Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

The Church's Responsibility In International Affairs, Richard Jungkuntz

Concordia Theological Monthly

The nature of the church's responsibility in this area of concern (as in all others) can be rightly understood only when it is seen in keeping with the nature of the church itself.

Erasmus On The Study Of Scriptures, Carl S. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Erasmus (1469-1536) was the editor of the first published Greek New Testament printed from movable type (1516). He translated the books of the New Testament into Latin and also paraphrased them (except Revelation) in that language. He published the notes of Lorenzo Valla (1406-1457) on the New Testament. He must likewise be accounted as one of the important theologians of the first half of the 16th century as well as an earnest advocate of the study of Scriptures.

The Mission On Which We Are Sent, Paul E. Jacobs

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Affirmations on the Mission of the Church which The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod adopted at the Detroit convention in 1965 are part of the evidence of the ongoing struggle of one part of the church to understand what and why the church is in the world. The struggle has not been easy nor has it been without conflict. The affirmations call us to see the church's mission in terms of people rather than church structures. They compel us to wrestle with the standards of comfort and convenience by which we continually serve ourselves. They plead with us to …

Church Of God Reformation Movement (Anderson, Indiana) : A Study In Ecumenical Idealism, Barry L. Callen

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Particularity Of The Gospel: Good News For Changing Times, John H. Elliott

Concordia Theological Monthly

Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou, who changest not, abide with me." In this transitional period of modern history when change and change by revolution are the order of the day, the plaintive plea of the popular hymn seems to assume an ever more urgent note. But the question is this: How effectively, if at all, can the notion of the unchangeableness of God expressed in this hymn aid an atomic age society in coping with population explosions, sexual, racial, and campus revolutions, and the threat of worldwide nuclear annihilation? Can men of our time indeed …

Gospel Freedom, Robert H. Smith

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Western world has understood freedom in two basic ways. For one school of thought freedom is the right and the power to do what one wishes. A man is not free if he is behind bars or in a captive nation or lying crippled in a hospital - no matter what his state of mind. Persons or powers beyond his control dispose his life and dictate orders to him, and to say that he is free is to play fast and loose with the language.

Freedom In Christ-Gift And Demand, Edgar Krentz

Concordia Theological Monthly

"Freedom," a word we often hear and a concept we highly prize, is surprisingly rare in the New Testament. A rapid survey of the words eleutheria, eleutheria, and eleutheros in a concordance will show that in any sense other than the sociological (free man as opposed to slave) the term is practically confined to Paul. He is the only one to use freedom consistently in a religious sense.

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 …

A Comparative Study Of Protestant Sex Education Literature Past And Present, Donald Becker

Bachelor of Divinity

The way in which this challenge is being successfully met through the current sex education materials of various Protestant denominations compared with the way in which this challenge was not met in the sex education materials of the past is the focal point of this research project. The main purpose or intent of this thesis is not that it be a critical analysis of those materials which have been published or used for the teaching of sex within the church in the past. Instead, in view of the fact that the more recent sex education materials represent a number of …

The Christian Faith And Revelation, Fred Kramer

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Christian faith rests solidly on God's own revelation of Himself and of His will with respect to man. Divine revelation is an act of God, not subject as such to the correction of the philosopher. Divine revelation has, however, a human correlative, namely theology. Theology, as the word is here used, is the church's speaking and teaching about God and His will. It is not itself revelation, which is always God's activity, but the church's speaking and teaching based upon divine revelation and therefore subject to correction, where it may need correction, on the basis of divine revelation.

The Realism Of Hope: The Feast Of The Resurrection And The Transformation Of The Present Reality, Jurgen Moltmann, Gilbert A. Thiele

Concordia Theological Monthly

Some of the great festivals that Christians (in our country) celebrate appeal to us, some do not. In a way we respond to some of them, but others estrange us: we do not know what to do with them. Many people obviously feel that Christmas has value for them. Regardless of what they think about it, they nevertheless have the feeling that God comes close to them again and that in His nearness they find human warmth. The "Totensonntag" (Sunday of repentance and prayer, last in the Trinity season) affects people who mourn their dead. We can even understand Good …

Four Correlations Of The Revelation Of God And The Witness Of God, Arthur M. Vincent

Concordia Theological Monthly

Christian scholars of many ages have often found "the revelation of God" and "the witness of God" among the major concepts needing study and application to their times. Modern theologians, under the influence especially of Karl Barth, have shown some of the depth and breadth of these topics. Now the Second Vatican Council with its pronouncements, including the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, has brought these subjects into the limelight for current consideration.

Our Common Confession And Its Implications For Today, Robert Bertram

Concordia Theological Monthly

What is it that our confession, or rather the God we confess, is revolutionizing? What is He overturning and replacing? Our sin with His righteousness? Yes, but not only that. Our old world with His new world? That too, but not only that. The tyrants and principalities of this age with His new age? Not even only that. What He is replacing is His own old order - old, yet truly His.

St. Paul's Ideology For The Urbanized Roman Empire, Saul Levin

Concordia Theological Monthly

No one is likely to equal the sensation which Gibbon produced with the 15th and 16th chapters of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, where he viewed the rise of Christianity from the perspective of secular history. While he adhered on the surface to a pious, naive, and conventional veneration of the early church, at the same time he pierced the aura of holiness and taught his readers-in the name of philosophy-to understand religious movements realistically. It is unnecessary for us now to review the human causes which an 18th-century historian found for the success of Christianity.

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.

Some Thoughts On The Church In The Lutheran Symbols, Herbert J. Bouman

Concordia Theological Monthly

Near the end of 1536 Martin Luther wrote that "a seven-year-old child knows what the church is" (SA III XII). In our time great ecumenical gatherings expend incalculable amounts of time and effort in wrestling with the doctrine of the church, and first-rate theologians in all churches provide the printing presses with an unabating flow of materials in discussion of the problems and implications of ecclesiology.

“The Weapons Of Their Warfare": A Study In Early Christian Polemic, Richard P. Jungkuntz

Concordia Theological Monthly

Illuminating for an understanding of the patristic mind in general is an examination of the techniques and forms of rebuttal that the fathers employed in opposing Epicureanism. Basically these methods fall into four categories: religious answers, debaters' tricks, stock arguments, and appeals to "science."

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.

Characteristics Of Southeast Asian Islam As Factors In A Theology Of The Christian Mission To Philippine Muslims, Robert Mcamis

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The Christian mission to Islam offers one of the greatest challenges which the Christian Church has ever faced. In 1962 the Lutheran Church in the Philippines, in spite of its limited manpower and resources, accepted the challenge of the Christian mission to Philippine Islam. At the initial stage of this mission it is well to analyze the problem in detail. This demands a thorough understanding of Philippine Islam. The objective of this study is a clear picture of the Muslim situation in the Philippines together with implications for the Christian mission to Philippine Islam.

The Christian And Social Responsibility, Robert J. Werberig

Concordia Theological Monthly

What is the Christian's role in the many-faceted, restless, and paradoxical society of the 60s? Should his function as a Christian citizen include more than merely "holding a private opinion" on the issues of our times? Does his commitment to Christ imply something more than "contributing to welfare" in face of the fact that over two-thirds of his generation lives out life under starvation conditions? Is there a valid place for the voice and action of Christianity within the vortex of change, which today upsets whole cultures, often with crushing and dehumanizing effects to people?

Christ And The Newly Matured World, Carl Petering

Bachelor of Divinity

The quest of the present paper, therefore, is a dissection of the statements about Christ which are made by those for whom the world has come of age. How does one address himself to an audience which may have jettisoned the trappings of transcendentalism? Is there another means of expressing the message, or must the message itself be changed?

The investigation will begin with Bonhoeffer, for he has coined the phrase, "the world come of age," and he has raised the questions for which others are attempting to provide the answers. The theology of Bishop John A. T. Robinson has …

The Idea Of Justice In Luther's First Publication, Heinz Bluhm

Concordia Theological Monthly

The idea of justice or righteousness is at the very heart of the religion of Martin Luther. Everyone, friend and foe alike, agrees on this point. The special problem that has intrigued scholars for several decades now, ever since Luther's earliest Latin university lectures became available, is to determine as closely as possible the exact moment in Luther's development when a "new" conception of justice first dawned on him.

Theological Discussion And The Responsibility Of The Church, Richard L. Jeske

Concordia Theological Monthly

One is easily reminded of the often heard lament during seminary days, ''Why should I have to study about 'Q'? All I want to be is a simple parish pastor!" Sometimes this "simple parish pastor'" who has avoided hard theological work at the seminary emerges as the most vigorous critic of contemporary theology shortly after his graduation.

Editorial, Gilbert A. Thiele

Concordia Theological Monthly

To some it may seem a bit late in the day to urge that the family and family life are important in the training of Christian children. Others may feel that Oscar E. Feucht's article on the place of the family in the educational work of the church is unnecessary, as though Lutheran families have known this all along and have acted accordingly. There may be still a third group which will see in the publication of this material another part of a conspiracy to downgrade parochial school education, especially as its objectives have to do with the imparting of …

The Means To Proceed Beyond Nihilism, Dale Erickson

Bachelor of Divinity

This particular study seeks to answer the question: Did Camus succeed in going beyond nihilism in developing a positive, workable, and moral philosophy of life in line with the facts of man's experience in the 20th century? The answer to the question will be developed in the following steps: (1) The definition of Camus' goal; (2) A description of his means to that goal; (3) Camus’ analysis of man’s predicament; (4) His rejection of Christianity; (5) His rejection of other modern solutions; (6) The redeeming quality of nature; (7) His description of the ideal man of our century; (8) Social …

A Documentary And Statistical Study Of The Christian Youth Crusader Program In The Free Methodist Church, Irene May Sevcik

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Unity And The Holiness Churches : ǂB A Study Of Moves Toward Unity Among Selected American Protestant Denominations Affiliated With The National Holiness Association, Howard Albert Snyder

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Dogmatics And Ethics In The Thought Of Elert, Barth, And Troeltsch, Edward H. Schroeder

Concordia Theological Monthly

A concern for dogmatics and a concern for ethics do not always go together. The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, for example, has always had a strong dogmatic tradition, but has in general been uninterested in what is commonly called ethics. But this is the opposite of the situation in many other American denominations. To put the problem into a broader perspective, what is the relationship between dogmatics and ethics? A helpful approach is to study the distinctive answers given by Werner Elert, Karl Barth, and Ernst Troeltsch, which prove to be distinctive not only because their personal theological convictions …

Theology And Moden Literature-Survey, Donald L. Deffner

Concordia Theological Monthly

In Randall Stewart's American Literature and Christian Doctrine, the author unabashedly abandons "the so-highly-prized, the so-strenuously-inculcated academic neutrality" (p. viii) and pleads for a creatively critical evaluation of modern literature by Christian theologians. According to Stewart, the Christian critic must charge contemporary literature "to give an answer for the faith" that is in it. In the same spirit, John Killinger insists he must "ask hard questions of the creative arts… that the critic [the theologian] must judge, or it has nothing at all to say." (Sec John Killinger, The Failure of Theology in Modem Literature, pp. 15, 16)

The Ethics Of Nuclear Warfare, Martin H. Scharlemann

Concordia Theological Monthly

At the beginning of this atomic age Einstein once remarked, "The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything except our ways of thinking. Thus, we are drifting toward a catastrophe beyond comparison. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive." Fission, fusion, radar, television, automation, miniaturization, jets, rockets, satellites - all of these discoveries and inventions have come tumbling out toward us with such speed that we have not had the time fully to digest the significance of this rapid pace and to reflect on its consequences. During the few years of our …