Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

The Reformation In Norway: A Historical-Bibliographical Survey, Jack Preus

Master of Divinity Thesis

The purpose of this study is to explore a few of the many questions that could be raised concerning the advent of the Reformation to Norway. When did the Lutheran Church of Norway begin? How did it come into being? Where did it begin? Where did it flourish first? How did Norway become a truly “Lutheran" country? Who were the heros or the antiheros of the Reformation in Norway? Where can one go to find out more about the Church of Norway? This study attempts to answer some of these questions.

Christology And The Cleansing Of The Temple: Integrating Biblical And Dogmatic Theology, Gerhard Bode

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

Although extremism4 is to be avoided, both Christology "from above" and "from below" can make a valuable contribution to the overall study of the doctrine of Christ. A biblical, historical approach to the study of Christ is vital. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the integration of dogmatic and biblical theology, specifically demonstrating how the findings of biblical theology can be implemented by dogmatic theology to enhance the understanding of the person and work of Christ.

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.

The Doctrine Of The Church In The Writings Of Dr. C. F. W. Walther, John Martin Drickamer

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The doctrine of the church has been a matter of theological controversy for the Missouri Synod through much of its history. The difficulties predate the origin of the Synod itself, and they continue in different forms into the last quarter of the twentieth century. In terms of both theological statement and practical application, no individual was more important for the Missouri Synod during its first third of a century of existence than C. F. W. Walther. As eminent an historian as Sydney E. Ahlstrom has even said that Walther was "probably the most influential figure in nineteenth-century Lutheranism in America. …

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 …

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 …

Some Concerns About Current Confessional Statements, Horst W. Jordan

Concordia Theological Monthly

Luther on occasion compared the world with a drunken peasant who when he was shoved into the saddle on the one side toppled out of it on the other so that it was impossible to help him, do what one would. The history of theology tempts one to use the same comparison. "What venturesome statements have men permitted themselves to make, statements that ultimately had to lead to disaster because the attempt was made to present a truth that was correct enough in itself but which was taught in a one-sided, undialectic form, with complete contempt and disapproval of its …

A Comparison Measurement Of Law And Gospel In Selected Sermons Of Saint Augustine, Bernard Of Clairvaux, Jonathan Edwards, Phillips Brooks, And Walter A. Maier, David Gunderlach

Master of Divinity Thesis

Our study has borne out the fact that Law and Gospel are indeed inherent in Scripture and not just a product of the Reformation, in that we have seen them both actively at work in the sermons we have studied. To a man, all five of our preachers, over a time span of some sixteen hundred years, have preached both Law and Gospel in their sermons.

Documentation: Authority In The Church, C. F. Walther, Arnold Krugler (Translator)

Concordia Theological Monthly

In 1879 Dr. Walther delivered a long essay to Iowa Lutheran congregations who were reluctant to join the Synod because they feared the Synod would arrogate to itself excessive authority over them. With extensive citations from Scripture, Luther, the Lutheran Confessions, and the Lutheran fathers, Walther developed his concept of the proper relationship between Synod and congregations.

The Lessons Of Schwagerehe, Edward E. Busch

Concordia Theological Monthly

Traditional interpretations of Bible passages can have very long lives and can survive strong challenges if they are rooted deeply enough in the culture of a people. A case in point is the idea of Schruagerehe or marriage of in-laws.

Teaching The Faith: Models And Methods, Stephen A. Schmidt

Concordia Theological Monthly

Now our task is far more limited. I want to focus on the Christian classroom and specifically on the act of teaching the faith. I will develop my remarks in two parts. The first consideration will deal with past and present models used within the church to define the teaching act designed to teach faith. Secondly, I will attempt to underline crucial concerns toward a useful teaching method not only for the 1970s but for the future as well.

The Future Of Christian Education In The Missouri Synod: A Matter Of Self-Understanding, Stephen A. Schmidt

Concordia Theological Monthly

Permit me to outline the remarks. I will trace briefly the historical benchmarks of our cultural and ecclesiastical past. Secondly, I will develop candid suggestions about the revitalization of that heritage for our present and future. Naturally in the second enterprise one ceases to be historian, risking rather the role of prophet, a dubious undertaking for any person doing history. But there is some comfort in the words of the British philosopher of history, W. H. Walsh, who writes: "Historians may not be prophets but they are often in a position to prophesy."

Six Christian Sermons On The Way To Lutheran Unity, Robert Kolb

Concordia Theological Monthly

Four hundred years ago this year Evangelical theologians throughout Germany were picking up a new ninety-nine page book published in Tuebingen and saying something like, "What has the smithy forged this time?" James Andreae, or Schmiedlein, born the son of a smith - a fact his better-born antagonists never let him forget -was in 1573 one of the most prominent and one of the most reviled theologians in Germany.

The Theology Of Justus Menius, Alvin H. Horst

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The primary purpose of this dissertation, therefore, is to provide a general systematic exposition of the theology of Justus Menius. To accomplish that purpose, it will be necessary to provide an historical overview of his life and activities. Menius never published a systematic theology. His books and writings, like Luther's, were responses to specific theological and ecclesiastical problems. For Menius, these problems were occasioned primarily by the interaction between the theological movement which originated in the university and the life of the local congregations. In order to get at Menius' theology, therefore, it is necessary to have an acquaintance with …

Kyrios Jesus, Horst Wm. Jordan

Concordia Theological Monthly

The author provides a perceptive and pastoral analysis of the key issue before the Synod.

Public Doctrine In The Lutheran Church --Missouri Synod, Waldemar Wehmeier

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod states its doctrinal position in the second article of its constitution :

The synod, and every member of the Synod, accepts without reservation:

1. The Scriptures of .the Old and New Testament as the written word of God and the only role and norm of faith and of practice;

2. All the Symbolical Books of the evangelical Lutheran Church as a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God, to wit, the three Ecumenical creeds (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed), the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg …

Social And Religious Attitudes Among Lutheran Students, Kenneth L. Frerking

Concordia Theological Monthly

College students have probably been "'investigated"' more than any other single category of people. They have certainly been the subject of many articles and essays in recent years. However, much of what has been written has either been without empirical basis altogether, or else the empirical research has focused on only a small minority of the campus population. Leo Cherne, executive director of the Research Institute of America.

Justification And Anthropology, Wenzel Lohff

Concordia Theological Monthly

The author suggests that contemporary difficulties with respect to understanding the article of justification arise in large measure from the fact that justification has been separated from its anthropological rootage. At the same time, Dr. Lohff argues that the doctrine of justification offers great help to modern man, who often feels trapped in his very humanness. Furthermore, justification, when proclaimed properly, makes Christian unity possible. He describes justification briefly as the right and unequivocal determination of a human practice: to always live anew the life of faith in the Gospel.

Synodical Address-1848, C. F. Walther

Concordia Theological Monthly

(The 1848 Synodical Address of C. F. Walther, which is presented here in translation, clearly sets forth his views on the relationship between the congregations and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Dr. Walther's views were repeated almost verbatim in a "Brother to Brother" (Mein theurer Herr Amtsbruder} letter of Jan. 12, 1875, in which he assured the congregations of their freedom to accept or reject synodical resolutions, and then pleaded with them to "freely" accept a synodical resolution that called for a building fund collection for new construction at three synodical schools.

Theological Education: The Ecumenical Dimension, Thomas Coates

Concordia Theological Monthly

This article was originally presented as a lecture al the Consultation on Ecumenical Affairs of The Lutheran World Federation, Tokyo, Japan, May 5, 1971.

The Relationship Between Graduate Theological Education And The Worldwide Mission Of The Church, William J. Danker

Concordia Theological Monthly

In spite of a desk piled high with other work, this writer could not find it in his heart to refuse an editor requesting an essay on a topic of such potential significance and excitement as "The Relationship Between Graduate Theological Education and the Worldwide Mission of the Church."

Let's Be Lutheran, Lloyd H. Goetz

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Word of God is His self-revelation in the person of Jesus Christ. This is God's final, complete, and greatest communication to man for his salvation.

Law-Gospel Reductionism In The History Of The Lutheran Church -Missouri Synod, Edward H. Schroeder

Concordia Theological Monthly

This essay proposes to trace a segment of the history of hermeneutics in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod insofar as the distinction between Law and Gospel plays a role in that history. The study is important because in recent years one school of thought in the Synod has stated that some pastors and teachers are confusing the proper relationship between the two by practicing what these critics call "Gospel reductionism." This criticism seems to have been launched in the Synod in two conference papers that John Warwick Montgomery delivered to eight different audiences in the spring and fall of 1966.

The Orders Of Creation-Some Reflections On The History And Place Of The Term In Systematic Theology, Edward H. Schroeder

Concordia Theological Monthly

In this article, he argues that the concept associated, with the term "orders of creation" in current Missouri Synod, discussions of the ordination of women is not Lutheran but Calvinist in origin, and not a Biblical concept.

Luther And The Principle: Outside Of The Use There Is No Sacrament, Edward F. Peters

Concordia Theological Monthly

On the basis of a thorough search of the Weimar Edition and other pertinent materials the author argues that Luther taught that a valid celebration of the Sacrament of the Altar requires the acts of consecration, distribution, and reception, but that the presence of Christ's body and blood is not limited to the moment of reception.

A Comparative Study Of The Doctrine Of Scripture In Article 4 Of The Apology Of The Augsburg Confession With The Doctrine Of Scripture In The Works Of Kister Stendahl, Jerry Kosberg

Master of Divinity Thesis

This paper is to be a comparative study of the doctrine of Scripture found in Article Four of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession with the doctrine of Scripture found in various representative writings of Dr. Krister Stendahl. The paper will be an attempt to establish the relationship between the view of Scripture found in an article of the Lutheran Confessions and the view of Scripture found in a Lutheran biblical scholar who works from the perspective of what may be called the historical -critical method. In other words, the question this paper is asking is: Is the historical - …

Mission: Life, John S. Damm

Concordia Theological Monthly

It has become almost a truism to say that we are currently living in a time of crisis. The word "crisis" is now rather easily applied to a wide range of social, economic, political, educational, environmental, and technological phenomena that make up much of the context of contemporary life. This pervasive sense of crisis certainly has not left untouched the realm of Christian education.

Hermeneutics And The Teacher Of Theology, Edgar Krentz

Concordia Theological Monthly

After discussing the use and meaning of the term “Hermeneutics," the author explores both the historical and the critical dimensions necessary in contemporary Biblical study and shows how teachers of theology, their students, and pastors can derive great benefits from such historical-critical studies of the sacred Scriptures.