Asia Adventist Seminary Studies for 1998

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Asia Adventist Seminary Studies for 1998 AASS Asia Adventist Seminary Studies VOLUME 1 1998 1-3 A Child Is Born (Editorial) Adventist Theological Education in the Third Millenium 5-17 G. T. NG What Constitutes "Acceptable Contextualization"? 19-25 CARLOS MARTIN Like Father, Like Son: Belsha77ar's Relationship to King Nebuchadnezzar 27-31 ZDRAVKO STEFANOVIC A Brief Introduction to the Eschatology of the Reformers: Second Coming, Resurrection of the Dead, and Final Judgment 33-51 HUMBERTO TREIYER Reflections on Revelation 53-62 RON BISSELL The Sanctuary Terminology in Hebrews 63-83 EDWIN REYNOLDS Doctoral Dissertation Abstracts 85—Book Reviews 93 7 .-1 /k. It 11' 1- i.r.rie 4+. d 4.4,, 1, i_i,?' ,A1,fg,:•:'-' e; t,' I 1-, IJ.,.,.' .-17., - 0 1 r, r„ 6k II ,J1114' — I Y r.,..1;,,e„ C ' , it„.10?_, ,,, - .3, xi.'4.,- -4r.: ,, ,1 ./ _ .6 .- ,1 ,_,„,, ,-. _ .4 , '.44 ii, • . ' _ 11 - r r :,.. - L.1A .,7!-,1•I _.''' rt J. __. ,...z:F- . .• ''''' , .1 , • -4, 14".-i-r...:;4 t 1 -.il• !' r,''''r'' --••••••'' 1,$„•'1•1!1•::4•' in4 ,;r_- ", lc- ,.'1, 1-, ,Ff , . .. .. Yrniiit--- ''_,-• .• '1, r qd„.._.._, .,.; .i- ."Pi • 4i11- ,' — •:,. '...C'T , 4 " 4w b- .7* RI ilk 414.4, eJ- = 1 }i ll 7.1- jf 7-i14 4.4.v../ .. ),I .2,L;L•tr'fq411 .4. ,I,....ij 4 7 f ler'. iz., 't' -' '' ili. F.' I1Y_J Tet 4.?V, 4 .1 2.. r .ti'_ -1-114: -. ., ). '-..t.t4 !t4 .- r - II 11- , 1.. I i. - lij.',,-fp.1- 41--4-'• . ..0 ••;;;;.1 ' .-LZEPC 0. 7, r",-,N r- , ,..14:it.•.7 1 '''.'..4 ::•. 1.•_ ,., 0 , -•it;i7:;' - ',04t.Ti41I,"- • r.i.H. ''-- :--3' 1 ..! . - l'i' 10 ., , $''''i ' i' 0- -1" ,.1 ft* _ ,. =-1-- 11:1. ,.;:'"L.ki , , ',', J1 • ..,,-:-.. ..t -17..' R ..,--=''' 772',..j...' ,11, L ' 11. ., I+ .,.7,i, .. 'it• - 1 • -!•. .• :7,T, _,n_. .-•,/,•,-:.; -- VII 4.- 'l . .2 4.7.,. 7 - -.. :F. r •--1-'7.':••••11 _L . 4 . -ff -.:17--- ASIA ADVENTIST SEMINARY STUDIES PUBLISHED ANNUALLY BY THE ADVENTIST INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES Asia Adventist Seminary Studies (AASS) is published once a year by AIIAS Publications under the auspices of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS), Silang, Cavite, Republic of the Philippines. It is the official scholarly journal of the AIIAS Theological Seminary. AIIAS is a graduate-level institution of Christian education operated by the General Conference of Seventh- day Adventists, serving especially the Asia-Pacific region. EDITOR Edwin Reynolds ASSISTANT EDITOR Felipe Tan, Jr. EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Anne Bissell EDITORIAL SECRETARY CIRCULATION MANAGER Glenice Joy Ondap EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS Carlos Martin Zdravko Stefanovic THE MISSION of AASS is to publish research findings and practical contributions from AIIAS Theological Seminary by which pastors, teachers, administrators, and other church members may be benefitted in carrying out more knowledgeably and effectively the mission of the church in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world. SUBSCRIPTIONS to AASS may be obtained by writing to: Asia Adventist Seminary Studies P.O. Box 038 4118 Silang, Cavite Republic of the Philippines Annual subscription cost is US$4.00 within Asia, and US$5.00 elsewhere. This includes postage. Payment may be made by cash, US dollar check, or international money order. Additional fees may be assessed if checks are not negotiable. Copyright ''1998 by AIIAS Publications A CHILD IS BORN (Editorial) Jesus once said that "when a woman is in travail she has SO1TOW, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world" (John 16:21). This rather well expresses the sentiments of those who have labored long to bring this infant into the world. I use the word "long" in its fullest sense. This journal has had a long history of fits and starts before reaching this final stage. I do not intend to recount that history, but those who have •participated in the process know full well what I mean. I have a file of articles prepared for publication in years past that never reached the publication stage. Editors have come and gone without seeing the reward of their labors. There was great concern that this not happen again, and some have been reluctant to take the time and trouble to submit materials, fearing that their labor would again be for naught. We have been determined that the past not be repeated, and if you find yourself reading this copy, you will know that our labor has not been in vain. As you peruse this journal, sent out on a complimentary basis at first, with the hope that you will choose to subscribe to future issues, you may have questions as to what this seminary represents and why we chose to publish a scholarly journal. I would like to give a brief history here to acquaint our readers with who we are and what we stand for as an institution. The Theological Seminary is one of two schools of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS), an institution of graduate education operated by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The seminary began in 1957 as a part of Philippine Union College, now the Adventist University of the Philippines. In 1978 it was adopted by the Far Eastern Division of the Seventh- day Adventist (SDA) Church, taking the name Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Far East. The name was later changed to the Asia Adventist Theological Seminary (AATS), a legal entity which still exists to offer programs as deemed essential for students who cannot qualify for AIIAS graduate programs. In 1986 the Theological Seminary became one of two schools to operate under a charter granted by the Philippine government to open AIIAS as an international institution for graduate education. When the SDA Church in the Asia-Pacific region was being restructured in 1996, AIIAS became a General Conference institution. It thus serves the world, though with special responsibility to the Asia-Pacific region. A special feature of AIIAS is its Distance Education Division, in which programs are offered at many different Distance Learning Centers around the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, enabling students to continue with their employment while attending short intensive courses offered by AIIAS professors at convenient, regional locations. 1 2 Asia Adventist Seminary Studies The Theological Seminary offers three professional programs, the Master of Divinity, the Master of Ministry, and the Doctor of Ministry. We also have two academic programs, the Master of Arts in Religion and the Doctor of Philosophy in Religion. Besides these regular on-campus programs, the Master of Ministry program is offered also through the Distance Education Division. The seminary departments have been undergoing some restructuring recently. There are now three new departments on campus, each encompassing two formerly independent departments. The Applied Theology department covers Christian Ministry and World Mission. The Biblical Studies department encompasses Old Testament and New Testament. And the Historical/Theological Studies department teaches Church History as well as Theology, Christian Philosophy, and Ethics. AIIAS is officially and legally recognized by the government of the Republic of the Philippines as a graduate educational institution of international character, having a special classification as a foreign school with an international student body, faculty, management, funding support, programs, curricular offerings, calendar, fee structure, and academic stndards. AIIAS degrees are accredited by the Adventist Accrediting Association (AAA), located near Washington, DC, USA. In addition, Theological Seminary degrees are accredited by the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA). ATESEA is a member of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), as well as the World Conference of Associations of Theological Institutions (WOCATI), of which ATESEA was a founding member. The mission of AIIAS is to deliver dynamic Seventh-day Adventist graduate education on campus and at different Distance Learning Centers iii such fields as business, education, health, and religion, in order that its graduates will effectively fulfill the Gospel Commission by providing competent leadership and service based on integrity, respect, and love in meeting the needs of the church andsociety. The mission statement of this journal is printed on the inside cover. We encourage you to read it. It is, of course, to be interpreted within the mission of AIIAS and of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a whole. At this point the journal is being internally refereed by a committee voted by the faculty. It is our hope that we will be viewed as making a contribution to scholarship as well as to practical religion and applied theology in order not merely to perform an academic exercise but to prove useful to the field. We solicit your response, whether positive or negative, so that we may know the measure of the journal's usefulness and success. We also encourage you to subscribe in order to support and encourage our efforts to disseminate the journal with its contributions. Finally, I would like to briefly introduce to you those who have contributed articles for this issue of the journal. G. T. Ng is the dean of the Theological Seminary, director of the PhD in Religion program, and Associate Professor of Christian Ministry and World Mission. He hails from Singapore and holds a PhD from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA. He is entering his eighth year of teaching at AIIAS. Carlos Martin is the assistant dean of the seminary, director of the DMin program, chair of the new Applied Theology department, Associate Professor of World Editorial. A Child Is Born 3 Mission, and a consulting editor of AASS. He is originally from Uruguay and holds a PhD from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Recommended publications
  • Defending Faith
    Spätmittelalter, Humanismus, Reformation Studies in the Late Middle Ages, Humanism and the Reformation herausgegeben von Volker Leppin (Tübingen) in Verbindung mit Amy Nelson Burnett (Lincoln, NE), Berndt Hamm (Erlangen) Johannes Helmrath (Berlin), Matthias Pohlig (Münster) Eva Schlotheuber (Düsseldorf) 65 Timothy J. Wengert Defending Faith Lutheran Responses to Andreas Osiander’s Doctrine of Justification, 1551– 1559 Mohr Siebeck Timothy J. Wengert, born 1950; studied at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), Luther Seminary (St. Paul, MN), Duke University; 1984 received Ph. D. in Religion; since 1989 professor of Church History at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. ISBN 978-3-16-151798-3 ISSN 1865-2840 (Spätmittelalter, Humanismus, Reformation) Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2012 by Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher’s written permission. This applies particularly to reproduc- tions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was typeset by Martin Fischer in Tübingen using Minion typeface, printed by Gulde- Druck in Tübingen on non-aging paper and bound Buchbinderei Spinner in Ottersweier. Printed in Germany. Acknowledgements Thanks is due especially to Bernd Hamm for accepting this manuscript into the series, “Spätmittelalter, Humanismus und Reformation.” A special debt of grati- tude is also owed to Robert Kolb, my dear friend and colleague, whose advice and corrections to the manuscript have made every aspect of it better and also to my doctoral student and Flacius expert, Luka Ilic, for help in tracking down every last publication by Matthias Flacius.
    [Show full text]
  • The Formula of Concord As a Model for Discourse in the Church
    21st Conference of the International Lutheran Council Berlin, Germany August 27 – September 2, 2005 The Formula of Concord as a Model for Discourse in the Church Robert Kolb The appellation „Formula of Concord“ has designated the last of the symbolic or confessional writings of the Lutheran church almost from the time of its composition. This document was indeed a formulation aimed at bringing harmony to strife-ridden churches in the search for a proper expression of the faith that Luther had proclaimed and his colleagues and followers had confessed as a liberating message for both church and society fifty years earlier. This document is a formula, a written document that gives not even the slightest hint that it should be conveyed to human ears instead of human eyes. The Augsburg Confession had been written to be read: to the emperor, to the estates of the German nation, to the waiting crowds outside the hall of the diet in Augsburg. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession, it is quite clear from recent research,1 followed the oral form of judicial argument as Melanchthon presented his case for the Lutheran confession to a mythically yet neutral emperor; the Apology was created at the yet not carefully defined border between oral and written cultures. The Large Catechism reads like the sermons from which it was composed, and the Small Catechism reminds every reader that it was written to be recited and repeated aloud. The Formula of Concord as a „Binding Summary“ of Christian Teaching In contrast, the „Formula of Concord“ is written for readers, a carefully- crafted formulation for the theologians and educated lay people of German Lutheran churches to ponder and study.
    [Show full text]
  • The Law in Formula VI James A
    Volume 69:3-4 July/October 2005 Table of Contents The Third Use of the Law: Keeping Up to Date with an Old Issue Lawrence R. Rast .................................................................... 187 A Third Use of the Law: Is the Phrase Necessary? Lawrence M. Vogel ..................................................................191 God's Law, God's Gospel, and Their Proper Distinction: A Sure Guide Through the Moral Wasteland of Postmodernism Louis A. Smith .......................................................................... 221 The Third Use of the Law: Resolving The Tension David P. Scaer ........................................................................... 237 Changing Definitions: The Law in Formula VI James A. Nestingen ................................................................. 259 Beyond the Impasse: Re-examining the Third Use of the Law Mark C. Mattes ......................................................................... 271 Looking into the Heart of Missouri: Justification, Sanctification, and the Third Use of the Law Carl Beckwith ............................................................................ 293 Choose Life! Walter Obare Omawanza ........................................................ 309 CTQ 69 (2005): 259-270 Changing Definitions: The Law in Formula VI James A. Nestingen There are a couple of key theological issues percolating through the dispute over the third use of the law. When they are isolated, they illustrate some of the key historical differences between Luther and Melanchthon, and beyond them, between Luther and the theologians who drafted Article VI of the Formula of Concord. The first issue is the end of the law, an assertion that emerged early in the Reformation out of Luther and Melanchthon's consideration of Roman 10:4, where Paul states that "Christ is the end [rCAos] of the law, that all who believe may be justified." Luther and Melanchthon both picked up what had generally been either passed over or minimized by the tradition, the sense of termination that is also included in riAos.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Thesis
    A Comparative Analysis of the Distinction between Law and Gospel in Gerhard Forde and Confessional Lutheranism. By Jordan Cooper A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Master of Theology at the South African Theological Seminary Supervisor: Professor Daniel Lioy Submitted on September 28, 2016 Table of Contents 1. Introduction: A Comparative Analysis of the Distinction between Law and Gospel in Gerhard Forde and Confessional Lutheranism. 1.1 Background 1.2 Problems and Objectives 1.3 Central Theoretical Argument and Purpose 1.4 Research Methodology 1.5 Conclusion 2. Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Confessional Lutheran Landscape 2.3 Writings from the Confessional Lutheran Tradition 2.3.1 David Scaer 2.3.2 Scott Murray 2.3.3 Joel Biermann 2.3.4 Joel Biermann and Charles Arand 2.3.5 Charles Arand 2.3.6 Jack Kilcrease 2.3.7 Confessional Lutheran Writers: Conclusion 2.4 Gerhard Forde 2.4.1 The Law-Gospel Debate 2.4.2 Where God Meets Man 2.4.3 The Writings of Gerhard Forde: Conclusion 2.5 Conclusion 2 | C o o p e r 3. The Scriptural and Theological Foundations for the Distinction Between Law and Gospel in Confessional Lutheranism 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Definition of the Law 3.3 Definition of the Gospel 3.4 Contrast and Continuity Between Law and Gospel 3.5 Law, Gospel, and the Atonement 3.6 The Third Use of the Law 3.7 The Scriptural Foundations of the Law-Gospel Distinction 3.8 The Practical Use of the Law-Gospel Paradigm 3.9 Conclusion 4.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lutheran Reformation's Formula of Concord
    CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY Volume 43, Number'4 JUNE 1979 Discord, Dialogue, and Concord: The Lutheran Reformation's Formula of Concord.... ;. Lewis W. Spitz 183 Higher Criticism and the Incarnation in The Thought of I.A. Dorner ......... John M. Ilrickamer I97 The Quranic Christ .................................... C. George Fry 207 Theological Observer ...........................................................222 Book Reviews .................................................................... 226 Books Received .................................................................... 250 Discord. Dialogue, and Concord: I83 Discord, Dialogue, and Concord The Lutheran Reformation's Formula of Concord Lewis W. Spitz The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, observing the religious strife of the day, commented sardonically, "How absurd to try to m@e two men think alike on matters of religion, when I cannot make two timepieces agree!" Since his day the choris of religious belief and opinion has become increasingly cacaphonous, so that the celebration of the four hundredth anniversary of the Formu- la of Concord, a confession which restored a good measure of harmony to a strife-ridden segment of the church, is an event of deep significance. Commemorations of Protestant confessions have at times in the past been not merely devout, but also parti- san, sentimental, monumental, and even self-congratulatory or triumphalist, but ours must be done in a more reflective and analytical mood. The church of the Reformation, too, may bene- fit from reform and renewal. In the Ft-unkfurter gelehrten Anzeiger (1 772) Goethe mocked the iconoclastic zeal of the "en- lightened reformers" of his day, who were even urging the reform of Lutheranism. But, as Luther himself realized, such great things are not in the hands of man, but of God.
    [Show full text]
  • Complete Dissertation
    VU Research Portal Theology in an Age of Fashion Covolo, R.S. 2017 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Covolo, R. S. (2017). Theology in an Age of Fashion: Reforming the Engagement. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 30. Sep. 2021 VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT Theology in an Age of Fashion: Reforming the Engagement ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam en Fuller Theological Seminary, op gezag van de rectores magnifici prof.dr. V. Subramaniam en prof.dr. M. Labberton, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit der Godgeleerdheid op woensdag 15 november 2017 om 15.45 uur in de aula van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door Robert Stephen Covolo geboren te Mountain View, California, Verenigde Staten promotoren: prof.dr.
    [Show full text]
  • MELANCHTHONS BRIEFWECHSEL MELANCHTHONS BRIEFWECHSEL Kritische Und Kommentierte Gesamtausgabe
    MELANCHTHONS BRIEFWECHSEL MELANCHTHONS BRIEFWECHSEL Kritische und kommentierte Gesamtausgabe Im Auftrag der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften herausgegeben von Christine Mundhenk Band T 15 Texte 4110–4529a (1546) MELANCHTHONS BRIEFWECHSEL Band T 15 Texte 4110–4529a (1546) bearbeitet von Matthias Dall’Asta, Heidi Hein und Christine Mundhenk frommann-holzboog Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 2014 Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über 〈http://dnb.dnb.de〉 abrufbar. ISBN 978–3–7728–2576–7 © frommann-holzboog Verlag e.K. · Eckhart Holzboog Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 2014 www.frommann-holzboog.de Satzgestaltung: Christine Mundhenk mit Hilfe von TUSTEP Druck: Offizin Scheufele, Stuttgart Einband: Litges & Dopf, Heppenheim Inhalt Vorwort der Herausgeberin ................................... 7 Hinweise für den Benutzer .................................... 9 Abkürzungen ............................................... 11 Texte Nr. 4110–4529a (1546) .................................. 27 Indizes . ................................................... 635 Absender ............................................... 637 Adressaten .............................................. 638 Fremdstücke ............................................ 640 Bibelstellen ............................................. 641 Autoren und Werke bis ca. 1500 ........................... 647 Autoren und Werke ab
    [Show full text]
  • Reformatoren
    MANN IM SPIEGEL Periodikum der Männerarbeit der EKBO Seelsorge - Erwachsenenbildung - Gemeindeaufbau Ausgabe für November Dezember 2016 Januar 2017 Der illuminierte Berliner Dom Reformatoren Männerarbeit der EKBO Luther und Melanchthon haben die in Blau innerhalb eines goldenen Ringes einge- fasste silberne Rose, belegt mit einem roten Herzen, dieses wiederum belegt mit einem schwarzen Kreuz, als persönliches heraldisches Symbol geführt, und bezeich- net als „ Lutherrose “. In einem Brief vom 8.7.1530 an Lazarus Spengler gibt Luther selbst in folgende In- terpretation: „ Von der Symbolik her steht das Kreuz auf dem Herz dafür, dass der Glaube an den Gekreuzigten uns selig macht und dass der Glaube das Herz in natürlicher Farbe lebendig erhält. Die weiße (silberne) Rose steht dafür, dass der Glaube Freude, Trost und Frieden gibt. Der goldene Ring soll ausdrücken, dass die Seligkeit im Himmel ewig währt, und wie Gold das höchste Erz ist, so soll die himmlische Seligkeit die köstlichste aller Freuden sein. Das Blau des Feldes steht für den Himmel und für himmlische Freude bzw. die Hoffnung darauf.“ Die Blarer waren ursprünglich Bürger von St. Gallen, aber von 1330 an ging die Fa- milie verstärkt nach Konstanz, handelte mit Leinwand und stieg unter die Ratsge- schlechter auf. Die Reformation spaltete die Konstanzer Familie in zwei Zweige. Die katholische Linie erlosch bald wieder, die protestantische überlebte länger und starb erst mit dem Major Philipp am 20.1.1865 aus. Von der protestantischen Familie ist der Reformator Ambrosius (4.4.1492-6.12.1564) der bekannteste Vertreter war. Blaurer ist die schwäbische Variante des Familiennamens. Inhalt Grußwort und Gedanken zu den Monatslosungen S.
    [Show full text]
  • Making of the Book of Concord a Historic Backgrounder 21-May-2017
    Making of The Book of Concord A Historic Backgrounder 21-May-2017 Prepared by Michael T Grzonka, Grace Lutheran Church, Nashua, NH, USA Author credits are appreciated. You could be forgiven to think its that easy … Luther’s Us teachings This presentation is in the Public Domain as of November 2016. Copies are available from http://www.LutherBibleStudies.com You could be forgiven to think its that easy … Actually, there was quiet a bit of, uhmm, Luther’s Us teachings This presentation is in the Public Domain as of November 2016. Copies are available from http://www.LutherBibleStudies.com What does it mean to be Lutheran? • For a long time, the best answer was: “just ask Luther” • By the 1530, he and his inner circle had written various documents, establishing precisely what it meant to be Lutheran • Many of these documents were written reacting to specific situations … This presentation is in the Public Domain as of November 2016. Copies are available from http://www.LutherBibleStudies.com Luther’s Catechisms, 1529 • To survey the situation in "Many [pastors] could not repeat the Ten Commandments or the Lord's Saxony, the Wittenbergers Prayer and knew little or nothing about began in 1529 visiting every the Bible. … In many regions at least a third of the avowedly celibate clergy parish in Saxony. lived in wild wedlock. … In one region … [conditions were] so dreadful that out • What the found was NOT of 200 clergymen all but ten lived in pretty … open fornication. It was not unusual to find pastors in gambling places and • Luther responded by writing beer chambers, distinguishable from the Small and the Large the laity only by the title of clergyman." Catechism as teaching tools "Luther and his times" by E.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Discipleship in the Lutheran Tradition
    The History of Discipleship in the Lutheran Tradition Robert Kolb If we wished to be fundamentalistic, we could make this a very short lecture. Even though Luther used the words for “disciple” and “discipleship,” in his translation of Scripture, the word itself did not become a part of Lutheran theological vocabulary until much later, perhaps first in the twentieth century – Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Nachfolge (he did not think it was necessary to mention the cost in the title) being the first, or at least one of the first, major work promoting the vocabulary in our tradition. On the other hand, trying to survey in forty-five minutes, what Lutherans have emphasized in their teaching of the Christian life is an impossibly large task since different cultural situations and different eras have made a variety of demands on Christian leaders’ thinking about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. So this lecture will only try to use some examples and observations, mostly from the first two centuries of Lutheran history, to provoke our thinking about our own following in the footsteps of the one who has buried our sinful identities and raised us up to walk in his footsteps as trusting children of God. The lecture will offer some positive examples of faithfulness to Luther’s insights into the nature of the life of faith, fostered in repentance through the proper distinction of law and gospel, but negative examples of straying from Luther’s insights also abound. The lesson to be drawn from this historical picture admonishes us to remember that we stand always in the midst of the eschatological battle between God and Satan, between the truth of Jesus and devil’s deception, which seeks to weaken and misdirect the faith that creates the believer’s person as a child of God.
    [Show full text]
  • The Election Controversy Among Lutherans in the Twentieth Century: an Examination of the Underlying Problems
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Dissertations (1934 -) Projects The Election Controversy Among Lutherans in the Twentieth Century: An Examination of the Underlying Problems John M. Brenner Marquette University Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Brenner, John M., "The Election Controversy Among Lutherans in the Twentieth Century: An Examination of the Underlying Problems" (2012). Dissertations (1934 -). 204. https://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/204 THE ELECTION CONTROVERSY AMONG LUTHERANS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: AN EXAMINATION OF THE UNDERLYING PROBLEMS by John M. Brenner, B.A., M.Div. A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2012 ABSTRACT The Election Controversy among Lutherans in the Twentieth Century: An Examination of the Underlying Problems. Author: John M. Brenner The Election Controversy of the nineteenth century re-shaped the face of confessional Lutheranism in America. The Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America, the leading voice of confessional Lutheranism in America, bore the brunt of the dispute and ultimately dissolved. This dissertation examines the Election Controversy with special attention to the twentieth century attempts to resolve it in order to discover the underlying problems that have prevented the opposing sides from reaching a resolution. The dissertation is written from the viewpoint of the Wisconsin Synod, one of the synods involved in the controversy but often ignored in the discussion of it. The study is needed because contemporary observers do not have a good understanding of confessional Lutheranism and Lutheranism’s historic emphasis on doctrinal purity.
    [Show full text]
  • Coversheet for Thesis in Sussex Research Online
    A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details Religion and the Military in the Holy Roman Empire c.1500-1650 Nikolas Maximilian Funke DPhil candidate in History Registration Number: 20613175 Submitted to the University of Sussex in September 2011 University of Sussex Nikolas Maximilian Funke (DPhil in History) Religion and the Military in the Holy Roman Empire c.1500-1650 Summary This study is the first in-depth examination of military religiosity in the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th and early 17th century. Despite a lack of research into military religious sensibilities historians have uncritically repeated a contemporary stereotype that branded soldiers as ‘un-Christian’. The study argues that soldiers were not religiously deviant but that their spirituality differed little from that of their contemporaries. However, one aspect of post-Reformation culture, confessional thinking, was noticeably absent in the military, both structurally and in everyday life. These latitudinarian attitudes were fostered by warlords, as is reflected in martial law, and become evident in military diaries as well as the conduct of warfare in the period.
    [Show full text]