The book I put together with John Warwick Montgomery, Where Christ Is Present, consists of some brilliant essays on different aspects of Lutheran teaching and practice. As the Amazon reviews are saying of particular essays, each one is worth the price of the book. And they aren’t just rehashing of old arguments and stale polemics. They bring something new to the discussions and present the concept in fresh ways.
Some of them actually break new ground, or present things that I, at least, had never known before. For example, Adam Francisco’s chapter on the Scriptures shows how the Early Church affirmed the Bible as its sole authority; later, it developed the concept of “tradition,” while insisting that the tradition is consistent with and normed by the Bible; later, though, some theologians started to teach that tradition is, in effect, above the Bible; not till fairly late in the Middle Ages was the Papacy elevated as a superior authority to both the Bible and tradition. I never knew that.
I also learned a great deal from Angus Menuge about the influence of Lutheranism on science; Craig Parton on Christian liberty and how that is manifested in the work of the great Lutheran artist Johann Sebastian Bach; Steve Hein on the nature of the Christian life; and. . . well, all of them really. After the jump is the Table of Contents, giving the list of chapters and their authors.
Where Christ Is Present: A Theology for All Seasons on the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation
Chapter 1 Introduction by John Warwick Montgomery
Chapter 2 The Religious Landscape in the 21st Century by Gene Edward Veith
Chapter 3 Martin Luther And Reformation: An Evangelical Approach—Then And Now
by Cameron A. MacKenzie
Chapter 4 Authority: The Holy Scriptures by A.S. Francisco
Chapter 5 The Way Of Salvation: The Gospel by Rod Rosenbladt
Chapter 6 The Means of Grace: The Word & Sacraments by Harold Senkbeil
Chapter 7 God’s Two Kingdoms by Todd Wilken
Chapter 8 Vocation vs. Narcissus by Uwe Siemon-Netto
Chapter 9 Christian Liberty, the Arts, and J.S. Bach by Craig A. Parton
Chapter 10 The Spiritual Life of the Christian: Cross and Glory by Steven A. Hein
Chapter 11 The Cultural and Aesthetic Impact of Lutheranism by Angus J. L. Menuge
Chapter 12 Conclusion: Where Does One Go from Here?
by John Warwick Montgomery
Note: You can get the book cheaper than at Amazon here.
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