Chrysostom and Luther on the Intergenerational Character of The
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Master of Art Theology Thesis Concordia Seminary Scholarship 8-20-2020 Chrysostom and Luther on the Intergenerational Character of the Faith: Retrieving the God-Designed Parental Role in the Transmission of the Faith to the Next Generation Charles Samuel Voigt Ledebuhr [email protected] Charles Samuel Voigt Ledebuhr Mr. Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/ma_th Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Voigt Ledebuhr, Charles Samuel and Voigt Ledebuhr, Charles Samuel Mr., "Chrysostom and Luther on the Intergenerational Character of the Faith: Retrieving the God-Designed Parental Role in the Transmission of the Faith to the Next Generation" (2020). Master of Art Theology Thesis. 91. https://scholar.csl.edu/ma_th/91 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Art Theology Thesis by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CHRYSOSTOM AND LUTHER ON THE INTERGENERATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE FAITH RETRIEVING THE GOD-DESIGNED PARENTAL ROLE IN THE TRANSMISSION OF THE FAITH TO THE NEXT GENERATION A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Department of Systematic Theology, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts By Charles Samuel Voigt Ledebuhr August, 2020 Approved by: Joel D. Biermann Thesis Advisor David R. Maxwell Reader Peter H. Nafzger Reader © 2020 by Charles Samuel Voigt Ledebuhr. All rights reserved. ii Ebenezer! Rendering all the glory and gratitude to God, I dedicate this work to my wife Veridiane. God knows the valleys through which He led us in these months, but as our Good Shepherd He led us with His loving hand! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1) iii CONTENTS Chrysostom and luther on the intergenerational character of the faith ........................................... i RETRIEVING THE GOD-DESIGNED PARENTAL ROLE IN THE TRANSMISSION OF THE FAITH TO THE NEXT GENERATION ............................................................... I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... vii ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................... 4 THE INTERGENERATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE FAITH ...................................... 4 SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATION ........................................................................................... 5 THE HUMAN BEING WITHOUT HISTORY ................................................................... 6 HARDWIRED FOR INTERGENERATIONALITY ......................................................... 13 PASSING ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN ........................................................ 19 THE FAITH WE RECEIVED FROM OUR PARENTS AND WILL PASS ON TO OUR CHILDREN ........................................................................................................................ 25 THE VISION OF THE GOOD LIFE OUR CHILDREN ARE GETTING ....................... 30 IN LOCO PARENTIS .......................................................................................................... 35 PASSING ON THE FAITH IN A POST-CONSTANTINIAN WORLD .......................... 39 RETRIEVING THE PARENTAL ROLE IN THE PASSING ON OF THE FAITH TO THE NEXT GENERATION .............................................................................................. 41 CHAPTER THREE ..................................................................................................................... 44 JOHN CHRYSOSTOM ON THE INTERGENERATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE FAITH ................................................................................................................................. 44 iv THE INTERGENERATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE FAITH .................................... 46 MONASTICISM OR MARRIED LIFE ............................................................................. 49 THE ECCLESIAL FAMILY .............................................................................................. 53 THE MONASTIC FAMILY .............................................................................................. 57 VAINGLORY ..................................................................................................................... 61 THE SCHOOL AND THE FAMILY ................................................................................. 66 TELLING STORIES AND THE BIBLE ........................................................................... 68 LEADING CHILDREN TO MARRIAGE ......................................................................... 70 CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................................ 75 MARTIN LUTHER ON THE INTERGENERATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE FAITH ............................................................................................................................................ 75 THE INTERGENERATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE FAITH .................................... 76 THE BLESSED ESTATE OF MARRIAGE AND THE CHRISTIAN HOUSEHOLD .... 79 PASSING ON THE CATECHISM .................................................................................... 85 THE PLACE OF THE ROD ............................................................................................... 90 IN LOCO PARENTIS .......................................................................................................... 92 BRINGING CHILDREN UP TO BE FULLY HUMAN ................................................... 97 BRINGING CHILDREN UP TO FULFIL THEIR VOCATIONS .................................. 107 LEADING CHILDREN TO MARRIAGE ....................................................................... 112 CHAPTER FIVE ....................................................................................................................... 119 A COMPARISON BETWEEN CHRYSOSTOM AND LUTHER ON THE INTERGENERATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE FAITH ........................................... 119 THE SURROUNDING WORLD ..................................................................................... 119 TRAINING FOR WORLDLY VOCATIONS ................................................................. 123 v MARRIED LIFE AND MONASTIC LIFE...................................................................... 129 THE PLACE OF THE ROD ............................................................................................. 133 CHAPTER SIX .......................................................................................................................... 137 INPUTS FROM CHRYSOSTOM AND LUTHER FOR TODAY ................................. 137 THE MONASTIC FAMILY ............................................................................................ 137 DARE TO MARRY.......................................................................................................... 142 NOT CHURCH-CENTERED ONLY, NOR CHURCH-DISCONNECTED EITHER ... 146 CHAPTER SEVEN ................................................................................................................... 154 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 154 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................... 156 VITA .......................................................................................................................................... 160 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the opportunity of this achievement, I must recognize the people and institutions that God used to lead me here. Seminário Concórdia of Brazil. To the professors who laid the foundation for my theological thinking, saw in me a potential unknown by myself, and encouraged this endeavor. Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB). Within this church body the Lord Jesus Christ called me to be His own since my Baptism and today He grants me the honor of serving Him in this same church-body as minister of His Word. Countless are the blessings poured out by the Lord on me within this church body along the way between the mentioned moments. One was the opportunity to be sent to study at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. That the deepening in the Word of the Lord in this institution be for the glory of God and growth of His Kingdom as I serve His people as minister of His Word. All the professors from ULBRA, Seminário Concórdia, and Concordia Seminary have been used by God to shape