Colleagues: A fortnight ago I received a thick envelope from Germany with this message inside: “Enclosed is a photocopy of the oldest manuscript found among the Werner Elert papers, most likely his examination sermon as a theology student from around 1910. [Elert was born in 1885.] I have typed the text nearly verbatim from his hand-written copy, correcting …
Carl Braaten’s Autobiography
Colleagues, ThTh 624. Six hundred twenty-four Thursdays. Divide that number by 52 and you have exactly 12 complete years. So here on the cusp of year 13 Mike Hoy reviews the life-story of a major voice in American Lutheran theology for the past half century. Along the way in that rich lifetime both Seminex and Crossings intersected (interrupted?) …
A Heads Up for Trinity Sunday
Colleagues, Just as I was about to post something else for this week’s ThTh offering, Jerry Burce, pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church, Fairview Heights, Ohio, sends me this item of Trinitarian theology. Even though Trinity Sunday is ten days away, this seemed too good to postpone past Pentecost. So here you have it. Peace and Joy! Ed Schroeder …
A Daystar Reader
Colleagues, Though the cloud from sight received him When the forty days were o’er, Shall our hearts forget his promise, “I am with you ever more?” We sang those lines from Wm. C. Dix’s Ascension Day hymn, “Hallelujah! Sing to Jesus,” at the breakfast table this morning. The word promise in the second last line is my segue …
Muslims, Christians and the Common Good
Colleagues, Prolegomena. Marie’s heart surgery yesterday, MitraClip repair of the mitral valve, has changed that valve’s regurgitation–so the Meister of the surgical team told us in the post-op conference room–from “severe” to “trace.” Family theology has moved to doxology. Karl Boehmke sends me this: “Ed, If you find a free spot on Thursday Theology pages, please consider including …
How Many Missouri Synods Are There? Two? Maybe even Three?
Colleagues, According to the feature article on the religion page this past weekend in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the answer is Two. Here were the opening lines of the article: “[Lutheran Church – Missouri] Synod conservatives send message in coming convention. Only 755 nominating votes are cast for incumbent president [Gerald Kieschnick]. 1,332 nominations received by Rev. Matthew …
Tragedy after Easter — Easter after the Tragedy
Colleagues, Darlene Grega, ELCA pastor and member of the pastoral staff at the Valparaiso University chapel, was found lifeless in her home a fortnight ago, having apparently died by her own hand. Pastor Grega attended V.U. in earlier years, graduating with a degree in deaconess ministry. Fred Niedner, V.U. theology professor, was the Gospel-proclaimer at her memorial service …
Luther’s New Home in the Episcopal Church USA? Maybe, Maybe Not.
Colleagues, An In-betweener last February alerted you to the “Luther Renaissance” going on among Episcopalians in the USA. That brought a response from one of them, Jady Koch, who’s on this Crossings listserve. ” I’m happy to call myself an Anglo-Lutheran any day. Thanks to Gerhard Forde (and his students), there has been a complete revival of Law/Gospel …
Tidbits from Luther’s Easter Sermons
[From “Day by Day We Magnify Thee. Daily Readings for the Church year Selected from the Writings of Martin Luther.” Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1989.] “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? . . . thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus …
The Future of Justification – A Response to N. T. Wright
Colleagues, For this Holy Week 2010 Richard Koenig, retired Lutheran (ELCA) pastor, erstwhile editor of LUTHERAN PARTNERS, lifelong gadfly for faith-alone justification–also a Concordia Seminary alum from my era in the previous millennium–takes a look at the current hassle going on in the academy about justification in the writings of St. Paul. It’s also bubbling over into church …