Pulpit Review: Guides to the Scriptures

 

Engelbrecht, Edward A., General Editor. Lutheran Bible Companion (Set). St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. Cloth. 1014 + 992 Pages. List Price: $69.98. Hardback Sale Price: $49.99. www.cph.org/p-24345-lutheran-bible-companion-set.aspx (LHP) Lessing, R. Reed and Andrew E. Steinmann. Prepare the Way of the Lord: An Introduction to the Old Testament. St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. 559 Pages. Cloth. $49.99. https://www.cph.org/p-22941-prepare-the-way-of-the-lord-an-introduction-to-the-old-testament.aspx (P) We may well be living in the golden age of Concordia Publishing House. The abundance of faithful resources is such a joy that both the bookshelves and budgets of pastors are being stretched!   Among my go-to Bible references in English have been The Word Becoming Flesh, Introduction to the Intertestamental Period, The Word of the Lord Grows, Bible Difficulties and Seeming Contradictions, and The Concordia Bible Dictionary. The new two-volume Lutheran Bible Companion draws upon these and the fruits of The Lutheran Study Bible project to give us an affordable, concise, and encyclopedic companion to the Holy Scriptures.   Free Bible Study Offer Now through November 30, download a FREE Bible study for the Lutheran Bible Companion! Overview Tap into the treasures of God's Word with the Lutheran Bible Companion, the first-ever comprehensive guide to the Bible featuring commentary that reflects Lutheran theology. In this two-volume set, readers find new understanding for personal meditation or preaching in the expansive timeline of the Old and New Testament, as well as the Intertestamental Era. Fascinating insights on the Bible's themes provide additional depth: Theological topics and literary features found in each book of the Bible Significant events, people, and places found in detailed outlines and maps Biblical reflections from Martin Luther and Johann Gerhard Color photography and art illustrating stories, daily life, and landscapes (600+) Hardback. 2 volumes. 1,128 and 1,016 pages. Learn More > (Publisher's website) One picture (above) cannot do justice to such a visually-rich pair of volumes as this. Please find a set to see for yourself, or at least watch the Vimeo video below and click on the "Learn More" link above. Lutheran Bible Companion from Concordia Publishing House (CPH) on Vimeo. Each volume is organized in typical Bible canon order. For the purposes of our review, let's zoom in on Lamenations as an example of the features common to the Lutheran Bible Companion. Book title, introduction, and facing-page photograph (780-781) Historical and Cultural Setting (781, 752ff.) Overview (782: Author, Date, Places, People, Law Themes, Gospel Themes, Memory Verses, Timeline) Composition details (782ff: Author, Date of Composition, Purpose/Recipients, Literary Features, Outline, Characters, Narrative Development or Plot, Text and Translations) Doctrinal Content (786: Summary Commentary, Specific Law Themes, Specific Gospel Themes, Specific Doctrines, Application) Canonicity (790) Lutheran Theologians on Lamentations (791ff: Luther, Gerhard) Further Study (793: Lay/Bible Class Resources, Church Worker Resources, Academic Resources) This is rich content. A summary doesn't do it justice. The photographs, maps, and charts add interest to substantive information. Pages are magazine shiny, yet more durable for generations of use. The introductory material at the beginning of the Old Testament volume addresses and refutes modern objections to tradition Bible dates, authorship, and content. Readers will learn How to Read and Study the Holy Bible and gain appreciation for miracles and the Land and Time of the Bible. Specific introductions to sections of the Bible are also provided. The Intertestamental Period and books of the Apocrypha are addressed in the first 150 pages of the New Testament volume. Christ is the focus and center of both volumes. I was very pleased by the section "Archaeology and the Bible" (2:797ff) and the newly-revised Bible Dictionary and Index (833ff). My congregational President asked for a set for his birthday. You should have seen the joy on his face when he got them! This is an ideal gift to your family for Christmas. Get it on sale while you still can! Pastors, don't miss out on this new Introduction to the Old Testament.   Overview "Twenty-first century scholarship offers a myriad of ways to read [these texts]. This book helps beginning students make sense of it all." — from the Preface This new isagogics textbook examines and explores each book of the Old Testament, preparing students of the Bible to read Israel's texts with understanding and insight. It helps answer questions such as "What is helpful and what is detrimental to evangelical faith?" and "How do conservative scholars respond to critical views of the Old Testament?" The book interacts with scholars in a respectful way while providing evangelical assessments that foster historical and theological confidence in the Old Testament. Book features: Maps, diagrams, and tables Covers every book of the Old Testament Sections on authorship; literary features; historical, archaeological, and textual issues; theological emphases; and key biblical themes of sin and grace for each Book of the Old Testament About the Authors Dr. R. Reed Lessing was on the faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, for fourteen years and now serves as Senior Pastor at St. Michael Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, IN. Dr. Andrew E. Steinmann is Distinguished Professor of Theology and Hebrew at Concordia University Chicago. (Publisher's website) This is no dry textbook. This is an ideal resourcebook for Pastors to answer the kind of difficult questions about Bible books, especially the books of the Old Testament that are sometimes mysterious to all of us.  Learn anew or be reminded of: Canon in various Christian traditions (4ff) Challenges to Mosaic authorship (20ff, 31ff) Offerings (102-103) and degrees of holiness (103ff) Christ in Leviticus (110ff) The Tel Dan David inscription (199ff) Greek Additions to Esther (272) and Daniel (440) The design of the Psalter (301ff) A language/theme comparison of Jeremiah and Lamentations (408ff) A handy comparison within Jonah (440) Why do the righteous suffer (490)? This is the kind of Lutheran resource I would have preferred to read during my summer seminary isogogics classes! This is the kind of text I've been asking CPH for as long as QBR has been in existence!   Concordia, as the premier publisher of resources "that are faithful to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions," is ideally suited to publish textbooks for our own seminaries, colleges, and schools in addition to our churches and homes. 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 permanent 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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Pulpit Review: Beyond the Basics in Biblical Languages

 

Nordling, John G. Religion and Resistance in Early Judaism: Greek Readings in 1 Maccabees and Josephus. St. Louis: Concordia, 2010. 364 Pages. Paper. $34.99. https://www.cph.org/p-18273-religion-and-resistance-in-early-judaism-greek-readings-in-1-maccabees-and-josephus.aspx (P) Steinmann, Andrew E. Intermediate Biblical Hebrew: A Reference Grammar with Charts and Exercises. St. Louis: Concordia, 2009. 242 Pages. Paper. $49.99. https://www.cph.org/p-12937-intermediate-biblical-hebrew.aspx (P) Wilch, John R. Concordia Hebrew Reader: Ruth. St. Louis: Concordia, 2010. 178 Pages. Paper. $29.99. https://www.cph.org/p-17772-concordia-hebrew-reader-ruth.aspx (P) Students and potential students of Biblical Greek and Hebrew have a wide variety of "101" Introductory resources. Not all are created equal. I am very thankful for those produced by Concordia Publishing House.  The challenge for a true scholar of the languages is to make the transition from neophyte to competence. Here are three titles that would be helpful toward that end.   Religion and Resistance in Early Judaism prepares intermediate and advanced students of Greek to read and translate selections from 1 Maccabees and Josephus, with an emphasis on building knowledge of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. The book also describes the religious and cultural clash between the classical world and early Judaism. It includes: Historical context from Alexander the Great to Josephus Greek text of 1 Maccabees 1:1-4:61 Selections of Greek from Josephus's life, Jewish War, and Antiquities of the Jews Notes on the grammar and syntax of each selection of Greek text, including numerous cross references to Greek and biblical literature A comprehensive glossary of Greek terms and a select bibliography Foreword written by Dr. Paul Maier John G. Nordling, PhD, is an associate professor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN. He has 16 years of experience teaching students Greek and Latin literature, classical civilization, and exegetical theology. Click Here to see all Language Tools books. (Publisher's website) Professor Nordling is an ideal author/editor of a volume like this. We became acquainted because of our common love of the classics and classical Lutheran education. German-speaking Lutherans were much more familiar with Josephus and the Apocrypha than their modern English-speaking counterparts.  Readers will note similarities to the approach of both Concordia Commentary and the recent CPH Lutheran edition of the Apocrypha, yet with the kind of detail and rigor not required by the typical lay reader of either of those resources.  It is books like this one that make we think that I should have been a Classics Major (with a music minor) back at the University. I enjoyed by introductory Hebrew class more than my introductory Greek class. Perhaps I was more used to the routine of seminary life by then. Maybe it was the heat of fall in St. Louis versus the more pleasant days of fall.   Intermediate Biblical Hebrew bridges the learner from the first year of Hebrew into thoughtful reading and deeper study of the biblical text. Features Include: Twenty-two diagrams that make challenging concepts clear Practice exercises for each chapter Glosses for Hebrew words appearing fewer than one hundred time in the Old Testament Definitions of linguistic and grammatical terms A select, annotated bibliography Topical and scriptural indexes   Helpful Downloads   Answers to Exercises in Intermediate Biblical Hebrew (Publisher's website) One of the greatest contributions of Andrew Steinmann's Intermediate Biblical Hebrew is the time he takes to guide the student-in-transition to note and distinguish common words and words that are confusingly similar to the seminarian new to Hebrew. That would have been incredibly helpful and encouraging as part of my first-year Spring Biblical Readings Class! No answers are provided in the text to the practice exercises of the text. Do note the downloadable answer key hidden (for the sake of honest struggle with the exercises) in plain sight on the CPH website! See the link to the page above. Particularly indispensable are the book's Glossary and Annotated Bibliography.  Last but not least, Ruth:   Concordia Hebrew Reader: Ruth Includes The Hebrew text from Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia A literal translation that indicates Hebrew line breaks References to more than 20 advance reference tools  Nearly 100 exegetical studies A full works cited list A challenge far greater than mastering the rudiments of Biblical Hebrew is developing and nurturing an understanding of how Hebrew works. The Concordia Hebrew Reader on Ruth explains how the Hebrew of the Book of Ruth works. Dr. John R. Wilch is professor emeritus at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Catharines, Ontario, where he taught exegetical theology (1980-1999). He studied under Karl Heinrich Rengstorf in Munster, Germany. (Publisher's website) The author/editor of this book is also the author of the Concordia Commentary on Ruth. This is a similar, yet distinctly focused kind of exegetical help. The website description is a good summary of what to expect. Not a mere grammar for Ruth, expect history and theology as you prepare to preach and teach this remarkable Christological book. Going forward, I could imagine an even more affordable way for CPH to develop and publish more volumes in a Concordia Hebrew Reader series: digital books via Logos 6 software. Scholars and students could pair their own digital BHS text on a tablet or computer with additional digital CHRs. Pricing appears to be the only weakness toward greater use and appreciation of titles like these in the LCMS and greater church. There is nothing like having a book in your hands, paperback or cloth with dust cover. From an economic standpoint, it must be worth it for the purchaser and the publisher. A lower price-point for the customer would usually mean a loss to the publisher because some projects subsidize others. That is not uncommon, but must be carefully considered. I believe a digital version of future resources like these would keep production costs down enough to make it viable for CPH to produce more ebooks at more palatable prices for the pastor in the parish. 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 permanent 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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Quick Summaries for November 2014: Fiction

Quick Summaries are pithy paragraph-long reviews of releases that cross our QBR desk.  These are reviews for when you don't have all day  to decide whether a resource is worth your time, money, storage space, or trouble. Carrico, David. 1635: Music and Murder (Ring of Fire). Riverdale, NY: Baen, 2013. 518 Pages. Kindle e-book. $4.99. http://www.baen.com/  http://www.amazon.com/1635-Music-Murder-Ring-Fire-ebook/dp/B00F96EOT8/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1383968779&sr=1-2  (N) Flint, Eric, David Carrico. 1636: The Devil's Opera (Ring of Fire). Riverdale, NY: Baen, 2013. 528 Pages. Kindle e-book. $8.59. (Hardcover available for $18.48.) http://www.baen.com/  http://www.amazon.com/1636-Devils-Opera-Ring-Fire-ebook/dp/B00F8N7WD2/ref=la_B001ITXFV8_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383969128&sr=1-2  (N) Cooper, Iver P. 1636: Seas of Fortune (Ring of Fire). Riverdale, NY: Baen, 2013. 485 Pages. Kindle e-book. $8.59. http://www.baen.com/  http://www.amazon.com/1636-Seas-Fortune-Ring-Fire-ebook/dp/B00HCLRJDG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1403888188&sr=1-1&keywords=1636+seas+of+fortune (N) (The books above are available in digital and paper formats.) Grantville Gazette, Volumes 42-50. Moore, OK: 1632, Inc., 2012-13. Digital downloadable file (various formats). Subscription rates vary. http://www.grantvillegazette.com/ (N) Stoneguard, Harry. The Chaplain's Cat: A Small CATechism. Amazon CreateSpace, 2013. Paper. $6.99. (Kindle version available for $0.99).  http://smile.amazon.com/Chaplains-Cat-Small-CATechism/dp/1493700898 (Q) Sabel, Thomas. Legends of Luternia: the Prince Decides. Little Elm, TX: eLectio Publishing, 2013. 217 Pages. Paper. $13.99. (ebook for $4.99.) www.eLectioPublishing.com  http://thosabel.blogspot.com (LHPN) Keating, Ray. The River: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel. Manorville, NY: Keating Reports, 2014. 264 Pages. Paper. $13.99. www.pastorstephengrant.com  http://smile.amazon.com/The-River-Pastor-Stephen-Grant/dp/1499514174/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 (LHPN) Fiction takes this reviewer longer to read, ponder, and review. This is one of the most intriguing groups of books I've read for review in a long time. We begin strong and finish strong. ebooks are a convenient way to provide review copies these days. The downside is that they could be forgotten on a tablet with lots of storage space. To prevent that, I put the names of ebooks on a piece of cardboard and add them to my "to read" or "to review" stacks.  ++ We begin in the 1632-verse, an alternate time line where a West Virginia coal mine town ended up in Germany during the 30-years war. 1635: Music and Murder shows collaboration between the uptime Americans and the "downtimers" and changes in the timeline and the world after three years. I love this timeline because we see Lutherans and Lutheranism in abundance. And music! Author Carrico fleshes out both the revolution in police work and music in two novellas. I was immediately enthralled with the music novella. He won me over gradually with the murder novella. Consider reading both as a prequel/prelude to Carrico's collaboration with main series author Eric Flint. Highly recommended! + 1636: The Devil's Opera does not assume but benefits from a reader's knowledge of the previous volume. Here, Flint and Carrico flesh out the world of post-Ring of Fire Magdeburg, the new capitol of the United States of Europe under Emperor Gustavus Adolphus. Ravaged by war and rebuilt by uptime Americans and their German and Swedish allies, a foundation is laid for a fascinating future. Music and Murder continue and converge in a mystery-action adventure reminiscent of both Dorothy Sayers and Tom Clancy.  Recommended. + Building on a cast of characters introduced in the Grantville Gazette, Iver Cooper's 1636: Seas of Fortune is also a pair of novellas that show how different the eventual world of the 1632-verse will become. Swedish colonies in South America? Sure. Name a town after the Emperor, if you don't mind! Southern California settled by exiled Japanese Christians? Cool. Let's mess with the fictionalized history of James Clavell's Shogun! As a student of Japanese history at university and an Asian Studies minor, I really resonated with the novella Rising Sun. As a Christian and Lutheran Pastor, Stretching Out shows honor to the real-history Swedish King and Lutheran, Gustavus Adolphus. I can't wait to hear more about how these new colonies develop! Recommended. + If news is the rough draft of history, Grantville Gazette, edited by our friend Paula Goodlett, is the rought draft of alternate history in the world Eric Flint created by altering world history as of 1632. This is a testing ground, a research facility, and more than mere fan fiction. Download the latest issues (released regularly six times per year). That reminds me, time to renew my online subscription! Recommended. -/ The Chaplain's Cat: A Small CATechism by Harry Stoneguard has an interesting premise: a story told by "a Parsonage kitten turned Therapy Cat." This volume arrived as an unsolicited gift from an ELCA pastor in New Jersey. I have reason to believe that "Harry Stoneguard" is his pseudonym. Similitude, the cat, may be playing itself. The book appears to be written to be discussed in a group setting, but falls short when some of the chapter topics are unclear compared to the topics as brought up by the cat (chapters 4-6). Bishops and the ordination of women are assumed. I appreciate the creativity of the author. This reader assumes a more robust Lutheran confession of faith, even in fiction as retold by a cat. Consider the very affordable kindle version if you are interested in this title as a Lutheran cat lover. Neutral on this one.    +/ Legends of Luternia: The Prince Decides is a stronger book than the one previously under consideration. The Rev. Thomas Sabel, poet and author, delves into fantasy in his first novel. As both C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien discovered, Christian allegorial fantasy fiction is a challenging genre. Think about writing a new "the Kingdom of God is like" parable and then building enough of a world to fill a 217-page book. I commend the author for his pastoral care approach to the genre. Given our royal Prophet, Priest, and King, the genre is full of possibilities for Christians. I see much potential should Sabel continue with more volumes in a Luternia series. I've wondered how a Lutheran author could weave Jesus as Prophet and Priest into such a fictional world. Recommended. + Ray Keating's SEAL/CIA agent turned LCMS Pastor, Stephen Grant, returns in The River. The danger Pastor Grant faces builds as much as his own backstory and that of his wife and her family. In the fourth installment of the Grant series he wrestles with life and death, specifically justice and revenge under the Fifth Commandment. I read this novel in preparation for a Lutheran Men's retreat here in the Wyoming District as a presenter discussing firearms, self defense,the Second Amendment and the Fifth Commandment, specifically the difference between "Thou shalt not kill" and "You shall not murder." The latter is the most accurate translation of the original Hebrew of Exodus 20. Imagine facing such decisions alongside Stephen Grant. Language is realistic given the situation's Grant's father-in-law lets his daughter and son-in-law get put in. Temptations abound. Ours is a messy, sinful world. Forgiveness and redemption in Christ is real. I pray my world will not be as dangerous and action-packed as Pr. Grant's adventures in Las Vegas. Enjoy the Christian-worldview-fiction of Ray Keating. Recommended! More information about each of these titles may be found on each respective publisher's website.  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 permanent 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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Received for Review

 

Lutheran Book Review  Presents... Luther, Martin. Edited by Benjamin T. G. Mayes. Christopher Boyd Brown, General Editor. Sermons on Matthew Chapters 19-24 (Luther's Works 68). St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. 364 Pages. Cloth. $54.99. http://www.cph.org/p-24854-luthers-works-volume-68-sermons-on-the-gospel-of-st-matthew-chapters-19-24.aspx  (LHP) Getty, Keith and Kristyn Getty. The Greengrass Session: Six Hymns from the Old World and the New Limited Edition EP. Nashville: Getty Music Label LLC, 2014. Audio CD. $10.00.  http://www.gettymusic.com/ http://www.gettymusic.com/greengrass (H)   Music, David W. and Paul Westermeyer. Church Music in the United States 1760-1901. St. Louis: MorningStar Music Publishers, 2014. Published in partnership with the Center for Church Music, Concordia University Chicago. 311 Pages. Paper. $24.95. 1-800-647-2117. http://www.morningstarmusic.com/ (LHP)

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Closing Issue 8.3 and Opening Issue 8.4

 

Michaelmas: Closing Issue 8.3 and Opening Issue 8.4 This post will mark the last entry in QBR 8.3, Apostles' Tide, and the opening entry in Angels' Tide, QBR 8.4

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FW: "The church is patient. It can wait. For it has a future."

 

Sasse…   Feed: Mercy Journeys with Pastor Harrison Posted on: Monday, August 25, 2014 9:20 AM Author: Rev. Matt Harrison Subject: "The church is patient. It can wait. For it has a future."   It is certainly no accident that almost all leaders of the ecumenical movement came from this youth movement [i.e. SCM]. These "movements" belong to the shape of church history in our century. In them lives, alongside the genuine Christian faith, the enthusiasm and chiliasm of Pietism and Methodism, as it was still alive around the turn of the century. Enthusiasm does not understand the objective means of grace of word and sacraments. This is why these circles could so quickly exchange their bible faith for a modern theology for which the Scripture was no longer simply God's word. This explains the enthusiastic urging of communion fellowship even where the sacrament was understood totally differently. Enthusiasm does not understand the dogma of the church. How can there be unchanging doctrine that remains the same across all the centuries? The truth is for the church "the faith, once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Even for Rome the revelation of doctrine is ended with the death of the last apostle. Enthusiasm, however, searches for a truth that will be revealed first in the future, when the Christians or churches gather around the Scripture and the Holy Spirit then must work the great miracle to let new truths break forth from his word, to use the words of the preacher of the Pilgrims. It is characteristic of all these circles to think that the essence of baptism, the essence of the Lord's Supper will first be understood in the future, that it must be possible to go beyond the petrified frontlines of the confessions to know the full truth, of which each only sees a part. In fact, perhaps first the "young" churches will manage to do what the old ones were unable to do: to find the truth in which Zwingli and Luther, Rome and the Baptists are one. This explains the urging of discussions, conversations, conferences. The unity of the true church is founded on the truth that is already there. Enthusiasm seeks the unity in a truth that has not been found yet. The church teaches. The sect discusses. The church is patient. It can wait. For it has a future. The sect is impatient. It must have it all quickly, if possible find a new doctrine of the Lord's Supper on a conference lasting two weeks. The sect cannot wait. For it has no future, although it always talks about the future.       [1] John Robinson 1575-1625. W.H. Burgess, John Robinson: Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers (Londom: Williams & Norgate, 1920), p. 240. View article...

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Received for Review

 

Engelbrecht, Edward A., General Editor. Lutheran Bible Companion (Set). St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. Cloth. 1014 + 992 Pages. List Price: $69.98. Hardback Sale Price: $49.99. www.cph.org/p-24345-lutheran-bible-companion-set.aspx (LHP) Lessing, R. Reed and Andrew E. Steinmann. Prepare the Way of the Lord: An Introduction to the Old Testament. St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. 559 Pages. Cloth. $49.99. https://www.cph.org/p-22941-prepare-the-way-of-the-lord-an-introduction-to-the-old-testament.aspx (P) Ludwig, David J. and Mary R. Jacob. Christian Concepts for Care: Understanding and Helping People with Mental Health Issues. St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. 304 Pages. Paper. $24.99. (Currently on sale for $21.99.) https://www.cph.org/p-24736-christian-concepts-for-care.aspx (LHPN) Luther, Martin. Edited by Benjamin T. G. Mayes and James L. Langebartels. Church Postil II (Luther's Works, Volume 76). St. Louis: Conordia, 2013. 484 Pages. Cloth. $49.99. https://www.cph.org/p-23633-luthers-works-volume-76-church-postil-ii.aspx (P)   Nordling, John G. Religion and Resistance in Early Judaism: Greek Readings in 1 Maccabees and Josephus. St. Louis: Concordia, 2010. 364 Pages. Paper. $34.99. https://www.cph.org/p-18273-religion-and-resistance-in-early-judaism-greek-readings-in-1-maccabees-and-josephus.aspx (P) Sasse, Hermann. Edited by Matthew C. Harrison. Translated by Matthew C. Harrison and Andrew Smith. Foreword by Ronald R. Feuerhahn. Additional Translations by Ralph Gehrke, Fred Kramer, E. Reim, and Norman Nagel. Letters to Lutheran Pastors Volume II 1951-1956. St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. 511 Pages. Cloth. $34.99. https://www.cph.org/p-22976-letters-to-lutheran-pastors-volume-2.aspx (LHP) Steinmann, Andrew E. Intermediate Biblical Hebrew: A Reference Grammar with Charts and Exercises. St. Louis: Concordia, 2009. 242 Pages. Paper. $49.99. https://www.cph.org/p-12937-intermediate-biblical-hebrew.aspx (P) Wilch, John R. Concordia Hebrew Reader: Ruth. St. Louis: Concordia, 2010. 178 Pages. Paper. $29.99. https://www.cph.org/p-17772-concordia-hebrew-reader-ruth.aspx (P)

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FW: Great Stuff — I wish the liturgy were more accessible. . .

 

Peters…   Feed: Steadfast Lutherans Posted on: Friday, July 25, 2014 9:42 AM Author: Norm Fisher Subject: Great Stuff — I wish the liturgy were more accessible. . .   Another great post over on Pastoral Meanderings by Pastor Peters:   "Wow! That is a lot to take for someone who has had only a passing association with church before!" So said one visitor to a Sunday morning Divine Service at my parish. She did not say it but clearly her comment meant "I wish the liturgy were more accessible" to a stranger to the church like me… It would not be the first time someone has uttered those sentiments. It IS a great deal to take in for those who have not had much association with the church before. I will not deny it one bit. Neither will I suggest that it is a fruitful pursuit to try and find a way to dumb down the liturgy just in case there may be (and there always are) people who are strangers to the church and to the mass). I am sure it is overwhelming and even shocking. I would be disappointed if it were not — for what would it say of us if the Divine Mystery of Christ (both efficacious Word and Sacrament) were easy enough to get and dismiss out of hand! I tell such folks not to make a judgment quickly but to return to the liturgy over and over again. Only then, with familiarity, can come the deep appreciation for the mystery and its grace bestowed upon us by Christ through His Word and Spirit. The liturgy is one of those things learned by doing as much as by studying. If you are an avid reader of this blog, you know that I do not quote Aristotle — not ever — but one of his tidbits of wisdom certainly applies to the Divine Service: For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them. – Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics Though some find it offensive that any person off the street, a stranger to God and His worship, cannot enter the church and feel perfectly at home, I find just the opposite offensive. If a stranger to God and His worship feels at home in the liturgy, there must be something wrong with the liturgy. The liturgy or mass is off putting — not because it is designed to offend but because it goes against all that the sinful heart values most — easy, comfortable, feeling oriented, self-centered pleasure. What is most disarming about the liturgy or the Divine Service is that it compels us to shed ourselves and to become focused upon and open to the work of the Lord through His means of grace. Such is the domain of the Spirit and not simply the training of the human heart but, that said, it is discipline whose value is learned by experience. We tell parents all the time that the repetition of the liturgy is helpful to the child learning by the experience of it who God is, what He has done, and how He communicates to us the fullness of His grace and gifts. Would not the same be also true of adults who come as infants into the presence of God in the holy ground of the liturgy? Hardly any sport is transparent or obvious upon first view. Watching the game being played is one of the most important ways we learn its rules and an appreciation for the sport. In the hospital we have interns and residents who continue their education by watching and doing — believing that this is the most effective way to train our doctors. Why do some insist that we must make worship cogent for and accessible to the unchurched who know little of God or His ways? Why do some visit once and presume that they have seen and learned enough to make a reasonable judgment against the church? To the stranger come upon us, I say stay here long enough to get to know the liturgy. Study it and learn the faith from it, to be sure, but resist the great temptation to judge what you see or experience until you learn its words, its rhythm, and its tempo. To the parent worrying about a child growing distracted from or bored with the liturgy, I say hang in there. Children learn by doing and they are absorbing from the liturgy more than is obvious to you. Reinforce what happens in the Divine Service, to be sure, but do not reject what happens as they experience the church's liturgy and song over many years of growing up. View article...

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Received for Review

 

Gerhard, Johann. Translated by Richard J. Dinda. Edited by Benjamin T. G. Mayes and Heath R. Curtis. On Sin and Free Choice (Theological Commonplaces XII-XIV). St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. 367 Pages. Cloth. $54.99. http://www.cph.org/p-23635-on-sin-and-free-choice-theological-commonplaces.aspx (P) Das, A. Andrew. Galatians (Concordia Commentary). St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. 738 Pages. Cloth. $49.99. http://www.cph.org/p-24356-galatians-concordia-commentary.aspx (P) Engelbrecht, Edward A., General Editor of English Edition. Hector E. Hoppe, Editor of Spanish Edition. La Biblia de la Reforma: Biblia de Estudio (Reina Valera Contemporanea). St. Louis: Editorial Concordia, 2014. 2336 Pages. Cloth. $49.99. http://www.cph.org/p-22186-la-biblia-de-la-reforma-the-bible-of-the-reformation.aspx (LHP)     LHP QBR was also honored to receive advanced digital preview copies of two titles, and a partial digital preview of a third:   Engelbrecht, Edward A., General Editor. Lutheran Bible Companion (Set). St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. pdf sample received. Initial Hardback Sale Price: $49.99. www.cph.org/p-24345-lutheran-bible-companion-set.aspx (LHP)   Kraus, George. Edited and Revised by Scot A. Kinnaman. The Pastor at Prayer. St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. 288 Pages. pdf sample received. Hardback: $24.99. www.cph.org/p-26075-the-pastor-at-prayer-revised-edition.aspx (LHP)   Concordia Psalter. St. Louis: Concordia, 2015. www.cph.org (LHP)

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Received for Review

 

Ross, Melanie C. Foreword by Mark A. Noll. Evangelical Versus Liturgical? Defying a Dichotomy. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014. 149 Pages. Paper. $17.00. www.eerdmans.com (L)

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FW: Diachronic vs. Synchronic Unity and Lectionary

 

Weedon…   Feed: Weedon's Blog Posted on: Friday, July 11, 2014 7:43 AM Author: noreply@blogger.com (William Weedon) Subject: Diachronic vs. Synchronic Unity and Lectionary   Delivered as a workshop at the Liturgical Institute at Valpo in April of 2014. Again, not a polished paper, but might provide some food for thought. It was a number of years back, maybe the last time I made it to this august Institute. I had driven up here with Dr. Lee Maxwell, whose writings (by the way) remain quite influential to me on the topic of this particular workshop. But being the dingbat that I am (I prefer to think of myself as the absent minded scholar…), I had made reservations at a hotel, but not bothered to write down or remember the NAME of the hotel. So we stopped at that one right by the University only to discover they weren't expecting us and there was no room in the Inn. So a little befuddled and explaining to Lee that we'd surely find the right place before long I pulled out. and we drove for a bit. It was dusk. Then I noticed the most peculiar thing. "Lee!" said I. "Would you look at that! They have hung those traffic lights backwards. Is that weird or what?" To which Lee very excitedly responded: "They are not hung backwards, you idiot. You've turned the wrong way on a divided highway!" At which point we quickly crossed the median and, well, as there was no cop in sight and we were still living and breathing, all was well. Well, except for Lee swearing never to take another trip with me behind the wheel - a promise he has kept, by the way, for the last decade and more. Why bring up this ancient happening? Well because sometimes, sometimes there are signs, little hints, that things aren't well, and we can either happily move along pretending all is still honkey dorey, or we might want to do some self-analysis and see if at some point we might have had a wrong turning. So it was, of course, as a result of the Second Vatican Council that our Roman brothers and sisters began a reform of the liturgy. The Mass was put into the Vernacular. Various Eucharistic canons were provided to stand alongside the ancient Roman canon. But most striking, the lectionary was revised. For perhaps a thousand years plus, the system of readings for the Sunday Masses had been relatively fixed (with some regional displacements). The reading from the Old Testament was restored at last, usually keyed to the Gospel reading. And in order to allow each of the portraits of Christ provided by the individual evangelists to shine through, a three year system of readings was employed: A, the year of St. Matthew. B, the year of St. Mark. C, the year of  St. Luke. St. John ruled during Eastertide in all three years and did a bit of fill in during the year of St. Mark, given the brevity of that Gospel. Further, the second reading was now allowed a bit more independence and the ancient practice of lecio continua allowed for huge swaths of the epistles to be heard. One last very noteworthy feature was the use of a longer Psalm selection to replace the typically shorter gradual and verse or tract between the readings. The thought was to let the Word of God more richly and fully impact and shape the Church's life, and who on earth can be against that? Rather excitedly but without any extended reflection or discussion, jurisdiction after jurisdiction followed Rome's lead in ditching the ancient Western lectionary and adopting the three year. The Episcopalians, the Lutherans, the Methodists. Soon, however, the niggling variations invited consideration of revising something that could be shared in common. Hence the Revised Common Lectionary. My own Synod's three year system is clearly largely but not entirely in synch with that. And yet… Are there any backward traffic lights around? One of the most astonishing to me is that despite the Church reading more Scripture in the assembly than ever before in our Western Churches, basic biblical literacy among our people seems to have plummeted to lows that would have been unthinkable a couple generations back  You mention Abraham and Sarah, or David and Bathsheba? You know the blank stares that these names receive, and even from folks who are not strangers in church! And we won't even ask them about Mephibosheth or Maher-Shallal-hashbaz! We read more and yet we remember and know less. What gives? Maybe that old Latin proverb nailed it after all: Non multa sed multum. Not many, but much. More on that in a few minutes. Now, the nearly universal triumph of the three-year series in actual use by a billion plus Christians alive right now might have suggested that the older, historic one year series was simply dead and buried, one of those multitudinous footnotes of abandoned practice that litter the ecclesiastic landscape. It had had deficiencies, of course. Luther himself once complained that the epistles seemed to have been selected by a lover of works, and that all the good gospel sections in Paul's writings had been given short shrift. It's been famously noted that in the old series we never ever heard John 3:16, nor the account of the Prodigal Son. But like Lazarus, not only is the stink of the historic series greatly exaggerated, but the thing pops back to life when no one expected it! In Rome, Benedict XVI restores the old Tridentine Mass as "an extraordinary rite" (and you can read voices in the Roman Catholic press today that suggest that this extraordinary needs to be the basis for a new ordinary and to go back to the experiments of the 50's in bringing it into English!). This means not only the restoration of the Latin Mass with its ceremonies, but also the restored use of the historic lectionary that was an integral part of that rite! Among the Anglicans, there is this growing "continuing" movement that is marked by a turn back toward the earlier versions of the Book of Common Prayer with their version of the historic lectionary that tends to be an identical twin to the old Lutheran practice. Among the Orthodox, we find a Western Rite persisting with a liturgy of St. Gregory following the Tridentine Mass with Orthodox adaptations and using the one year lectionary. And last, but hopefully not least, among Lutherans, at least in my Synod, I think you can document a small but growing trend as more pastors and parishes adopt and become quite committed to the gentle revision of the older lectionary that appeared in LSB. This was possible because of the decision made by the lectionary committee to set the one year on a completely equal footing with the three year in all the resources of the LSB. In the front of each of the Lectionary volumes that attend LSB, these words stand in the preface: The Lectionary Committee of the LCMS Lutheran Hymnal Project began its work by examining past and present lectionaries to determine how and whether to revise the existing lectionaries in Lutheran Worship. Early in the process, the decision was made to recover and retain the "historic" lectionary, as used by Luther and subsequent generations of Lutherans and as included in The Lutheran Hymnal. Although the Lectionary Committee acknowledged that relatively few LCMS congregations use the one-year lectionary, the committee concluded that such a lectionary should be included in the hymnal to serve both those who still customarily use it and those who may one day find their situation could best be served by the repetition inherent in this lectionary. Among the various reasons for retaining a one-year lectionary in Lutheran Service Book, the Lectionary Committee noted the following: We are an historic Church and acknowledge the value of what has been handed down to us. It is important to recognize the value of repetition. Given the increasing lack of biblical literacy within our society and even within the Church, there may be a need in the future for a one-year lectionary, with its annual repetition of key biblical texts. The one-year lectionary is unique in that there are a number of older resources that support it, including hymnody, sermons by Luther and others, etc. Revisions to the one-year lectionary have been very minor. The historic Gospels remain intact. Likewise, all the historic Epistles have been included. In a few cases, however, alternate Epistles and Gospels have been provided. Because the historic lectionary did not have assigned Old Testament readings, the committee has taken greater freedom in choosing these texts. As with the three-year lectionary, the committee has attempted to choose Old Testament readings that relate closely to the Holy Gospel by way of typological or prophetic connection. In addition, the committee attempted to provide a balanced selection of the various genres of Old Testament readings (e.g., prophetic writings, historical narrative). Full propers have been prepared for the one-year lectionary, including a psalm and verse of the day, expanded introits, and minimally revised Collects of the Day for each Sunday and festival. All of these propers are contained in the Lutheran Service Book Altar Book. pp.xiv,xv. This was prescient. Thus, although Rome and the Western Rite Orthodox simply mandate the use of the old Tridentine lectionary in its Extraordinary Rite; and the continuing Anglicans tend to employ the lectionaries of the earlier Book of Common Prayer; the LSB sought to address gently the criticisms raised against the historic series and thus update it to be a series that has four readings per Sunday: first, psalm, epistle and gospel; that respected the basic structure of the older series by allowing the Gospels to key off and to retain the traditional collects and so forth. No John 3:16? But historically we read John 3:1–15 on Holy Trinity, why not add a couple more verses? No prodigal son? But we read from the first half of Luke 15 each Trinity 5. What if we allowed the option of reading the first three verses and then skipping to the end of the chapter? So it was sort of a best of the old and best of the new approach. But running through it all was the consciousness that repetition, after all, is the mother of learning and that THAT may have been the true key to biblical literacy in the Western Churches in the past! On the anxiety that might arise about the amount of Scripture read if a one year series is adopted, a thought to consider: in Lutheranism, the Mass lectionary was never intended to bear the burden of being the entirety of a Christian's Biblical reading - and so we have long had daily lectionaries. LSB follows in this tradition, but the resources have gone further than ever: Treasury (or its digital version: the PrayNow App), provide for reading great swaths of Scripture each year. Great resources for "more of the story" but again, built on yearly repetition of key texts (this pattern also is found in Lutheran sources from places like Magdeburg and is distinct from Calvinist or Anglican stress on "getting through" the Bible in the year - In Magdeburg, for instance, you read through certain Apocryphal books, but never read from Deuteronomy at all, the focus being on the narrative sections). So, with a sturdy implementation of a daily lectionary to fill in the corners, if you will, the Mass lectionary provides a basic scaffolding from which to enfold the rest of the material. Loehe spoke of it like this: He (the Lutheran preacher) rejoices in the ancient pericopes and would not, even if he could, base his sermon in the Divine Service on free texts or continuous portions of Holy Scripture instead of those pericopes. Preferably he keeps [as his sermon text] for the Divine Service the Gospels, and leaves the Epistles in their place in the order of service, and he will not become weary in preaching on the Gospels. As the people love to hear them, so to him they will become richer and fuller the more he speaks on them. He learns, the more he treats them, the great wisdom of the homilitician to create access through the known to the unknown and to show all the teachings of the church in the familiar texts. The person who switches the texts every year is not fit as a preacher of the people, let alone, one may say, of the church. That which is always different and new, without a connection to the familiar texts, makes it hard for people to understand, but each person easily and gladly accepts new thoughts when they appear as freshly recognized depths of ancient wisdom. —Loehe, Three Books, p. 117. Finally, think of those resources mentioned in the intro to the Lectionary for LSB: We have the treasure trove of the old Postilla (the sermon collections) Postilla of Luther (House and Church - house much better than Church) Postilla of Gerhard (Repristination Press), Loehe (not in English, sadly), selections from Postilla of Walther We have the treasure trove of old Lutheran hymns often written toward these pericopes. For example, for the Anglicans and the Lutherans, the first Sunday in Advent was always the Entrance into Jerusalem from Matthew's Gospel. Think of the hymns that associate this event, then, with the season of Advent: LSB 334 - Gerhardt's O Lord, How Shall I Meet You - Your Zion strews before You green boughs and fairest palms... LSB 335 - the Danish "O Bride of Christ Rejoice" A humble beast He rides, Yet as a King presides, Though not arrayed in splendor He makes the grave surrender. Hosanna, praise, and glory! Our King we bow before thee! LSB 343 - Prepare the Royal Highway God's people see Him coming: Your own eternal king! Palm branches strew before Him! Spread garments! Shout and sing! LSB 350 Come, Thou Precious Ransom, Come My hosannas and my palms Graciously receive, I pray Thee; How much sense do these make without the traditional Gospel for Advent I keying off Advent?? Without the celebration of Gaudete, what exactly IS the point of that rose (pink) candle in the Advent wreath? Day by Day (daily devos arranged from Luther's writings by Anglicans shortly after WWII) God Grant It! (daily devos from Walther that follow the historic one year for weekly themes) Think of connecting our folks again to the great texts of the Bach Cantatas! FB groups on the historic lectionary (The One-ders) So there are numerous pluses and a few cons, but none insurmountable. I'll let Dr. Piepkorn have the final word. When this whole thing was just beginning to loom on the horizon, and not long before his death, he wrote: "I confess that I share the view of those that feel that world Lutheran ties are more important than American solidarity.  Quite apart from this, however, I have basic misgivings about the use of a three-year cycle of pericopes.  With the irregular attendance of many of our people at divine worship and with the general lack of preparation for the service on the part of many of the worshippers that do come, I feel that a three-year cycle or even a two-year cycle would mean that many of our people would in the end be less acquainted with the Sacred Scriptures than they are now."  – A. C. Piepkorn, The Sacred Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, p. 13. Which is to say: he noted the backwards lights and suggested not getting on the highway in that direction. Comments, questions, insights, or just out and out disagreements? http://feeds.feedburner.com/WeedonsBlog View article...

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