Luther Library

Logos Bible Software “Emergency” Update on Updating

2010-01-29T17:11:00.002-06:00

Owners of Logos Bible Software have until the end of the weekend to take advantage of steeply discounted upgrade costs to move to Version 4. They provide a handy Upgrade Discounter tool to help with your decision. If you’re wavering — or committed and wanting a chuckle — you should read Top Ten Reasons Not to Upgrade to Logos 4 while Mac users can also peruse 9 Reasons Mac Users Should Upgrade.

If you want to speak with a person rather than order online, you have less than 2 hours from the time this is posted, so call 800-875-6467 before today (Friday 29 January) at 5:00pm Pacific Standard Time (0100 Zulu on Saturday 30 January).

Cross posted from Happenings.

Even Death: A Novel

2009-10-14T23:18:00.003-05:00

Not often do we find a novel that uses "A Novel" as its subtitle. Then again, not often do we find a Lutheran pastor who actually writes a novel — so maybe the signpost is needed.

Of course, when we discover that a pastor — or anyone with strong religious convictions — has written a work of fantasy or fiction, we do well to investigate. After all, for every engaging, well-written, piece of Christian fiction (e.g., The Year of the Warrior by Lars Walker) there are probably hundreds (thousands?) of moralistic, wooden, heavy-handed, or otherwise defective offerings (see William Young's The Shack for a prime bad example). And even if crafted artfully, many works espouse theologies that are barely (if at all) recognizable as Christian.

Considering all the potential pitfalls, first time novelist Wade R. Johnston more than meets the minimum requirements with Even Death. Johnston certainly allows his readers opportunity to anticipate his characters' actions and responses. Yet paired with a certain inevitability, we discover surprising nuances as the crucible into which he places his protagonists reveals their characters and their relationships with each other and the Lord.

I don't want to reveal too much, so here is a summary provided by author-publisher Johnston: As Isaac Heinrich and three fellow American Lutheran pastors embark on a tour of Reformation sights in Germany they are thrust onto a journey of faith far beyond anything they had imagined when they become unwilling participants in a jihadist ploy and are held captive by a painful decision between life and death, their faith and their future.

At first glance, you might wonder what "practical Christianity" you might glean from a novel that pits Arab terrorists against Lutheran pastors. Once you've finished Even Death, you'll likely have a keener perspective on the Theology of the Cross and greater appreciation for the strong faith God grants to His martyrs from Bible times to present day. In the triumphs and failings of the four pastors, their tormentors, and their would-be rescuers, Johnston illustrates both our need for the true God and the problems we cause when we try to accept Him according to our own terms rather than His.

I have only two small complaints. First, Even Death seemed to start a bit slowly, although I'll admit that my patience was rewarded. Second, as I was running out of pages, I wished that it could have been a bit longer, so I could better know the hearts and minds of each of the American pastors, their Arab persecutors, and the German special agents. That's because while the plot certainly propels the book, it's nothing without its characters.

I recommend Even Death to adults and mature teens. It's of particular value to those struggling to find relevance for faith in our secular age and for those confronted by evil happening to God's people.

Even Death: A Novel
Wade R. Johnston
Magdeburg Press, 2008
ISBN-13: 9780982158616 (What in the world is ISBN-13?)
Paperback, 256 pages

Technorati Tags: Even Death: A Novel | Even Death | Wade R. Johnston | Magdeburg Press | book | review | critique | religion | fiction | novel | jihad | martyrdom | martyr | theology | Theology of the Cross | faith | pastoral ministry | Jesus | Jesus Christ | Christ | Lutheranism | Confessional Lutheran | Lutheran | Christian | Christianity | Luther Library

New volume of Luther's Works

2009-09-11T14:54:00.003-05:00

Pr. Kinnaman at Blog My Soul has announced the first new volume of Luther's Works (aka the American Edition and LW). The first volume of the original set was published 51 years ago and there hasn't been a new volume in over 20 years. This new volume is of Luther's sermons on St. John's Lent and Easter narrative in chapters 17–20 of his Gospel. The book is available from CPH.

The Shack

2008-11-05T16:47:00.012-06:00

Guest Review by Jim Pierce of Confessional's Bytes

A few weeks ago, The Shack came to my attention in a discussion over how Christians should view books that use fiction to teach doctrine. I did some preliminary research and wasn't exactly thrilled by the reviews I read. Reluctantly, I decided to purchase the book and read it for myself to see what all the fuss is about. I am not disappointed that I did because I confirmed what the reviews had claimed; namely, The Shack contains deep, troubling, doctrinal errors.

I'm not going to get into much detail over the story line. It's obvious that the story is a vehicle to drive the theology and philosophy of its author. While fiction, the author intends The Shack to convey what he believes are universal truths about the reality of the world, humanity, God, and our relationship with Him. It is upon these beliefs presented in the book that I will turn our attention, as many others apparently have already.

In my reading of personal reviews at Amazon.com, I found many people crediting The Shack for changing their lives forever. In fact, some claim they are handing out the book by the case, because they believe it is so life-changing. When I went looking for the it at a local Christian book store, they told me they were sold out because they have a person on staff dedicated to selling the book to customers and he had been doing a "spectacular job." The Shack has certainly become the latest "Christian phenomena."

Before I get into the book I want to talk about author William P. Young. This is Young's first published book. As seen, sales are doing well. Some reviews suggest that Young is an "Emergent" — a member of the "Emerging Church Movement." An interview with World Magazine Online points out that Young is part of a "movement that rejects the institutional church." That is a common theme among Emergent, who are against doing what they often refer to as "brick and mortar church."

The same interview also tells us that Young "is no longer a member of a church, nor are his publishing partners, both former pastors." Wayne Jacobsen, one of these partners, is the editor of The Shack and a close friend of Young's. Jacobsen is a proponent of Emergent and very much into the idea that Christianity isn't about church, but about relationships, a hallmark teaching amongst Emergents. Both Young and Jacobsen don't see a need for church and neither formally attends one.

Since this review is not about the Emergent/Emerging movement I would like to recommend to those unfamiliar with the movement a series of articles published at Sound Witness titled, "The Emerging Church" for a good overview of what can be found in this movement. Suffice it to say, after reading the interviews mentioned and linked above, I am thoroughly convinced that Young is part of the Emergent/Emerging church movement. Knowing this should prompt us to approach The Shack with caution, even though it doesn't, in and of itself, guarantee that the book will contain false teachings. However, as we will see, some of the false doctrines of the Emergent/Emerging Church Movement are found throughout the book.

The story line of The Shack involves one Mackenzie Allen Phillips and his journey in dealing with deep pain and suffering over the kidnaping and murder of his six year old daughter Missy. Young powerfully recreates the circumstances leading up to the fateful day that causes so much inner turmoil for Mack, as Mackenzie is known by friends and family members. The resulting psychological trauma of the loss of his daughter is referred to as "The Great Sadness." His psychological trauma drives Mack into anger at God. Indeed, The Shack ventures into pop-psychology as Mack deals with his pain and as his unlikely therapist "The Trinity" guides him along the path of recovery.

This brings me to The Shack's "god." The god of The Shack is not the Holy Trinity revealed to us in Holy Scripture. More than anything else, Young's "trinity" resembles the deity of the heresy called modalism.

Modalism rejects the doctrine of the Trinity, claiming that God is not three persons but one person who "manifests" Himself in three modes of being, or "personas." That is, God plays the role of Father at times, Son at times, and Holy Spirit at times. Young develops his cast of three divine "personas" as Papa, a "large black woman" (p. 84) who also goes by the name "Elousia," Sarayu, revealed to Mack as a slim Asian Woman, represents the "holy spirit," and Jesus, who is depicted as a man of Middle Eastern descent.

Tertullian, who wrote against this heresy in the third century Christian church, remarked, "By this Praxeas did a twofold service for the devil at Rome: he drove away prophecy, and he brought in heresy; he put to flight the Paraclete, and he crucified the Father. (Against Praxeas; emphasis mine)"

That the Father was crucified is precisely what we find in The Shack. As the story unfolds Mack realizes Papa has scars on "her" wrists:

Papa didn't answer, only looked down at their hands. His gaze followed hers and for the first time Mack noticed the scars in her wrists, like those he now assumed Jesus also had on his. "Don't ever think that what my son chose to do didn't cost us dearly. Love always leaves a significant mark," she stated softly and gently. "We were there together." (p. 96; emphasis mine)

Interestingly enough, Young doesn't describe Sarayu as having scars on her wrists. However, he does write, "When we three spoke ourself into human existence as the Son of God, we became fully human. we now became flesh and blood. (p. 99)" Later in the dialog Mack once again notices the scars on Papa's wrists and says, "I'm sorry that you, that Jesus, had to die." To this, Papa responds, "We aren't sorry at all. It was worth it. (p. 103)"

Unfortunately, Young continues to mangle the doctrine of the Trinity by forever limiting Jesus to his humanity. We see this where he quotes Papa:

"Jesus is fully human. Although he is also fully God, he has never drawn upon his nature as God to do anything. He has only lived out of his relationship with me, living in the very same manner that I desire to be in relationship with every human being."

Astonished by this revelation Mack asks, "So, when he healed the blind?" to which Papa responds, "He did so as a dependent, limited human being. (pp. 99, 100)" Here Young describes his Jesus as being "grounded" — and it is permanent; he never draws upon his divine nature. Mack is confused and continues his questioning to Papa (keep in mind the context). He asks her, "So does this mean that you were limited when Jesus was on earth? I mean, did you limit yourself only to Jesus?" The Papa persona responds, "Although I have only been limited in Jesus, I have never been limited in myself. (p. 100)"

Towards the end of the book, Young emphasizes his modalistic tendencies by having Papa change from a "large black woman" into a man with "silver white hair pulled back into a ponytail, matched by a gray splashed mustache and goatee. (p. 218)" The idea is that "god" can choose different masks through which "it" reveals itself to humanity. "God" can be a woman, a man, or whatever else "it" chooses (see p. 94). Why? In Young's theology God doesn't exist as three distinct and persistent persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

"It is quite simple really. Being always transcends appearance — that which only seems to be. Once you begin to know the being behind the very pretty or very ugly face, as determined by your bias, the surface appearances fade away until they simply no longer matter. That is why Elousia is such a wonderful name. God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things — ultimately emerging as the real — and any appearances that mask that reality will fall away. (p. 112)"

Young's "trinity" is a simple personification of a being that dwells in all things. Indeed, he verges into pantheistic thought with the idea that it is "god" who emerges as "the real" and that the world of appearances mask its reality. This concept of "god" is one where the individual's perceptions of "god" determine how the deity is seen. So, "god" can be a "mother," or a "father," or anything else the religious adherent perceives, but they are all expressions of "the real," the One.

Young clearly rejects that Jesus ever acts out of his divine nature. Furthermore, he has the Father claiming that He has been limited in Christ! God the Father has never been limited in His power and He was not incarnate in flesh. The scriptures are clear the Father gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)"

Finally, Young's concept of God leans towards the pantheistic idea that God is the ground of what is "really real" and that the aspects of God, the "faces" of God, are a matter of what we need to perceive at the time. Young's deity does not persistently exist as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In the theology of The Shack, "god" personifies itself in such a way as the perceiver needs for the moment. Young's "god" is not the Christian God.

Much of the confusion over the nature of God in The Shack is likely a result of Young's view of reality as expressed in the book. In the above, we find that Papa essentially takes on varying forms to meet the needs of the perceiver (you and me). Papa mentions that "being always transcends appearance." In other words, the world we perceive is a construct. So, what is a view of reality beyond the construct in The Shack? Young answers this question through his character Sarayu, his representation of the Holy Spirit:

"If you had eyes to see the greater reality, here is what you would witness: As you continued your current conversation, a unique combination of color and light would leave you and wrap itself around the one who had just entered, representing you in another form of loving and greeting that one. (p.214)"

In The Shack, what turns out to be "really real" is that we are all beings of light with varying patterns of color defining our uniqueness. This is mysticism. The idea is that the real is an all-pervading light emanating from a single source, in this case, Young's deity. Mack wasn't able to see this "truth," being limited to the world of appearances. It took the power of Sarayu to heal Mack's eyes so he could see reality (p.208). Once his eyes were "opened," he could see that everything was comprised of light and that how we are expressed to each other through our senses is really a matter of changing patterns of unique colors.

In Genesis chapter two we are told, "The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.(v. 7)" Our bodies aren't merely "appearances." They are not "really" light. In fact, the resurrection of our physical bodies is an important part of Christian doctrine. Just as our Lord Jesus was raised from the dead in a glorious body (Phil. 3:21) so, too, our bodies will be transformed at our resurrection.

Depicting a "reality" where we are not in transformed physical bodies when we arrive to heaven denies not only our own bodily resurrection. More importantly, it also rejects the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ! (see 1 Cor. 15:12-19) Young inadvertently denies the bodily resurrection of Jesus when he moves off into Gnostic mysticism, relegating the physical world, including our bodies, into a world of mere appearances and the "real" world is one comprised of "bodies" of light.

Throughout The Shack there is a heavy anti-establishment and anti-institutional theme. Indeed, Young has Papa calling hierarchies in relationships, such as the order of relationship in a marriage, "Such a waste!" (p.122) Furthermore, his Jesus tells us,

"Once you have a hierarchy you need rules to protect and administer it, and then you need law and the enforcement of the rules, and you end up with some kind of chain of command or a system of order that destroys relationship rather than promotes it.. Hierarchy imposes laws and rules and you end up missing the wonder of relationship that we intend for you. (pp. 122, 123)"

"As well-intentioned as it might be, you know that religious machinery can chew up people!" Jesus said with a bite of his own. "You're not too fond of religion and institutions?" Mack said. Jesus paused, his voice steady and patient. "Like I said, I don't create institutions; that's an occupation for those who want to play God. So no, I'm not too big on religion," Jesus said a little sarcastically, "and not very fond of politics or economics either." Jesus' visage darkened noticeably. "And why should I be? They are the man-created trinity of terrors that ravages the earth and deceives those I care about. What mental turmoil and anxiety does any human face that is not related to one of those three?' (p. 179)"

Young's anti-establishment and anti-institutional ideologies allow him to embrace universalism. Mack asks Jesus, "Is that what it means to be a Christian?" Jesus responds, "Who said anything about being a Christian? I'm not a Christian." Young's Jesus continues:

"Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims, Democrats, Republicans and many who don't vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions. I have followers who were murderers and many who were self-righteous. Some are bankers and bookies, Americans and Iraqis, Jews and Palestinians. I have no desire to make them Christian. (p. 182)"

Here Young has clearly denied that God has established an earthly hierarchical system through which He works. The church is not one where Jesus is its "head"; there is no order to creation such as woman created for man. Indeed, throughout the dialogue between Mack and the "trinity" one gets the sense that man is an equal partner with God. More to the point, Young's thoughts about hierarchy implies a rejection of authority as being God pleasing, which clearly contradicts Holy Scripture:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (Romans 13:1-2)

According to Young, it isn't the will of God that there is civil government or even marriage; these are institutions we create as we "play God." In The Shack, God is only concerned with relationships; in fact, he wants to set us free from systems altogether (p.123). What Young advocates in The Shack is not so much a denial that Christ is the only way; instead, it is more akin to the New Age philosophy that "Christ" is mystically found in all religions, or in no religion, per se. In fact, we see this with the words expressed through Young's "Jesus" who says, "I will travel any road to find you. (p. 182)" In other words, "Christ" will find you in Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, or anywhere else: Jesus isn't a Christian and neither are his followers, who are found in every human-made institution which the god of The Shack detests.

The Jesus of the Holy Scriptures declares, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 ESV)" The teachings of our Lord and the Apostles found in the Holy Scripture unequivocally teach that there is no salvation outside receiving the saving faith In Christ. "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12 RSV)" Indeed, St. Peter warns the Church of false teachers and vividly explains that God Himself keeps the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment:

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. (2 Peter 2:1-10)

There is no meeting Jesus in other religions, or life philosophies, outside the Christian Church. The Holy Spirit delivers us from false religions and sets us on the one true road to salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

It's little wonder that in The Shack we don't find Law and Gospel in Mack's story of "redemption." Instead, we find talk of having a "relationship" with God only in terms of a journey to restore us from our "brokenness" because of the fall, which seems more like psychological turmoil than anything else. In fact, Young's deity doesn't need to punish sin at all. Why?

"I don't need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it. (p. 120)"

Indeed, not only does Young's deity not punish sin as a holy God, but he refuses to convict of sin through the Law:

"When Jesus forgave those who nailed him to the cross they were no longer in his debt, nor mine. In my relationship with those men, I will never bring up what they did, or shame them, or embarrass them. (p. 225)"

Contrast what Young writes with the Word of God:

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:19-20)

Then [Jesus] left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (Matthew 13:36-43)"

The Scriptures are clear that the Law brings knowledge of sin and convicts sinners. Furthermore, we know from the Bible that God is holy and must punish sin. If sin isn't punishable by God, then there is no need for Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. In the above quotes from The Shack, we find the implicit rejection that Christ was punished on the cross for our sins. Why did Jesus have to go to the cross at all, if God doesn't punish sin, requiring redemption? Gone is the substitutionary atonement of Christ in Young's writing.

The above are just a smattering of examples of what is wrong with The Shack. Sadly, this book abounds in errors! I have read where some Lutherans are touting this book as teaching Lutheranism and that couldn't be further from the truth. This book is full of theological confusion and outright heresy. I can not recommend anyone read this book unless it is to uncover the errors in it. What The Shack might get right doesn't outweigh what it gets wrong.

I would like to end this review with a couple things I did like about The Shack. I found the book very entertaining as far as fiction goes. The story of Mack is very engaging. I am a father of two children and I can only imagine what a person who has lost a child to murder would feel. Young weaves a touching story of one father's loss into something to which I could relate. He does a very good job developing the character "Mack" into somebody with whom I could sympathize and in whom I could see some of myself. He masterfully put me in the passenger seat and drove me along Mack's arduous journey, ending in relief.

I also found the deity Young creates to be very affable. He establishes a resort setting for Mack with the trinity catering to his every need, while together they work through Mack's pain over the loss of his daughter Missy. Why go to "Club Med" when you can have "Club Shack"? At least at "Club Shack" the staff truly does know your every need even when you don't!

The preceding is a slightly edited version of a review written by Jim Pierce. Click here to read the original.

Technorati Tags: The Shack | William P. Young | Wayne Jacobsen | book | review | critique | religion | fiction | best seller | bestseller | pilgrimage | Trinity | Holy Trinity | modalistic monarchianism | modalism | heresy | false doctrine | Gnosticism | Gnostic | New Age | theology | psychology | Emerging Church | Emergent Church | Lutheranism | Confessional Lutheran | Lutheran | Christian | Christianity | Jim Pierce | Confessional's Bytes | Luther Library

A More Complete Logos Update

2008-08-24T00:41:00.006-05:00

The Logos Blog shows a new, more complete way of Updating Your Resources. The standard updater deals only with major updates in programs and resources. This new web based option is much more complete. It has corrections for any typos and the like that may have crept into your resources. You don't need to have Logos running to initiate the download, just run the ⇒ Resource Auto Update ⇐. It needs Logos 3.0e to run, and will install the latest program version before updating resources.

Be warned, however — since it's more complete, the download size may range from large to gigantic. For example, tonight's the first time I ran it and since I have the Scholar's Library: Gold collection with additional resources, my download total is in the multi-gigabyte range. It's almost like starting from scratch! I began the download before starting this post and it's only 15% complete on my mid-speed cable connection. If you have a slower connection or a similarly large body of resources to update, you can use the check boxes to break it into smaller pieces. I think that I am going to run it weekly so I never again have such a large download.

ADDENDUM: After the download is installed, you may also need to sync your licenses. To do so, open Libronix and run Tools → Library Management → Synchronize Licenses. Otherwise, Logos could attempt to repeat the long download you just experienced.

Finally, if you discover additional typos, visit Updating Your Resources for information on reporting them. Maybe you'll see your own corrections on a future download.

Cross-posted from Ask the Pastor.

Technorati Tags: Logos Bible Software | Libronix | Bible software | Logos | LLS | Logos Library System | software | resources | update | updates | updating | typos | corrections | Logos Blog | blog | auto update | Resource Auto Update | Lutheranism | Confessional Lutheran | Lutheran | Christian | Christianity | Ask the Pastor | Luther Library

More Reasons to Love Logos

2008-08-23T00:16:00.003-05:00

Gathering Thoughts on Collecting More Electronic Books

2008-08-04T13:26:00.005-05:00

Opinions on Purchasing Logos E-books

I usually keep a closer eye on upcoming releases but just realized that the Logos release of Lenski’s Commentary on the New Testament has less than two weeks on its pre-release price of $199.95. Therefore, although it’s somewhat dated and, IMO, has its own flaws, and since I already have it in hardcover, do I venture purchase at this price?

At earlier stages of development, we find a couple other titles that particularly interest me. First, the Northwestern Publishing House Electronic Library is on prepublication pricing for $399.95. How would you evaluate the dollar-worth of this set? The only component I currently own is the Triglotta.

Finally, I’m pondering the purchase of one of the greatest “graduates” of the Ivy League — the legendary Five Foot Shelf of Books coupled with noted works of fiction in the Harvard Classics and Fiction Collection, pre-pub priced at $99.95.

How would you prioritize these collections? I welcome comments on “necessity” and bang-for-buck. Also, do you have other suggestions or evaluations of the various works listed under either the prepublication or the community pricing programs?

Technorati Tags: Logos Bible Software | Libronix | Bible software | Logos | LLS | Logos Library System | electronic library | e-books | ebooks | electronic books | software | discount | sale | prepublication | pre-pub | community pricing | NPH | Northwestern Publishing House | Fortress Press | Harvard University | Harvard | Lenski | R. C. H. Lenski | Eliot | Charles W. Eliot | Commentary on the New Testament | Lenski’s Commentary | Harvard Classics and Fiction Collection | Harvard Classics | Five Foot Shelf of Books | Shelf of Fiction | literature | theology | Lutheranism | Confessional Lutheran | Lutheran | Christian | Christianity | Luther Library

The Quest for Noah's Ark

2007-09-20T21:33:00.001-05:00

Originally posted at Necessary Roughness on September 14, 2007.

Noted Christian apologist John Warwick Montgomery has been on KFUO's Issues, Etc. show ten times. I picked up one of his books, The Quest for Noah's Ark, from our library system.

Montgomery's book can be split into three: the physics behind an ark as described in Genesis 6:14-16, the writings of early explorers and church fathers, and the documentation of ascents made in the 1900s.

The author explains with a little bit of physics that not only an ark could be constructed, but that it could float and be stable, due to the ratios in its sizes and the resulting center of gravity. He uses this plausibility in the construction of the ark as evidence that the story in Genesis, not the story of Gilgamesh or other stories throughout the world that involve a flood, is the original story. The boat used in the story of Gilgamesh was a cube, and thus could not be a stable shape for a boat.

The writings of the early church fathers show that they really believed that Noah's Ark could still be seen on Mount Ararat. Since none of these people actually went, the section may be interesting for those people already interested in these writers.

Montgomery has made the ascent to Mount Ararat four times; two of which are mentioned in this book, published in 1972. During the first trip he took his son, David, who claimed the record of the highest ascent by someone of that age. The stories of the author and the modern explorers stand on their own as quality storytelling. They tell not only of the sweltering heat when sunny and frigid air when cloudy, but of interacting with the local Kurds and the Turkish government.

Montgomery at the time of this book did not find the ark, in part because another American expedition had soured foreign relations with the Turkish government, and the government forbid exploration near the mountain lake where the Ark was said to have been. Instead, the author does reach the top of Ararat and can see into Iran and Russia from the summit.

At the end of the book, Montgomery explains why the exploration of these types of relics are important. Christianity (and Judaism at the time) is an exclusive religion based in things that did happen. It subjects itself to be potentially and objectively verifiable. The finding of the Ark wouldn't save any souls, but it would improve the historical credibility of the Old Testament and cause people to take another look a religion they may have written off as impossible.

The book is quite an interesting read, even if one weren't Christian. It doesn't answer the question of whether the Ark, now petrified, truly stands on Ararat, but the stories of the explorers and the exploration of the Ark's physics is worth the read. It will arouse one's curiosity. It would be very cool if one day we are able to get up there with the latest satellite imaging, seismic imaging equipment, and other means to show conclusively if the Ark is up there.

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Another Round of Recommended Reading

2007-05-06T17:48:00.000-05:00

The Current Lutheran Carnival of Blogs

Random Dan and Intolerant Elle's marital merger hosts its first carnival since their nuptials. Please visit Lutheran Carnival IL: The Day after Cinco de Mayo at Random Intolerance.

Technorati Tags: Lutheran Carnival | blog carnival | Lutheran | confessional Lutheran | Random Intolerance

Carnival Time

2007-04-22T23:31:00.000-05:00

Lutheran Carnival XLVIII is up and running at Living Sermons. Thanks to the chaplain for a job well done and thanks to all who dropped by the Alley over the past fortnight to check out Carny 47.

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Springing Into Winters' Carnival

2007-03-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks to seminarist Jay Winters, who presents Lutheran Carnival XLVI: Lutherade. Here you can not only read some of the best recent Lutheran blogging but also find out more about Gatorade inventor and Lutheran layman Robert Cade.

Also, this is your first ~~threat~~ ~~warning~~ reminder that the XLVIIth edition of the Lutheran Carnival of Blogs will be at Aardvark Alley. I know that many Lutheran bloggers, especially pastors, will be really busy over the next couple weeks. However, Holy Week and the celebration of our Lord's resurrection should also provide ample opportunity and incentive for some insightful writing.

Please be ready to submit your own work or suggest that of other confessional Lutherans, according the the general submission guidelines. Again, note that I encourage 3rd party submissions of good posts from those whose humility (or absent-mindedness) precludes self-submission.

Technorati Tags: Lutheran Carnival | blog carnival | Lutheran | confessional Lutheran | Jay Winters | Gatorade | Aardvark Alley

New Carnival Arrives

2007-03-10T22:32:00.000-06:00

Meet the hostess with the mostess for the current Lutheran Carnival of Blogs: <bad carol!>Carol Rutz’s Annexe</bad carol!>

She pumps up the volume and delivers us Lutheran Carnival XLV: What the Frell Edition. It's quite a dandy overview of what's happening in the confessional Lutheran blogosphere. Drop by, read the submissions, and thank the nice lady for a job well done.

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Dying to Live: The Power of Forgiveness

2007-03-05T01:05:00.001-06:00

Originally posted at Necessary Roughness. Please send any comments that way.

Most of the theology books I have read of late were fairly academic, requiring careful study to make sure the author's points were received. Dying to Live: The Power of Forgiveness, written by Dr. Harold L. Senkbeil, is refreshingly easy to read and a good first book for those who wish to start reading about Christian theology.

The book has three sections:

The Incarnational Foundation of the Christian Life
The Sacramental Focus of the Christian Life, and
The Liturgical Shape of the Christian Life.

Each of these sections is further subdivided into three chapters. The chapters begin with a one-paragraph modern day story that ends in a Bible verse that answers the situation.

The Incarnational Foundation is broken down into "Our Dying World," "Our Living Lord," and "Our Death/His Cross." Senkbeil describes the world as plastic and lonely, leaving us to seek pleasure in sinful ways. The first chapter is ordinary (perhaps because we are ordinary) compared with some of the very cool things in the second chapter when he describes the living God. He calls us to see the "God in Diapers" and recalls Exodus 33:19-23 to show that God is protecting us when he hides from us. In our condition we would be obliterated if we saw God directly. In the last chapter, the author gives a summary of Christ's human life and death, stating that the death of God brings life into our dying world.

The Sacramental Focus focuses on baptism, absolution, and the Lord's Supper. Dr. Senkbeil uses Noah's flood to describe the extent that God washes sin away from us. Holy Absolution is the living word of God, and the author notes that "everything God demands of his children he first gives his children." Most approaches to the Christian life are "do-it-yourself," but only God can kill the "old Adam." Holy Communion is then detailed as forgiveness, life, and salvation. He notes that we eat and drink in the presence of God and yet are not destroyed; a benefit of the life Christ has given us.

In the Liturgical Shape, the author emphases a God that heals by wounding and makes alive by killing (Deuteronomy 32:39). The hymns, prayers, and readings are the Word of God and drown our sin. God operates on our terminal condition with surgical instruments of Word and Sacrament. The chapter on private prayer suggests starting off prayers in the 2^nd person and describing God to give us confidence to ask for things in the first person. The last chapter on vocation is quite valuable. Senkbeil tells us that the motivation for the Christian life is not thankfulness but forgiveness. We live the life that Christ lives in us. "The bodily activity of Christians is the presence of Christ in the world," whether our occupation is preaching or making shoes.

This book starts off ordinary but finishes strong. Without counting uses of the Law Dr. Senkbiel shows us the Christian life in a way understandable to the reader in the first pass. Accessible to new Christians, the book is also a good refresher to "mature" Christians. It could also be used in small group study. After the 180 pages, Dr. Senkbeil provides a reading list with plenty of books that I haven't read yet. :) This one is worth putting on your list.

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Pitchers and Catchers and Lutherans Report

2007-02-25T19:18:00.000-06:00

It's Lutheran Carnival XLIV: Spring Training Edition now posted by the Rebellious Pastor's Wife. In addition, she profiles a relatively little-known Lutheran who happens to have the CTS gymnasium named after himself. Perhaps someone should in a future carnival also introduce the gentleman for whom the other sem's gym is named.

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Der Struwwelpeter

2007-02-17T17:18:00.001-06:00

He’s baaaaaack—that rumple-headed, slovenly, ill-kempt little boy known as Struwwelpeter. Dover Publications presents the German morality poems of a century and a half ago translated into English with the original delightful drawings by Heinrich Hoffman. The original German text by Hoffman is included in the appendix.

Der Struwwelpeter was one of my childhood books when I lived in housing like those above. Hoffman’s tale of Johnny Head-in-Air was one to take seriously if I wanted to dodge the gifts of the sheep after they’d been through the valley, our favorite playground. I didn’t care much for Conrad’s demise. I began reading Der Struwwelpeter when I was five, and the sight of a child with his thumbs whacked off was discomforting. Harriet’s final hours suited me no better.

I got over it, and I’m better for it. Der Struwwelpeter eventually became the dearest book of my childhood. When my mother returned to Germany several years ago she asked what she could find for me. One thing only: a copy of that beloved and long lost book. Eventually I even found it in Hebrew. Alas, it has been sadly “PC-ed”—cleansed of the story of Agrippa and his mighty ink pot teaching rude young hooligans

Boys, leave the black-a-moor alone!

For if he tries with all his might,

He cannot change from black to white.

Surely concession, if not understanding, can be made to Hoffman for his use of “black-a-moor,” for he means no insult to race by it. The young child referred to is simply a black Moor, and Hoffman’s era was not so very politically correct in language as our own. What is important is the lesson he teaches about teasing and verbal abuse.

One of these books from Dover Publications remains at home with me. The other is in my classroom where I introduced it to my students. At first they looked at the pictures and delighted in the gore. This is a generation hooked on Freddy and Jason, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and all manner of torture and mayhem without a reason even at a very young age. However, the purpose of fairy tale and morality stories is not gore and gruesome for its own sake, but to do the work of the Law in us. With very little coaxing, these well-catechized children were soon finding the Ten Commandments in the poetry of Dr. Hoffman. “Conrad should have listened to his mother. That’s Fourth Commandment.” “Harriet burned herself… Augustus won’t eat… that’s Fifth Commandment.” When the Law has its way with us, the Gospel can then have us by the ears. Morality stories have a place in Christian libraries for this reason.

Struwwelpeter

Available: Dover Publications

Grade Level: 4 - 7 (ages 9 - 12)

ISBN: 0486284697

Page Count: 32

Cross posted: Quicunque vult...

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A "Reading" Railroad

2007-02-12T23:33:00.000-06:00

This being the Library, I appreciate the opportunity to pun off of Take a Ride on the Reading: Lutheran Carnival XLIII, which the host already used as a pun based on the Monopoly theme of his St. Charles Place blog. And whether or not you appreciate puns, I hope you enjoy the writing on display at the Carnival.

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Reasonable Ethics

2007-02-07T16:27:00.001-06:00

Originally posted at Necessary Roughness. Please direct comments there.

Reasonable Ethics: A Christian Approach to Social, Economic, and Political Concerns was Issues Etc.'s Book of the Month for June 2006. It is a collection of essays by Dr. Robert Benne categorized by his personal story, basic Lutheran ethics, politics, economics, Christian higher education, sexual ethics, and culture/entertainment. His essays were written in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Benne grew up in an LCMS church but studied religion at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and has remained in the ELCA since college. He found himself a "liberal" early on but as the liberalism of the day moved leftward, he found himself sharing opinions with those calling themselves "conservative" today. As a result, I found most of what he had to say agreeable. Benne argues for a "Christian realist" attitude, where we use our reason within the context of sin and Christ's death and resurrection for us.

Dr. Benne's essay on Lutheran ethics is quite good. He describes Lutheran ethics as unique in four areas:

a sharp distinction between salvation offered by God in Christ and all human efforts;
a focused and austere doctrine of the church and its mission that follows from the first theme;
the twofold rule of God through Law and Gospel; and
a paradoxical view of human nature and history.

Our paradox is that we know that none of us is good, but we are redeemed by God as "exalted individuals." We have a capacity for freedom, love, and justice, but when we choose freedom to do ungodly things, we create a hell for ourselves and others around us. This framework fits for Lutherans of various political stripes.

The author in his political essays notes a difference between the direct action and the indirect action of the church in politics. He is critical of the ELCA taking stances on governmental issues such as the environment. He advises indirect action, the preaching of Law and Gospel in our churches, and then letting the laymen dictate what needs to be done in the legislatures. He notes that when the Roman Catholic church takes a stand on political and social issues, it does so infrequently and usually in a proscriptive rather than prescriptive manner, such as coming out against abortion and euthanasia. As a result the RC statements have more weight and are more effective among its people. A "No" from the church is more effective than a "this is the way God says something should be done."

In his economics chapter, the author uses Two Kingdoms theology (that God rules in the secular world and in the spiritual world, in different ways) to argue for state action in the economy. He does believe that we should not be so beholden to any ideology that we can admit it if a certain economic policy is failing. Economic policy and "justice" is not salvific. Capitalism rewards short-term goals more effectively, whereas some amount of moral and legislative action can make for long-term benefits, he posits. I wish this were the most left view of economics we deal with today! :)

Under Christian higher education he bemoans formerly Christian institutions that are now Christian in name only or less. Exclusive truth has been discarded for every opinion is right. Some institutions have still kept their Christian edge, and he gives Calvin College, Notre Dame, St. Olaf, and Valparaiso as examples. There may be some debates about Valpo, from what I've read in other sources. :) Other institutions are reclaiming what they have lost, and Dr. Benne gives his own Roanoke College an an example.

The ELCA and Bishop Hanson among others are critiqued in the chapter of sexual ethics. They too have fallen under the spell of diversity at all costs to the truth. Premarital abstinence and the teaching of sexual dignity is dismissed for "safe sex." Dr. Benne argues that we can and should stand up to the destruction of marriage in our society. A Christian couple in marriage makes a break with the past, rearranging loyalties, assuming new financial responsibilities, and founding a new home as "two become one". Marriage, like baptism and ordination, come with vows.

In his chapter on culture and entertainment, Dr. Benne gives positive use of religion in sports: to elevate sportsmanship, fair play, respect for the opponent, and civility towards officials. His "Viewing Movies Through Christian Eyes" article is intriguing, putting American Beauty on a statue for the internal bondage to sin of Kevin Spacey's character, causing the lust for a teenager, the character's realization that he has done something wrong, and his redemption and return to grace (before he is shot). Political correctness is more accurately "cultural" correctness, as society rather than politics condemns behavior. It totally condemns Mel Gibson's behavior while giving Bill and Hillary Clinton a free pass with theirs. We have to demand diversity for our ideas rather than social liberals finding people of every race, color, etc., with the same beliefs.

Since these essays were written and different times for different publications, some material overlaps. His ELCA background comes through his examples and his counting of two uses of the Law. He chooses to stay in the ELCA square and speak the truth so long as they will let him. The book is pretty easy to read and at 341 pages will occupy one's time on a plane. I recommend to everyone most chapters of this book. :)

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A Time for Burning

2007-01-30T18:19:00.001-06:00

Last night I watched the movie A Time for Burning, it is a documentary about two Lutheran Churches in Omaha, Nebraska. One was a white congregation and the other a black congregation. The movie takes place in the late '60's; I think it was around 1967.

The pastor at the white church decides that he would like to open a dialogue between his church and the other church. Here is the description of the movie from The Internet Movie Database:

In the mid-1960s, 1200 White people attend Augustana Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska. Nearby, Negro Lutherans worship at Hope Lutheran Church. Reverend Bill Youngdahl, Augustana's pastor, proposes that ten couples visit ten Negro families from Hope. It's a controversial idea; within weeks, Youngdahl resigns. The camera observes: Augustana parishioners discuss the idea, the social ministry committee meets with Hope leaders, and Hope youth talk about race and religion. Ernie Chambers, a Negro barber, predicts Youngdahl's failure, and Chambers' implacable questions help lead Ray Christensen, an Augustana social ministry member, to a conversion.

I know that for most of my life I had never seen a "black-Lutheran." The first time I had met an black Lutheran was when I attended the Denver Youth Gathering. I ended up rooming with three black kids from Chicago, I think, because my group had an odd number of guys. I didn't mind. They were nice guys, for the life of me I can't remember their names, though.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this movie. Its a free flowing movie. There is no narrator so it takes a little while to figure out who the major players are. There are three: Rev. Bill Youngdahl, Ray Cristen, and Ernie Chambers.

Ernie Chambers is a black man, who eventually becomes a very powerful senator in the Nebraska Senate. Ray Cristen is the head of the "social ministries" at Augusta Lutheran church. Cristen is an interesting guy. At first he is against the idea completely, but he eventually comes the value of the whole "excercise." Sadly, and this is a spoiler, I apologize, Rev. Youngdahl is removed from his ministry by his congregation of the episode. It is said he isn't a good "fit" for the congregation.

This movie is mainly video of meetings and chats between these three men.

It is an interesting movie, but tough to follow at times. It's a history that many Lutherans might not like to see or be reminded of, sadly, it might even present a present that many Lutherans might not like to be reminded of.

A Time for Burning is about an hour long. I'd say its worth an hour of your day or evening and would give it an A-.

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Lutheran Carnival XLII

2007-01-28T00:02:00.000-06:00

House, MDiv put together a fine effort for Lutheran Carnival XLII. Drop by and sample the works of an eclectic group of Lutheran authors.

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Meditations on Divine Mercy

2007-01-15T21:40:00.001-06:00

Originally posted at Necessary Roughness. Comments will be handled there.

Meditations on Divine Mercy is a translation of Exercitium pietatis by Johann Gerhard. It has been translated into English by Rev. Matthew C. Harrison, executive director of LCMS World Relief.

Meditations is a small package — about 4" x 7", 144 pages — with vivid theological imagery in its 45 prayers. Usually emotion is a flag that one has wandered off theologically, but Gerhard shows that one can be quite emotional while remaining firmly in the Word. It is easily read, thanks to the translator.

The author recommends that the reader/meditator take a prayer out of each of the book's four sections for one daily meditation:

Contemplating sins and forgiveness,
Thanking God for his blessings,
Praying to increase our spiritual gifts, and
Praying for the temporal and spiritual needs of our neighbor.

Each small prayer is 2-3 pages, so one's meditation may run about 10-15 minutes. There are more than enough combinations to have a different prayer every day. :)

Gerhard's work is applicable in the recent blog discussions about sanctification and good deeds, especially in the prayers for the mortification of the old man and the disdain of earthly things: We ask for help so that sin does not rule us. If we live according to the flesh, we will die (Romans 8:13). The things of this world do not satisfy the soul. They do not give in return the love we give them. Where our treasure is, there our heart is also (Matthew 6:21).

I'll let a couple of people borrow this book, but they will have to give it back. I do recommend this for everyone. :)

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Lutheran Carnival Kicks Off 2007

2007-01-14T00:15:00.000-06:00

Dan at Necessary Roughness starts the new year for the Lutheran Carnival with an American football theme, plus comments on one of his favorite Lutheran hymn writers, Philipp Nicolai. So sit down with Lutheran Carnival XLI: The Post Season and catch up on some of the recent good writing in the confessional Lutheran blogosphere.

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Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries

2007-01-10T21:55:00.001-06:00

Originally posted at Necessary Roughness. Please leave any comments there.

I don’t remember who exactly in the #tabletalk IRC chat room directed me to this book in answer to my question, “What was meant by ‘the communion of saints’ in the Apostles’ Creed?” I thank them nonetheless.

Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries, originally written in German by Werner Elert and translated into English by N. E. Nagel, is a fascinating book detailing early church practice, the schisms that occurred and why, and even a couple of attempts at unification.

Elert answers the question by going first to the Creed in the original Greek and then to the Latin that has been used in church liturgy. He argues that the Greek follows more closely with a “communion of holy things” rather than a communion of people. The phrase simply means Holy Communion. The Latin language did not denote as specifically as the Greek the difference between people and objects, so holy people, or “saints” as we know it, worked its way into the Creed.

Throughout the book the author emphasizes that the coming together of people does not constitute the Sacrament of Holy Communion. People of different beliefs have been brought together and even forced to take communion together by emperors in an effort to show church unity where there was none. Elert tells the reader, “The fellowship-nature of the Sacrament is in this that Christ incorporates into Himself those who partake of it.” The words of Christ in the creation of the Lord’s Supper “are without analogy and are therefore not to be explained by means of other examples.”

The reader is led from the true doctrine of the earliest believers into increasing degrees of human defenses and human error. The episcopate, the canon of the New Testament, and the Rule of Faith which manifested itself in the confession of creed and doctrine, defended the Gospel early on. The episcopate and the Rule of Faith were expanded and given more power, eventually causing more schisms. Penitential periods for gross sin started out as a time for re-instruction but turned into punishments and penances. Civil government got involved and began to enforce unity through coercion rather than discussion.

A background in Greek and Latin is helpful but not necessary to understanding this book. It is a fast and easy read, a credit to both Elert and his translator. I came away with this with an adjustment in my thinking about church discipline: ideally, refusal of the Lord’s Supper and excommunication are not new punishments but outward indications of the split one has already done himself from what is taught in the Bible. The first half of this book would be of wonderful use in a Bible study, and the rest is simply good history.

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Psst...Hey, Bookworms!

2007-01-02T14:23:00.001-06:00

Thanks to my relatives and my Amazon.com wish list, I received for Christmas about six books that I can review.

I could post two reviews within the next two weeks to get Luther Library on Lutheran Carnival XLI (which I am hosting), but I would prefer to showcase the intellect of superiors. :)

I hope your Christmas has also been rewarded with books to review, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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Lutheran Carnival the Fortieth

2007-01-01T13:24:00.000-06:00

Random Dan has mounted Lutheran Carnival XL at the mother blog. Drop by for a good overview of recent Lutheran blogging excellence. Also featured is the current "underknown Lutheran," composer Michael Praetorius.

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Cross-posted at Aardvark Alley.

Well-Read and Widely Read

2006-12-13T12:32:00.000-06:00

Perusing and Submitting to the Lutheran Carnival

Please see what I wrote about hosting the next Lutheran Carnival. Then consider becoming more widely read (by making submissions) and more well-read (by taking the time to visit the posts cited in the current carnival and in the upcoming — DV — edition at ATP).

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Time for a Carnival

2006-12-03T22:21:00.000-06:00

Live from Japan, it's Lutheran Carnival XXXVIII, hosted by Chaplain Matt Boarts at LivingSermons.

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The Latest Lutheran Carnival of Blogs

2006-11-19T14:27:00.000-06:00

Lutheran Carnival XXXVII arrives today for your reading pleasure. Thank you, Ryan Schroeder, for allowing What Did Jesus Do to host.

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The Boat of Longing

2006-11-14T12:10:00.001-06:00

The Boat of Longing

Our family meandered through Iowa on our way home from vacation this summer, and we took the opportunity to stop in Decorah at the Norwegian American Museum. A very nice destination it was, with a room full of church art and Lutheran altarpieces in addition to the exhibits. Since I didn't have $400 for a Dale of Norway sweater at the gift shop, I picked up a copy of "The Boat of Longing," by Ole Rolvaag. This book was recommended by a Lutheran friend several years ago but I had never run across a copy.

It's the story of Nils Vaag, a young man who fishes with his aging parents on a mystical coast Norway, but leaves home for urban Minneapolis in 1912. There, he works in a saloon, lives in a seedy boardinghouse, and walks past the Lutheran church but never ventures inside.

As a parent, it was a tough read. Nil's parents scan the horizon daily for a ship carrying their only son. His letters grow vague and irregular. He never returns. They put on brave faces but are crushed. Eventually, the father works up the courage to sail to America for a visit, only to languish in a detention cell at Ellis Island before the voyage back to Norway.

This poetic book is an absorbing slice of history that will interest men and women alike. I look forward to locating additional Rolvaag novels.

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Lutheran Carnival XXXV

2006-10-22T17:13:00.000-05:00

TheoMony hosts the newest Lutheran Carnival, giving it a special Reformation emphasis prior to the 489th anniversary of the posting of the Ninety-five Theses. So please, check out Lutheran Carnival XXXV and remember to thank Kobra and Monergon for their work.

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Law, Life, and the Living God

2006-10-20T23:42:00.001-05:00

Originally posted at Necessary Roughness. Comments will be fielded there.

I bought Law, Life, and the Living God: The Third Use of the Law in Modern American Lutheranism by Pastor Scott Murray in part to thank him and Memorial Lutheran Church in Houston for allowing me to join them for Christian Education Nights, worship, and private confession.

I got a book that in the beginning seems intimidating to most laymen with its extensive use of Latin religious and logical constructs as well as some Greek and German thrown in for good measure. As the book moves on and more people in this history book speak English, it becomes more readable, and the reader gets a good sense of the nature of some of the rift between the ELCA and the LCMS. It explains why the "Winking Luther" material I evaluated last year neglected to mention the third use of the Law.

Law, Life, and the Living God was written as Pastor Murray's Ph. D. dissertation in 1998. He begins with an introduction to the third use of the Law, and why it's worth study. The Law in classical Reformation theology has three purposes: first, to civilly restrain and prevent gross evil, such as people murdering or stealing from each other; second, to show us that we are sinful and in need of Christ's atoning death and resurrection; and third, to instruct us in the good deeds to be done when Christians desire to do good. The third use isn't taught in some schools of thought and has been debated since the 1940s.

The author divides the nearly 50 years between World War II and the then-present into three periods: 1940-1960, 1961-1976, and 1977-1998. The first period covers then-contemporary Luther studies that suggested that Martin Luther never specified a third use and that it only showed up in the Formula of Concord. The second period is a time of extreme disagreement, and the most recent period is a search for balance. Murray studies the effect of this on three groups: theologians at Valparaiso University, theologians of the old ALC and LCA groups that merge into the ELCA, and theologians of the Missouri Synod.

After reading this book I am thankful for the theological heritage bequeathed me, and I have hope for those in the ELCA who are rediscovering the role of scriptural prescription in the life of everyday Christians. I have additional respect for those who defend the faith against both legalism and antinomianism.

Pastor Murray's paper was written for theologians and academics, and I restrain my recommendation of this work to that crowd and to the occasional student of church and history. It is a well researched and well annotated book that serves its audience well.

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Lutheran Carnival XXXIII

2006-09-24T19:58:00.000-05:00

One of the "librarians" hosts the current Lutheran Carnival. Please visit Be Strong in the Grace for TK's take on the merry, merry month of September, her preface to the collection of confessional Lutheran bloggers known as Lutheran Carnival XXXIII.

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To Hell with All That by Caitlin Flanagan

2006-09-09T22:57:00.001-05:00

To Hell with All That (Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife)
by Caitlin Flanagan
2006 - Little, Brown & Co.
ISBN: 0316736872

I first heard about this book in the July 1 issue of World Magazine, in which there was a brief description of the book along with an interview with the author. I was intrigued by the interview, as I find the fallout from feminism to be quite the interesting topic, historically, culturally, and theologically.

Flanagan brings a very interesting perspective to her examination of "the central concerns of women's private lives -- weddings, sex, nannies, housekeeping, marriage, children..." There seems to be a growing movement among 2nd/3rd generation "feminists" that the old-guard/1st-generation feminists seem to find increasingly distressing - i.e., that sometimes home & hearth can be the best & most attractive choice, and that perhaps traditional roles actually did serve a useful purpose.

The chapters on modern weddings, housekeeping, marital sex, and "executive" children are the most compelling, as they deal head-on with many of the issues that trouble families & society today. I found the chapters that dealt with the author's personal issues - e.g., nannies & "mother" issues - to be somewhat less compelling. While they were somewhat illustrative of the larger points (better) made in other chapters, they struck me as a bit too self-indulgent & not quite as compellingly well-written as the rest of the book.

Flanagan writes from a self-professed "Evangelical Christian" worldview that is refreshingly consistent throughout the whole book. This, however, should not be taken to mean that there's a whole lot of theological depth anchoring the book. Rather, it would be more accurate to say that a reasonably conservative (if not wholly/obviously orthodox) Christian faith informs this book's foundational points. For example, while many of the points made in the book are quite illustrative of, say, a Lutheran view of the Order of Creation, there was never an explicit statement acknowledging the Order of Creation's primacy in properly defining & managing male-female roles. IOW, while Christianity was mentioned rather regularly, the overall tone of the book struck me as more political/sociological than theological. That said, it was still on more solid theological ground than most of the dreck that's available at the local Barnes & Noble.

All things considered, this is a useful and worthwhile book. I can easily recommend To Hell with All That as a book that is worth the time/effort to find & read.

-ghp

Originally posted at Territorial Bloggings on September 08, 2006.

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Outer Rim Hosts Inmost Thoughts

2006-09-09T22:21:00.000-05:00

The exotic locale of the Outer Rim Territories forms the backdrop for Lutheran Carnival #32. Christopher Gillespie has done an excellent job of compiling others' posts and of composing an informative opening essay on confessional Lutheranism. Thanks to Christopher and to all who submitted.

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Carnival Time Again

2006-08-26T22:27:00.000-05:00

Lutheran Carnival XXXI came out earlier today at What Did Jesus Do. Stop by to check out a fine sample of confessional Lutheran blogging.

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Doctrine is Life — Essays of Robert D. Preus

2006-08-15T22:25:00.003-05:00

Dr. Robert D. Preus (1924-1995) is considered one of the leading systematicians of of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod. He taught and wrote theology for more than 40 years as a pastor, a seminary professor, and a seminary president. Son Klemet Prues has selected 29 articles from his father's many journal writings. Concordia Publishing House presents them in two volumes entiled Doctrine is Life. The two volumes are designed to be able to stand alone — the introduction appears in both volumes.

The first volume, Essays on Scripture, features a cross-section of Preus' research and commentary on the doctrine of holy Scripture and its application in the church today. Preus' comments on the theology of Martin Luther, Karl Barth,and others. He puts his pen to unwrapping the problems with the historical-critical method, and makes the case supporting the Lutheran position of inerrancy and the unity of God's Word.

Preus's grasp of the issues and Lutheran theology AND practice is awe-inspiring. Seldom does he make an academic point without also bringing it down to the ramification of the pastors and people in the congregations of the church. Doctrine is Life: Essays on Scripture contains eleven essays and an extensive catalog of Robert Preus' writings.

Doctrine is Life: Essays on Justification and the Lutheran Confessionss demonstrates Preus' extensive knowledge of, and love for, the early Lutheran church fathers. In these eighteen articles he faithfully and deftly interacts with the teaching of Luther, Melanchthon, Chemnitz, Quenstedt, and others. He stresses — sometimes with forceful words, sometimes in subtle undertones — the absolute necessity of confessional subscription for the orthodox and faithful Lutheran.

His unwavering stance is demonstrated in his no-nonsense, an no-holds-barred evaluation of fellowship issues which wahsed over U.S. Lutheranism in mid-twentieth-century Lutheranism, issues whose ramifications we are so keenly feeling today. This volume closes with four very different articles. These four articles, under the title, A Word From His Friends, first appeared in a 1996 issue of Logia dedicated to the memory of Robert Preus. The four selected for inclusion are a sermon by David P. Scaer, commemorations by collegues John Stephenson and Kurt Marquart, and a very personal word about his theologian-father from son Daniel Preus.

You may have had the opportunity to read one or two of these essays on orthodox Lutheran theology in one of the journals, and certainly there may be a complete library or two where you could possibly go to read these essays in the journals in which they originally appeared. But this option is hardly available to the majority of us, thus these essays have been largely inaccessible — some for many years. This collection pulls together some of the most siginficant writings of one of Lutheranisms most significant theologians in one place — here in these two handsome volumes. This is a must read for every Lutheran, especially every LCMS Lutheran. These essays lay out the discussions that have shaped what confessional orthodox Lutheranism is (or could be) among us.

Doctrine is Life is available from Concordia Publishing House.
Edited by Klemet Preus

Essays on Scripture
Item Number: 53-1135
Number Of Pages: 312
$29.99

Essays on Justification / Lutheran Confessions
Item Number: 53-1150
Number Of Pages: 385
$29.99

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Lutheran Carnival

2006-08-13T20:54:00.000-05:00

Random Dan has Lutheran Carnival XXX up and running at carnival HQ. Check in to see what's been happening in the Lutheran blogosphere over the past couple weeks.

The Lord Will Answer

2006-07-17T09:42:00.001-05:00

About a month ago I was having one of those deep conversations with a family member. She said that in her bible study class, the question came up, "What happens when we die?" Someone then commented that if one put the question to a group of ministers they may not all come up with the same answer.

Today the topic came up in my prayer book, "The Lord Will Answer," published by Concordia Publishing House. I received it during Holy Week and have been using it daily.

Each daily page has a small excerpt from Luther's Small Catechism and a prayer. The section I'm in also contains doctrinal points and scripture to back the points up. The prayers come from church sources of all different times. I've seen prayers written by Luther, Gerhard, Columba of Iona, C.M. Zorn, Serapion of Thumuis, Loehe, Augustine, and Walther; other times the prayers have been drawn from the Liturgy of Addai and Mari, the Mozarabic Liturgy, the Book of Common Prayer, and others.

Each page uses the liturgical calendar to avoid getting out of sync. "Monday, Pentecost 6" covers part of the Third Article. The topic is, "What happens to my soul or spirit when I die?" The page quotes Ecclesiastes 12:7, Luke 23:43, John 17.24, Philippians 1:23-24, Revelation 14:13 and concludes:

We believe: God gives eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. At the time of death, the soul of a believer is immediately with Christ in heaven.

I was happy to see my answer affirmed in my conversation; I had remembered Luke 23:43, "today you will be with me in paradise."

Since I started reading this in the middle of the year, I found it initially uncomfortable to see only part of an explanation to an article on a particular page. I had been trained to learn the explanations completely. Including the complete article on every entry would have made this a very thick book, though. :)

In addition to the daily prayers and catechesis, The Lord Will Answer includes key dates of the church year, the entire Small Catechism and indicies for general prayers and for prayers for special needs. Each section has a lithograph by Albrecht Dürer.

This book makes a great gift for the newly confirmed, but I still get something out of it every day. It is worth it to take a minute it out of every day and relearn things that keep one in the faith. It's also fun to look up some of the people; I'd never heard of Columba or Serapion. I can't recommend this book enough to everyone.

Originally posted on Necessary Roughness on July 17, 2006.

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The Lutheran Carnival

2006-07-16T16:13:00.001-05:00

Charles Lehmann of Drowning Myself Whenever I Can begins Lutheran Carnival XXVII with a brief memorial for recently departed theologian Kenneth Korby and a short commemoration of Ruth. He follows up by pointing the reader to a number of notable posts from throughout the confessional Lutheran blogosphere.

Well done, Chaz.

Free Books!

2006-07-09T12:50:00.001-05:00

In honor of the 35th birthday of Project Gutenberg, free access to the World eBook Fair is granted through 4 August 2006.

If you've never availed yourself of this remarkable resource, now's the time to do so at no cost to you.

Cross-posted at Aardvark Alley. Image used by permission of Liam Quin.

Technorati Tags: books | ebooks | free books | Project Gutenberg | World eBook Fair | World eBook Library | electronic books

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Take Eat, Take Drink

2006-07-03T11:13:00.000-05:00

Take Eat, Take Drink
The Lord’s Supper Through the Centuries

Ernest Bartels
CPH, 2004
ISBN 0758600372
286 pages, including answer key

How has it happened that four little words, “This is My body,” have been so variously interpreted, resulting in such a myriad of applications and beliefs?

What is the doctrine and practice of the Lord’s Supper? From the Upper Room to its present-day setting on various altars, Ernest Bartels unravels the history behind this Sacrament, the various practices now in evidence and the doctrines which have resulted. Bartels presents a historical roadmap any novice can follow with ease, yet he is unflinchingly faithful to his own confession along the route. His markers are clear and obvious. Along the way the reader is able to understand where the various actors in history that shape the modern worship wars “fit.” Who was Luther? Zwingli? Bucer? Calvin? Did they affect any current denominations? How? Bartels makes the issue clear. Digging deeper, Bartels opens the history of terms like “closed” versus “close” communion. He also looks behind the issue of using individual cups over the common cup not only among Lutherans, but also among other denominations.

This book is written in a deceptively simple style. By that I mean this: The depth of Bartels’ insights and weight of his knowledge are revealed precisely by the fact that he could write in a manner that is accessible to a wide audience, much like Luther’s Small Catechism. This is a book that could be the source of much study and catechetical discussion in a congregation, especially one interested in the history of the early councils of the church. Bartels brings the reader full circle, uniting the present with the past as una sancta:

We have only the words of our Lord for our Christian life for our salvation. They are enough. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Christ’s words endure forever. That was certain for the early church and it is certain today.

Bartels, a native of Tecumseh, Nebraska, graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, Illinois. He served congregations in Wisconsin and North Dakota. He held several advanced degrees and wrote numerous articles for publication.

Also posted at Quicunque vult…

New Carnival, New Host

2006-07-03T00:07:00.000-05:00

The Lutheran Carnival has a new host this time 'round. Michael P. O'Conner hosts Lutheran Carnival XXVII. Between summer vacations and the U.S. Independence Day holiday, bloggings been a bit light of late and the number of submissions may reflect that. However, they're of the usual quality, and that's what really matters. The Carnival's featured Lutheran is Bishop Bo Giertz, author of The Hammer of God. So swing by, check the links, and if you haven't already browsed Michael's blog, read through some of what he has archived.

Hammer of God at Barnes and Noble

Hammer of God

Three Discs of Medieval Lutheran Music

2006-07-01T15:52:00.001-05:00

Over the last several trips to Houston I was able to check out three CDs.

Martin Luther und die Musik has good performances and is well recorded; some CDs like Praetorius' Christmas Mass sound like the gain has been cranked too much on the microphone. Only a few of the eighteen tracks are hymns I recognized. "Ein Feste Burg" ("A Mighty Fortress") is strong, but "Vater Unser" ("Our Father Who In Heaven Above") and "Wir gläuben all an einen Gott" ("We All Believe in One True God") are single stanza organ instrumentals. An Amazon reviewer recommends getting it for "Beati Immaculati", and I agree, the running cadences are beautiful. For congregational singing of familiar hymns, though, I was forced to look elsewhere.

Deutsche Liedmesse (German Hymn Mass) is closer to what I've been looking for. It had gotten a lot of play in my car stereo in Houston. It also is well performed and well mastered. Less people sing "Ein Feste Burg" than in the previous CD, but the higher parts brighten the hymn significantly. Nine of the 14 tracks are recognizable hymns; someone please listen to the Gloria sample from Amazon and tell me the name of that tune. :) "Nun freut euch, lieben Christen" ("Dear Christian People All, Rejoice") has good variety among the verses, employing boy choir and male solo. "Vater Unser" this time is sung and sung well, and classical enthusiasts may give the volume knob an extra touch. This is a great CD for hymns in German.

Seeking something auf Englisch I came across a CD published by the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau. "Through the Church Year With the Best in Lutheran Hymns" is an excellent instructional tool. The CD comes in a pocket on the inside back cover of a 8½ in. x 11 in. There are four pages of introductory essays. There are words, melody, and scriptural references for all 18 hymns. I would have preferred that they print all parts instead of just the melody, but the book would have been bigger.

This CD is a remaster of a 40-year-old audio recording. There are points of distortion even with digital tweaking. Most recordings of hymns start with the congregation singing the first verse and then choirs or solos follow; these hymns typically start with the first verse in four-part choir, the second verse in choral unison, and then the congregation comes in on verse three or four. In these situations the lyrics to the first couple of verses are written above the sheet music which contains the congregational verse. For their 50^th Anniversary edition I would consider recording the hymns with present-day performers and recording technology, and letting the congregation start verse 1. :)

Originally posted on Necessary Roughness on July 1, 2006.

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Worshiping with Angels and Archangels

2006-06-24T01:57:00.001-05:00

One of "our own" from the blogroll has a new book!

“The Lutheran Church has retained a historic order for the Divine Service. We follow this order not because we believe it is the only right way but because we believe this ancient pattern of worship most clearly and beautifully serves the purpose of the Divine Service, which is to deliver the gracious gifts of God.”

With these sparse but straightforward words, the author begins his introduction to the Divine Service. Worshiping with Angels and Archangels will teach the novice the “whys” of the Divine service and help the layperson in the pew make connections of understanding that will deepen appreciation of the gift that is our liturgy. Pastor Scot Kinnaman presents the complete text of the Divine Service found in Lutheran Service Book. To these he has added foundational Scripture verses and occasionally defines terms. The beauty of the liturgy itself is surrounded by striking watercolors done by Arthur Kirchhoff and calligraphy by Edward Luhmann (who also did the calligraphy in To All Eternity).

Pastor Kinnaman’s narrative continually brings the “for you” nature of the salvation to the forefront; the Divine Service is the means by which God bestows grace on his children. On the page that features the Words of Our Lord, the Verba, Kinnaman writes:

“In the Sacrament of the Altar Christ gives His true body and true blood under the forms of consecrated bread and wine. Once again God’s grace comes to us in the Divine Service. Jesus Himself is present and forgives our sins. This is Good News because Jesus’ Word does what it says.”

Looking at this slim volume, one may wish that it had given more information and more understanding of the parts of the liturgy. Yet Kinnaman’s paucity of words allows the liturgy itself to be easily identified on the page. A beginner, young or old, could literally take this book with him or her to the Divine Service and participate in the liturgy.

At first blush, the book looks like a children’s book. Yet the sophisticated art and the confident writing combine to be appealing to an adult reader as well. I see this book in the classroom as well as beautifully displayed in the home. Its use in youth confirmation or with the adult convert to introduce them to the chief service of the Church seems a natural.

Of all the great artwork, there is one image that I found very arresting—it spans pages 38 and 39. Previously, I knew this image from description only, I have never seen it depicted. I have heard that, especially in the Swedish church, the communion rail was traditionally arranged in a semi circular, the point being that there is a full circle that is completed in eternity, and that in the liturgy of Holy Communion, “for a time the division between heaven and earth is gone. Heaven has come down to earth and all together stands around the throne of almighty God.” Kirchhoff has captured just this in his art. After my father died, Pastor comforted me by telling me that in the Lord’s Supper the barrier between the “now” and the “not yet” is torn down and that Dad and I will continue to commune together for eternity. Looking at this illustration I can almost picture Dad in the throng of saints—just over the pastor’s shoulder, who join with us each Lord’s Day in the marriage feast of the Lamb.

It is a great little book. And at the paltry price of $6.99 there is no reason not to buy several copies to give to those who you care about and who you want to see grow in their appreciation and understanding of this gift we have been given, the Divine Service

Title: Worshiping with Angels and Archangels
Author: Scot A. Kinnaman
Hardcover, 48 pages, full-color
Publisher: Concordia Publishing House
Price: $6.99

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My trip to the bookstore

2006-06-23T12:29:00.001-05:00

Today I received my copy of the newly minted Concordia Commentary: Ruth. After seeing what they did with Philemon, I was afraid I might need a winch to carry the book upstairs to the library. But no. In comparison to many other of the volumes in the series, the book is modest at less than 500 pages. As I put the distinctive blue jacketed volume on my "to read" shelf, I was reminded that it had been awhile since I made a trek into the CPH bookstore. Suddenly my "to read" shelf is quite full.

Frankly, all my shelves are quite full and I don't know where all this is going to lead. While I was browsing I picked up Volume 44 of Luther's Works: The Christian in Society I. I don't have all the volumes in the American Edition yet, but those I do have already occupy space spanning over 2 shelves. While at the bookstore I learned that CPH is working to expand the American Edition by as many as 25 new volumes. I don't know where these new volumes are going to go--especially if CPH keeps up the pracice of publishing door-stop size Concordia Commentaries, for the shelf on which they currently reside will be at capacity next year.

And speaking of door-stop sized books have you seen some of the current theological titles? The reprint of Johann Reu's The Augsburg Confession is 538 pages long and 2 1/4 inches thick! This is topped, however, by Schmauk & Bente's tome The Confessional Principle and the Confessions of the Lutheran Church which weighs in at 962 pages, 3 inches thick and at over 4 lbs., which means it weighs more then my cat!

But back to my personal lament about expanding series and shrinking shelf space. Pastor McCain announced a short while back that the first volume of John Gerhard's Loci was now available. Having thoroughly enjoyed Matthew Harrison's translation of Gerhard's Meditations on Divine Mercy, I had to pick up this new book. The series is entitled Theological Commonplaces, and the first volume to appear is On the Nature of Theology and Scripture. (I love slitting open the plastic on a new volume and breathing-in the smell of a new book. It is intoxication in its own way. I used to like the mimeographed papers in school too -- breathing in the fumes of the chemical soup that was used to make them, it is a wonder anybody did well on tests.... but I diregess.) I have not read far into this new Gerhard yet I am already seeing the difference between the theological mind of the 16th/17th century and the relative wasteland that passes for theological argumentation and thought in the 21st century. The connections that classic Lutheranism was willing to make is refreshing, and frankly, I find myself thanking God that such a work as this is available to me and the Church in English.

But now the problem. I understand that this series in its Latin originals, can barely stand complete on the length of an 8' table. Where am I going to find space for the subsequent volumes of Gerhard given CPHs tendency to go from big to bigger to doorstop?

I guess the trip to the bookstore today will be best followed by a trip to Lowes tomorrow for another bookcase - maybe the kind with the reinforced shelves. Thanks alot CPH.

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Little Manhattan

2006-06-22T10:13:00.000-05:00

Love Story, the 1970 tearjerker starring Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal left me cold. Its famous tagline, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry,” has irritated and confounded me to no end for these thirty-six years. If there is no “I’m sorry” spoken, then when will the “I forgive you be heard”?

Here’s a new movie to set things straight, Little Manhattan. There are no big time stars, and no illicit romances to draw fawning fans to ask for this little film. It has nothing more to offer than a simple tale of a young boy’s first-time love.

I won’t spoil the rest, but Little Manhattan is truly love put into practice. Gather the family and a bowl of popcorn — and look for those catechetical moments. Here is a wholesome movie done well.

Also posted at Quicunque vult…

A Beggar's Carnival

2006-06-19T01:03:00.000-05:00

Pastor Alex Klages of A Beggar at the Table hosts Lutheran Carnival 26. As is our carnival custom, he also introduces an un(der)known Lutheran, Robert Barnes of England, martyred under Henry VIII.

Carnival XXV

2006-06-07T02:38:00.000-05:00

Mrs. T. Swede of Journalistic Jargon has Lutheran Carnival XXV: Whitsunday on display.

Women Who Make the World Worse

2006-05-23T18:57:00.001-05:00

There are two important words to remember concerning Kate O’Beirne’s book, Women Who Make the World Worse: and How Their Radical Feminist Assault Is Ruining Our Schools, Families, Military, and Sports: Get it. It is that good, that important. Read it for yourself. Read it to your daughters. Prescribe it to your sons.

It is not enough that the world of feminism is discovering their ideology is based upon tissues of improbabilities. Feminism is an ideology with itself as both the object and the goal. Therefore, dogmatic feminists would rather promote any lie in order to advance their own agenda rather than allow truth to be revealed.

What truth?

A public that has never known a society without abortion is increasingly pro-life.

Physiological studies between males and females repeatedly report similar results: girls and boys are genetically different.

The military has been weakened by the inclusion of women because through various means to accommodate those differences for the sake of the feminist goal of equality.

The family has been undermined and devalued in the cause of feminist sexual liberation. Philandering politicians were supported as long as they promoted the prize of feminism, abortion rights.

Men’s sports activities and education have suffered and in some cases been eradicated due to the cause of feminist propagandizing. In the meantime, public education itself has become an experiment in social engineering rather than the source of teaching.

That feminism is the largest bureaucratic job-maker in history.

This is a brilliant piece of work. Often downright funny, its genuinely wise insights into what makes feminism tick and what drives the movement makes this books a must have for parents of growing children and teenagers. Why? In a sense it is a mini-course in apologetics against what is being fed through the schools, the media and higher education. OBeirne has a solid grip on feminists, and pulls their “logic” apart masterfully. We should all learn to be so adept at doing the same.

Women Who Make the World Worse: and How Their Radical Feminist Assault Is Ruining Our Schools, Families, Military, and Sports
Type: HardcoverISBN: 159230092

Also posted at Quicunque vult…

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Carnival Dealine Looming

2006-05-19T15:34:00.000-05:00

I forgot to make an earlier appeal for posts to the next Lutheran Carnival, which will be hosted by Sam of Nerd Heaven. Submissions are due in a few hours, so read what Sam says, check the guidelines, and round up a post or two to help out this first-time host.

Dressing with Dignity

2006-05-19T07:40:00.001-05:00

I first discovered Colleen Hammond several years ago via her website.She was just coming out with her book at the time, and the first release was fraught with plagerism controversy. "Dressing with Dignity" is now available in a revised 2nd edition.

A Roman Catholic and former beauty queen, Mrs. Hammond promotes an elegant, dignified and modest approach to dressing. She suggests practical guidelines on choosing modest tasteful attire, hints on how to talk to teens, how to cultivate grace and charm, and how to awaken a spirit of chivalry in men. She also includes a helpful, but probably-soon-to-be-out-of-date resource list.

What I found interesting and unique to this book is the historical background. Hammond includes a fascinating section on a Freemason agenda to corrupt women through fashion and many quotes from scripture, saints and Roman Catholic hierarchy.

I give this book a so-so rating. "Rome-a-phobe" readers will probably be turned off by the "all for Mary" tone of the traditional Catholic author. A reader new to the idea of non-frumpy modesty will probably enjoy it very much. Much of the information can be found in other places. "Fascinating Womanhood" is a good read on the subject, as is "A Return to Modesty."

Call me a Pharisee, but I am highly offended by the lack of reverance and respect in our churches and our culture. New voices on this topic are always welcome.

Colleen Hammond maintains two blogs, accessible from her website.

"Dressing with Dignity" by Colleen Hammond
ISBN 0-89555-800-9
Published 2005 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc.

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Lutheran Carnival XXIII

2006-05-07T23:25:00.000-05:00

The Twenty-third Lutheran Carnival, introduced by Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg, is up and running at Random Thoughts of a Confessional Lutheran.

The Soul of The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe by Gene Veith

2006-05-06T13:40:00.003-05:00

Visiting the Barnes and Noble in Bossier City, LA, I was again striking out on most of the books I wanted to read. I opened my search to anything by the authors, and I came across a book by Gene Veith, a.k.a. Dr. Gene Edward Veith, owner of the Cranach blog and newly hired Academic Dean of Patrick Henry College. I picked up his book, The Soul of The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe.

The Soul is divided into two parts. The first deals with the allegorical references to Christian beliefs in C.S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Seven chapters cover creation, human nature in two worlds, the White Witch, Aslan, the stone table, the final battle, and coming back home. Veith relates this directly to keystones of Christian theology such as the Devil, the Christ, atonement, justification, and sanctification.

The second part covers what the author calls "The Fantasy Wars". He discusses The Chronicles of Narnia against more modern fantasy literature such as the Harry Potter series and the atheist series His Dark Materials. Veith provides a balanced view of Harry Potter; he praises Rowling for the objective good and evil displayed by her students at Hogwart's, he criticizes her disdain for the world of the Muggles, the normal (presumably ours) of people who don't see the magic around them. He praises Phillip Pullman from a literary standpoint for Pullman's making of atheism palatable through fantasy, though of course he takes Pullman to task for humanistic narcissism and his representation of God as "The Authority" who must be defeated.

The book also contains a reader's study guide, useful for the individual or small groups. Endnotes provide additional information tangential to Veith's points. The book itself is a short read, only 206 pages. Obviously one would benefit from reading The Chronicles of Narnia first, but it's not necessary. The second part is very informative for those who haven't read Rowling or Pullman.

I enjoyed the book and know someone who will very much appreciate it. If you like fantasy literature in general, find The Chronicles of Narnia or C.S. Lewis intriguing, or at the very least want to know about some of what kids are reading today, this is a book I highly recommend.

Originally posted on Necessary Roughness.

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Next Carnival Coming Up

2006-05-02T20:21:00.000-05:00

Submissions are due this Friday for Lutheran Carnival XXIII. The next host is Random Dan. Thanks to the crew at Carnival Central for allowing Ask the Pastor the privilege of hosting Carnival-22 this fortnight. Don’t forget the submission guidelines.

The Blessings of Weekly Communion

2006-05-02T18:40:00.001-05:00

Author: Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting

"Pastor, if the Lord's Supper is everything that the Bible and the catechism say it is, then why don't we have the opportunity to receive it when we come for worship each week?"

This one question helped kick off more than a decade of exploration
of the "treasure of weekly Communion" by Kenneth Wieting. This book offers the culmination of his research. Here Wieting invites pastors and people to examine the scriptural, confessional, and historic information that supports the practice of weekly Communion. As he traces the practice of the Lord's Supper from the early church to its celebration in the Lutheran Church today, Wieting reflects on how this historic and textual evidence confirms the value of weekly Communion.

The Blessings of Weekly Communion also offers helpful ways to recover the practice of weekly Communion. Wieting shows how preaching the Word prepares for and leads to the celebration of the Lord's Supper in the Divine Service. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions to help readers reflect and apply the material to the circumstances in which they find themselves both individually and corporately.

Wieting has written for The Lutheran Witness, Logia, For the Life of the World, and was a contributor to Liturgical Preaching (Concordia, 2001). He has served parishes in Wisconsin for more than 20 years.

Paperback
304 pages
Available from Concordia Publishing
House
Item # 15-5068
$23.99
Includes: Discussion questions for each
chapter; extensive notes; bibliography

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Quasimodo-22

2006-04-24T08:33:00.001-05:00

Lutheran Carnival XXII at Ask the Pastor

Art by Picasso, Rubens, and Cranach ... Latin words ... Victor Hugo and Joseph Heller references ... pictures of Pastor Snyder's "unknown Lutheran" ... plenty of links to good Lutheran writing, including a newly-discovered confessional blogger. Yep, Like Newborn Carnivals, we arise to await the bestowal of God's gifts.

The bells, the bells....

Deadline Looming for Carnival Entries

2006-04-21T14:01:00.000-05:00

Get 'em in, people. While I may be able to squeeze in a few more after the official 7 p.m. cutoff, I need time to assemble and edit Sunday's Lutheran Carnival. Since I'm also preaching, teaching, coaching track, finishing some devotions for publication, and trying to remain sane, happily married, and heading my household in Godly manner, I hope that you'll help by choosing your own posts or nominating those of others according to the house rules and the general submission guidelines and submitting them as quickly as possible.

Thank you, and here's the edress: lutherancarnival AT gmail DOT com

From Ask the Pastor.

Attention Confessional Bloggers

2006-04-17T15:12:00.000-05:00

Ask the Pastor needs more submissions for the next Lutheran Carnival. Please check the house rules for this edition and the general submission guidelines.

Lars Walker: Lutheran Novelist

2006-04-14T22:03:00.001-05:00

A Review of The Year of the Warrior

Lars Walker's novels can be found in the Science Fiction and Fantasy aisles. They are paperbacks, with those great comic book-style cover illustrations, something to read for their action, excitement, and the sheer fun that reading can be. But these particular books rise far above the typical pulp fiction. They are stylistically alive. And they are deeply, profoundly Christian. In fact, they are deeply, profoundly Lutheran. Not in the usually sappy and preachy way of the "Christian fiction" subgenre but in a bold, battling way. And far from diminishing the books' appeal in the mainstream literary marketplace, their Christianity and their Lutheranism are intrinsic to their imaginative power.

I just finished The Year of the Warrior. Though published by the SciFi press Baen, it's really closer to historical fiction, focusing on the conversion of the Vikings to Christianity and depicting the real-life exploits of the noble Norse lord Erling Skjalgsson and the less-admirable King Olaf (later promoted to "St."). The tale centers around an Irishman kidnapped in a Viking raid who poses as a priest and then finds himself becoming one. The fantasy dimension comes as the Christians are challenged by the demonic forces of the old paganism.

There is lots of swordplay. And lots of even more dramatic spiritual warfare, both externalized in eerie confrontations with dark forces and internalized in the struggles of the main characters with their own sin and doubts. The context is the turning of the first millennium in 1000 A.D. ("the year of the warrior"), which many people thought would be the End of Time and Christ's return. So the theological climate is early-medieval Catholicism. But the Lutheranism comes in the criticism of many elements of that theology (such as the practice of forced conversion) as well as in the evangelical appropriation of many of its features (the power of confession and absolution; the power of Baptism; the power of the Cross). And throughout is the figure of Christ and the truth of the Gospel, in contrast to counterfeit Christianities and the demonic gods of the pagans.

Lars also gets in some good shots at today's false spiritualities — matter-denying Gnosticism, New Age paganism, and worldly churches. Says a bishop who wants to convert the masses by using the church growth methodology of killing them if they refuse: "Times change. We must change with the times. What use to obey Him in
this or that point if we fail to win the world for Him."

I don't want to create the impression that the book is heavy-going. It's not. It's frequently funny. (It is not, however, for those squeamish about violence and sin.) And the voice of the slave-priest Father Aillil who narrates the tale is addictive.

Lars Walker (a frequent commenter on the Cranach blog) is a member of a Free Lutheran congregation. I'm reading his other books and will report on them as well. Meanwhile, here is someone to read.

Review written by Dr. G. E. Veith and cross-posted at Cranach.

Year of the Warrior

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A Different Kind of "Call for Papers"

2006-04-13T18:39:00.000-05:00

Luther Library member Pastor Walter Snyder just released a request for posts for the next Lutheran Carnival. A Carnival "Call for Papers" includes suggestions and house rules for the next rendition. Also, he reminds us that another "librarian," Dan at Necessary Roughness, hosts the current carnival.

Lutheran Carnival

2006-04-09T19:57:00.001-05:00

Dan at Necessary Roughness has unveiled Lutheran Carnival XXI: Palm Sunday. See what's been happening in the past four weeks of Lutheran blogging.

Skeleton in God's Closet

2006-04-07T21:54:00.001-05:00

I read this a few months back. A coworker of mine read it and told me about it, I had heard about Paul Maier before, I'd even seen some of his videos about Acts and I've met him once or twice, but I'd never read this book. The interesting thing about the friend who recommended it to me was he is one of those "unreligious" folks. But he was really excited about the book and I decided that it might be a good idea to read it, too. If for no other reason than to be able to talk about it over beer mugs, but why do I bring it up now? There has been some talk about a new book coming out called the Jesus Papers, which, if understand it correctly, does its darnedest to disprove the basic tenents of Christianity... Jesus' resurrection.

A Skeleton in God's Closet is an interesting book. It has a truly intriguing premise: the bones of Jesus are found in a grave outside of Jerusalem by an archaeologist. It is part adventure, part archaeological sleuth story, part romance, and part discussion of faith. I'm reluctant to say much about it because I don't want to give away the whole story.

Maier's well known New Testement scholarship comes through, as does his knowledge of archaeology. He stitches together a good story that certainly kept my interest (this book is a nice counter point to the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. It certainly is more meaty, too. At times, though Maier does get a bit too deep into the minutiae of archaeology, but that can be forgiven.

This book did bring up some thoughts that I hadn't had before for example: what would happen if someone did truly find the bones of Christ (and could prove it without a doubt)? How would the world react?

Who is this book for? I'd say its for just about anyone who likes a good thinking novel. It will make the reader think and, hopefully will make the reader ask questions. It might be a fun book to read as a book club selection particularly in the church setting... a ladies aide book club? I'd also this book would be a good counterpoint to the Da Vinci Code, it asks questions, but doesn't try to debunk anything that can't be debunked. Actually, it could be a great be a faith stregnthener (poor word choice, but I think you get my meaning).

I can't recommend this book enough.

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Bonhoeffer

2006-03-27T13:37:00.001-06:00

Bonhoeffer is a 2003 feature length documentary film that has played in selected theaters and on PBS. It is now available on dvd. This film was also my first introduction to the young German Lutheran theologian.

The movie begins with Bonhoeffer's childhood and continues with family photos, narrated letters and interviews with family, friends and former students. Interspersed are newsreel images of Hitler and the current events that accompanied him. The viewer has a sense of the inevitable — a "no way out" feeling as Bonhoeffer follows his conscience and time marches forward to his imprisonment and execution.

I was fascinated by this man's sense of purpose from the time he was a child and his bravery as he became more deeply involved in the plot to kill Hitler. Even Lutherans who are not fans of ecumenism cannot fail to admire Bonhoeffer.

The movie contains no graphic holocaust violence, but is still chilling.

I understand that CTSFW featured a 2-day Bonhoeffer conference in February. I'm sorry I missed it. I look forward to reading some of his works.

More information on this movie may be found at this website.

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Lutheran Carnival XX

2006-03-26T23:06:00.000-06:00

Lutheran Carnival XX is up at the main blog. It looks back a few years to a time when only a handful of confessional Lutherans could be found in the blogosphere.

He is Risen, Indeed! by David Erickson

2006-03-21T22:35:00.001-06:00

Crossposted at Necessary Roughness.

Issues, Etc.'s book of the month for March is He is Risen, Indeed! featuring paintings by David Erickson. I received my copy last week.

The book contains 11 pictures with accompanying scripture, starting chronologically from Christ's hours of darkness until He presents Himself before His disciples and shows them His hands and his side.Open the book and lay it flat, and the painting takes up the right page and a little over half of the left, an approximate painting size of 10" x 14". To the left of each painting is a 3¾" vertical strip with the verses set in various typestyles.

David Erickson works in oil, and his paintings tend toward the warmer brown colors.The depictions of the dying Christ are bloodless, yet in one we see Him on the cross and in another three men carry the corpse with its stigmata and pierced side. An image of women grinding spices with mortar and pestle accompanies Mark 16:1-3, and the conveyance of extra information as to what may have taken place is typical throughout the book — the consequence of a picture being a thousand words, I suppose. One painting seemed a little inconsistent. In painting the angels in Luke 24:4-7, the "dazzling apparel" the angels wear is merely depicted as white robes that reflect candlelight.

All in all, the art is quite good. The Scripture is presented in ESV and is easy to read, except for the names, of course. The book does focus as promised on the acts of Christ rather than our own merits. Unfortunately my particular copy came with two pages partially glued together; it will be going back for an exchange.

This is a book that can be read to 5-year-olds or read by someone on a 2^nd or 3^rd grade level (with help on the names). It is definitely an enjoyable book that I recommend for everyone.

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Project Wittenberg Update

2006-03-20T21:48:00.001-06:00

Because its host organization disbanded and allowed its domain name to lapse, the main archives for Project Wittenberg were unavailable for a time. This has been remedied with the brand new main site for Project Wittenberg.

The Reverend Robert Smith, project director, sent the following email announcing the domain change and providing other valuable resources for scholars and curious Christians. I've gently edited it to make it more HTML friendly.

Dear Friends:

Project Wittenberg's main website has moved to a new server and now has its own domain name: www.ProjectWittenberg.org

International Christian Leadership, the organization that hosted Project Wittenberg's website since 1995, has disbanded and its domain name is no longer active. Concordia Theological Seminary now sponsors Project Wittenberg, has registered the new domain name and will maintain the Project on its website. Project Wittenberg joins Pro Bono Ecclesiae, Walther Library Libronix Books, and the digital imaging project, Saarinen's Village as an electronic collection provided by CTS' Walther Library.

The Walther Library at Concordia Theological Seminary is committed to keeping Project Wittenberg stable and the transition as painless as possible. The only change for ICLNet based Project Wittenberg URLs is the domain name....

I hope that Logos Bible Software users make special note of the available Libronix books mentioned above. They're free, easy to install, and certainly provide excellent supplemental materials to the for-purchase materials available from various Lutheran bodies and publishing houses.

Cross-posted at Aardvark Alley.

Sermons of Martin Luther: Church Postils

2006-03-18T07:20:00.001-06:00

8 Volume CD Set

Several years ago Baker House reissued an eight-volume set of books, Sermons of Martin Luther: Church Postils, translated by John Nicholas Lenker. First published in 1905, it was a must-have for any theologian. The text was written in a long-forgotten style, but all the more gracefully elegant because of it.

While I have read these sermons — many of them several times, nothing compares to hearing them read by Pr. Michael McCoy of Emmett, ID. His deep, resonant voice lends a rich quality to the recordings. The inflection of the spoken word nuances meaning; ears perk up when eyelids would tend to droop across text. The musical interludes between each reading are beautifully arranged and recorded.

Scholia.net presents the Sermons of Martin Luther: Church Postils in a package of eight CDs formatted for MP3. This provides eighty-one hours of listening time. Permission is granted with each purchase to copy the CDs for sharing with friends and relatives.

Other CD titles are also available from Scholia.net, including a newly recorded sampler, The Writings of Martin Luther, Gerhard's Sacred Meditations, and A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians.

Sermons of Martin Luther: Church Postils
Available: Scholia.net

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Coloring Books!

2006-03-17T09:31:00.001-06:00

Homeschoolers and classroom educators alike will enjoy this delightful selection of coloring books from Dover Publications. History for young students comes alive with the coloring pages by artists like John Green, Patricia J. Wynne and Ed Sibbett, Jr.

Green's Ancient Greece title includes drawings of the Trial of Socrates, a performance of Oedipus Rex, and a wedding procession. Sibbett's Ancient Egyptian Design presents murals, bas-reliefs, and jewelry designs from various dynasties.

These are no mere cartoon drawings, but carefully researched historically accurate renditions. Each of the titles in this series is a welcome addition to the curriculum, helping the student to either visualize the historical event, or participate in the arts of the era.

Each title is reasonably priced, and pages may be copied as per the copyright restrictions on the inside cover of each book.

Coloring Books:
     Life in Ancient Egypt
     Life in Ancient Rome
     Life in Ancient Greece
     Life in a Medieval Castle and Village
     Life in Ancient Mexico
     Life in Celtic Times
     Life in Old Japan
     Indian Life in Pre-Columbian North America
     Ancient Egyptian Design
     King Tut

Dover Publications

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Lutheran Carnival XIX

2006-03-13T00:04:00.000-06:00

Please take some time to look through the Lutheran Carnival XIX over at Be Strong in the Grace.

The Hammer of God

2006-03-12T16:58:00.001-06:00

The problem with reviewing this book is that I have become a little too attached to it. Ugly cover and all, the 1960 translation from the Augustana Book Concern, in its 1973 softcover reprint by Augsburg Publishing House, has become the default edition of the Hammer of God for North American readers. But it is a glorious novel.

Bo Giertz, a Swedish Lutheran pastor, wrote this novel based loosely on pastoral events of his own ministry, and, more than that, based on the history of the Church in Sweden. We have here the story of three pastors, each spaced about 65 years distant from each other, in the same little country parish, the almost unpronounceable Ödesjö.

As such, we trace through three different waves — a legalistic revival, pietism leading to Anabaptistic leanings, and finally, modernism with social relativism. In each time period, the pastor comes in from seminary thinking he knows it all, succumbs to the curse of the age, then, under the guidance of an older, wiser pastor, is guided into proper Law and Gospel, theology of the Cross, faith and preaching.

Under this, the reader grows in an understanding of what is the right way to approach sanctification, Baptism, church discipline, the Lord's Supper, and several other topics which are always relevant. In a report I once wrote in Seminary I characterized this as Walther's Law and Gospel in novel form.

It perhaps sounds formulaic. In lesser hands it would be unreadable. But Giertz is an excellent writer, and, in the standard translation, the power of God's Word rightly divided shines through excellently. Any amount of explaining the book falls short of actually reading it. This is a book which is meant to be read and reread, savoured and allowed to simmer in one's mind.

Sadly, for the longest time, English readers had been cheated out of the fulness of the novel. We were led to believe that it was only 8 chapters long. Fortunately, Hans Andrae, an ELCA pastor still on the roster of the Church of Sweden, undertook a translation of the long-missing ninth chapter in a new edition of the Hammer of God released by Augsburg Fortress in 2005.

I would unquestioningly recommend this new edition were it not for the voluminous typographical errors.* It appears that in order to typeset the new edition AF must have used OCR software but not spent sufficient time re-reading the proofs. The typos range from amusing to confusing to brutal. I don't need (nor do I have time!) to list them. If you read the book, you will find them. AF has been apprised of the errors, and, should sufficient copies sell to warrant a second printing, the errors are supposed to be fixed for the second printing.

As such, the best way to approach this book in English is to read the introductory and background material from the new edition, chapters 1-8 from the old 1973 edition and then chapter 9 from the new edition. Alternately, you can learn Swedish and get an even better book, as there is a certain amount of the book which was abridged by Clifford Ansgar Nelson in the initial translation, including more historical background and dialogue in the first chapter and a longer sermon excerpt in the sixth.

Strongly recommended to anyone who wants to see what Lutheran pastoral ministry really looks like in practice, as well as anyone who wants to read a good, theologically sound, novel.

The Hammer of God
Bo Giertz, tr. C. A. Nelson and H. Andrae
Augsburg Fortress: 1973, 2005
ISBN: 0-8066-1310-6 (old), 0-8066-5130-X

Crossposted at A Beggar At The Table

*A comprehensive list of typographical errors from both editions, compiled by the Rev. Charles Henrickson, is available in a 53k PDF file through Xrysostom.

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Why Is Feminism So Hard To Resist?

2006-03-10T08:14:00.001-06:00

Feminism is pervasive and insidious. While in former times its lure incited a reactive army of angry warriors to take their bras to the nearest fires, now feminism's charms are aided by Madison Avenue. Her seductions are slicker, glitzed with fashionable bangles, accompanied by catchy jingles and well-crafted human bodies and the images of the perfect life. For the average child born in America today, catechesis in feminism begins in utero by what can be heard through the influences of a media-controlled life. Feminism is not for women only; it is a state of being for both sexes.

To understand how this is so Paul R. Harris has written Why Is Feminism So Hard To Resist? Both theological and historical, Harris's book is written to and for men and women. Feminism is not a condition that affects or is effected by one sex alone. Harris’ book is excellent in demonstrating how this is true. He neither blames either sex for it cause, nor does he consider either one to be the means for a return to a more pristine age.

Why Is Feminism So Hard To Resist? is written accessibly. That is, it could be used for Bible Study groups as young as high school, as well as adults. It is also excellent for personal study at home. Harris writes with depth, clarity and insight. He is balanced, so men and women alike need not fear they will be “targeted” as either victim or antagonist in an ongoing war between the sexes.

Why Is Feminism So Hard To Resist? is a valuable tool that will find itself passed around to many readers, and referred to often.

Why Is Feminism So Hard To Resist?
Paul R. Harris
Repristination Press (June 1998)
ISBN1891469215
155 pages

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The Oracles and the Jewels

2006-03-09T23:53:00.001-06:00

The Oracles and the Jewels
The Academy, Vol. 1
C. S. Stanford

Entos is a land created by, sustained, and lived in through the power of the Oracles and the Jewels. Any sacramental parallels are obviously intentional, for The Oracles and the Jewels is the sort of book Luther might have authored had he the time for fantasy fiction. Virtues such as honor, duty, loyalty, sacrifice, trustworthiness, and the value of ritual and the voice of sacred tradition are promoted throughout the book. Yet, if there is one word to define the theme of this book it is this: integrity. A life lived with all these things in proper balance is a life lived in integrity. Entosians were created to live lives of integrity. Entosians live only according to the very means which create and sustain them. Their lives reflect their Creator King in the same manner their enemies' lives mirror that of theirs, Ashkelon, who is the king of disorder and chaos.

The Oracles and the Jewels follows in the tradition of C. S. Lewis' Narnia Tales and J. R. R. Tolkien's Hobbit and Trilogy. The characters are solid and the plot develops with plenty of twists and turns. Imagery and detail are full and rich. However (at least in a Lutheran sense), where Lewis' and Tolkien's symbolism eventually fail to hit their mark, Stanford's finds the target time and time again.

The Oracles and the Jewels will find its way on our school's bookshelves. This is a catechetical journey &mdash yet so well written and entertaining young readers may not even realize it is catechesis!

The Oracles and the Jewels is the first book of a planned trilogy by C. S. Stanford. Drawings and maps by R. W. Stanford. It is published by Stanford Publishing, but is available through amazon.com.

The Oracles and the Jewels
The Academy, Vol. 1
by C. S. Stanford
492 pages
ISBN 0977181405

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Early Carnival Deadline

2006-03-08T10:54:00.000-06:00

TK of Katie's Beer and part of the Library's review committee will host the next Lutheran Blog Carnival. TK reminds us: Lutheran Carnival posts due by midnight this Thursday.

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice

2006-03-03T15:28:00.001-06:00

Originally posted on Necessary Roughness on January 9, 2006.

I finished Anne Rice's latest work, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, on the Columbus to Houston leg on my way to Oklahoma City tonight.

The book is a fictional but plausible first-person narrative of Jesus Christ in his seventh year. His family, now extended with an uncle, aunt, and cousins, returns to Nazareth from their exile in Alexandria, Egypt, and rebuilds their house and town. Israel is rocked by the rebellion of the Jews against Herod the Great, and Caesar sends troops to put down the insurgents as well as some innocents.

Mary and Joseph continue to keep Jesus's origin a secret, even from Jesus himself. Herod the Great is killed, but they fear one of his sons, Herod Archelaus or Herod Antipas, might renew the search for the prophesied King of the Jews. Jesus is bewildered by the miracles that happen: when another kid strikes him, the child is struck dead, and Jesus, asking the child to wake up, performs his first resurrection. In another situation, he prays for the healing of his uncle, and it happens. He wishes for snow, which had not occurred since the Nativity (according to the book), and it falls. Realizing that he can do miracles, but not knowing why, he prays to God to only do things that the Father approves.

Jesus receives additional clues from a rabbi during the Day of Atonement, who informs Jesus of the prophecy and the ensuing slaughter of 2-year-olds and under by Herod the Great. His cousin/adopted brother James finally lets the cat out of the bag and tells Jesus about the Star of Bethlehem, the visitors, and the angels. Jesus asks Mary one more time with this information, and Mary finishes out the story with what happened to her.

Rice emphasizes Christ's humanity a great deal, to her credit. Jesus gets cut. He gets sick. He cries—no surprise given his grief over Lazarus's death in the Gospels (John 11:28-36). He learns new words in Greek. There is a moment where he feels sorry for the children who were slaughtered because of Him. He has no direct conversation with the Father or heavenly angels, but in a dream he talks to an angel who identifies himself as a prince of chaos.

There isn't much to offend theologically from what I can tell. Rice's Mary supports Semper Virgo but makes no comment on the Immaculate Conception. According to the Gospels the first miracle performed by Jesus was the turning of water into wine at Capernaum (verse 11 of John 2:1-11). The early miracles are drawn from the Apocrypha and other legends. There is also not much foreshadowing into the Gospels, though there is one entertaining incident where the women of the family discuss the political influences that determine who the next high priest will be when the next Herod assumes the throne. They figure Caiaphas will be the next high priest, borne out in Matthew 26 and John 18.

Anne Rice writes very conversationally in this book, emphasizing the youth of the first-person narrator. When a miracle occurs Jesus describes it as "power flowing out of me". There were no complex plot twists; Jesus getting sick garnered most of my surprise. The book is an interesting interpretation of what could have happened between the return from Egypt and the 12-year-old showing up in the Temple going about his Father's business. Rice doesn't preach a course of action but just tells a story, which could explain her success with other subjects.

Recommended for everyone.

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Worship, Gottesdienst, Cultus Dei:

2006-02-27T22:15:00.001-06:00

What the Lutheran Confessions Say about Worship

Few issues are more hotly contested in Lutheranism than worship. Churches have split over this one issue. In The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod much has been written about worship including Lutheran Worship History and Practice, Gathered Guests, Meaningful Worship, and The Unchanging Feast: The Nature and Basis of Lutheran Worship.

As editor of Worship, Gottesdienst, Cultus Dei, Dr. James Brauer of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis does not try to replicate the work of others. Instead, Dr. Brauer attempts to provide a useful resource for those interested in an in-depth study of Lutheran Worship as expounded upon in the Lutheran Confessions.

As opposed to offering a commentary on Lutheran worship as others do, Dr. Brauer chose to present all the references to worship in the Lutheran Confessions. Brauer uses the Kolb/Wengert edition of the Book of Concord nearly exclusively and also provides key phrases from both the German and Latin versions of the BOC. These are very helpful for those who are not as familiar with the original languages and are looking for textual variations in the Confessions without having to go through the full German and Latin editions.

This work is divided into nine distinct areas including Worship, the Word, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, Absolution, Prayer, Praise, Rites and Ceremonies, and finally a summary section. In addition, Dr. Brauer provides an excellent introductory section on the varying traditions of worship in different denominations including Pentecostals, Anglicans, Reformed, Anabaptists, Shakers, and many more.

As stated previously, Dr. Brauer's work is not a commentary on Lutheran worship. He provides a resource for use alongside other addressing the topic. For anyone interested in Lutheran worship theology and practice this is an excellent resource to use with the excellent resources on worship already in print. For those who do not know the original languages of the Confessions it can be frustrating with all the examples given. However, it might provide some a motivation for further linguistic study.

Personally, the final two sections (Rites and Ceremonies and the Conclusion) were the most interesting and helpful. Dr. Brauer does an excellent job of providing Christ centered commentary on the Confessions in his conclusion and refutes some of the arguments made against maintaining the traditions of the Church. For interested people, there is an excerpt available on the CPH website.

Worship, Gottesdienst, Cultus Dei: What the Lutheran Confessions Say about Worship
ISBN 0758605935
Concordia Publishing House, 2005
304 pp., Hardcover
CPH Item Number 53-1126WEB

Highly recommended for anyone interested in Christian worship.

Written by guest reviewer Sam Powell of Nerd Heaven and edited by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus.

Current Lutheran Carnival

2006-02-26T17:27:00.000-06:00

Lutheran 'Nival XVIII at Full Throttle & an Empty Gas Tank includes a couple reviews from the Library and other confessional Lutheran posts of note from the past fortnight.

Carnival Reminder

2006-02-23T10:33:00.000-06:00

Karl hosts the next Lutheran Carnival at Full Throttle & an Empty Gas Tank. Entries are due Friday (24 February) evening. See the main blog for submission guidelines.

The Battle Isn't Over

2006-02-20T15:50:00.002-06:00

Every Young Man's Battle is featured prominently in every Christian Book store and catalog. Part of the "Every Man Series on Sexual Integrity," it's touted as offering "strategies for victory in the real world of sexual temptation."

As a parent of four with my oldest just starting to drive, I'm new to the world of older teens. I initially purchased this book for my teenage son, but I'm very glad that I chose to first screen it myself.

Authors Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker seem to provide more titillation than coping skills with their very graphic descriptions of their escapades with real life girls and pornographic images. There is so much emphasis on their own stories of uh ... "self abuse," that I question their motive in writing this book. I see that the author was born in 1953 — perhaps he suffers from the baby boomer tendency to let it all hang out.

From a Lutheran standpoint, the book is mostly Law and little Gospel, and somewhat works-oriented. The authors' worldview is that pleasing God by living a blameless life is possible and that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

The recommended coping strategies include training oneself to "bounce the eyes" and "corral the mustang mind." There is some decent advice in the chapter called Sexual Honor — mostly common sense info on avoiding tempting situations in the first place.

I'd love to see a book aimed at Lutheran teens on this sensitive topic — one that acknowledges original sin, emphasizes vocation and encourages private confession. I have not yet read Pr. Tim Paul's book, reviewed earlier, but look forward to doing so.

Every Young Man's Battle
by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker
ISBN 1-57856-537-5
Paperback

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More Thanks

2006-02-16T23:08:00.000-06:00

Benjamin Myers of Faith and Theology made kind mention of the Library in the post, New theological blogs. Rather than just linking back, I suggest you visit him to take a look at one of the more interesting "Top Ten" posts you'll find: Essential ikons for theologians.

More on the Lutheran Blogolution

2006-02-14T09:56:00.000-06:00

Orycteropus Afer's promised continuation on confessional Lutheran blogging has materialized. Visit Aardvark Alley for Building a Lutheran Presence; Part 2. Where Part 1 addressed the nuts-and-bolts of better blogging, the sequel shows ways of expanding one's readership and cooperating with other bloggers for increased traffic and search engine recognition.

Lutheran Carnival Time

2006-02-12T23:11:00.000-06:00

Random Dan hosts Lutheran Carnival XVII: Septuagesima, with plenty of good entries and a guest appearance by Nikolaus Selnecker.

Wise Words

2006-02-11T12:07:00.000-06:00

Lutherans often shy away from morality stories, dripping as they are with the prodding of the Law even as it is too frequently disguised as the Gospel. However, Canon Press publishes a book of eighteen stories by Peter Leithart that might change a few minds in that regard, Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life.

Each of Leithart’s stories is written after the fashion of a fairy tale in the tradition of the Grimm Brother’s. Each ends with a moral as an Aesop's Fable might. However, Leithart's morals are taken from the book of Proverbs. Now, that alone might be enough to send shivers down most rightly-dividing-Law-and-Gospel Lutherans' backs, and nix the decision for this book. However, the stories are well-written with rich details. For the careful catechist in the home or school, each story can be placed in Christ so that the Greater Reality is revealed. Consider "Ivy and the Prince," which was read to a group of First, Third and Fourth graders.

Ivy is a young girl who lives near a forest, in the midst of which is a thicket. Her father has told her never to cross through the briar thicket and go to the other side. Only danger awaits there. She will die. One day a rabbit convinces Ivy she can go around the thicket without actually disobeying her father. She does, and the rabbit becomes a dragon. As soon as he sets to devour her, a handsome Prince from a castle in the air rescues Ivy. He places a golden chain in her hair. Ivy is to use the chain to call for him at anytime. Ivy faints as the Prince gives the instructions, so the chain sits in her hair unnoticed. Ivy goes back to her father, and repents of her sin. Her father forgives her. Ivy, however, wastes away desiring to have the Prince return, but not knowing how to have him do so. Just as she is about to die, her father finds the chain in her hair. In an instant the Prince in there and the story ends as all good fairy tales do, happily ever after.

Leithart chose Prov. 13:12 as the moral: Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. This falls flat as a moral applied to a simple fairy tale, but Leithart does not intend it to be so. He writes, "[T]he First Last Adams are always lurking just beneath the surface." Therefore, regard how the students applied elements of the tale to the Catechism.

"Where did Ivy go wrong?"

"She disobeyed her father."
"That’s the Fourth Commandment."

"What did her father do when she confessed her sin?"

"He forgave her."

"Who do you think the rabbit represents?"

'That's easy! He's Satan!"
"Yeah — and the Prince is Jesus."
"And the castle is heaven."

"OK, Smarties, what is the golden chain all about?" Now they had to think. "What does Jesus give us to hold onto so we know He is with us always?"

"Oh! I get it, Baptism!"
"And His Word, His Absolution."
"And His Body and Blood."

Leithart is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. What a blessedly iconic sacramental tale from a Presbyterian author — whether he intended it to be so or not. This is when Leithart's book shines. Each of his stories can be run through Christ. This is the value of such reading done by parents and teachers with children. Analogies fail at some point, and "Ivy and the Prince" is no exception. It is not the call of the church that causes Christ to come down; rather, Christ comes to His church according to His appointed Means of Grace. Therefore, a caution: read it to your children and discuss it with them. This book will provide many meaningful discussions.

Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
Peter J. Leithart
ISBN: 1591280141
Paperback

Also reviewed and further comments made at Quicunque vult…

Going Out, Getting Dumped, and Playing Mini Golf on the First Date

2006-02-11T08:27:00.001-06:00

Going Out, Getting Dumped, and Playing Mini Golf on the First Date is a practical book. This doesn't mean it provides a list of practical dating advice for the perfect date. Nor can it be called practical because it can guarantee to make the teenage years a snap for parents by keeping kids out of sexual trouble. Instead, because it views the entire matter of sexuality from God’s perspective, Law and Gospel, its practicality is of a higher quality or genre.

That’s an immense subject to approach in only 126 pages for an audience of 13-18 year olds. However, Tim Pauls successfully accomplishes his goal by keeping his topic firmly grounded in Baptism. That is, when sexuality and dating are considered catechetically, the universal principle involved is God's institution of marriage at creation. According to God’s plan, marriage was for the sake of servanthood, not selfishness. By emphasizing the antithesis of relationships that are based on either servanthood or selfishness, Pauls brings clarity to God’s original plan for His people. In so doing, Pauls also reveals what the Baptized life in Christ ought to be. The unasked, but obvious, question by the end of the book is, "You are baptized and dating. In Christ you live in servanthood, not in selfishness. Now, what is it you want to do?"

Will this one little book make all the times of getting dumped easier to bear? Will it erase the selfishness from the lives of those who are dating? Does Romans 7 still not speak to the Baptized also? Going Out, Getting Dumped, and Playing Mini Golf on the First Date is not a fix-it for all dating woes — only the Parousia can do that! This book is a catechetical aid. It is the starting point for fruitful discussion.

Click below to order.

Going out, Getting Dumped, and Playing Mini Golf on the First Date

Carnival Deadline

2006-02-08T23:17:00.000-06:00

Lutheran Carnival entries are due in on Friday.

Check for formatting details and send entries to lutherancarnival AT gmail DOT com.

The Defense Never Rests

2006-02-08T16:51:00.001-06:00

Originally posted on Necessary Roughness on November 14, 2005.

On the plane to Houston, I finished The Defense Never Rests: A Lawyer's Quest for the Gospel by Craig A. Parton. Parton is a lawyer who left American Evangelicalism for Lutheranism in 1995.

The text begins with his college days, studying for law school and active in Campus Crusade for Christ. One class he took covered the writings of Christian theologians: Calvin, Luther, St. Augustine, etc. The differing points of view between Calvinism, Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, and even American Evangelicalism caused him to reevaluate the validity of the Scriptures. All claiming to have derived their teachings from Scripture, so the author studies the Scriptures for himself, checking for validity in addition to seeing who was the closest.

Parton's study of the original Greek text surrounding Christ and the Resurrection lead him to believe the Scriptures. He assesses the testimony from scriptural and other sources, using his skills as a lawyer to determine reasonable doubt and other tools. Here the author makes a point: why would so many disciples allow themselves to be martyred if they knew the Resurrection was a lie?

Parton details the difficulty of reconciling the doctrine of American Evangelicalism with scripture, and his family attends their first Lutheran service on Good Friday, 1995, the service of Tenebrae. Here the full force of the law was preached, with the consequences of our depravity. On Easter they heard the Gospel, with all the joy and consequences of the Resurrection. Satisfied, they joined the church.

The author notes with a sense of irony that the church they joined was showing signs of evolution towards Evangelicalism: the "contemporary" service and the discarding of liturgy, the stopping of the use of the Small Catechism to teach children, the lack of Confession and Absolution, the disuse of the hymnal, and the lack of Christ-centered worship. He warns against this movement by "church growth" advocates who seek to pack churches by taking doctrine out of them. We should be able to defend our traditions and the validity of scripture, he writes.

The book has a nice appendix by John T. Pless, author of Handling the Word of Truth. Pless covers the scriptural origins of the ancient liturgy and how they point to Christ.

The Defense Never Rests is an easy read with something for everybody: a defense of the Gospel for those who don't believe, a witness of transition for those who don't like what they are hearing from the pulpit, and signs of heterodoxy and an admonition to defend what is right for those who have been the faith. I recommend it to anybody, Lutheran or not, and especially Appendix A to the writer of the Lutheran Jargon blog. :)

Recommended for those who wish to contend for the faith, whether in front of nonbelievers or in front of Christians wishing to deviate from ancient doctrine and practice.

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Another Big Thank You

2006-02-06T22:47:00.000-06:00

Cyberbrother Paul McCain is now sending new visitors to our growing little concern. Thank you, Reverend Sir.

Follow and Do Series: Catechism for Little Ones

2006-02-05T08:23:00.001-06:00

Updated from original post on Necessary Roughness on October 16, 2005.

I got to take a look at our recently purchased Issues Etc. books of the month for October, the Follow and Do series. Good stuff. The books are sturdy and small enough for kids. All the books are contain the six chief parts of Luther's catechism with illustrated. In five of the books (the exception being the one on The Lord's Supper) there is also a simple sentence or two that is either a summary or an example of the catechism. In the pages for the Fourth Commandment, there was an illustration of a parent telling the child to clean their room, and the child says, "OK". The Fifth (murder) was summed up as "Let's all be friends."

I test-read the Apostles' Creed and The Ten Commandments with my more vocal twin, and she loved them. I would read the simple sentence first, and she would immediately try to repeat the sentence. She immediately picked up the idea in the Sixth Commandment. The illustration was a kid in a store, and the explanation was that we pay fir candy before we take it home. We've done that before with toys and books. In the book on The Creed, when we got to Luther's explanation of the Second Article in all its glory, the illustration simply had five kids singing "Jesus Loves Me". I don't mind that at all, provided the second verse is sung as well—one can find Law and Gospel in there.

I like these books and was glad to find out my kids aren't too young for them. They can either look at the pictures and say what they think is going on, recite the simplifications, or surprise me one day and recite the Explanation of the Second Article. My three-year-olds don't have the patience yet for the original catechism text, but it won't be long until they'll want someone to read that to them too.

CPH recommends the books for four-year-olds. If you have a child that is developing language skills early, these can be used as young as age 2.

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Other Citings

2006-02-05T00:27:00.000-06:00

Luther Library was listed among the "new (and excellent) resources" at Rebecca Writes, Dr. Andrew Jackson of SmartChristian.com called us "a very interesting new blog to watch and enjoy," and the Bulverist Online Chronicle has established a feed link to recent posts. Thank you three — and others, please remember that when you give us props, we'll respond in kind.

Thanks for Noticing

2006-02-04T20:23:00.000-06:00

Warm welcomes from Cranach and Historica ecclesiastica sent a number of visitors to check out our new endeavor. Thanks to both.

Other bloggers, let us know when you review us and/or add us to your blogroll and we'll respond with a link back to your post.

The Great Jesus Debates

2006-02-03T14:35:00.001-06:00

The preface to The Great Jesus Debates, by Douglas W. Johnson, has a quote which rather appropriately describes the contents of the book to follow:

The debates within early Christianity are subtle yet hideously complex. It is hoped that by stripping them to their basic concerns we will be able to see in them important statements about God, the human condition, and questions of the Christian life and salvation with which we still struggle.

For Johnson, the "red thread" of early Christendom which he sees as the hallmark of orthodox Christian teaching is the centrality of Jesus Christ — who He is and what He has done — and the grace of God, and what grace means for our forgiveness and reconciliation to God.

I am no expert historian — I merely play one on my blog — but this is a nice addition to my library of historical theology. What Johnson does is to trace through the four major theological battles in the early church, without getting too hung up on the technicalities, and show how in each case it was really a question of Jesus and His grace given to the Church.

The introduction sets the stage by giving background to who Jesus is, what grace is understood as being, who the Holy Spirit is, the interplay of Christianity and surrounding culture, and a brief background of Judaism, the Roman Empire, and Hellenism (Greek culture) of that day. In this way, he sets many of the overall structures in place on which the debates which are discussed rest.

The four key debates he discusses are:

The Gnostic and Marcionite controversies — the question, "Is Jesus really man?" He discusses Irenaeus and his understanding of Jesus' person and work, including recapitulation theology.
The Trinitarian Controversy — the question, "How can Jesus really be God?" In this section Johnson tackles modalism, Arianism, and other related topics. Special emphasis is given to Athanasius and the Cappadocian Fathers.
The Christological Controversy — the question, "How can Jesus be both man and God?" In this section Nestorianism, Eutycheanism, and other such heresies are discussed and the Chalcedonian definition of Christ is explored.
The Controversy over Grace — the question, "How does Jesus' person and work affect me?" In this section the debate over the nature of grace and the need for salvation, most notably that of Augustine and Pelagius, is examined in great depth.

In the final two chapters of this book, Johnson relates the controversies then to controversies now, and debunks a few misconceptions and criticisms commonly levelled at the decisions of the early Church.

As history books go, this one is fairly clearly written, and operating from its admitted bias of orthodox Christianity, explores in reasonable depth the key debates and struggles facing the early church. If you are a pastor, you likely already have several other books covering this same subject. But if you are a layperson, this book could be extremely useful indeed, summarizing as it does some of the more difficult, yet important details of the Church's teaching on Jesus Christ and His saving work for us.

The Great Jesus Debates
ISBN 0758608624
CPH, 2005
192 pp.

Recommended to anyone with an interest in theology.

Crossposted at A Beggar At The Table

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Keeping the Blogolution Going

2006-02-03T13:23:00.001-06:00

Last night, Aardvark Alley began a short series of posts addressed to the whole of the confessional Lutheran blogosphere. In Building a Lutheran Presence; Part 1, he focused on the content and form of our individual blogs. This common sense approach to blogging echoes the Preacher: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)"

The Aardvark thus encourages each confessional Lutheran who makes blogging an expression of his or her vocation to refuse to give less than one's best to the blog's writing, layout, substance, and style.

Still ahead are examinations of various means of attracting new readers and making blogs more visible and usable through search engines and referrals.

Listening to Luther

2006-02-02T09:48:00.001-06:00

Originally posted on Necessary Roughness on February 1, 2006.

My girls turned three last month and consistently amaze. My older one by 40 minutes, the talker, is grasping the concept that letters mean sounds and is beginning to identify which letters mean which sounds. My younger one echoes simple melodies on pitch; "Ode to Joy" is her newest one.

These kinds of activities remind me of Deaconess Carder's remark that kids start catechizing in her school beginning at age four, during a question and answer session if I remember correctly.

Throughout the Small Catechism we see the phrase before five of the six chief parts, "As the head of the family should teach it¹ in a simple way to his household." Given that the girls are quite amenable to parental authority at this point in time and also given these talents of the kids, I was looking for hymns that taught. Of course, one of the major blogging Lutheran pastors recommended the CD Listening to Luther.

Listening to Luther is cased in a slimline cardboard jewel case. The inside left has a pocket for the lyrics of the hymns, the right side a plastic media tray to hold the CD by the center hole.

There are 17 tracks on the CD. All spoken tracks are narrated by the same baritone with the typical Missouri non-accent. The first track is a spoken Introduction. The next 12 are the six chief parts, alternating between the recitation of each part and the hymn for the corresponding part. The hymns have been listened previously here with samples. Tracks 14-16 are the reading of the Daily Prayers, Table of Duties, and Christian Questions with Their Answers. The CD concludes with "Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word," (MP3 sample).

All the hymns are taken from Martin Luther: Hymns, Ballads, Chants, Truth from CPH. They are sung in four-part harmony by a small group. I can't pick out individual voices among the parts, and the singers are very precise. They vary from verse to verse within hymns: SATB, SA, TB, men/women, and soloist. They are backed by varying combinations of instruments: pipe organ, calliope, harpsichord, classical guitar, clarinet, cello, and others. They are a good sample of whether one will enjoy the larger collection.

The CD is not one that someone sits back and "enjoys" like a normal music CD. If one enjoys sermons or talk radio they may enjoy the readings from the Small Catechism. I liked the music but found myself longing for large choir or congregational fullness—spoiled by Roskilde's Congregational Choir in the Christmas Mass, I suppose.

Suitable for catechizing three-year-olds? While I wasn't expecting KIDZBOP, some longer musical phrases (the "all" in We All Believe In One True God) might be tough. One song has twelve verses; another, nine; still another, seven. The concepts might require some more vocabulary, like "From depths of woe I cry to Thee, in trial and tribulation." :) The repetition of verses and good singing would likely spark the younger one's musical aptitude. I found "O Lord We Praise Thee" most catchy as a youngster.

Suitable for older kids and adults? It's good diversion from reading the text. Some people learn more when text is given from a different perspective. Since the hymns don't follow the recitations exactly, the hymns shouldn't be used to memorize the catechism. One can run afoul of Luther's admonition that:

...with the young people stick to one fixed, permanent form and manner, and teach them, first of all, these parts, namely, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, etc., according to the text, word for word, so that they, too, can repeat it in the same manner after you and commit it to memory. —Preface to the Small Catechism

I enjoyed the CD and ripped it to my T|X. :)

¹For the Ten Commandments, "them" instead of "it," obviously.

Recommended for those who want a good sample of the larger collection of hymns composed by Luther, for those who primarily memorize by listening, and for music history buffs who like to see hymns with the original text they reference.

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Luther vs. Luther

2006-01-31T22:14:00.001-06:00

About six months ago, or so, I had the good fortune of getting a copy of the movie Martin Luther. It was originally produced and shown 1953 and was actually nominated for some Academy Awards (I'm not sure it won any of them, though). From what I understand (according the extra stuff on the DVD) it was quite the "barn burner" of a movie, it even got banned in a couple cites for various and assundry reasons.

I saw it for the first time when I was in confirmation class. It was a "reward" of sorts. I don't remember if I liked it the first time I saw it, I probably didn't — proably wasn't enough violence or something, but I remember seeing it. I got the movie on DVD quite by accident, or perhaps providence, either way it was a nice "surprise."

It had been a return and for some reason, I'm not sure why, we couldn't send it back to a publisher or distributor, so, it was put into the break room for any who wanted it. I wanted it.

Today, after work, I went to BestBuy and roamed around for a while. I found the newer Luther movie (with Joseph Fiennes — if only Luther looked so good, huh?) for $9.99. I thought that was a pretty good deal, so I snagged it.

Both movies are good. I like them both, but I think I like the 1960 version better than the newer version. The simple reason is this: Though, it is long, the necessary "back story" and theology is behind it. The newer version, though exciting and packed with stars does leave a little to be desired. It is more adventure film then anything else. The Fiennes' Luther is much more fancy than the 1953 Luther, though.

The extra diddies on the 1953 Luther are much more interesting. There is a nice "documentary," if you will, that talks about the controversy the film created when it was released and, like I said, it was bannded (I think it was in Chicago, actually, but I could be wrong). The extras on the Fiennes' Luther are your basic Hollywood how-we-did-it with the requisite "star interviews." Though, interesting they do leave something to be desired.

Also, the Fiennes' Luther is a little overdone. The customes are fantastic, but I think the "period pieceness" of the production takes away from what little Luther there is. The 1953 version is much more "gritty" and that might be partly because of the black and white picture, but there is something "more," if you get my meaning.

Here is a review for the 1953 version. And here is a review for the Fiennes' Luther.

I wonder if any of the Pastors in the library use either one of these movies in the confirmation classes? And if so, how do they use it?

Peace and blessings to all.

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Lutheran Carnival

2006-01-28T22:48:00.001-06:00

Lutheran Carnival XVI, hosted by the Terrible Swede includes biographical information (be still, my beating librarian's heart!) about Norwegian Lutheran mathematician Niels Henrik Abel and several enlightening posts from various parts of the confessional Lutheran blogosphere.

Churches ad hoc

2006-01-27T23:36:00.001-06:00

We've all seen dozens of ways in which people (mis-) handle a camera. Over- and underexposure, speed blurs, red eyes, and the like — who among us hasn't shot a few rolls (or memory cards) full of garbage through the years. Even the best photographers produce an awful lot they'd never show anyone (that's why the best photographers develop and process their own work).

Many's the time we've not checked the background carefully enough and ended up with a tree growing out of Aunt Marge's head or produced some other unintended juxtaposition. Yet in the hands of a photographer with a witty spirit and a whimsical eye, the camera can record the artist's intentional juxtapositions.

One such master is Herman Krieger, whose captioned photos record the interplay of religious edifaces and sacred symbols with their profane and secular surroundings. The resulting collection, bound and published as Churches ad hoc: A Divine Comedy, began with one photograph. Realizing a good thing, Krieger kept his eyes open, always examining the odd angle, carefully choosing his shots and just as carefully devising his captions.

Ah, the captions. Lots of people can take good pictures. Many others can write clever prose. Krieger manages to to both, and in so doing tickle our fancy while occasionally also leading to deeper pondering. Christians viewing the 80+ captioned photos may be surprised to discover that Herman is a non-practicing Jew, while Jews who've looked through the book will say, "Of course he's Jewish — I could tell right away." This comes from his knowledge of and respect for the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which form the basis of most of his captions.

Who might enjoy this slim volume? Krieger's introduction provides the clues: "Excerpts ... have appeared in ... the Internet edition of The New York Times, a Methodist church calendar, a rock band cassette cover, the religion page of the Stockholm Svenska Dagbladet newspaper, and a Cornell Law School poster for a national conference on The Constitution and Religion: Theory and Practice."

Still unsure? Herman Krieger has that covered. Many of the photos appear online, so you can view them for yourself. If you like them, you can order online (including Amazon) or check your local bookseller. Then you can email Mr. Krieger and tell him what you think.

Churches ad hoc: a divine comedy
Soft cover, 96 pages | 86 duotone photographs
ISBN 0966580966 | $14.95

Recommended for those who like what they've seen so far.

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Lutheran Carnival Deadline Looms

2006-01-27T16:24:00.000-06:00

Submissions are due this (Friday) evening at 7:00 p.m. CST for the Lutheran Carnival. Make sure you have the proper format before sending to lutherancarnival AT gmail DOT com.

The Terrible Swede hosts.

Lutheran Book of Prayer

2006-01-26T20:55:00.001-06:00

This is an updated revision of a classic. The Lutheran Book of Prayer has been on the book shelf of many faithful Missouri Synod Lutherans for decades, as a valuable resource for regular and occasional prayer.

There are a few strengths of this edition, compared to the previous edition. The styling of the book design itself is more elegant than the 1970 edition. As has been noted elsewhere, the colour scheme is consistent with the new Lutheran Service Book, the Concordia ESV Pew Bible, and the newest revision of the Small Catechism with Explanation (1991 Translation). The typeface is a little easier on the eyes.

But where the improvement is most clearly noted is in the prayers made available to the reader. The daily prayers are a little more useful, in my opinion, than those in the previous edition. The occasional prayers cover a slightly wider net of experiences. The inclusion, in bits and pieces, of most of the Small Catechism, including the Table of Duties, a few short psalm selections, and the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds also make this a resource for more than just occasional prayers.

This book is a welcome resource for the Lutheran home, centred as it is on the Word of God and our response, in prayer, to that Word. It is designed to be in the hands of the everyday Christian, not just pastors or professional church workers.

ISBN:0758608594
264 pp, hardcover
Concordia Publishing House, 2005

Highly recommended to all.

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Handling the Word of Truth by John T. Pless

2006-01-26T15:19:00.001-06:00

Originally posted on Necessary Roughness on June 9, 2005.

I ordered Handling the Word of Truth: Law and Gospel in the Church Today by John T. Pless. Others have had good things to say about Pless's other books, so I would try this one.

The book, 128 pages in 13 chapters and an appendix, contains snippets from Martin Luther and C.F.W. Walther, expanded in modern English. Biblical scripture is organized into Old and New Testaments, but intermingled in both are portions of God's law and His Gospel. It is important for a Christian to tell the difference and not mingle the two, because God's Law shows us what we are to do, and the Gospel shows what He has done for us.

If a little Law is mixed in with the Gospel, then the message becomes, "What do we do to earn salvation?" This was a common grievance by Luther of the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation, and some have mentioned that it is a fault of the theology behind popular books such as The Purpose Driven Life. If some Gospel is mixed in with the Law, then the message becomes "Even though I have broken God's law, the Holy Spirit cannot leave me and I cannot fall into God's wrath." This blunting of sin's condemnation is an objection of some Calvinists by Walther.

Because Lutherans believe that salvation is acquired by no work of man, there has always been the criticism of "cheap grace" or licentiousness. This comes from not understanding the dual nature of God's Word. If one believes the Gospel and has faith in their salvation purchased by Christ, one wants to do good and follow God's law.

Scripture is cited so much in this book that it would have been difficult to read all the references if I didn't have the Bible on PDA. This is a good book for an Adult Sunday School class, where a Pastor can assign the passages in each chapter among a group of people.

This book divulged some interesting things about preaching. C.F.W. Walther taught pastors that when someone is secure in their sin, or secure that they are pious by their own deeds, the Law should be preached to them, to warn them that their security is unwarranted and to inform them of the coming Judgment. After they realize how bad they really are, the Gospel should be preached to them that they may believe and be saved. If Law is preached to the already insecure, a person may despair and think they will never go to heaven. If Gospel is preached to the secure, a person won't take it seriously, and continue unaware of the consequences of their disbelief and error.

Despite the theological heaviness of the issues, Pless writes well and toward the mature Christian. He doesn't use the big words saved for theological academia, like "eschatology" and "exegesis". I do recommend this book for Adult Bible Classes as well as anyone concerned with what is required to gain entry into Heaven. I enjoyed the book and found the book's challenge of perceptions informative.

Highly recommended for those interested in analyzing what is being said from the pulpit.

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The Small Catechism

2006-01-25T22:00:00.001-06:00

When most Lutherans think about being Lutheran, responding, "This is most certainly true," is one of the first distinctives that comes to mind. The beginning of this new book review blog thus seems the right place and time to offer comments on the new edition of the Small Catechism from Concordia Publishing House.

This is no new translation but an update of the 1991 edition. Many of the internal and external differences are visual. First, we see the cover, where you'll notice that burgundy is the new blue in the LCMS. This matches the CPH printing of the ESV Bible, the 2005 edition of the Lutheran Book of Prayer, the upcoming Lutheran Service Book, and other current and pending titles. Besides this external unity, we rejoice in seeing how the Small Catechism is being incorporated into these and other books coming out of CPH. The embossed Luther Seal gives even the basic edition a rich feel.

The second visual difference in this new printing involves the illustrations found throughout the volume. Each of the Six Chief Parts, the Daily Prayers, the Table of Duties, and Christian Questions begins with a small drawing that both introduces the section and ties it to the other parts.

Regarding the print content, the Appendix has been expanded. All material from the "blue" 1991 edition remains, including Luther's Preface, the Books of the Bible, Creeds and Confessions, the Church Year, Index of Bible Quotations, and Index of Topics. The Church Year listing is supplemented with a pie chart to show the divisions. Additions include an Explanation of Luther's Seal, a Salvation Outline summarizing "basic information about the human condition and God's saving grace," Fifty Terms Relating to Worship and God's House, The Time between the Testaments (intertestamental history), and Symbols and Their Meanings, with an extensive collection of theological and liturgical graphics shown and explained.

The strengths and weaknesses of the Synodical Catechism otherwise remain. The largest portion of the book is still devoted to An Explanation of the Small Catechism, parts of which don't always fit neatly with the preceding confession of the Catechism proper. The ongoing confusion in the LCMS about the Office of the Holy Ministry and its relationship to Confession and the Office of the Keys still finds no resolution in complete harmony with the Small Catechism and the other Confessions. Sometimes I'm not sure about the choice of illustrative or proof texts. Overall, however, this section can be used profitably if we read with discernment. Also, the NIV translation remains, despite its many shortcomings.

Finally, I'd like to touch again on the new catechetical emphasis we're seeing from CPH and the LCMS. As noted, the Six Chief Parts appear in a number of recent Concordia publications. In conjunction with reading the Catechism in print, I must remind readers of the recently released CD Listening to Luther, which was reviewed and recommended at Aardvark Alley back on the Reformer's 522nd birthday (10 November AD 2005).

Ignorance of the Catechism is no excuse these days. This new version promises to be the same excellent devotional aid it's always been and the new resources and graphics only increase its didactic capabilities. We can hope that the coming years see an ever-increasing integration of visual and musical arts with our foundational texts.

Highly recommended for everyone.

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Luther Library

Logos Bible Software “Emergency” Update on Updating

Even Death: A Novel

New volume of Luther's Works

The Shack

A More Complete Logos Update

More Reasons to Love Logos

Gathering Thoughts on Collecting More Electronic Books

The Quest for Noah's Ark

Another Round of Recommended Reading

Carnival Time

Recommended Reading: The 47th Lutheran Carnival

Springing Into Winters' Carnival

New Carnival Arrives

Dying to Live: The Power of Forgiveness

Pitchers and Catchers and Lutherans Report

Der Struwwelpeter

A "Reading" Railroad

Reasonable Ethics

A Time for Burning

Lutheran Carnival XLII

Meditations on Divine Mercy

Lutheran Carnival Kicks Off 2007

Eucharist and Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries

Psst...Hey, Bookworms!

Lutheran Carnival the Fortieth

Well-Read and Widely Read

Time for a Carnival

The Latest Lutheran Carnival of Blogs

Blogroll Redone

The Boat of Longing

Lutheran Carnival XXXV

Law, Life, and the Living God

Lutheran Carnival XXXIII

To Hell with All That by Caitlin Flanagan

Outer Rim Hosts Inmost Thoughts

Carnival Time Again

Doctrine is Life — Essays of Robert D. Preus

Lutheran Carnival

The Lord Will Answer

The Lutheran Carnival

Free Books!

Take Eat, Take Drink

New Carnival, New Host

Three Discs of Medieval Lutheran Music

Worshiping with Angels and Archangels

My trip to the bookstore

Little Manhattan

A Beggar's Carnival

Carnival XXV

Women Who Make the World Worse

Carnival Dealine Looming

Dressing with Dignity

Lutheran Carnival XXIII

The Soul of The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe by Gene Veith

Next Carnival Coming Up

The Blessings of Weekly Communion

Quasimodo-22

Deadline Looming for Carnival Entries

Attention Confessional Bloggers

Lars Walker: Lutheran Novelist

A Different Kind of "Call for Papers"

Lutheran Carnival

Skeleton in God's Closet

Bonhoeffer

Lutheran Carnival XX

He is Risen, Indeed! by David Erickson

Project Wittenberg Update

Sermons of Martin Luther: Church Postils

Coloring Books!

Lutheran Carnival XIX

The Hammer of God

Why Is Feminism So Hard To Resist?

The Oracles and the Jewels

Early Carnival Deadline

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice

Worship, Gottesdienst, Cultus Dei:

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