In the near future I plan on posting some stuff that takes a hard – and somewhat critical – look at contemporary Lutheran apologetics. Before I do that however, I want to make something very clear: as I have hinted at before but will state more clearly now, I think that simply knowing that Christian apologetics existed saved my life. No exaggeration. I believe that God used the presence and words of Christian apologists to convict me of my sin... Read more
On today’s program, I began a three part program on the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. On this program I explained the Lutheran view in contrast to the Roman Catholic, Zwinglian, and Calvinistic approaches to the Sacrament. I tried to clear up some of the misconceptions that exist about the Lutheran doctrine of the Sacrament of the altar, and gave a brief overview of the differences between the consecrationist and receptionist positions on this issue within Lutheranism. Here is the... Read more
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” — Matthew 7:6 Part I In part I, it was noted that in order to reflect more on how the Church should try to teach God’s law to all as it goes into exile, we could look at the debate that happened a few months ago between Ross Douthat... Read more
Do we confessional Lutherans love the theology that is set forth in our Lutheran Confessions, or do we love a truncated reduction of it? Seems like a tautological question, in a way — I mean, after all, it’s in the name, isn’t it? “Confessional Lutheran”? Should be a QED, right? It certainly should be, yes. However, if the barometer of internet Lutheranism is any kind of indicator†, it would seem that somewhere in the realm of “as often as not”,... Read more
Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” – Deuteronomy 4:6 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew... Read more
When I returned to the church of my baptism as an undergraduate in college, I experienced an intense desire to to learn quickly all that I felt I should have known, but didn’t. Lutheranism was what I had been looking for all along, even though I never would have known it from my experience growing up in it. It was as though I wanted to make up for lost time. Part of this was my vanity, to be sure —... Read more
This is the second volume in Weidner’s series of books on Christian dogmatics. This work is compiled from Weidner’s theological lectures on the doctrine of God given to his seminary students. This volume covers all of the foundational elements of the doctrine of God, such as: the existence of God, the attributes of God, and the Holy Trinity. This volume also covers the doctrines of predestination, providence, creation, and angels. Each section contains extensive citation of Scripture and the fathers... Read more
“There must be some kind of way out of here,” said Trent to Matt. “There’s too much confusion. I can’t get no relief.” “Well,” said Matt, “we could have a guest on the show. That would sort of give you a way out.” “Nice,” said Trent. “No reason to get excited,” Levi kindly spoke, “There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke. But we’ve been through that and this is not our fate, so... Read more
One of the things I remember about my seminary years (before I dropped out) was reading a paper by Kurt Marquart defending objective justification – the teaching that [Justification] is the object of faith in that it is offered by God in the Gospel; it is the effect [of faith], to put it thus, in so far as grace having been apprehended by faith, the forgiveness of sins happens to us by that very act. (from Calov’s classic commentary on... Read more
Junius Remensnyder’s “The Lutheran Manual” is a detailed exposition of Lutheran theology and practice. Throughout the work, Remensnyder expounds upon the central and defining elements of Lutheran theology such as: Justification by faith, baptismal regeneration, the centrality of the Word, and Luther’s doctrine of Holy Communion. He also discusses practical ecclessial and pastoral issues like the nature and characteristics of Lutheran worship, different forms of church polity, and Lutheran piety. He examines the differences between the Lutheran, Reformed, and Roman... Read more
Just and Sinner
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