LHP Review: Prayer, Meditation, Trials

 

Pulse, Jeffrey. A Year in the Old Testament: Meditations for Each Day of the Church Year. St. Louis: Concordia, 2012. 440 Pages. Paper. $29.99. https://www.cph.org/p-20350-a-year-in-the-old-testament-meditations-for-each-day-of-the-church-year.aspx?SearchTerm=pulse (LHP) Engelbrecht, Edward A., General Editor. Foreword by Paul L. Maier. The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes. St. Louis: Concordia, 2012. 544 Pages. Cloth. $39.99. (Discounts available.)  https://www.cph.org/p-19305-the-apocrypha-the-lutheran-edition-with-notes.aspx (LHP)  Luther said that prayer, meditation, and trials make a theologian. He said it using the Latin words, but what I previously stated is my best English renering to date. Two extremely important books from Concordia will help you as a pastor or layperson in being a Christian theologian. A Year in the Old Testament guides you through reading the major stories of the Old Testament in the course of a year, and does it in a way that is encouraging and manageable. Along the way readers gain an understanding of the message of God's Word.   Each Day Includes Main Psalmody Additional Psalmody Old Testament Reading New Testament Reading Prayer of the Day Brief Meditation Extras Brief Introduction to the Christian Church Year A Liturgical Calendar – Sundays and Seasons A Sanctoral Calendar – Feast, Festivals and Commemorations with explanations Additional prayers A Year in the Old Testament takes the reader from their own experiences of daily life into the Bible. There is no greater source of comfort, hope, help, and counsel than the Word of God itself. Nothing serves the Christian faith more than diligently and daily reading and searching the Holy Scriptures. (publisher's website) Similar in format to Treasury of Daily Prayer, this new Concordia devotional book helps today's Christian focus on the part of the Bible where Christians need shoring up. At three times the size of the New Testament, the Old Testament is overwhelming in size to many. At such a size, the content is often confusing, especially with unfamiliar names, places, and the same story told in more than one place. Old Testament books are not all in chronological order. Get a better understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures by spending A Year in the Old Testament! Each day's Old Testament reading joins a collect for the day, two Psalms, an Epistle reading, and a Gospel reading, and is explained in the context of special Christian festivals and a page-long Meditation. Devotions show the Christological nature of prophecies, people, and events. Jesus is very clearly portrayed as the fulfillment of the older Testament of Christian Scripture, our Prophet, Priest, King, Sacrifice, and Temple, the Son of God and Son of Man. Want to understand the New Testament better? Spend A Year in the Old Testament with Jeffery Pulse. Don't miss the other special devotionals in this series including A Year in New Testament, and A Year with the Church Fathers, both by our LCMS publishing house, Concordia.     Rediscover a great biblical and literary classic.   For more than 100 years, the Apocrypha has been left out of English versions of the Bible. Concordia Publishing House is proud to announce the 2012 release of the first and only ESV edition of the Apocrypha with notes and annotations by Lutherans. Why? Not the best of reasons. It was cheaper to print Bibles without them. Described by Martin Luther as useful texts to read, but not divinely inspired, the Apocrypha allows Lutherans to look back at their heritage and see the Bible as our forefathers would have. Furthermore, the texts of the Apocrypha are essential reading for filling in the 400-year gap between the Old and New Testaments.   A key resource for understanding the New Testament's background, Concordia's The Apocrypha will include notes, maps, charts, illustrations, introductions to the books, and an extensive set of articles that will provide guidance to those who are studying ancient literatures such as the Dead Sea Scrolls.   This Study Bible-style treatment of the Apocrypha is certain to be the most extensive, popular edition available; especially to those eager to study the unique Lutheran perspective on these books and the time between the testaments.   Features of The Apocrypha ESV text Lutheran notes Maps Charts Illustrations Book introductions Helpful articles (publisher's website)                       The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes is an essential companion volume to The Lutheran Study Bible and deserves space on your home reference shelf.   In QBR 3.3, Apostles' Tide 2009, we reviewed the Oxford edition of the ESV Apocrypa Text. Since our pdf archives are temporarily unavailable, we have reproduced that review below (bold text added for emphasis).  LHP Review The English Standard Version Bible with Apocrypha. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 1462 Pages. Hardback. $25.00. http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Bibles/TextReferenceBibles/?view=usa&ci=9780195289107(LHP) Martin Luther wrote: "Wehave taken it upon ourselves in the Lord's name to lecture on this Epistle of Paul to the Galatians once more. This is not because we want to teach something new or unknown, for by the grace of God Paul is now very well known to you. But it is because, as I often warn you, there is a clear and present danger that the devil may take away from us the pure doctrine of faith and may substitute for it the doctrines of works and of human traditions. It is very necessary, therefore, that this doctrine of faith be continually read and heard in public. No matter how well known it may be or how carefully learned, the devil, our adversary, who prowls around and seeks to devour us (1 Peter 5:8), is not dead. Our flesh also goes on living. Besides, temptations of every sort attack and oppress us on every side. Therefore this doctrine can never be discussed and taught enough. If it is lost and perishes, the whole knowledge of truth, life, and salvation is lost and perishes at the same time. But if it flourishes, everything good flourishes—religion, true worship, the glory of God, and the right knowledge of all things and of all social conditions. To keep from doing nothing, we shall begin again where we broke off, according to the saying (Ecclus. 18:7): 'When a man has finished, he is just beginning.'" [1] Did you notice that last "Bible" citation? It's from the Apocrypha, namely Ecclesiasticus, the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach. Finally we have an ESV Apocrypha thanks to the partnership between Crossway and Oxford University Press. The ESV version of Sirach 18:7 says, "When a person has finished, then he is just beginning, and when he stops, he will be at a loss" (1254). "The English Standard Version Biblecaptures as far as possible the precise wording of the original biblical text and the personal style of each Bible writer, while taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. The ESV thus provides an accurate rendering of the original texts that is in readable, high quality English prose and poetry. This Bible has been growing in popularity among students in biblical studies, mainline Christian scholars and clergy, and Evangelical Christians of all denominations. "Along with that growth comes the need for the books of the Apocrypha to be included in ESV Bibles, both for denominations that use those books in liturgical readings and for students who need them for historical purposes. More Evangelicals are also beginning to be interested in the Apocrypha, even though they don't consider it God's Word. The English Standard Version Bible with the Apocrypha, for which the Apocrypha has been commissioned by Oxford University Press, employs the same methods and guidelines used by the original translators of the ESV, to produce for the first time an ESV Apocrypha. This will be the only ESV with Apocrypha available anywhere, and it includes all of the books and parts of books in the Protestant Apocrypha, the Catholic Old Testament, and the Old Testament as used in Orthodox Christian churches. It will have a lovely pre-printed case binding, and will include a full-color map section, a table of weights and measures used in the Bible, and many other attractive features. "The English Standard Version Bible with Apocrypha is certain to become the preferred Bible in more conservative divinity schools and seminaries, where the Apocrypha is studied from an academic perspective. And it answers the need of conservative Christians in general for a more literal version of these books" (publisher's website). Reading the Apocrypha this week demonstrated to me how closely this ESV Apocrypha copies the RSV Apocrypha, much like the ESV is a conservative, corrective revision of the RSV. If you have never read the Apocrypha before, start with the additions to Daniel: Bel and the Dragon (1307), which I call CSI: Babylon and How to blow up a dinosaur; Susanna (1305), which teaches good police interrogation techniques; and The Prayer of Manasseh (1378). A quick reading of 2 Maccabees 12:44-45 show why the text is not canonical. This is hardly a good sedes doctrina for Purgatory. "In Luther's German translation of the Bible (1534) the Apocrypha stands between the Old Testament and the New Testament, with the title 'Apocrypha, that is, books which are not held equal to the sacred Scriptures, and nevertheless are useful and good to read" (1177). Our own Concordia Publishing House included the Apocrypha in German Bibles, but following common English practice, omitted them in English Bibles, even though Luther himself made use of the Apocrypha in his writings. (At least the new The Lutheran Study Bible will include at least Luther's prefaces to the Apocrypha.) Two questions remain: When will this be available on LOGOS Libronix? Since Oxford University Press holds the © on the Apocrypha, how much may be quoted, and how may one seek permission for use? The ESV Apocrypha translation team was Bernard A. Taylor, David A. deSilva, and Dan McCartney, with David Aiken as Editor. The Rev. Paul J Cain is Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming, Headmaster of Martin Luther Grammar School, Wyoming District Worship Chairman, and Editor of QBR     [1]Luther, M. (1999, c1963). Vol. 26: Luther's works, vol. 26 : Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4 (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (26:vii-4). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House. Regarding the latter question, special permission seems to be necessary for ESV Apocrypha quotations. A perfect solution to this is the forthcoming LOGS version of the Lutheran edition before us, now available for preorder. We also have the answer to the former question, Thanks Be to God!   _     _ Rarely have I been so excited anticipating a book's release. (That's saying something for a bibliophile, a pastor, and book reviewer!) I rejoiced when the review copy arrived. I devoured the whole thing within twenty-four hours and then departed for the Wyoming District Fall Pastoral Conference. Divine Service on Monday evening used the One Year Lectionary propers for Trinity 18, including the LSB Introit Antiphon basd on Ecclus. 36:21-22a: "Give peace, O Lord, to those who wait for you, and let your prophets be proven faithful. Hear the prayer of your servants, according to the blessing of Aaron upon your people." The text itself reads: Reward those who wait for you and let your prophets be found trustworthy. Hear, O Lord, the prayer of your servants, according to your good will for your people... Similarly, the Antiphon for the Christmas Midnight Introit is based on Wisdom 18:14-15: When all was still, and it was midnight, your almighty Word, O Lord, descended from the royal throne. The ESV Apocrypha text: For while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne, into the midst of the land that was doomed, a stern warrior (16) carrying the sharp sword of your authentic command, and stood and filled all things with death and touched heaven while standing on the earth. Verse sixteen is quite memorable indeed, if not for the sword, death, and aforementioned "doom," yet more so for the incarnate Warrior who "touched heaven while standing on the earth." My homiletical juices are flowing. Ideal for prayer and devotion as well as the classroom, The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes is the best reference to and edition of the Apocrypha Lutherans have had in generations, if not ever! Oratio, meditatio, tentatio faciunt theologum.   The Rev. Paul J Cain is Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming, Headmaster of Martin Luther Grammar School, Yellowstone Circuit Visitor (LCMS Wyoming District), a member of the Board of Directors of The Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education, Wyoming District Worship Chairman, and Editor of QBR.

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LHP Review: Apologetics

 

Ham, Ken, Bodie Hodge, and Tim Chaffey, Editors. Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions, Volume 2: Exploring Forty Alleged Contradictions. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2011. 169 Pages. Paper. $12.99. http://www.newleafpublishinggroup.com/product_info.php?filter_id=7&products_id=945&PHPSESSID=1ef9bd849d74a5e53b5b7ce556145652 (LHP)   Foster, Bill. Meet the Skeptic: A Field Guide to Faith Conversations. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2008, 2012. 142 Pages. Paper. $10.99. http://www.newleafpublishinggroup.com/product_info.php?products_id=944 (LHP) Harrison, Matthew C. and John T. Pless, Editors. Women Pastors? The Ordination of Women in Biblical Lutheran Perspective A Collection of Essays (Third Edition). St. Louis: Concordia, 2012 (2008, 2009). 523 Pages. Paper. $39.99. http://www.cph.org/p-19258-women-pastors-third-edition.aspx (LHP) Paustian, Mark A. Prepared to Answer: Telling the Greatest Story Ever Told. Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 2004. 211 Pages. Paper. $16.50. http://online.nph.net/p-955-prepared-to-answer.aspx (P) Paustian, Mark A. More repared to Answer: Telling the Greatest Story Ever Told. Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 2004. 242 Pages. Paper. $16.50. http://online.nph.net/p-956-more-prepared-to-answer.aspx (P) The resources featured here will help you as a Christian to defend the faith once delivered to the saints, including practices that implement what the Bible teaches and are not merely time or culture bound.     The Bible is accurate and without error! Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 2 offers 40 powerful explanations to prove it. There is an increasing focus in our culture on dismissing the Bible and its authority. Generations of skeptics and the religion of evolution have influenced even some Christian leaders.  By highlighting supposed errors or inconsistencies in the Bible, doubt is created in the minds of believers and stumbling blocks are put up for those trying to present the Gospel. But Biblical evidence disproves the toughest of critics while bringing to light the indestructible power of God's Word. Tim Chaffey, Ken Ham, and Bodie Hodge of Answers in Genesis highlight the answers to these debates and more: Is all Scripture inspired by God, or is some of it the opinion of the writers of Scripture? After His resurrection, did Jesus first appear to the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee or in Jerusalem behind closed doors? Can God be tempted? Why don't Christians follow all the Old Testament laws? Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volumes 1 and 2 are must-have references for every believer who wants to have an answer to give to those who ask a reason for their hope (1 Peter 3:15). Join the battle armed with the sword of Spirit, the truth that will defeat the lies aimed for this generation and those to follow. (publisher's website) We would love to see Volume 1 of Demolishing Supposed Bible Contraditions. For that matter, we'd like to see more than just two volumes in this series! I will disagree with an approach that tries to please or appease Christian theological camps with mutually-contradictory answers (160, 164). I will rejoice at what Lutheran Christians have in common in the plain Biblical texts and faithful Bible answers that easily demolish "supposed" contradictions with pure reason and the guidance of God the Holy Spirit (e.g., 11ff, 42-43, 97, 121, 132ff, 165, 166ff). There is a need for more books like this that take the Bible seriously, yet realize that unbelievers and new Christians (and seasoned Saints) sometimes have honest, challening questions. Readers will appreciate God's gift of reason, but appreciate even more God's superior Divine Wisdom, untainted by sin as is our reason. Master Books also provided us with a fascinating new book on faith conversations with the skeptic.   Christian faith almost always meets skepticism.  Are you equipped to effectively handle the skeptic's questions and debates? Meet the Skeptic is a new approach to equipping believers to engage the non-believing culture. Author Bill Foster takes the multitude of objections and reduces them to four basic categories.  Understanding these categories will enable you to effectively share your hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ and clarify the skeptic's root objection. Foster offers pop culture references and biblical support so that you can: Recognize the Red-Flag Words that prop up objections Ask probing questions and acquire an ear for opportunities Develop an understanding of the skeptics ideas and better fulfill the Great Commission. This easy to read approach to apologetics and evangelism is a field guide to faith conversations. It is written for teens, college students, and adults and can be used as a group study with the leader's guide and workbook. (publisher's website) Debates can be handy. Often, there is a clear winner. And sometimes, sadly, the winner isn't always the Christian.  A Christian may not be as Biblically-informed as he or she needed to be. Reason is a wonderful servant of God's Word, but is always a terrible master if elevated to be equal to or superior to the Bible. Christians are both saint and sinner. We are not always perfect or winsome advocates of Truth. It is possible for a fallible human to lose a debate.  It is also possible for the Christian to win the debate but do so in a way that "loses" the nonbeliever.  Neither kind of loss is helpful for Evangelism and the soul at stake for Christ.    Meet the Skeptic carefully cares for four different types of skeptical objections: Spiritual Moral Scientific Biblical  All four sections have been extremely relevant while speaking with the spouse of a new member of my congregation. The new member had been raised as a Christian. The spouse had not been. Bear with me as I try to be as vague as possible as I try to protect the specifics of their case as I try to continue to provide them pastoral care. The spouse was raised in a regionally-famous cult group. One parent left. One parent didn't. As this person grew up, science became a much more tempting way to explain things. Other spiritualities seemed equally valid to this person. Abuses within the cult group led to moral problems with some religious people. And most atheists/agnostics tend to learn about many of the supposed contradictions in the Bible. Just one quadrant of the Quick Reference Chart (134-5) proved to be enough for my first hour-long discussion with the person in question. Please pray for them and the skeptics you already know or will soon meet. Know where each kind of skeptic is coming from by better understanding their Worldview, the Root Idea of that Worldview, and a Probing Question that may at least get them to think without putting them on the defensive. Available Workbook and Leader's Guide companion volumes may be of interest to you as you find Meet the Skeptic to be a valuable tool in pastoral care. Christians often have to be prepared to speak with other Christians. While it shouldn't be the case, the burden is often ours to bear of why our congregations and church bodies haven't gone with the latest fads in doctrine and practice that plague other groups that bear the name of Christ. One such fad, both historically and theologically, is the ordination of women to the pastoral office contrary to Holy Scripture. Now in its Third Edition, Women Pastors? is an extensive sourcebook on our Biblical Lutheran Perspective. There are thirty essays in this volume, representing Lutheran churches throughout the world. The essays are divided into four sections: Biblical studies, historical studies, doctrinal studies and practical studies. This updated edition adds six additional essays, three which are from women offering a female voice on the subject of the role of women in the Church.   Editors: Matthew C. Harrison, LCMS Synod President John T. Pless is Assistant Professor, Pastoral Ministry and Missions, and Director of Field Education, Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.    What's new in the third edition of Women Pastors? Good question, there are the six new essays in the book, and following this I've provided the entire Table of Contents. This book is truly the most extensive treatment of this subject and brings to bear a wide range of authors and arguments against the practice of ordaining women as pastors.   Phoebe: A Role Model for Deaconesses Today by Deaconess Cynthia Lumley Dr. Cynthia Lumley, associate director of deaconess studies at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, takes up the case of Phoebe, who is mentioned briely in Roma. 16:1-2. Lumley demonstrates how this Chrisian woman served not as a minister of the Word but in a way that reflected the sacrificial character of Jesus Christ in her support of the work of apostolic ministry.   Disciples But Not Teachers:1 Corinthians 14:33b-38and 1 Timothy 2:11-15by Dr. John Kleinig Dr. John Kleinig, recently retired after a distinguished teaching career as pastor and seminary professor in the Lutheran Church of Australia, examines 1 Cor. 14:33b-28 and 1 Tim. 2:11-15, demonstrating that women are and must be disciples of Jesus but are not to teach in the liturgical assembly.   The Use of Tractate 26 to Promote the Ordination of Women by John Kleinig In this shorter piece, Dr. Kleinig argues that Philip Melanchthon's confession that the ministry of the New Testament is not bound to persons, as was the Levititcal priesthood of the Old Testament, does not open th way for the ordination of women [or actively homosexual persons!]. On the contrary, Melanchthon grounds the authority of the office on the institution of Christ in contrast with the purely human authority of the papacy. The ordination of women is an act of human authority; it cannot be demonstrated as being instituted by Christ.   The Ordination of Women and the Ecclesiastical Endorsement of Homosexuality: Are They Related? by John T. Pless John T. Pless, assistant professor of pastoral ministry and missions at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, examines the coherence and parallelism of theological arguments now being offered for the ordination of practicing homosexuals with those arguments that were and are made for the ordination of women.   Giver to Receiver: God's Design for the Sexes by Adriane Dorr Adriane Dorr, managing editor of The Lutheran Witness, examines God's design for man and woman noting that the differences between male and female are reflected in God's ordering of the life of both family and church for our blessing.   Vocational Boundaries: The Service of Women within The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod by Kimberly Schave Deaconess Kimberly Schave applies the doctrine of vocation to the issue of the ordination of women in "vocational boundaries," lifting up how women are called by God to serve in home, church and world. Complete Table of Contents Publisher's Preface Preface to Third Edition Preface to First and Second Editions   Section I: Exegetical Studies The New Testament and the Ordination of Women — Henry P. Hamann Didaskalos: The Office, Man and Woman in the New Testament — Bertil Gärtner Phoebe: A Role Model for Deaconesses Today—Cynthia Lumley Disciples But Not Teachers: 1 Corinthians 14:33b–38 and 1 Timothy 2:11–15 — John W. Kleinig 1 Corinthians 14:33b–38, 1 Timothy 2:11–14, and the Ordination of Women—Peter Kriewaldt "As in All the Churches of the Saints": A Text-Critical Study of 1 Corinthians 14:34,35—David W. Bryce Ordained Proclaimers or Quiet Learners? Women in Worship in Light of 1 Timothy 2—Charles A. Gieschen The Ordination of Women: A Twentieth-Century Gnostic Heresy?—Louis A. Brighton Ordered Community: Order and Subordination in the New Testament—John W. Kleinig The Ordination of Women—Gregory J. Lockwood   Section II: Historical Studies Women in the History of the Church: Learned and Holy, But Not Pastors—William Weinrich The Use of Tractate 26 to Promote the Ordination of Women—John W. Kleinig Liberation Theology in the Leading Ladies of Feminist Theology—Roland Ziegler Forty Years of Female Pastors in Scandinavia — Fredrik Sidenvall The Ordination of Women and Ecclesial Endorsement of Homosexuality: Are They Related?—John T. Pless   Section III: Systematic Theology Twenty-three Theses on the Holy Scriptures, the Woman, and the Office of the Ministry—Bo Giertz The Ministry and the Ministry of Women—Peter Brunner The Ordination of Women and the Doctrine of the Holy Trinity—John W. Kleinig May Women Be Ordained as Pastors?—David P. Scaer The Office of the Pastor and the Problem of the Ordination of Women Pastors—David P. Scaer Ordination of Women?—Hermann Sasse The Women's Ordination Debate in the Lutheran Church of Australia: An Open Response to the Initial Report of the Commission on Theology and Interchurch Relations—Gregory Lockwood The Ordination of Women into the Office of the Church—Reinhard Slenczka The Argument over Women's Ordination in Lutheranism as a Paradigmatic Conflict of Dogma—Armin Wenz Giver to Receiver: God's Design for the Sexes—Adriane Dorr   Section IV: Theology of Ministry Ministry and Ordination—John W. Kleinig Gender Considerations on the Pastoral Office: In Light of 1 Corinthians 14:33–36 and 1 Timothy 2:8–14—Robert Schaibley "It Is Not Given to Women to Teach": A Lex in Search of a Ratio—William Weinrich Vocational Boundaries: The Service of Women within The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod—Kimberly Schave How My Mind Has Changed—Louis A. Smith (publisher's website) Is this new edition worth purchasing if you bought the First Edition? Certainly! It includes the essays highlighted above PLUS the handful of essays added in the Second Edition. And yes, it is also worth purchasing (again) if you bought the Second Edition your first time around. This is THE Definitive Edition, in my humble opinion. What do you do with previous editions? You could donate one to your congregational or public library. Give one to your local ELCA, NALC, or LCMC pastor. Share one with your board of elders to read and pass around. The new essays make the "upgrade" worthwhile, yet do not discount the value of either of the previous editions to help someone struggling with this issue. Personally and pastorally, I've kept one at home and one at church. Women Pastors? answers "No" with clear Scripture, the witness of history, the whole of Christian theology and the Lutheran Confessions, as well as Church and Ministry, including those whose Lutheran Churches had a 51% vote in favor, yet short of the 2/3 necessary to pass the unfortunate measure, to at least one who was in favor of women pastors whose mind has changed. Northwestern Publishing House has blessed us again with a two volume set on objections of Christianity.   "Prepared to Answer" provides a helpful model for sharing the Christian faith by supplying Scripture-based responses to common objections to Christianity. Through a unique narrative approach, author Mark A. Paustian gives engaging answers to frequently asked religious questions. Some of the topics in this volume include why bad things happen, different denominational interpretations of Scripture, abortion, miracles, evidence of God's existence and Jesus' resurrection from the dead, Jesus as myth, and moral absolutes. Note: This volume is a companion to "More Prepared to Answer" (12N2022). These two books are also available as a set (12N2025). Size, 5.5" x 8.5". Paper cover. 221 pages. Published 2004. This product is eligible for quantity discounts.   "More Prepared to Answer" provides a helpful model for sharing the Christian faith by supplying Scripture-based responses to common objections to Christianity. Through a unique narrative approach, author Mark A. Paustian gives engaging answers to frequently asked religious questions. Some of the topics in this volume include feminism, modern views of sex and marriage, religion as viewed by science, and reincarnation. Note: This volume is a companion to "Prepared to Answer" (12N2021). These two books are also available as a set (12N2025). Size, 5.5" x 8.5". Paper cover. 254 pages. Published 2004. This product is eligible for quantity discounts. (publisher's website) Each of these volumes models a narrative-based approach to apologetics (I, vi). Learn how to handle questions about marriage today (I, 76), hypocrites in the church (I, 99), "many paths to god" (II, 20), the trustworthiness of the Bible (II, 27), amazing grace (II, 66), and the necessity of prayer and worship (II, 156). Consider using a chapter or two to guide an unique Sunday morning Bible class. Share copies with your Youth Group to help youth and leaders wrestle through recently-asked questions. Bless your pastor with a set to help him in his Call. We are given to speak the truth in love. Read these two books by Mark A. Paustian to help you do just that and be More Prepared to Answer. Lutherans have always seen the need to defend the faith, even if they didn't use the word "apologetics." Even the Augsburg Confession itself needed a document of Defense. Evangelism shares the Gospel so that the Holy Spirit may create faith where and when He wills. Practice apologetics to create doubt in the person's own current false worldview in order to answer common objections, overcome rumor, caricature, and misinformation, and prepare a soil more free of stones and weeds in anticipation of sowing the seed of the Gospel of Christ. The Rev. Paul J Cain is Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming, Headmaster of Martin Luther Grammar School, Yellowstone Circuit Visitor (LCMS Wyoming District), a member of the Board of Directors of The Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education, Wyoming District Worship Chairman, and Editor of QBR.

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LHP Review: About Luther

 

Posset, Franz. The Real Luther: The Friar at Erfurt and Wittenberg. St. Louis: Concordia, 2011. 195 Pages. Paper. $39.99. www.cph.org (LHP)  Steinmetz, David C. Luther in Context, Expanded Edition. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002. 197 Pages. Paper. $22.00. www.bakeracademic.com (LHP) Kolb, Robert and Charles P. Arand. The Genius of Luther's Theology: A Wittenberg Way of Thinking for the Contemporary Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008. 240 Pages. Paper. $24.00. www.bakeracademic.com (LHP) Sears, Barnas. Life of Luther. Green Forest, AR: Attic Books/New Leaf Publishing Group, 2010. (Originally published in 1850 by ASSU.) 496 Pages. Cloth. $17.99.  www.attic-books.net (LHP) Our regular focus on the life, work, and theology of Dr. Martin Luther continues with four more volumes about Luther.   Roman Catholic Scholar, Franz Posset, carefully explores the history of Luther's development in the crucial years of 1501-17 before Luther's views were disputed. Setting aside legends and accusations, Posset gets at the facts about Luther as a late medieval friar in an age of reform. The book includes: Illustrations from Luther's career A complete, new translation of Philip Melanchthon's memoirs of Luther's life, based on actual discussions with Luther A fresh chronology of Luther's life from 1501-17, based on the latest research Extensive references to both primary and secondary literature for Luther studies Author Franz Posset, PhD, is an independent researcher and an associate editor of Luther Digest. He has authored five books, including The Front-Runner of the Catholic Reformation: The Life and Works of Johann von Staupitz (2003), and articles for historical encyclopedias. His scholarly research has also appeared in numerous journals. In 2003 he was awarded the Natalie Zemon Davis Prize for superb scholarship.  (Publisher's website) In preparation to read this volume by Posset, I read his Pater Berhnardus: Martin Luther and Bernhard of Clairvaux. The context Posset provides is as a Roman Catholic author presenting a basic apologetic for Luther, placing him squarely in numerous Western Christian schools of thought. If Roman Catholicism still refuses to lift the excommunication on Luther and is more than reluctant to recognize him as the/an angel of Revelation 14:6, at least Roman Christians may begin to see that Luther was indeed a loyal son of the Roman Church (The Real Luther, 69). Luther loved Bernhard's sermons but seemed to disagree very much with his more intentionally theological works. What will Lutherans (and others) learn about The Real Luther? A reexamination of Luther legends (36) The author's survey of views of Luther and fads in Luther research (xii-ff, et al). A picture of "Saint Luther" (see cover, 32ff) as inspired by the Holy Spirit A possible redating of the trip to Rome (1511-12 instead of 1510, 4) A pre-19th Century celebration of the Reformation on 25 June (Augsburg Confession) instead of 31 October (11) The need for a recovery of what Luther read and why (40) Luther was part of a "Bernhard Renaissance" (86, 113, 123, 138, passim). He directed Melanchthon to Bernhard (97, 145, 157, passim), who quoted him in significant Lutheran writings.  Luther was a Friar, not a monk (56)   I have great appreciation for "Peer Reviewed" CPH books like The Real Luther. It is to be understood by readers that the author is not writing under the doctrinal and confessional standards of the LCMS and that the book in question has not been through the formal doctrinal review process. I welcome more from CPH from Franz Posset and others who appreciate Luther for who he was, rather than who people with agendas have claimed he was. Next up, the second edition of David Steinmetz's Luther reader:     Luther in Context places Martin Luther within his theological world--a world in which he engaged in intellectual dialogue with key thinkers including Plato, Augustine, Calvin, William of Ockham, and Biel. These essays cast light on Luther's thought by positioning it within the context of his theological antecedents and contemporaries. A leading scholar of Luther studies, David Steinmetz both seeks out Luther's new ground and demonstrates where the Reformer remained Augustinian or Ockhamist. Steinmetz explores many issues that were of considerable importance to Luther, including temptation, the hiddenness of God, and justification by faith alone. Although it is not intended to be a complete presentation of Luther's thought, this book does examine a wide range of themes and problems in Luther's theology. Thus, a reader who is encountering Luther for the first time will find a broad sampling of the ideas that were especially important to the Reformer. This expanded edition contains three additional essays, one of which is appearing in English for the first time. "Luther and Calvin on the Banks of the Jabbok" contrasts Luther and Calvin as biblical commentators by comparing their handling of Genesis 32. "Luther and the Ascent of Jacob's Ladder" examines the late medieval exegetical tradition surrounding Jacob's dream and Luther's relationship to that tradition. Finally, "Luther and Formation in Faith" traces the reeducation of Latin Christendom in a Christian faith and practice shaped by the theology of Luther. Students and scholars of the Reformation will find Luther in Context to be an insightful glimpse into the thought and theology of Martin Luther.  (Publisher's Website) These essays are the scholarly, informative sort that so often make up reading lists for seminary or university classes. I won't say they are dry. I refuse to say they are boring. We live in an age where nearly everything is expected to have some aspect of entertainment to it. Dig in. Learn something. I especially appreciated the essays on Luther an Calvin (VIII, XIII) as a parish pastor. Recently, I've had conversations with those who have not been lifelong Lutherans. Some are troubled by the differences between Calvin's theological approach and that of Luther very early in their affiliation with our congregation. For others, the questions come out later as we discuss the Elect, "once saved, always saved," or the priority of either Justification or the Sovereignty of God. It has been said that "theology is for proclamation." I certainly agree. Steinmetz's essays have been practically applied in my parish. If you appreciate comparison and contrast (even Luther against Luther), you will appreciate the approach of David C. Steinmetz as he shows Luther in Context.     I had the opportunity to study under Dr. Arand, co-author of The Genius of Luther's Theology, at the same seminary where Dr. Kolb teaches.   While other volumes are available that introduce readers to the theology of Martin Luther, this volume from two eminent Lutheran professors offers a unique approach. Rather than surveying traditional theological subject headings, they focus on two central ideas that informed the basic conceptual framework of Wittenberg theology. The first presupposition concerns Luther's anthropology. His well-known emphasis on justification by faith, or "passive righteousness," described God's grace. But Luther also emphasized a related aspect, the "active righteousness" of love that ought to shape and guide social relationships. The second presupposition concerns Luther's focus on the way God works in the world through his Word--creative, incarnational, and sacramental. Taken together, Kolb and Arand find that these ideas formed a matrix that shaped the theological reflections of Luther and his disciples. Twenty-first century Christians face significant challenges to their proclamation of the gospel and to their existence as a faith community. Living in a tumultuous age, Luther faced equally challenging crises. His theological emphases, which are described and considered in this perceptive study, have much to offer contemporary pastors and theologians who seek to construct their own formulations of God's message for the present age. (Publisher's website) Similar to The Real Luther as a book that shows a Martin Luther many do not properly understand, and similar to Luther in Context by showing Luther's theology developing as both a continuation and response to streams of thought in the Roman Church, The Genius of Luther's Theology goes beyond historical theology into applying Luther's theological emphases and method for today. An overall vocational emphasis permeates the book as readers are (re)introduced to Luther's "Two Kinds of Righteousness" and God's Word spoken, preached, delivered in the "Means of Grace," and enfleshed in Jesus Christ. The Genius of Luther's Theology is a great way for Lutheran college students and new Lutherans to grow in theological knowledge and practice after they have read Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions and as they also read Law and Gospel and The Church and the Office of the Ministry. This is the kind of book we love to see from Baker Academic! Finally, we turn to the Sears biography of Luther published by the American Sunday School Union.     A historic and comprehensive biography of early Christianity's most influential leader of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. Controversial and visionary, Luther's life is revealed in this rare presentation of his work as an educator and church leader. From his birth and childhood, to his religious education, and the events leading up to the Protestant Reformation, you will discover the views and experiences that led to his excommunication by the Pope in 1520. Correspondence and accounts shed further light on Luther's defiant translation of the Bible from Latin to the language of the common man. This unique biography is reproduced from an 1850 American Sunday School Union (now the American Missionary Fellowship) original, and in it you will be introduced to the pivotal life of this enigmatic man before, during, and after one of Christianity's defining events. (Publisher's website) Biographies of Martin Luther are not as rare as many Americans today think. Nor is Luther as much of a revolutionary as he is made out to be. Books like the first three reviewed here are more "revolutionary" for portaying Luther's theological genius in context, that He was heavily influenced by monasticism and Bernhard of Clairvaux, but most influenced by the Holy Spirit and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. What is truly scandalous about Luther in the "Christian" West is that for all of the influence he had, Luther is found so little on the bookshelves of modern Christians and in American Evangelical "Christian" bookstores. One will most likely see Lewis and Lucado, but only rarely "Luther" or Luther's Small Catechism. I am thrilled that Attic books has republished this 1850 biography of Luther to a wider, modern audience so unfamiliar with the Great Reformer. And I personally appreciated most the care and attention taken by the publisher to give this reproduction the look and feel of the original edition. Christian congregations care for their pastors for the sake of the Gospel. Let us tell others about the life, work, and theology of Dr. Martin Luther for the same reason! The Rev. Paul J Cain is Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming, Headmaster of Martin Luther Grammar School, Yellowstone Circuit Visitor (LCMS Wyoming District), a member of the Board of Directors of The Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education, Wyoming District Worship Chairman, and Editor of QBR.

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Closing 6.4 and Opening 7.1

Advent: Closing Issue 6.4 and Opening Issue 7.1         This post will mark the last entry in QBR 6.4, Angels' Tide, and the opening entry in Christmastide, QBR 7.1   Welcome to Volume 7!   In response to an expressed need, we have two sub blogs that both feed into Liturgy, Hymnody, and Pulpit Quarterly Book Review.    The content of http://LHPQBR.blogspot.com should appear to remain the same.    Readers that wish to receive only our forwards can now also go to http://lhpfwd.blogspot.com/.    Readers that wish to only receive our original book and resource reviews and be notified of new resources that we have received may go to http://lhplbr.blogspot.com/, the LHP Lutheran Book Review blog. We DO plan to make pdf versions of LHP LBR.   The Editor

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FW: Another Look: Church Year Spirituality

 

Consider…   Feed: internetmonk.com Posted on: Saturday, December 01, 2012 10:00 AM Author: Chaplain Mike Subject: Another Look: Church Year Spirituality   (From Nov. 2010 and updated) Tomorrow is the first Lord's Day in the Church's Liturgical Year. On Sunday, Christians who follow this calendar will begin a new year of living in the Gospel with the commencement of Advent. The diagram on the right gives an overview of the annual Church calendar. Advent is the season when we prepare for Christ's coming. (4 weeks) Christmastide is the season when we celebrate Christ's incarnation. (12 days) In Epiphany, we remember how Christ made God's glory known to the world. (up to 9 weeks) The Lenten season leads us to the Cross, the climactic event in Holy Week, which concludes Lent. (40 days plus Sundays) Eastertide (the Great 50 Days) celebrates Christ's resurrection, new life, and his ascension to glory. It concludes on the 50th day, Pentecost, the day of the Spirit's outpouring. The Season after Pentecost (or Trinity, or Ordinary Time) is the time of the church, when by the Spirit we live out the life of the Gospel in community and in the world. (up to 29 weeks) I don't know why so many Christian groups think they need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to "discipleship programs." This time-tested annual pattern for the life of individual believers and the Church together that is focused on Christ, organized around the Gospel, and grounded in God's grace, is sheer genius. It is simple enough for a child. It offers enough opportunities for creativity and flexibility that it need never grow old. Each year offers a wonderful template for learning to walk with Christ more deeply in the Gospel which brings us faith, hope, and love. My favorite book on church year spirituality is Robert Webber's Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year. Here is his summary of the subject: Ancient-Future Time presents the historical understanding of the Christian year as life lived in the pattern of death and resurrection with Christ. This spiritual tradition was developed in the early church and has been passed down in history through the worship of the church. It enjoys biblical sanction, historical staying power, and contemporary relevance. Through Christian-year spirituality we are enabled to experience the biblical mandate of conforming to Christ. The Christian year orders our formation with Christ incarnate in his ministry, death, burial, resurrection, and coming again through Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost. In Christian-year spirituality we are spiritually formed by recalling and entering into his great saving events. (p. 21f) In today's post I will merely list five primary reasons why I think it advantageous for Christians together to form their spiritual lives — their walk with God through Christ — around the liturgical year. Five Reasons to Practice Church Year Spirituality It enables us to live in God's Story. Church Year spirituality forms Christian people around the story of redemption in Christ. It does not focus on "principles" or "steps" or "programs" for spiritual growth. It is thoroughly Jesus-shaped and uses the biblical story to conform our lives to his. As Israel was shaped by their story of slavery, redemption, covenant, and Promised Land, so the New Israel is formed by the story of Messiah. It keeps the main thing the main thing. Church Year spirituality is Christ-centered. It is shaped around the events of his incarnation, ministry, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and the outpouring of his Spirit. At every turn we see Jesus, we hear Jesus, we follow Jesus. It recognizes that one's calendar forms one's life. Church Year spirituality is down-to-earth, utterly realistic about the day to day, season to season patterns of life that shape our behavior. All our lives we have developed habits by the way we mark and use our time. A spirituality formed around the Church Year is designed to form our habits around following Jesus. We take the place of disciples, and walk through the same experiences they had as they lived with Jesus day in and day out, season after season, over the course of three years. It links personal spirituality with worship, family, and community. Church Year spirituality recognizes both the individual journey and the corporate pilgrimage. What happens on Sundays is of a piece with what happens during the week as our corporate worship and our daily lives as individuals and families are shaped around the story of Jesus. It provides a basis of unity and common experience for Christians everywhere. Our unity with other Christians is in the Gospel story. This is summarized in the Apostles' Creed and the other creeds of the church. Propositional doctrinal statements have their place as ways to express more detailed understandings of the meaning and significance of God's saving acts, but our unity with other believers is in Christ. We celebrate this throughout the year when churches of various traditions and denominations celebrate the Church Year and conform their worship and congregational lives to it. Marking the Liturgical Year is a salutary way for Christians, families, small groups, and congregations to walk with Jesus over the course of the year. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." (John 1:38-39) It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Col 1:28) * * *  If you would like to read the entire series for which this post was the introduction, here are the links: Church Year Spirituality Church Year Spirituality: Living in God's Story Church Year Spirituality: The Main Thing Church Year Spirituality: Practical Wisdom Church Year Spirituality: The Eastern Orthodox Calendar Church Year Spirituality: Some Resources Church Year Spirituality: Faith of Our Family   View article...

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