Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

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 Doctrine Of Holy Baptism In The Pauline Epistles, Arlo Mueller

Bachelor of Divinity

The purpose or this treatise is to show, primarily, that the doctrine which the Confessional Lutheran Church has taught concerning the Sacrament of Holy Baptism is the Scriptural doctrine as taught in the Pauline Epistles, and that the various errors of Enthusiasm on this point must be rejected as conflicting with the clear teachings of Paul, the great apostle.

The Doctrine Of Justification According To Duns Scotus, Doctor Subtilis, Theo. Dierks

Concordia Theological Monthly

In his book Die Theologie des Johannes Duns Scotus, Seeberg compares Duns Scotus with Luther and maintains that Luther's conflict with Rome was chiefly directed against Duns Scotus. This is true to some extent, especially in regard to the question of free will and grace.

A Course In Lutheran Theology, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

A second reason why a certain class of theologians charges Luther with teaching predestinarianism in De Servo Arbitrio is because he so emphatically and uncompromisingly teaches the monergism of grace. What these theologians-the synergists mislike more than the "harsh, predestinarian" sayings of Luther is the sola gratia back of them. Because they do not like the sola gratia, they mislike Luther's teaching on election.

A Course In Lutheran Theology, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

People are saying that De Servo Arbitrio is a dangerous book. We have heard them rail against it, first, because of Luther's teaching on the diacretio personarum, and, secondly, because of his statements concerning the Deus Absconditus. Usually the warning against De Servo Arbitrio takes this third form: It teaches Calviniatic determinism. If this charge is well founded, our book could not serve as a handbook for a course in Lutheran theology. It is therefore necessary to examine this sinister charge at some length.

A Course In Lutheran Theology, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

The third and final chapter of our study in De Servo Arbitrio deals with the question, What portions of this treatise must be discarded by good Lutherans? The Catholic and the thoroughgoing synergists feel bad over the entire book. They will never forgive Luther for his mighty vindication of the thesis that salvation is by grace alone. They have put the whole book on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. But there are others, who are not necessarily synergists, who would like to put certain portions of the book on the Index. They strenuously object to certain teachings or at least to …

A Course In Lutheran Theology, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

We have not exhausted the subject of sola gratia as treated by Luther in De Servo Arbitrio. There is the all-important matter of the sinner's justification before God. And the sola gratia is the heart of the doctrine of justification. That is the blessed truth which comforts the heart of the despairing sinner. That is the glorious truth which the minister of the Gospel needs to study and restudy, to study every day of his life.

A Course In Lutheran Theology, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

Luther points out that the "free-will" heresy has "gained so much ground," p. 362.) Indeed, in what period of history and in what part of the Church did it not make its baneful influence widely felt? It had and it has a strangle-hold on philosophy and theology. It is "the myth of all ages,") accepted and proclaimed as God's truth. The keenest philosophers have succumbed to it. Kant embraced it and Fichte and the rest.

The Inspiration Question, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

On November 1, 1937, Lutheran pastors of Washington, D. C., discussed the doctrine of Inspiration on the basis of two essays on “The Inspiration Question," one presented by Dr. H. W. Snyder of the U. L. C. and the other by Rev. Th. P. Fricke of the A. L C. Dr. G. E. Lenski of Washington was asked ''to forward copies of these essays to the theological journals of different bodies for publication."

A Course In Lutheran Theology, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

The subject of our first study in De Servo Arbitrio was the sola Scriptura. The second deals with the sola gratia. De Servo Arbitrio is a powerful exposition of the fundamental truth that we owe our salvation exclusively to the grace of God, in no wise and in no degree to our own power and activity.

A Course In Lutheran Theology, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

Those who feel the need of acquiring a deeper understanding of the saving truths of the Bible will do well to take up the study of Luther's De Servo Arbitrio. That will provide an excellent course in Lutheran theology. Study and restudy the weighty matters presented in this course, and you will become a proficient and efficient Christian theologian.

Growth In Exegesis, W. Arndt

Concordia Theological Monthly

In continuing the series of discussions having to do with a pastor's professional development we come to exegesis, the exposition of the Bible. That Lutheran theologians, while not hostile to any legitimate field of theology, lay particular stress on exegesis has as solid and venerable a historical basis as one may wish for.

What The Liberal Theologian Thinks Of Verbal Inspiration, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

He thinks it is an obnoxious thing. He abhors the doctrine that the whole Bible is given by inspiration of God, every word of it absolutely infallible. He execrates verbal inspiration. J. S. Whale, a Congregationalist, president of Chesunt College, Cambridge, takes occasion to speak of it in his treatise The Christian Answer to the Problem of Evil, published 1936. He speaks of it in this wise: "The modern man is not impressed by the mere citation of texts; he rightly wants to understand them in their context.

The Concept Of God's Holiness According To The Old Testament, Victor Schulze

Bachelor of Divinity

For all practical purposes there are but two ways or thinking about God. The one is based upon Divine revelation, the other spun from the speculations of men. Unprejudiced thinkers may find God's creative activity revealed in the works of nature, His righteousness in the moral law engraved into the heart of every mortal. And, finally, God is revealed in Scripture as possessing both personality and attributes.

The Principles And Teachings Of The Dialectical Theology, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

The principles ruling the dialectical theology are not those of the Reformation. Brunner repudiates the formal principle of Protestantism, the sola Scriptura. He refuses to accept Scripture as the sole authority, the only source and basis of doctrine. The bare words of Scripture cannot establish a doctrine. “In earlier days this discussion [concerning the Virgin Birth] used to be cut short by saying briefly, ‘It is written'; that is, with the aid of the doctrine of verbal inspiration. To-day we can no longer do this, even if we would." (P. 823.) Brunner is consistent. Since he rejects the real inspiration …

What Is Conscience?, A. W. Meyer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Luther does not offer a clear-cut theoretical definition of conscience, but he speaks very perspicuously on the functions of conscience, and we shall take occasion to quote him repeatedly. Hauff, in his Real- konkordanz, calls conscience "das deutliche Bewusstsein von der sittlichen Guete unserer Gcsinnungen und Handlungcn, den inneren Richter, den jeder im Busen traegt" Standard Dictionary: "Conscience is the activity or faculty by which distinctions are made between the right and wrong in conduct and character." The Schaff- Herzog Encyclopedia defines conscience as "the moral sense of the individual applied to his own conduct."

A Defense Of Luther Against Edgar A. Mowrer, Theo. Buenger

Concordia Theological Monthly

Mowrer does not write very much about the relation of Hitlerism to Church and religion; still he does permit himself a digression on Luther. which is one of the most unfounded and bitter attacks on the Reformer that has come to my attention. It is such a gross misrepresentation of historical truth that it brought doubts into my mind as to the reliability of Mowrer in other matters.

Predestination And Human Responsibility, Theo Graebner

Concordia Theological Monthly

The assertion of an irrational factor in the doctrine of predestination has been the reply of our Church both to the Calvinistic and the synergistic antitheses. Reason is incapable of bridging the gulf between special election and universal grace.

De Servo Arbitrio, Th Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

A review of this book in the Concordia Theological Monthly does not call for a discussion of its contents. De Servo Arbitrio has been sufficiently reviewed along those lines for the past four hundred years. Since its publication in 1525 it has stood in the forefront of theological discussion. Luther himself reviewed it in 1537 and wrote to Wolfgang Fabricius Capito: "I am much averse to having a collection of my books published and do not care to lend a hand to it; rather would I, impelled by a Saturnian craving, have them all destroyed. For I do not recognize …

Church And State, John F. Gaertner

Bachelor of Divinity

The problem of Church and State is one which is entirely Christian, though in its practical applications it also concerns others. The very nature of the case is one which presupposes the side by side existence of both institutions. It was only when Christ came and established the Church in the world and still said, “My kingdom is not of the world," (John 18 , 36) , that the problem of the relation the one bears to the other first arose .

Concerning The Doctrine Of Inspiration, J T. Mueller

Concordia Theological Monthly

Under the heading "The Place of the Holy Spirit in Biblical Inspiration" J. Huebner of Lincoln, Nebr., in the Lutheran Church Quarterly, presents to his readers for renewed consideration and study the doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible. The article is clearly written and challenges the Lutheran Church of to-day to express her mind on "the question of the place of the Holy Spirit in the creation of the sacred Scriptures.'' In spite of the author's efforts to remain conservative, the essay is somewhat imbued with the spirit of modern German theology. While space does not permit a detailed …

John Wyclif And His Doctrine Of The Church, Albert E. Meyer

Bachelor of Divinity

Among these precursors of Luther John Wiclif is preeminent. In point of time he is anterior to Huss of Prague, 1369-1415, of whom Luther learned many things. These two, Wiclif and Huss, no doubt are the two reformers whose influence on Luther is beyond calculation. And since Wiclif preceded even Huss, we may easily recognize the position of influence which the former occupied in relation to the Great Reformation.

The Augsburg Confession, W Dallmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

After visiting Italy and savagely sacking Holy Rome, Kaiser Karl V made the Peace of Barcelona with the Holy Father on June 29, 1520. On August 3 he mode peace with his chronic rival, "the Most Christian King," Francis I of France. This Peace of Cambray had an article "forbidding to print or sell any Lutheran books.'' Thus the noble Kaiser thanked the Lutherans for saving him in the day of distress from the Turk, the King, and the Pope.

On January 21, 1530, Karl called his Reichstag for April 8 to Augsburg, the burg of the great Caesar Augustus, …

Preaching On The Augsburg Confession, Theo. Laetsch

Concordia Theological Monthly

Preaching on the Augsburg Confession. The four-hundredth anniversary of Luther's Small Catechism, celebrated wherever the name of Luther was known, has undoubtedly been a source of richest blessing. Pastors and people become better acquainted with its history and contents, learned to appreciate this little book the more highly, and thanked God the more sincerely for this precious gift. The sermons preached on the Catechism during 1920 were not in vain, but productive of splendid results, sure as Is.55, 10. 11 still holds good. Let us hope that similar streams of blessing will flow from the celebration of the four-hundredth anniversary· …

The Doctrine Of The Resurrection In The Old Testament, William E. Meyer

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The doctrine of the resurrection-, of the body is fundamental to the Christian faith. It is so closely linked to all articles of our religion that if robbed from its setting our whole system of Christian doctrine would become a purposeless aimless jumble of strange notions. This doctrine permeates the whole Christian conception of the divine plan of salvation, supplying it with a purpose. What Dorner says of Israel that “it has the idea of teleology as a kind of a soul” applies to the Christian religion. The final purpose of every act of God is the salvation of mankind. …

Ecclesiastical Union Verses Christian Unity, Theodore Moeller

Bachelor of Divinity

The tendency of Protestantism to split up into various sects has not infrequently been noted and variously explained. Roman Catholics, especially, make the most of this situation and point with pride to the unity of their church. “If once you permit individual judgment to be pitted against authority all the followers of the revolter will, in turn, claim the same privilege against him. The result is obvious. Even before the revolting church had made its position secure against the church of Rome disunion and separatism had come into its ranks. "This condition has often been deplored and the cry of …

The Doctrinal Contents Of Acts, Walter G. Dippold

Bachelor of Divinity

Our aim in this work shall be, to present Luke's stand on the main heads of christian doctrine and at the same time, to show that his teaching is wholly in harmony with the other New Testament writers. As was stated in the opening words of our thesis, the source on which we shall base our discussion is solely and specifically, the book of Acts. It is therefore selfevident, that when limited to one specific book of the Bible, not every detail in the field of christian doctrine can be treated. In accordance with the limitation of our theme, we …

Pauline Eschatology, Luther A. Schuessler

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The purpose of this inquiry is to present a brief resume of Pauline Eschatology in the narrow sense as it is represented in the thirteen Epistles of Paul and in the discourses attributed to him in the Book of the Acts. Since these Epistles and discourses comprehend the cardinal truths of eschatology, the value of this inquiry is obvious.