Read more about the article Atonement in Confessional Lutheran Theology: Chorus of Voices

Atonement in Confessional Lutheran Theology: Chorus of Voices

Synoptic Text Information Services has released the second title in the series Atonement in Confessional Lutheran Theology. The new title is Atonement in Confessional Lutheran Theology: Chorus of Voices. This volume is an anthology that presents a chorus of Lutheran voices teaching the Lutheran doctrine of Christ’s atonement. Their writings are evidence of two distinct things: Before and aside from whether it is true, what the Lutheran doctrine of atonement is. The Lutheran doctrine of atonement is true from Scripture and is the doctrine confessed in the Lutheran confessions. On the first of those things, there are theologians and teachers…

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Read more about the article Atonement in Confessional Lutheran Theology: Franz Pieper

Atonement in Confessional Lutheran Theology: Franz Pieper

Synoptic Text Information Services, Inc. has released its next new title, Atonement in Confessional Lutheran Theology: Franz Pieper. Presented in English are three of Franz Pieper’s writings about the atonement: The Doctrine of Christ’s Work, capturing the lecture notes on the atonement used at Concordia Seminary, the first translation of Die Lehre von Christi Werk: de Officio Christi (Baier III, 100-133) into English ever published. The Reconciliation of Man with God, a district convention address. The High Priestly Office of Christ, newly translated “Das hohepriesterliche Amt Christi” in Christliche Dogmatik (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1917), II.404-461. Pieper shows that the confessional Lutheran doctrine…

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Read more about the article Vicarious Satisfaction in Lutheran Catechisms, Confessions, and Hymns

Vicarious Satisfaction in Lutheran Catechisms, Confessions, and Hymns

By T. R. Halvorson Lutheran Orthodoxy teaches that a vital part of the work of God in Christ is atonement by vicarious satisfaction. Vicarious satisfaction is attested in Scripture, the Lutheran confessions in the Book of Concord, explanations of the Catechism, Lutheran hymns, the liturgy, the Sacraments, and so on. Nevertheless, the atonement is in controversy in Lutheran circles. The adversaries deny vicarious satisfaction. They substitute a general amnesty that is announced in a bloodless absolution. According to them, the cross would not have been necessary had sinners only believed that God can and does just “up and forgive.” In…

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Read more about the article Atonement in Lutheran Orthodoxy: Abraham Calov

Atonement in Lutheran Orthodoxy: Abraham Calov

Atonement by vicarious satisfaction is at the center of all Christian doctrine. It is the foundation of the forgiveness of sins, justification, and faith. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession says, “We are justified only when we receive Christ as the Atoning Sacrifice and believe that for Christ’s sake God is reconciled to us. Neither is justification even to be dreamed of without Christ as the Atonement.” The importance of the atonement cannot be calculated. Therefore it is the principal target of attack. It is a unique object of derision. It arouses the fiercest resentment and opposition, a concert of…

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By Johann Baier Edited and annotated by C. F. W. Walther Translated by Theodore E. Mayes Foreword by Jack D. Kilcrease Biographical introductions by Timothy R. Schmeling & Martin Noland C. F. W. Walther selected Johann Wilhelm Baier’s Compendium Theologiae Positivae as the basis for the first dogmatics used to prepare pastors for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Walther edited Baier’s Compendium and annotated it with excerpts from Luther and orthodox Lutheran theologians. Baier-Walther’s “On the office of Christ” (Vol. III, Cap. II. Sectio III, De officio Christi) is both an antidote to errors about atonement in Lutheran circles and evidence of the doctrine of the…

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Read more about the article Second Edition of Atonement in Lutheran Orthodoxy: Johannes Quenstedt

Second Edition of Atonement in Lutheran Orthodoxy: Johannes Quenstedt

Johannes Quenstedt’s De Officio Christi is an antidote to errors about atonement in Lutheran circles. Lutheran Orthodoxy teaches that an indispensable part of atonement is vicarious satisfaction. Adversaries deny vicarious satisfaction. Their errors existed already in Quenstedt’s time. While teaching the orthodox truth, Quenstedt thoroughly refutes the adversaries from Scripture. Robert D. Preus says, “Quenstedt was the Thomas Aquinas, so to speak, of Lutheran Orthodoxy, the last great representative. … [H]e was fair and meticulous in his work and drew from the best which his precursors had to offer. … Quenstedt’s systematic section on the Atonement actually presents nothing but exegesis of…

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Read more about the article Luther’s Liturgical Criteria and His Reform of the Canon of the Mass

Luther’s Liturgical Criteria and His Reform of the Canon of the Mass

By Bryan D. Spinks Foreword by John T. Pless Luther reformed the Canon of the Mass, the way the Sacrament of the Altar is administered. He has been branded a liturgical hack. Was he a hack or a surgeon? What part did Jesus’ own words have in Luther’s reform. Is the Lord’s Supper a sacrifice we are to offer to God, or is it a testament and gift that Christ gives to the Church? World renowned scholar Bryan D. Spinks reports the findings of his research. Spinks identifies errors of scholastic procedure in the body of literature. He examines root…

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Read more about the article Catechetical Evangelism in the Newspaper

Catechetical Evangelism in the Newspaper

Evangelism springs from Luther’s Small Catechism into the newspaper. This book shares from the author’s experiences in writing religion articles published in his local newspaper. It presents ideas about the Catechism and evangelism, and about newspaper evangelism. It explains an approach to writing catechetical newspaper articles and includes three dozen of the author’s published articles as examples of the approach. Contents include: Introduction Evangelism and the Small Catechism Reformation of the Catechism Evangelical Even Where Not Expected Throbbing with Genius; Ready to Give an Answer Newspaper Evangelism Fountain of Ideas Have Something to Say Welcome Your New Friend: the Word…

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Read more about the article A Sketch of Francis McGee Thompson: A Founder of Montana

A Sketch of Francis McGee Thompson: A Founder of Montana

“Perhaps no single pioneer left such a lasting mark on Montana as Francis M. Thompson.”  (Rich Aarstad, Senior Archivist, Montana Historical Society) Francis McGhee Thompson (1833-1916) came to Montana in the gold rush of the 1860s. He was an investor, adventurer, and explorer with the American Exploring and Mineral Company. He settled in Bannack where gold was being mined along Grasshopper Creek. Bannack became the first capital of the Territory of Montana. Although he remained in Montana only a few years, he packed in a deep involvement with many people. He figures prominently in Bannack events and the foundation of…

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