Lutheran Quarterly Books Series

Galvanized by Erasmus' teaching on free will, Martin Luther wrote "De servo arbitrio", or "The Bondage of the Will", insisting that the sinful human will could not turn itself to God. In this first study to investigate the sixteenth-century reception of "De servo", Robert Kolb unpacks Luther's theology and recounts his followers' ensuing disputes until their resolution in the Lutheran churches' 1577 "Formula of Concord".

In this first of three volumes addressing Luther's outlaw God, Steven D. Paulson considers the two "monsters" of theology, as Luther calls them: evil and predestination. He explores how these produce fear of God but can also become the great and only comforts of conscience when a preacher arrives. Luther's new distinction between God as he is preached and God without any preacher absolutely frightened all of the schools of theology that preceded it, and for that matter all that followed Luther, as well. That fear coalesced in various opponents like Eck and Latomus, but in a special way in Desiderius Erasmus. For Paulson, bad theology begins with bad preaching, and since the church is what preaching does, bad preaching hides the church under such a dark blanket that it can hardly be detected. He argues that the primary distinction of naked/clothed or unpreached/preached radiates out in all directions for Luther's theology, and shows what difference this makes for current preaching. Specifically, Paulson takes up the central question of all theology (and life): What is God's relation to the law, and the law's relation to God? Luther's answers are surprising and will change the way you preach.

This book combines a rich description of the (Lutheran) Formula of Concord (1577) with experiences in today's Lutheran parishes to demonstrate how confessional texts may still come to life in modern Christian congregations. Timothy Wengert takes the Formula of Concord, traditionally used as ammunition in doctrinal disagreements, back to its historical home, the local congregation, giving pastors, students, and theologians a glimpse into the original debates over each article. The most up-to-date English commentary on the Formula of Concord, A Formula for Parish Practiceprovides helpful, concise descriptions of key theological debates and a unique weaving of historical and textual commentary with modern Lutheran experience. Covering the entire Formula of Concord the book includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter.

In this second of three volumes addressing Luther's outlaw God, Steven D. Paulson uses several biblical figures (Ezekiel, Jonah, Moses, David, and more) to illustrate Luther's understanding of law and gospel and what this means for preaching. Paulson shows that the challenge of all preaching is revealing God's actual grace without using the law at all. The gospel is what freed Luther from thinking of the world as split into two: an obscure world where law accuses and a magical world where the law blesses. With remarkable depth and clarity, Paulson explores the question: Where do we find a gracious God? For Luther, it was not in the law, but only in the publicly executed and hated God, Jesus Christ, hidden in the cross.

Gerhard O. Forde has stood at the forefront of Lutheran thought for most of his career. This new collection of essays and sermons—many previously unpublished— makes Forde's powerful theological vision more widely available. The book aptly captures Forde's deep Lutheran commitment. Here he argues that the most important task of theology is to serve the proclamation of the gospel as discerned on the basis of the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone. For Forde, the doctrine of justification is not one topic among other theological topics; rather, it is the criterion that guides "all theology and ministry. Throughout the book Forde applies this truth to issues of eschatology, authority, atonement, and ecumenism. Also included are seven insightful sermons that model the Lutheran approach to proclamation.

"Living by faith" is much more than a general Christian precept; it is the fundamental posture of believers in a world rife with suffering and injustice. In this penetrating reflection on the meaning of "justification," Oswald Bayer shows how this key religious term provides a comprehensive horizon for discussing every aspect of Christian theology, from creation to the end times. Inspired by and interacting with Martin Luther, the great Christian thinker who grappled most intensely with the concept of justification, Bayer explores anew the full range of traditional dogmatics (sin, redemption, eschatology, and others), placing otherwise complex theological terms squarely within their proper milieu -- everyday life. In the course of his discussion, Bayer touches on such deep questions as the hidden nature of God, the hope for universal justice, the problem of evil, and -- one of the book's most engaging motifs -- Job's daring lawsuit with God.

As profound as Martin Luther's ideas are, this giant of church history was concerned above all with practical instruction for daily Christian living. Harvesting Martin Luther's Reflections highlights this concern of Luther, mining his thought in key areas of doctrine, ethics, and church practice. Gathering noteworthy contributions by well-known Luther scholars from Europe and the Americas, this book ranges broadly over theological questions about baptism and righteousness, ethical issues like poverty and greed, and pastoral concerns like worship and spirituality. There are even rare discussions of Luther's perspective on marriage and on Islam. As a result, Harvesting Martin Luther's Reflections is both a state-of-the-art discussion of Lutheran themes and an excellent introduction for newcomers to Luther's work.

This book is about faithful witnesses -- from the Reformation to South African apartheid to Bonhoeffer -- to the promise of Jesus Christ. Even in the midst of trials, these faithful followers have testified that the gospel is authority enough for the church's life and unity. Significantly, this is the first book in print by the late Robert Bertram, described by Edward Schroeder as “perhaps the most unpublished major Lutheran theologian of the twentieth century.”

Martin Luther's relationship to music has been largely downplayed, yet music played a vital role in Luther's life -- and he in turn had a deep and lasting effect on Christian hymnody. In Luther's Liturgical Music Robin Leaver comprehensively explores these connections. Replete with tables, figures, and musical examples, this volume is the most extensive study on Luther and music ever published. Leaver's work makes a formidable contribution to Reformation studies, but worship leaders, musicians, and others will also find it an invaluable, very readable resource.

This volume by Gracia Grindal introduces English-speaking readers to several significant yet unsung Lutheran women hymn writers from the sixteenth century to the present. After a brief introductory discussion of Elisabeth Cruciger, the first woman hymn writer of the Reformation, Grindal provides fascinating profiles of these talented Scandinavian women who "preached from home": Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Birgitte Hertz Boye, Berthe Canutte Aarflot, Lina Sandell, Britt G. Hallqvist, and Lisbeth Smedegaard Andersen. Grindal not only gives a biographical account of each woman ― her life, her piety, her times ― but also offers sparkling new English translations of each writer’s key hymns. In the last chapter Grindal recounts her own inspiring journey as a Lutheran woman hymn writer. Her Preaching from Home will open the door to a world previously unknown to most North Americans.

The Captivation of the Will provocatively revisits a perennial topic of controversy: human free will. Highly esteemed Lutheran thinker Gerhard O. Forde cuts to the heart of the subject by reexamining the famous debate on the will between Luther and Erasmus. Following a substantial introduction by James A. Nestingen that brings to life the historical background of the debate, Forde thoroughly explores Luther's "Bondage of the Will" and the dispute between Erasmus and Luther that it reflects. In the process of exposing this debate's enduring significance for Christians, Forde highlights its central arguments about Scripture, God, the will, and salvation in Christ. Luther recognized that the only solution for humans bound by sin is the forgiveness that comes from Christ alone. Convinced that this insight represents the heart of the Christian gospel, Forde concludes with ten sermons that proclaim the message of salvation through Christ alone while elegantly relating theological inquiry to everyday life.

The Preached God speaks directly to preachers, calling them to deliver the truths of forgiveness, life, and salvation through both word and sacrament to all who listen.

The development of Martin Luther's thought has commanded much scholarly attention because of the Reformation and its remarkable effects on the history of Christianity in the West. But much of that scholarship has been so enthralled by certain later debates that it has practically ignored and even distorted the context in and against which Luther's thought developed. In The Early Luther Berndt Hamm, armed with expertise both in late-medieval intellectual life and in Luther, presents new perspectives that leave old debates behind. A master Luther scholar, Hamm provides fresh insights into the development of Luther's theology from his entry into the monastery through his early lectures on the Bible to his writing of the 95 Theses in 1517 and The Freedom of a Christian in 1520. Rather than looking for a single breakthrough, Hamm carefully outlines a series of significant shifts in Luther's late-medieval theological worldview over the course of his early career. The result is a more accurate, nuanced portrait of Reformation giant Martin Luther.

The development of Martin Luther's thought has commanded much scholarly attention because of the Reformation and its remarkable effects on the history of Christianity in the West. But much of that scholarship has been so enthralled by certain later debates that it has practically ignored and even distorted the context in and against which Luther's thought developed. In The Early Luther Berndt Hamm, armed with expertise both in late-medieval intellectual life and in Luther, presents new perspectives that leave old debates behind. A master Luther scholar, Hamm provides fresh insights into the development of Luther's theology from his entry into the monastery through his early lectures on the Bible to his writing of the 95 Theses in 1517 and The Freedom of a Christian in 1520. Rather than looking for a single breakthrough, Hamm carefully outlines a series of significant shifts in Luther's late-medieval theological worldview over the course of his early career. The result is a more accurate, nuanced portrait of Reformation giant Martin Luther.

In this significant book Mark C. Mattes critically evaluates the role of justification in the theologies of five leading Protestant thinkers -- Eberhard Jungel, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Jurgen Moltmann, Robert W. Jenson, and Oswald Bayer -- pointing out their respective strengths and weaknesses and showing how each matches up with Luther's own views. Offering both an excellent review of recent trends in Christian theology and a powerful analysis of these trends, Mattes points readers to the various ways in which the doctrine of justification has been applied today. Despite the greatness of their thought, Jungel, Pannenberg, and Moltmann each accommodate the doctrine of justification to goals aligned with secular modernity. Both Jenson and Bayer, on the other hand, construe the doctrine of justification in a nonaccommodating way, thus challenging the secularity of the modern academy. In the end, Mattes argues that Bayer's position is to be preferred as closest to Luther's own, and he shows why it offers the greatest potential for confronting current attempts at self-justification before God.

This book opens a window into the lives and extraordinary witness of a Christian couple whose faithful life of service has earned the moniker of Ethopia’s Bonhoeffer. In Part One, the reader encounters the extant writings of Gudina Tumsa. Gudina’s ideas were by no means silenced by his murder. If anything, quite the opposite, as is so often the case with martyrs. Part Two is a highly personal account of Gudina and Tsehay’s life, witness, and sufferings. Aud Saeveras, a Norwegian missionary working with her husband in Ethiopia, got to know Tsehay during her many years in prison, often bringing her food. After Tsehay was finally released, Saeveras encouraged her to report the truth about what had happened. The result was this memoir, first written in Norwegian, then translated into German, and now for the first time in English. Saeveras frames the story, but most of the words are Tsehay’s. This collection concludes with an essay by Samuel Yonas Deressa on the impact that Gudina’s vision has had on the EECMY and the formation of the Gudina Tumsa Foundation with its various scholarly and development activities. Gudina lives on in the many Ethiopian Christians who continue to be inspired by his life and witness.

Rethinking the Wittenberg Concord for Today One of the mostly forgotten gems of the sixteenth century Reformations is the Wittenberg Concord. Signed in 1536 by representatives of evangelical southern German imperial cities and territories and the Lutherans, the dialogue that led to the concord provided space for the participants to have a meaningful dialogue that led to the recognition of each other's understanding of the sacraments as orthodox. This was remarkable, given the very public failures at Marburg in 1529 and Augsburg in 1530. The lack of agreement threatened the unity of the evangelical estates and made them, along with the Reformation teachings, vulnerable to attack by the Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church. The dialogue participants created enough space in their own understandings of the sacraments of baptism, absolution, and the Lord's Supper to allow the agreement to occur--and function reasonably well, at least until the beginning of the Thirty Years War in 1618. The final two chapters explore how this concord has impacted the church since its acceptance, and how the lessons learned from this dialogue can assist churches today in providing healthy spaces for ecumenical dialogue to discuss controversial issues.

Gordon Jensen's careful analysis of the 1534 Luther Bible uncovers the central truth of Martin Luther's prodigious translation efforts: Luther's commitment to producing this physical object was founded in his desire that receiving the Gospel might become a lived experience. Contrary to popular perception, Luther's works were not the first, the freshest, or even the most user-friendly German biblical translations of the time. Rather, their power came in Luther's utter commitment to creatively sharing the Word "so that people would encounter Christ within the pages of scripture and through scripture, thus driving Christ into their hearts and lives." Jensen locates proof of Luther's commitment in his deliberate decision to highlight seven specific words and phrases in the text of his 1534 translation. Combined, these terms provide a concise summary of Luther's Reformation theology: the source, voice, content, and command of the gospel. Skillfully tracing the theological implications of Luther's editorial decisions, Jensen provides readers with a crystalline view into the very heart of Luther's theological message. The written Bible is important not for its literary qualities or its "inerrancy" -- an irrelevant premise for Luther, as Jensen explains. Rather, the Bible's essential value is as the conduit through which Christ is proclaimed. Luther's hope was that once someone encountered the Bible, they "would experience the gospel, and having experienced it, want to share this gospel so that others might experience Christ and the Word of life as well."

No twentieth-century American understood Luther's law-gospel distinction better than Gerhard O. Forde, who was professor of theology at Luther Theological Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Because Forde kept this Lutheran distinction razor sharp, his theological writings are an essential inheritance for us today. This volume, The Essential Forde, aims to provide the essence of Forde's writing centered upon LutherÂs and Scripture's essential distinction, that is, the distinction between law and gospel. The editors of this volume have chosen some of the most definitive writings of the renowned Gerhad Forde, whose influence continues to grow. The list of works trace the contours of Forde's theological argument. Organized around "Law and Gospel," the selections start off with some historical background on that doctrinal locus, but for the most part express Forde's own views of the law and the gospel, including death and resurrection, the bondage of the will, good works, preaching, and the sacraments. Besides these essential writings, the book will provide a definitive introduction by the editors, which includes a brief biography of Forde, an essay regarding his doctrinal interpretation, and a sketch of the Forde legacy. Also contained in the volume will be a comprehensive bibliography of all of Forde's published works plus work published about him.

In an engaging and accessible style, Martin J. Lohrmann introduces readers to fascinating glimpses of faith, courage, and love in action within the global Lutheran community that now numbers over 70 million members in churches worldwide. He shows how Lutheranism is a much more diverse and global expression of the Christian tradition than most realize. This matches the expansive view of the church universal that the Reformers held when they presented the Augsburg Confession in 1530. As Philipp Melanchthon put it, the church "consists of people scattered throughout the entire world who agree on the gospel and have the same Christ, the same Holy Spirit, and the same sacraments, whether or not they have the same human traditions." Although Lutheranism first grew and spread in central and northern Europe, some of the most vibrant Lutheran communities are now in Africa and Asia. There are more Lutherans in Tanzania than in Sweden, and more Lutherans in Indonesia than in Norway. The single largest Lutheran church body in the world is the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, with over 8 million members and a focus on caring for the whole person. Outside of Europe, Namibia is the only country with a majority Lutheran population. Lutheran members of the global body of Christ have much to learn from and share with one another. The book largely follows the subjects listed in the Timeline of Global Lutheranism that Lohrmann created for Lutheran Quarterly Journal to commemorate the 500-year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

The Augsburg Confession is the single most-important confession of faith among Lutherans today. However, it is often taught either from a historical perspective or from a dogmatic one. Yet the context out of which it arose was far more practical and lively: marked from the outset as confessions of faith in the face of fierce opposition and threats. The original princely signers, while clearly outlining the teaching of their churches, were also staking their lives on the witness to the gospel that had been emanating from Wittenberg since 1517, when Martin Luther first published his Ninety-Five Theses. By situating both the history and the theology of this document within the practice and life of faith, Timothy J. Wengert shows just how relevant the Confession's witness is for today's Lutheran parishes and their leaders by unlocking how its articles can shape and strengthen the church's witness today.

In this third of three volumes addressing Luther's outlaw God, Steven D. Paulson says that readers will embark on the deepest, hardest, and most glorious of all God's ways of hiding: God hiding a third time in the preached word or sacraments. The third time is the charm, not because humans finally awaken and "get" the essence of God. God's preached word is not an act of human understanding. It is a purely passive experience of receiving God wholly and completely in the absolving word that comes through the lowliest means of a sinful preacher. Not only does this word come through a creature to a creature, but through a sinner to a sinner. The difficulty with grasping all of this is that God works entirely outside his divine law--an outlaw God. Luther is the one who saw this more clearly than any other, because it happened to him just this way. The preacher got a preacher, and the sacraments that had once been organized by a legal scheme were set free to reveal and bestow God in the most hidden place of all. How much more hidden could God be than in water, bread, wine, and the mouth of a preacher? Paulson's grasp of historical, theological, and hermeneutical scholarship is on full display in this volume, but always in service of proclamation of the gospel. Readers and proclaimers: prepare to be provoked, enlightened, and inspired.