Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Billy Graham’S Theology Of Conversion In The Light Of The Lutheran Confessions, Wilhelm Stoll

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The broad aim of the author was therefore to prepare a comprehensive summary of Graham's theology of conversion and to offer a comparative and critical analysis of it in the light of the Lutheran Confessions. The aim was not to deal specifically with the obvious question of the sacraments and their serious omission from his theology. In any case, the study was to be based only on Graham's own published writings, and they hardly refer to the sacraments. The more specific goal within the broader context that had to be considered was to discover and come to grips with the …

A Beauty Walk A Systematic Compendof Navajo Theology, Walter Snyder

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The doctrine of god will itself be the subject of five chapters. These five chapters will treat the subjects of: The First God; The Former Gods; The Latter Gods; The Present Gods; and, Demonology. There was a serious question whether the last two chapters should come under the doctrine of god or not. The first thought was that they should be under the separate categories of angelology and demonology since they both dealt with spirits. However, in both instances these are spirits that are worshipped. Therefore, the final decision was that they should properly go under the doctrine of god. …

The Doctrine Of Sanctification As Portrayed In Spener's Pia Desideria In Light Of The Lutheran Confessions, Francis Monseth

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The writer believes there is a need for a fresh study of the doctrine of sanctification. In the area of Christian ethics, a variety of views have found earnest adherents. Though various approaches have been advocated, three main categories are seen by the writer to be able to encompass the present spectrum: antinomianism, legalism, and truly biblical Christian living. The latter is given expression in the Lutheran Confessions. It is marked by pronounced emphasis upon the inseparability of justification and sanctification. Indeed, as A. T. Mollegen has expressed it, the whole of Protestantism in its historic confessions has derived its …

The Law Of Life: God's Alternative To Abortion, Randall Shields

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Medical and legal aspects of the problem inevitably arise in a study of this nature; however, the paper has a primary theological orientation which the contents of its five chapters will develop. In the first chapter we will survey the contemporary scene in order to clarify and to better understand what is involved with abortion practices, and how prevalent the humanistic mindset has become among those who endorse such practices. The second chapter will examine in some detail the Biblical data relative to the Law of Life, with special attention devoted to the Fifth Commandment as the life commandment.

Scripture And Tradtiion At The Council Of Trent: Martin Chemntiz Against The Romanists, Douglas Balzer

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The present paper is both an exposition of Chemnitz' teaching concerning Scripture and Tradition and an appreciation of a great man of God, who so loved and served his Lord and Savior by heeding His voice in Scripture. But it is also an exposition of Chemnitz' teaching concerning Scripture and Tradition within a particular historical setting, specifically the occasion of the Council of Trent, against whose canons and decrees Chemnitz sets forth the clear teachings of Scripture. It is within this context especially that this paper deals.

Biblical Principles For Ministering In The Church: A Study Of The Priesthood Of All Believers, The Gifts Of Grace, And The Ministry, With Special Attention To Their Mutual Relationship, Magnus Sorhus

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

It is not the intention of this paper to discuss the life and function of the church in all its aspects, but to concentrate on three areas, namely the priesthood of all believers, the gifts of grace, and the ministry. Each area will be discussed separately as to their nature, functions, and their relationship. It is intended · that the paper will be concluded with a summary of the findings and conclusions.

Key 73: A Case Study In The Doctrine Of Church Fellowship, Curtis Peterson

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This study is presented with the hope that it can help establish confessional Lutheran evangelistic and missiological practice on the bedrock of sound, Biblical and Confessional doctrine. The specific theological concern of this presentation is the doctrine of church fellowship. Key 73 is an excellent place to begin such a study because it is especially in evangelism and mission practice that the pressure to unite without prior doctrinal agreement is the greatest. "Conservatives” are particularly vulnerable to these temptations, because of their zeal for reaching the lost with the Gospel. Those who believe that there is salvation in no other …

The Message Of Salvation: A Comparative Study Of The Theology Of Karl Rahner And Of The Lutheran Confessions On The Relationship Of Faith And Unbelief To The Word Of God, Thomas Manteufel

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The problem proposed for investigation in this study is the same as that raised in the last clause: Is the theory of anonymous Christianity compatible with the Lutheran Confessions? A negative answer would seem to be indicated by the statement in the Confessions that all who are outside the Christian Church:

••• remain in eternal wrath and damnation, for they do not have the Lord Christ, and, besides, they are not illuminated and blessed by the gifts of the Holy Spirit (LC, 2:66).

It is necessary, however, to inquire carefully whether this statement and others related to it in the …

A Lutheran View Of Vactican Ii On Liturgy And Scripture, Raymond Mueller

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The fact that the Second Vatican Council has brought vast change into the Roman Catholic Church is obvious. But was the sum of these changes beneficial for its own members and sufficient to remove the walls erected between Rome and historic Lutheranism back in the 16th Century? What, actually, is the direction in which the Roman Church is now headed after Vatican II? This study is an attempt to find answers to these questions.

The Real Presence In The Lord's Supper A Comparative Study Of Hermann Sasse, Leiv Aalen, And Tom Hardt, Geir Hoaas

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Our objective is to portray the Real Presence under three aspects, namely Christology, Salvation for the individual, and the Function in the Church. As such it is a systematic endeavor to clarify the relation of the Real Presence to each of these areas. The two latter are necessarily dependent on the first. However, we are also limited in a historical sense, in that our study is primarily an analysis of these three relations as presented by the theologians we are investigating, Hermann Sasse, Leiv Aalen, and Tom Hardt. We do not, therefore, intend to give an independent and original contribution …

The Role Of Lutheran Theology In India Today, James Canjanam Gamaliel

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

As I write, I have in mind the pastors and lay leaders of the nine Lutheran Churches of India. The topics treated in this thesis will be useful for group discussions in congregations so that the people and the pastors will realize the heritage of the Lutheran Church. How the five doctrines chosen are crucial in facing the specific problems and opportunities the church in India is facing will be shown in each chapter. In evaluating the contribution of Lutheran theology, the doctrines promulgated by the Second Vatican Council and some Roman Catholic scholars will al.so, when relevant, be referred …

Theological Issues At The Colloquy Of Montbeliard 1586, Charles Louis Mcclean Jr

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This thesis is as study of how in one instance a Lutheran Church of the late sixteenth century dealt with the problem of church fellowship with the adherents of the Reformed religion.

History In The Hermeneutics Of Jurgen Moltmann, Lloyd Gross

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

"In Europe it is often said that the theology of hope is neither a school nor a movement, but a book.” That book is Theologie der Hoffnung, by Jurgen Moltmann. In Europe no more can be said about the theology of hope than has already been said by Moltmann. His work has become the measure of the school of theology which claims history as its special province! So the study here attempted is devoted mostly to that book in an effort to evaluate and understand the contribution it has made to the contemporary discussion of history and its relationship to …

Luther And Calvin On Human Reason, Young Ik Kim

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

My purpose in writing this thesis is not to offer a total discussion of every aspect of Luther's or Calvin's views on human reason and its powers and functions, but rather to compare the positions or the two Reformers after presenting an adequate summary or the position or each.

The Christology Of Martin Luther King, Jr., Kenneth Joseph Stumpf

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This thesis will examine whether King personally followed that challenge in his thought as well as deed and it will do so by centering the analysis on his understanding of the Christian faith's cornerstone-Jesus Christ. The study will commence by sketching the ecclesiastical and geographical background from which King emerged. Next will be a survey of the major intellectual influences upon his theological positions and personal faith. Only after this extensive but essential prologue will the thesis address itself directly to its chief task of analyzing his Christology with sections on the theistic nature of God, the incarnation of God …

Some Theological Aspects Of Roman Catholic Responses To Lowland Filipino Spirit-World Beliefs, David John Schneider

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The purpose of this study is to discover the nature of lowland Filipinos’ spirit-world beliefs, from the pre-Spanish era to the present, and to discover theological aspects in the responses or Roman Catholic churchmen to the spirit-world beliefs.

In serving as a Christian pastor to the lowland Filipinos from 1961 to 1970, the writer observed that some people felt spirit beings to be quite active in their lives. He also felt a lack of Christian resources, either Philippine or American, with which to minister to such people. This study was undertaken to determine what resources, if any, the Christian Church …

The Word And The Confessions In The Lutheran Church In America Confession Of Faith Of 1962 - A Historical Approach, Thomas Roy Mccrone

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

It is the purpose of this study to examine this last point, the Lutheran Church in America's position on the Word and the Confessions, as this is established in its "Confession of Faith" of 1962. Such an examination, however, poses certain difficulties because of the merger and consensus nature of the Lutheran Church in America. The "Confession of Faith" was not drafted in a theological and historical vacuum. Behind it stand several major theological controversies and almost one hundred and fifty years of doctrinal development within the Muhlenberg strain of American Lutheranism, and shorter but no less important developments within …

Factors Affecting Frequency Of Celebration And Reception Of The Eucharist In Twentieth Century Non-Roman Churches And Religious Communities, Paul Clarence Dorn

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The study traces the practice of the Christian. church from the time of the New Testament to the present day in re1ation to the matter of frequency of reception and celebration. The assumption is that a study of earlier eucharistic practices will give a better perspective to the study of present-day churches and religious communities.

A Critical Evaluation Of The Ahmadiyya Muslim Doctrine Of God In The Light Of The Trinity, Henry John Otten

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

In this study special emphasis is given to the Ahmadiyya Muslim doctrine of God. The Ahmadiyya movement in Islam takes its name from the founder of the movement, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who lived in Qadian, Punjab, India, from 1835-1908. Organized in 1889, the movement has expanded under the leadership of his successors with present headquarters in Rabwah, Pakistan. Its influence has been out of proportion to its membership of less than 3001000 members. The Ahmadiyyas maintain an extensive outreach program which now has centers in more than forty different countries of Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas, including a number …

The New Testament Concept Of Shame, Richard Paul Bode

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Is the society which gave birth to the New Testament a guilt society or a shame society? Is the function of shame in the New Testament psychological or sociological? To what degree does the sanction of shame determine the behavior and life of the followers of Christ? These are some of the initial questions which aroused interest in carrying out the present study. The function of shame in the early Christian community and its usage in the New Testament does not conform precisely to either the Eastern or the Western view of shame: nor does it merely occupy a mediating …

The Correspondence Of The Tübingen Theologians And Jeremiah Ii On The Augsburg Confession And Translation Of The First Answer Of The Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah Ii To The Lutheran Theologians Of Tübingen In 1576, George Mastrantonis

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The first part of this paper is, therefore, concerned with the setting, while the second is an introduction to the correspondence dealing especially with its translation from the Greek into English.

General Lutheran History In America, Curtiss Brooks Barby

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This study is an attempt to consider the basic philosophical tenets which guided general Lutheran history in America, as well as the historiographical concerns used to support these tenets. According to Abdel Ross Wentz, there are two ·areas of source material which might be considered for such an attempt. The first area concentrates on a group of works which is very large. It includes a complete list of volumes and pamphlets dealing with the various aspects and details of the Lutheran Church in America. If this source was used, it would embrace some thirty thousand titles.

The Propugnaculum Ecclesiae Of Josse Clichtove As A Critique Of Luther's Formula Missae And As Compared To The Sacrosanctum Concilium Of Vatican Ii, Joel H. Kuznik

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

It is the intent of this thesis to make available by summary and translation the thought of Clichtove's Propugnaculum ecclesiae: (1) as a response to Luther's Formula Missae et communionis; (2) as a prototype of sixteenth-century theology of worship; and (3) as a contrast to the 1963 Sacrosanctum Concilium, the "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy" of Vatican II.

The Place Of The Law-Gospel Polarity In The Hermeneutical Theology Of Gerhard Ebeling, David G. Truemper

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The present study is an attempt to investigate, in the work of one of the theologians primarily responsible for the contemporary interest in hermeneutical problems, the role that the Law-Gospel Polarity plays in the process of hermeneutics. Gerhard Ebeling, a one-time student of Rudolf Bultmann whose work was first introduced to American theologians by James M. Robinson under the label, “The Hew Hermeneutic,” was chosen as the subject of this investigation because of the extensive use that he makes of the distinction between the Law and the Gospel, and because of his frequent appeals to, and his many studies in, …

The Theology Of Carl F. H. Henry, Richard Warneck

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The issues raised by these and related questions have held the attention of serious theologians for several decades. Carl Henry is vigorously interested in the treatment of special revelation by various schools of contemporary theology, and the following chapter will represent his evaluation of the same. At this juncture, our endeavor is to state precisely Henry's theology of the Scriptures and special revelation. A clear understanding of Henry's position in this regard will be necessary for a fair appraisal of his major concerns as he addresses them to modern man in behalf of the Christian faith.

The Concept Of Judgment In Pastoral Counseling, Alvin Bruenger

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This is the problem that has occasioned this study. Is there a place for a concept of judgment in pastoral counseling? If so, in what sense? Specifically, is there a place in pastoral counseling for a concept of judgment in Seward Hiltner's "ordinary sense," that is, imposed from outside? If there is, what is its place? This study is particularly concerned with the approach of the Lutheran pastor, who attempts to counsel within the context of the Lutheran understanding of Law and Gospel. The initial interest in this subject was sparked through discussions with Lutheran pastors in which it became …

Exegesis And History: A Comparison Of The Concepts Of History In Rudolf Bultmann’S And Oscar Cullmann's Exegesis Of Matthew 16:17-19, Romans 5:12-21, And John 3:9-21, Stephen Carter

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This paper offers a case study of two modern exegetes who use the historical-critical method, Rudolf Bultmann and Oscar Cullmann. An introductory statement of their methodology will serve to emphasize their similarities and their differences.

The Goodness Of Creation And The Natural Knowledge Of The Goodness Of God In Nicholas Selnecker, David Chytraeus And Martin Chemnitz, Philip Secker

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

It has been repeatedly said that Lutheran theology has tended to neglect the First Article of the Creed. This thesis is an attempt to do some exploratory study in the First Article. The specific concern of this thesis is the goodness of creation and the natural knowledge of the goodness of God.

The Liberation Of The Creature: A Study Of The Interpretation Of Romans 8:19-22 By Representative Lutheran Theologians, Nestor Beck

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The present "study of the interpretation of Romans 8:19-22" prompted by the following reasons. First, the passage is somewhat of a puzzle to the unprepared reader of the epistle to the Romans. Second, the passage has been quoted to enhance the struggle for a better world. The question arises whether such a use of the passage is legitimate. Third, the passage has become in Lutheran theological tradition the centre of the controversy on the "destruction or renewal" of the present. The need world. arises to verify whether the passage actually teaches the renovation of the world and whether it stands …

Rudolf Bultmann's Concept Of Gnosticism And Some Contemporary Criticism Of It, Theodore Eisold

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The primary purpose of this thesis is to examine Rudolf Bultmann's concept of Gnosticism to gain a fuller understanding of Bultmann's use of this term as well as to gain an insight into Gnosticism as it may have affected New Testament literature. The investigation seems necessary because of the many uncertainties connected with Gnosticism and with the backgrounds of early Christianity.