The Scriptural and Confessional Stance of American Lutheranism
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The Religious Development of the Early German Settlers in "Greater Pennsylvania": the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia*
The Religious Development of the Early German Settlers In "Greater Pennsylvania": The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia* John B. Frantz The Pennsylvania State University Introduction Throughout much of the eighteenth century, the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia was the frontier. The first Europeans to settle there came from colonies to the north. They had the opportunity to create new culture in this sparsely inhabited area. Most of the Indians had aban- doned it, and Europeans from the Tidewater had not yet spread their plantations that far west. The Valley was an ideal location for innova- tion. Nevertheless, the early settlers brought with them their religious heritage and developed patterns and institutions for their spiritual nur- ture that were remarkably similar to those that they had known in their previous homes. Historiography Study of the religious development of the early German settlers has been underway for more than a century and a half One of the first accounts appeared in Samuel Kercheval's 1833 History of the Valley of Virginia.' A more detailed description is contained in John W Way- 1. Samuel Kercheval, The History of the Valley of Virginia 4th ed. (Strasburg Shenandoah Publish- ing House, 1925), originally published in 1833. The Religious Development of the Early German Settlers 67 land's History ofThe German Element of the Shenandoah Valley, published in 1907,2 some of which he included in his History of Shenandoah County that appeared twenty years later.3 Dedicated to Wayland and drawing on his work but going further is The Pennsylvania Germans of the Shenandoah Valley, the 1962 volume of the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society, by Elmer Lewis Smith, John G. -
Guide to First Confession
Guide to First Confession Make a Good Examination of Conscience Read the “Suggestions for a Good Examination of Conscience” on the other side of this sheet. Confess Your Sins to the Priest Go into the confessional. You have the choice to kneel at the screen or sit to talk face-to-face with the priest. The priest should welcome you kindly and warmly. Make the Sign of the Cross, and say these words: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. This is my first confession. These are my sins… Tell all your sins openly and honestly, including the number of times each sin was committed. Then, listen to the priest and follow his instructions. You may also ask any questions about the faith or how to grow in holiness. Pray the Act of Contrition when the priest tells you. ACT OF CONTRITION O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend You, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen. The priest will ask you to do a “penance,” usually some prayers, to show you are truly sorry for your sins. This is done after you return to your pew. If the priest assigns a good act, it should be done soon after you leave the church. -
Approaches to Fellowship Norman J
Consensus Volume 10 | Issue 1 Article 2 1-1-1984 Approaches to fellowship Norman J. Threinen Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus Recommended Citation Threinen, Norman J. (1984) "Approaches to fellowship," Consensus: Vol. 10 : Iss. 1 , Article 2. Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol10/iss1/2 This Articles is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. APPROACHES TO FELLOWSHIP Norman J. Threinen Although the question of church fellowship among Lutherans has posed a problem in various parts of the world, it is really, strictly speaking, one which has emerged out of conditions and circumstances existing in the Americas. For where one has a free church tradition and a multitude of religious bodies co-existing alongside of one another, one quite naturally also has a tendency to have different church bodies of the same tradition or confession growing up. Where in Europe one had divergences of theological opinion contending against one another within the same church body, in America these divergences took on organizational form and were embodied in church structures. As a result, essentially the same question confronted Lutherans in 17 18 Consensus America in their dealings with other Lutherans as had confronted the churches of dif- fering confessions in Europe in their dealings with one another. The question was changed from “Is that body Christian enough?” to “Is that body Lutheran enough for fellowship?” Yet the overtones of the former were still contained in the latter as Lutherans used words like heterodox to describe other Lutherans. -
The Divided Roots of Lutheranism in South Africa
,\ . THE DIVIDED ROOTS OF LUTHERANISM IN SOUTH AFRICA A Critical Overview of the Social History of the German-speaking Lutheran Missions and the Churches Originating from their Work in South Africa Town A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Religious Studies Cape of By: Harald E. Winkler Supervisor: Prof. Charles Villa-Vicencio University - ... ,. Department of Religious Studies University of Cape Town • September 1989 _..... ..........,.,....-.,-..-. __ The University of Cape Town has.be.en !~:i: the right to reproduce this thesis in h l;...------------,t~.~~...,:,~~or in part. Copyrig\1t is held by the ;;iut or. The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derivedTown from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes Capeonly. of Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University · CONTENTS Abbreviations ....................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................. ·...... iv Abstract .............................................v INTRODUCTION Ai.Ins •• e e. • I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1 1 I I I 1 2 Methodolog:y .........................................4 fypes of Church Histoif . ............ 4 The Church as a Site o Stru~gl.e . 7 The Role of Theological Reflection in Church History ......... 8 Limits ............................................. 10 Periodization ....................................... 12 CHAPTER ONE: THE MISSIONARY PERIOD (1834-1889) The Missionary Societies ............................. -
The Role of a Confessional Seminary in Theological Education
EDITORIAL The Role of a Confessional Seminary in Theological Education Frank Bateman Stanger* "A confession" has been defined as "a formulary which com prises the articles of faith," "a creed to be assented to" as one re lates himself to a religious institution. A confessional school of theology is one that either is commit ted to an already formalized confession of faith, or which adheres to a system of theological doctrines which can logically be formal ized into a confession of the Christian faith. Such a seminary is committed to religious doctrines which are deemed to be consistent with historic Christianity and which are interpreted through a par ticular theological perspective. These basic doctrines become the springboard of all the institution's theological thinking in its efforts to be relevant. Such a confession of faith becomes the norm for the examination of all else. The significance of confessional theological education can be seen through four approaches: (1) the purpose of the theological seminary, (2) the predicament of contemporary theological education, (3) the pertinence of confessional theological education, (4) the potential of the theological seminary. THE PURPOSE OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY The fulfillment of the major objectives of theological education assumes a confessional approach to religious truth. These objec tives have a twofold relationship: to the church for which the theo logical seminary exists, and to the theological student himself as he prepares for Christian ministry. The Council on Theological Education of the United Presby- President, Asbury Theological Seminary. 4 The Asbury Seminarian terian Church in the U.S.A. has defined the function of theological education in relation to the Church in these words: The enterprise of theological education is an instru ment of the Church for the furtherance of its mission in the world. -
The Book of Concord FAQ God's Word
would be no objective way to make sure that there is faithful teaching and preaching of The Book of Concord FAQ God's Word. Everything would depend on each pastor's private opinions, subjective Confessional Lutherans for Christ’s Commission interpretations, and personal feelings, rather than on objective truth as set forth in the By permission of Rev. Paul T. McCain Lutheran Confessions. What is the Book of Concord? Do all Lutheran churches have the same view of the Book of Concord? The Book of Concord is a book published in 1580 that contains the Lutheran No. Many Lutheran churches in the world today have been thoroughly influenced by the Confessions. liberal theology that has taken over most so-called "mainline" Protestant denominations in North America and the large Protestant state churches in Europe, Scandinavia, and elsewhere. The foundation of much of modern theology is the view that the words of What are the Lutheran Confessions? the Bible are not actually God's words but merely human opinions and reflections of the The Lutheran Confessions are ten statements of faith that Lutherans use as official ex- personal feelings of those who wrote the words. Consequently, confessions that claim planations and summaries of what they believe, teach, and confess. They remain to this to be true explanations of God's Word are now regarded more as historically day the definitive standard of what Lutheranism is. conditioned human opinions, rather than as objective statements of truth. This would explain why some Lutheran churches enter into fellowship arrangements with What does Concord mean? non-Lutheran churches teaching things in direct conflict with the Holy Scriptures and the Concord means "harmony." The word is derived from two Latin words and is translated Lutheran Confessions. -
Table of Contents
Table of Contents Page Title & Author 1 Preface Dr. Sam Nafzger, The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod 2 Introduction Rev. Dr. William Mundt, Lutheran Church-Canada 5 The Apostles’ Creed Rev. Daniel Inyang, The Lutheran Church of Nigeria 8 The Nicene Creed Rev. Dr. Masao Shimodate, Japan Lutheran Church 11 The Athanasian Creed Rev. Reg Quirk, The Evangelical Lutheran Church of England 14 The Augsburg Confession of 1530 Rev. Dr. Jose Pfaffenzeller, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Argentina 17 Apology of the Augsburg Confession 1531 Dr. Paulo Buss, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil 20 The Smalcald Articles 1537 Rev. Dr. Dieter Reinstorf, Free Evangelical Lutheran Synod in South Africa 23 Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope Rev. Dr. Jin-Seop Eom, Lutheran Church in Korea 26 The Small Catechism Rev. Dr. Wilbert Kreiss, Evangelical Lutheran Church Synod of France & Belgium 29 The Large Catechism Dr. Werner Klän, Independent Evangelical - Lutheran Church 32 The Formula of Concord Dr. Andrew Pfeiffer, Lutheran Church of Australia 35 A Source of Harmony – Peace and a Sword Dr. Jeffrey Oschwald, The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod International Lutheran Council © 2005 Copyright Preface By Dr. Samuel H. Nafzger Commission on Theology and Church Relations Serves in The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod 2005 marks the 475th anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession before Holy Roman Emperor Charles V on June 25, 1530 and the 425th anniversary of the publication of the Book of Concord on June 25, 1575. To commemorate these important occasions, 10 essays prepared by seminary professors and theologians from member churches of the International Lutheran Council have been prepared to present an overview of each of the Book of Concord’s component parts. -
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Archives Global
A Guide to the Microfilm Edition of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Archives Global Missions, Series 1 Primary Source Media Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Archives Global Missions, Series 1 Primary Source Media Primary Source Media 12 Lunar Drive, Woodbridge, CT 06525 Tel: (800) 444 0799 and (203) 397 2600 Fax: (203) 397 3893 P.O. Box 45, Reading, England Tel (+ 44) 1734 583247 Fax: (+ 44) 1734 394334 ISBN: 978-1-57803-389-6 All rights reserved, including those to reproduce this book or any parts thereof in any form Printed and bound in the United States of America 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS Scope and Content Note………………………………………………………………….. v Source Note…………………………………………………………………………..… viii Editorial Note………………………………………………………..…………………… ix Reel Index Part 1: American (Danish) Evangelical Lutheran Church ……………………………… 1 Part 2: American Lutheran Church, 1930-1960 ………………………………………... 2 Part 3: General Council [of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North America] …… 4 Part 4: Iowa Synod [Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Iowa and Other States] ………… 5 Part 5: Joint Synod of Ohio [Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio and Other States] … 6 Part 6: United Lutheran Church in America ……..……………………………….….… 7 Appendix: Administrative Histories……………………………………………….. …..11 SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE Since 1842, when Rev. J.C.F. Heyer went to India as a missionary of the Pennsylvania Ministerium, representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and its predecessor bodies have helped spread the Gospel throughout the world. This microfilm collection provides essential and unique research materials for the study of the role of missionary activities in developing countries, the impetus for missionary work, and the development of the Lutheran Church worldwide. -
6. Confessional Subscription Robert Preus, Ph.D., D
FAITHFUL COMFESSI0Nt"P~LIFE IN THE CHURCH 6. Confessional Subscription Robert Preus, Ph.D., D. Theol. What is a Lutheran? What is the nature of subscription to the Lutheran Confessions? These two questions which are often considered together and which are as inseparably related as Siamese twins have become increasingly important in our day when Lutheranism is fighting for its identity and life. Today most of the Lutheran pastors and teachers throughout the world sub- scribe, at least pro forma, all the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran church: the ancient catholic creeds and the great Lutheran confessions of the 16th century, i.e. the Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Luther's two catechisms, the Smalcald Articles and the Formula of Concord. What does such subscription mean? Is such subscription any longer possible in our day of academic freedom and vaunted autonomy, ecu- menisin and dialogue? Many today think that subscription to any creed or confession is no longer viable and can represent only an impossible legalistic yoke upon an evangelical Christian or pastor. This is the conviction not only of Baptists and other traditionally non-credal denominations, but also of such renowned and conservative theologians as Karl Barth who holds that any human formulation of doctrine (as a creed or confession must be) is only a quest, an approximation, and therefore re1ative.l Are such objections valid? Is the Lutheran church able to justify con- fessional subscription today? And is she able to explain and agree on pre- cisely what is meant by such subscription? Today questions concerning the nature and spirit and extent of conies- sianal subscription have become a vexing problem, an enigma or even an embarrassment to many Lutherans. -
Defining Lutheranism from the Margins: Paul Peter Waldenström on Being a ‘Good Lutheran’ in America Mark Safstrom Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois
Augustana College Augustana Digital Commons Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Scandinavian Studies Creative Works 2012 Defining Lutheranism from the Margins: Paul Peter Waldenström on Being a ‘Good Lutheran’ in America Mark Safstrom Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/scanfaculty Part of the History of Christianity Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the Scandinavian Studies Commons Augustana Digital Commons Citation Safstrom, Mark. "Defining Lutheranism from the Margins: Paul Peter Waldenström on Being a ‘Good Lutheran’ in America" (2012). Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works. https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/scanfaculty/3 This Published Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Scandinavian Studies at Augustana Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Scandinavian Studies: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works by an authorized administrator of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Defining Lutheranism from the Margins: Paul Peter Waldenström on Being a “Good Lutheran” in America MARK SAFSTROM he histories of church institutions may often be written by the orthodox “winners,” but dissenters, protestors, and even her Tetics undoubtedly play important roles in giving direction to the parent institution’s evolving identity. Such voices from the mar- gins often set the agenda at crucial moments, prompting both the dissenters and establishment to engage in a debate to define proper theology and practice. Once a dissenting group has formally sepa- rated from a parent body, there is a risk that teleological hindsight will obscure the nature of these conversations, including the reasons for the ultimate separation and the intentions of both the dissenters and the establishment. -
A Historical Overview of the Impact of the Reformation on East Asia Christina Han
Consensus Volume 38 Issue 1 Reformation: Then, Now, and Onward. Varied Article 4 Voices, Insightful Interpretations 11-25-2017 A Historical Overview of the Impact of the Reformation on East Asia Christina Han Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus Part of the Chinese Studies Commons, History of Christianity Commons, Japanese Studies Commons, Korean Studies Commons, and the Missions and World Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Han, Christina (2017) "A Historical Overview of the Impact of the Reformation on East Asia," Consensus: Vol. 38 : Iss. 1 , Article 4. Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol38/iss1/4 This Articles is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Han: Reformation in East Asia A Historical Overview of the Impact of the Reformation on East Asia Christina Han1 The Reformation 500 Jubilee and the Shadow of the Past he celebratory mood is high throughout the world as we approach the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Themed festivals and tours, special services and T conferences have been organized to commemorate Martin Luther and his legacy. The jubilee Luther 2017, planned and sponsored the federal and municipal governments of Germany and participated by churches and communities in Germany and beyond, lays out the goals of the events as follows: While celebrations in earlier centuries were kept national and confessional, the upcoming anniversary of the Revolution ought to be shaped by openness, freedom and ecumenism. -
The Two Folk Churches in Finland
The Two Folk Churches in Finland The 12th Finnish Lutheran-Orthodox Theological Discussions 2014 Publications of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland 29 The Church and Action The Two Folk Churches in Finland The 12th Finnish Lutheran-Orthodox Theological Discussions 2014 Publications of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland 29 The Church and Action National Church Council Department for International Relations Helsinki 2015 The Two Folk Churches in Finland The 12th Finnish Lutheran-Orthodox Theological Discussions 2014 © National Church Council Department for International Relations Publications of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland 29 The Church and Action Documents exchanged between the churches (consultations and reports) Tasknumber: 2015-00362 Editor: Tomi Karttunen Translator: Rupert Moreton Book design: Unigrafia/ Hanna Sario Layout: Emma Martikainen Photos: Kirkon kuvapankki/Arto Takala, Heikki Jääskeläinen, Emma Martikainen ISBN 978-951-789-506-4 (paperback) ISBN 978-951-789-507-1 (PDF) ISSN 2341-9393 (Print) ISSN 2341-9407 (Online) Unigrafia Helsinki 2015 CONTENTS Foreword ..................................................................................................... 5 THE TWELFTH THEOLOGICAL DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF FINLAND AND THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF FINLAND, 2014 Communiqué. ............................................................................................. 9 A Theological and Practical Overview of the Folk Church, opening speech Bishop Arseni ............................................................................................