Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

Justification By Faith In Modern Theology (Continued), Henry P. Hamann Jr.

Concordia Theological Monthly

We shall begin the final installment of this article with the judgment that one of the truths about justification that St. Paul holds is that justification is complete before there is such a thing as faith. This fact of Paul's teaching has been known, particularly in the theological literature of "Missouri Lutherans," as objective justification. The term is not a good one, chiefly for the reason that the counterpart to it, subjective justification, if it means anything, should mean a justification that goes on in the believer, a thing which no "Missourian" ever held.

The Theology Of Norman Vincent Peale, William Lehmann Jr.

Concordia Theological Monthly

Norman Vincent Peale is the teacher of a method which he calls the "Art of Living." This method has had great popular appeal, not only among the laity but also among the clergy. The purpose of this study is not to evaluate the method as such, but rather to consider the question which must be asked and answered before intelligent evaluation can take place: "What is Peale's theology?"

4. Martin Buber, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XXIII: Theological Meaning

In 1957 a little man of about eighty years gave a series of lectures at the Washington School of Psychiatry. He had come to the United States from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem to speak under the auspices of an institution concerned with restoring to health the mentally ill or aberrant. The guest was a philosopher, not a renowned therapist. Yet for Martin Buber (1878- ) himself such a designation is both acceptable and unacceptable. On the one hand he concerns himself with the objective world as philosophy conceptualizes it. On the other hand his primary concern is not speaking …

6. Jerusalem: The Development Of A Theology, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold A. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section I: Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem: Background of Western Civilization

Christianity began as a religion centering around the person of Jesus, and not as a philosophy. It was rooted in Judaism, likewise a religion, not a philosophy. The truths of both were held to have been revealed by God and hence the need for a rational inquiry into their nature was minimized. Many individuals to whom Christianity appealed were satisfied with the simple message of repentance and salvation, but there were many others whose minds were more inquiring and who could not rest until they had explored in a rational way the deep questions which Christianity posed. Most early Christians …

7. Charles Hartshorne, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XXIII: Theological Meaning

Theology differs from philosophical or scientific inquiry in general by being concerned about man in relationship to God. The existentialist says with distressing simplicity that "existence precedes essence" and hence he concerns himself with man in his concrete situation rather than with the abstract idea of man. We have also seen that Protestant theologians have for the most part abandoned the scholastic urge to circumscribe experience in a logical system. In fact, we see nowadays almost a systematic effort to avoid constructing self-contained schematizations. There is in contemporary Protestant theology a general protest against the rigidity seemingly required by the …

6. Ian T. Ramsey, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XXIII: Theological Meaning

In view of the requirement of verifiability that is demanded by certain philosophical schools, there seems little justification for what are conventionally recognized as theological statements. Certainly no one man has yet succeeded, except perhaps to his own satisfaction, in expressing religious notions in such language and in verifying by such a method that universal consent is gained for the validity of his system. If the charm of empirical verification is not invoked, then for some minds there is little reason to say anything. Obviously, given such rigid requirements for securing a sympathetic audience, theological discussion may find itself standing …

The Case For Four Adverbs: Reflections On Chalcedon, Martin H. Scharlemann

Concordia Theological Monthly

For many years it has been fashionable to deprecate any and all attempts, whether past or present, at formulating Biblical truth. Theologians have belittled such efforts by pleading that propositional theology fails to capture and convey the recitatif of the kerygma; and philosophers of religion have contended that any undertaking which proposes to systematize revelation was and is foredoomed to failure because of the limitations and instability of human speech and language. As a consequence the prevailing mood in large areas of Christendom is one of pessimism toward all endeavors to work at the unity we seek by drawing up …

A Critique Of Aulen's Christus Victor, George O. Evenson

Concordia Theological Monthly

One of the most significant theological books published in recent decades is Christus Victor by Gustaf Aulen. In it he suggests that there are three main ideas or theories of the atonement: the classic, the Latin, and the subjective-humanistic. That which makes the book both significant and controversial is the author's contention that the authentic Scriptural doctrine of the atonement is the classic idea, that Luther was an exponent of the classic idea and that therefore the orthodox Lutheran doctrine of the atonement differs markedly both from Scripture and from Luther. Aulen asserts that “the doctrine of Lutheranism became a …

An Investigation Of Wesley's Doctrine Of Entire Sanctification In The Light Of Christian Experience, Robert Erny

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Theological Significance Of Johann Albrecht Bengel, Robert Spieler

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The position of Johann Albrecht Bengel in the history of Lutheran theology has never been defined in a detailed way for the English-speaking Church. One reason for this is the paucity of available primary sources necessary for such a project.

The Paradox In Perspective, Martin H. Scharlemann

Concordia Theological Monthly

Paradox" is an ancient word and an honorable one. The Greeks applied it to anything that seemed contrary to public opinion or strange and marvelous. In this latter sense the term occurs in the New Testament. It was heard on the lips of the multitude that saw the healing of the palsied man. "We have seen παοάδοξα today," they said in astonishment and awe (Luke 5:26). In Latin authors "paradox" came to mean an apparent contradiction. This is today its most common meaning in ordinary speech, although we must hasten to add that the Christian continues to feel in it …

A Study Of The Concepts Of Light And Darkness In The Johannine Gospel And Epistles, With Special Reference To The Dead Sea Scrolls, Earle Hawley

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Luther Expounds The Gospels, Lewis W. Spitz

Concordia Theological Monthly

Both the state of Luther scholarship and the condition of the church have changed radically since the middle of that century of light, when J. G. Hamann lamented: "What a shame for our times that the spirit of this man who founded our church lies thus under the ashes. What a power of eloquence, what a spirit for interpretation, what a prophet! How good the old wine will taste to you!" Though Theodosius Harnack a hundred years later hailed the renewed study of Luther's theology as one of the most joyous developments in theological scholarship, his own work remained the …

A Biblical Study Of The Problem Of The Believer's Security, Donald Noel Bastian

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Theology Of The Wisdom Of Solomon, Walter Rast

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

We are justified in supposing that for a Jew, living in Egypt and yet preserving the foundation of his religious heritage, this problem was poignant indeed. And, at the risk of oversimplification, our writer's personal confrontation with Hellenism would seem to be his chief problem, and the problem at the bottom of our own quest into The Wisdom of Solomon. As an outgrowth of this problem, it would seem that the question underlying our concern with The·Book of Wisdom would be: How does this writing compare theologically with those which hold a safe place in the canon?

Aspects Of The Relationship Of Faith To Conscience In Luther's Sermons, 1528-1532, William Arthur Olsen

Bachelor of Divinity

A brief study revealed numerous examples of the close relationship Luther established between faith and conscience in both his formal theological writings and his sermons as they have come down to us. This thesis seeks on a 1imited scale to establish and delineate that relationship between faith and conscience in the theology of Luther.

Both terms about which the thesis revolves are very prominent in the writings of Luther. That “faith” is a decisive and frequently used word in his theology seems to require no documentation.

Rudolf Bultmann's Concept Of Myth And The New Testament, Oscar Cullmann

Concordia Theological Monthly

Is it necessary to add a new contribution to the dossier, already too voluminous, of the debate revolving around the publication of Rudolf Bultmann, former professor on the faculty of Protestant theology at Marburg, titled The New Testament and Mythology? This small pamphlet, which may be considered a manifesto and has since been reproduced by the author in a slightly different form, appeared for the first time in 1941 under the title Offenbarung und Heilsgeschehen. The purpose of the author is to make the New Testament language accessible to the modern mind by eliminating what he calls the "myth" and …

David Lipscomb's Doctrine Of The Church, Herman L. Barnett

Graduate Thesis Collection

David Lipscomb, editor of the Gospel Advocate for almost half a century, was a man of wide influence. He was intensely devoted to the cause of Christ. In the estimation of his admirers he "had a keener and deeper insight to the meaning of the Holy Scriptures and of God's dealings with the race than any other one man in all Christendom." Though such a judgement is open to question, the man becomes a fit subject for such a study as we have attempted to make.

The Doctrine Of Creation In Lutheran Theology, Jaroslav Pelikan

Concordia Theological Monthly

The fundamental category in the Biblical doctrine of man is the category "creature." Whatever else Christian theology may have to say about the nature and destiny of man, it says in the limits described by that category. Its picture of man as sinner, therefore, must portray him as a fallen creature. It must not make him a creature of Satan because of his sin. Nor dare theology forget that it is precisely man's creaturely derivation from God that makes his sin so calamitous. Because the category "creature" is so fundamental, orthodox Christian theology has always felt compelled to draw a …

The Lutheran Church And Its American Environment. Martin H. Scharlemann, Martin H. Scharlemann

Concordia Theological Monthly

Lutherans landed in America before the arrival of the Mayflower. Some Danish Lutherans, looking for the Northwest Passage, buried forty of their dead on Hudson Bay in 1619. In December of the same year Pastor Rasmus Jensen held a Lutheran Christmas service on the shores of what is now the United States of America.

The Theological Implications Of The Pauline Concept Of "Flesh" [Sarx], Ben Campbell Johnson

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of The Abrahamic And Davidic Covenants, Ruth Anna Oman

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Anglican Christology Of The Upper Stream From '"Lux Mundi" To "Essays Catholic And Critical.", Norman Nagel

Concordia Theological Monthly

When a certain theologian was asked what in English theology would most reward study, with twinkling and Teutonic eye he replied, "They don't have any." Now it is true that the issues which have most exercised churchmen in this country do not seem to have been primarily theological One ncvcr ceases to wonder at the thousands of parish priests in the sixteenth century who found no difficulty in making do whatever new or revised prayer book happened to come to them in the post. When divisions came, they were summed up in terms more of polity than of theology.

God's Revelation Of Himself To Man, J. Wesley Adcock

Graduate Thesis Collection

We have chosen to treat this subject under three main headings: first, the revelation of God in nature; secondly, the revelation of God by His attributes; and thirdly, the relveation of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. These three division are to be dealt with in the order given above.

An Investigation Of The Teaching Of Jesus Concerning Man's Salvation From Sin, William Henry Moore

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis And Survey Of The Theology Of American Lutheranism Based Upon The Definite Platform Of Samuel Simon Schmucker, Norbert H. Mueller

Bachelor of Divinity

The scope of this paper is to attempt to show the source of the theology of the movement, "American Lutheranism." Beyond that it does not pretend to make an exhaustive study of the field or related fields. It does show two things, however: first, that crossing denominational lines for fellowship involves a compromise with your own theology, often the sacrifice of truth on your part; second, that the theology of the movement was thoroughly Reformed and not Lutheran at all as Schmucker insisted it was. The paper further does ·not purpose to criticize unjustly, either Schmucker or the movement, but …

The Concept Of Predestination According To Martin Luther And John Calvin, Won Yong Ji

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Only Saint Augustine and Martin Bucer are mentioned, in the paper, in conjunction with Luther and Calvin. · Luther and Calvin are the two men who are to have the spotlight focused upon them. The question is what is their doctrine of predestination? What do they teach and write and think and believe about predestination? Hence the primary purpose of this thesis is to analyze and synthesize Luther's and Calvin's views on predestination, and to compare them with each other. To be correct, we shall have to make a distinction between “Luther's views” and ''Lutheran views," ~ and between “Calvin's …

The Proper Distinction Between Law And Gospel And The Terminology Visible And Invisible Church, F. E. Mayer

Concordia Theological Monthly

Ecclesiastical, or dogmatical, terminology has proved to be a convenient tool to convey Scriptural truths succinctly and precisely and to reject erroneous views. However, ecclesiastical terminology may also become a barrier to a common understanding and may actually be the cause that two partners in a conversation talk past each other. The usus loquendi also in ecclesiastical terminology is never constant. The terminology adopted in the Chalcedonian Creed is a case in point. The English theologian unfamiliar with Greek thought patterns may encounter some difficulty in understanding the terms after they have been transferred from Greek to Latin, thence to …

The Faculty At Bethel On The "Demythologizing" Championed By Professor Dr. Bultmann, A. Adam

Concordia Theological Monthly

The intention is not to pass judgment on the theology of R. Bultmann in general. To do that, a far more detailed discussion would be required, for which we do not have the space here. In concerning ourselves specifically with demythologizing as understood by Bultmann, we had to curtail to some extent the study of the problem and thus simplify some of the implications.

The Metaphysical Bases Of The Doctrine Of God In Aquinas And Augustine, Donald P. Meyer

Bachelor of Divinity

Most basically this thesis is concerned with the problem of schism. It attempts to discover the nature of the opposition between two theologies. Schisms based on statements interpreted grammatically are tragically naïve, on personalities idolatrous. It is theology and the practical consequences of theology which alone can justify schism. And to discover the opposition between theologies requires an analysis of the basis of the statement of that theology.