The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church

Last updated on: June 3, 2015 at 9:55 am By Jordan Cooper

Heinrich Schmid’s Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church is now available from Just and Sinner Publications. Here is the description: In the contemporary Lutheran church, our rich dogmatic heritage is often forgotten. We tend to privilege Luther and other early reformers over the later tradition that developed through his reforms. The church would benefit from a thorough read of those within the seventeenth century scholastic tradition, along with the reformers, who systematized and expounded upon Luther’s ideas. Heinrich Schmid’s... Read more

A Plea to Reformation Christians: Don’t Let Your “Simul” Become the One Ring to Rule Them All

Last updated on: June 3, 2015 at 3:27 pm By nathanrinne

Post by Nathan Rinne “Sins were sweeter to me than honey and honeycomb. That they are now pungent and bitter, I owe to You who gave me spiritual taste…” – John Gerhard “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.” – Psalm 119:176 (last verse) I recently took the time to listen to a podcast which featured four converts to Lutheranism talking about how historic Lutheran theology had literally become... Read more

Christification

Last updated on: June 2, 2015 at 9:34 am By Jordan Cooper

On this week’s podcast, I played my lecture Christification: A Lutheran Approach to Theosis from the Imago Dei Conference. This follows up on the lecture I played last week on Justification by faith. Here is the program Read more

Calvinism Leads to Credo-Baptism

Last updated on: May 30, 2015 at 2:00 pm By Jordan Cooper

Hence Calvinism narrows to the last degree any real difference between its own views and those of Anabaptists, or Baptists. In stating the points of controversy between Calvinists and Mennonites and other Anabaptists, the Calvinist divines constantly represent themselves and the Anabaptists as perfectly agreed, so far as the Baptism of the children of unbelievers is concerned. The Calvinistic argument against the Anabaptist objection to infant Baptism, constantly rests on the theory, that infants have a right to Baptism only... Read more

The Lutheran Pastor by George Henry Gerberding

Last updated on: May 30, 2015 at 11:33 am By Jordan Cooper

This volume is now available from Just and Sinner Publications. George Henry Gerberding’s “The Lutheran Pastor,” is an extensive treatment of pastoral theology from a Lutheran perspective. This work is both theological and practical, as he expounds upon various aspects of pastoral life and ministry. He begins by a discussion of the call, outlining various approaches to the call within Lutheranism. He then discusses the personal life of the pastor, the role of the pastor in the worship service, and... Read more

A Guide to Lutheran Systematic Theology Texts

Last updated on: May 28, 2015 at 9:03 am By Jordan Cooper

I’m often asked about which systematic theology text one should start with for someone who is interested in Lutheran theology. There are a lot of these books out there, and sometimes it can be hard to navigate. I’ve tried to put together a basic guide for Lutheran texts on systematic theology. Basic Biblical Dogmatics by A.G. Voigt. This is a great introductory book. It’s very short, and yet quite comprehensive for its size. This book is a summary of... Read more

Oswald Bayer’s Rejection of Scripture as the “Formal Principle” of Theology

Last updated on: May 27, 2015 at 4:58 pm By ericphillips

(by Eric Phillips) I’m reading Martin Luther’s Theology: A Contemporary Interpretation, by Oswald Bayer, a book I read a bit of in seminary, but probably not as much as I was supposed to. I’m finding some good stuff, and I’ll probably post on some of those things on another occasion, but I’m also finding on almost every page the marks of a deep commitment to Existentialist metaphysics—or at least, a thoroughgoing aversion to Essentialist metaphysics, which as far as I... Read more

Two New Volumes of the Lutheran Commentary

Last updated on: May 27, 2015 at 9:17 am By Jordan Cooper

The commentaries on Mark and Luke from the Lutheran Commentary series are now available. This is the description of the series: The Lutheran Commentary Series is the first series of Lutheran commentaries written in English. These volumes were compiled by Henry Eyster Jacobs, who called upon the greatest Lutheran exegetes in America to write a series of commentaries on the New Testament. The first commentary was published in 1895, and the publications continued through the early twentieth century. These volumes... Read more

This Week’s Podcast: Justification by Faith Alone

Last updated on: May 27, 2015 at 9:09 am By Jordan Cooper

On today’s program, I played my lecture from the Imago Dei conference on the doctrine of justification by faith. This lecture contrasts a Lutheran and Reformed approach to sola fide. Here is the program. Read more

Why “We are All the Duggars” is Not a Good Christian Response

Last updated on: May 27, 2015 at 9:47 am By nathanrinne

Post by Nathan Rinne “For the first time I examined myself with a seriously practical purpose. And there I found what appalled me: a zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds. My name was legion.” — C.S. Lewis I have been catching up on all of the news and controversy surrounding the sexual abuse scandal involving 19 Kids and Counting star Josh Duggar. Yesterday, I came across a provocative post at... Read more