing one. Entire books and whole sections of libraries have been devoted to it. It forced an early decision in the development of this paper. Should we be talking and thinking about all of the ways in which the ministry of the church expresses itself or should we be looking at the total reality of the ministry of the church and then be dealing with essence rather than expression?

Eros And Agape In The Thought Of Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola, John Warwick Montgomery

Concordia Theological Monthly

Anders Nygren's remarkable work, Agape and Eros, whose German edition appeared in Carl Stange's monographic series, "Studies of the Apologetics Seminar," and which opposes the interpretations both of Harnack and of Scholz, received from the outset high commendation as a classic theological production. In his review of the English translation of Part Two of Agape and Eros Sydney Cave wrote: 'Dr. Nygren's fresh and suggestive study puts many an old problem in a new light and in particular shows how false were some of Harnack's brilliant generalizations on the history of early Christian thought and piety…. It is some years …

Epictetus, Arthur W. Klinck

Concordia Theological Monthly

Some time around the year A. D. 70, about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, a lame and sickly little slave boy was added to the great household of Epaphroditus, freedman and favorite of Nero. Certainly there was nothing to recommend him physically. Yet it may be that that patience and perseverance of spirit so evident throughout his discourses had already begun to show itself in a certain nobility of demeanor which slave work could not erase and slave clothes could not conceal.

Foreword, J. W. Behnken

Concordia Theological Monthly

When at Langenchursdorf, Saxony, Germany, on Oct. 25, 1811, another boy, the fourth son and the eighth child in a large family of 12 children, was born to Pastor Gottlob Heinrich Walther and his wife Johanna Wilhelmina, nee Zschenderlein, these God-fearing parents could not have imagined that someday this child would be a prominent pastor, a profound theologian, an outstanding church leader in America.

The Distinction Between Law And Gospel, Robert C. Schultz

Concordia Theological Monthly

The distinction between law and Gospel is one of the clearest systematic expressions of the doctrine of justification through faith without works formulated by the Lutheran Reformation. The reformers' understanding of the bondage of the will, of conversion and repentance, and of the Christian as being at one and the same time a righteous man and a sinner is directly related to this distinction. It is also one of their basic hermeneutical principles.

Walther's Editorial In The First Issue Of Der Lutheraner, Alex W. Guebert

Concordia Theological Monthly

The German population of the western part of America is evidently growing day by day. Consequently there is also an increasing number of those who profess the same faith that Luther once proclaimed. Yet the members of no other church body are so forlorn as those of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Even those who still call themselves Lutheran live so far apart and are in such poor circumstances that in many places they are in no position to organize a congregation and call a Lutheran pastor who can minister to their spiritual needs.

The Paperback In The Pew, Donald L. Duffner

Concordia Theological Monthly

To understand contemporary man that we might better reach him with the kerygma, we do well to listen to his spokesmen. A. L. Kershaw points out the need to listen to the "sensitive spirits" among the contemporary poets, novelists, playwrights, artists, and composers of the day, who, he avers, "have been far more sensitive to the judgment of God on the hollowness of our life and society than have the majority of religious leaders."

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.

Rudolf Bultmann And The Sacrament Of Holy Baptism, John H. Elliott

Concordia Theological Monthly

In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son, a pre-existent divine Being, who appears on earth as a man. He dies the death of a sinner on the cross and makes atonement for the sins of men. His resurrection marks the beginning of the cosmic catastrophe … all who belong to Christ's Church and are joined to the Lord by Baptism and the Eucharist are certain of resurrection to salvation. . .. "