Confessions

A concise commentary, highly useful as an accompaniment to the reading of the Augsburg Confession itself. All who are interested in the doctrinal traditions of the Lutheran Church can find here the means to increase their theological and historical understanding of the text. The theological perspective of the Augsburg Confession is made clear by comparisons with the writings of Luther and other Reformers, as well as with other main streams of the Christian tradition. Included for each article of the confession are the English translation of the text, notes on the text, and theological and historical commentary on the meaning of the article. Also included are an extensive introduction to the writing of the confession, footnotes, a selected bibliography, and an index. In its Danish, Swedish, and German editions this commentary has become a indispensable introduction to this classic confession of the Lutheran Reformation. Here is a source of fresh insight into the meaning of the Augsburg Confession -- and guidance into the meaning of the gospel for today.

Commissioned in 1993, this translation of The Book of Concord brings a new generation of scholarship and sensitivities to bear on the foundational texts of Lutheran identity. The fifth English translation since 1851, this edition succeeds that edited by Theodore Tappert published in 1959 by Muhlenburg Press.

A review of the text in light of a mountain of new scholarship and other factors dictated the new translation and apparatus, including changes in the English language over the past forty years, differences in the training and preparation of seminarians and pastors, limitations in the introductions and annotations to the various parts of the book, new knowledge of the history and theology of these very documents, and the occasional error in Tappert's translation.

Kolb and Wengert's team of leading Reformation historians was augmented by consultation with one hundred other scholars and teachers who use The Book of Concord continually, and two other teams of scholars who have reviewed the translations. In coming years, two volumes of related documents will follow.

Benefits of this new translation:

Expanded introductions and annotations offer richer historical context

New translation aims at accessible but accurate translation

Format is easier to read and use

Leading American scholars have been involved or consulted

This edition presents all the official texts of the Book of Concord, plus three appendixes of historic Lutheran writings, a "Book of Concord Reading Guide," a Scripture index, and a subject index. Nothing is more important than clearly confessing and bearing witness to the truths of God's Holy Word which reveal the glorious Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is what the Book of Concord is all about. This edition of the Lutheran Confessions will instruct, inspire and educate all who use it and help them learn what it means to be, and to remain, a genuinely confessing Lutheran Christian.

The Doctrine of Faith is invaluable for understanding the theological dimension of today's ecumenical dialogues. Beck takes you back to the sixteenth century for painstaking and incisive exegesis of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith for Christ's sake. His careful analysis is based on the historical source documents and Melanchthon's finished confession itself. He compares the Augsburg Confession to modern ecumenical dialogs.

The Formula of Concord was adopted as the unifying confessional document of the Lutheran church. In this study of the original document Eugene Klug presents the historical background of events which led to the adoption of the Formula along with a discussion of the points of controversy involved in each of the 12 articles.

This revised and expanded study offers a 13-session examination of the Augsburg Confession and Its Apology as found in Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Leaders notes for The Augsburg Confession and Its Aplogy are available in the Leader Guide.

Each session highlights the Law and Gospel and helps participants grow in their knowledge and understanding of the teachings of the Lutheran Church and its relevance to everyday life. This study can be used by groups or for individual study.

More about the Lutheran Confessions series
The Lutheran Confession series presents a comprehensive introduction to major Lutheran writings. It is designed to be a convenient study for use by more advanced students, or small groups who want to take an in-depth look at the teachings of the Lutheran Church. For ease of use and study, each book in this series includes excerpts from the relevant confessional document. These is no need for students--or instructors--to purchase a complete set of catechisms, or copies of the Augsburg Confessions or Book of Concord in order to enjoy and benefit from these studies.

From their formulation in the sixteenth century through the present day, every generation of Lutheran leadership has grappled with the centrality and importance of the Lutheran confessional writings.

In this important new volume, Arand, Kolb, and Nestingen bring the fruit of an entire generation of scholarship to bear on these documents, making it an essential and up-to-date class text.

The Lutheran Confessions places the documents solidly within their political, social, ecclesiastical, and theological contexts, relating them to the world in which they took place, and assists readers in understanding the issues at stake in the narratives, both in their own time and in ours.

The Lutheran Confessions series presents a comprehensive introduction of the major writing of the Book of Concord (1580). Designed as an in-depth look at the teaching of the Lutheran Church, the study guides contain 13 sessions in a convenient, learner-centered format.

This study thoroughly reviews two documents: The Smalcald Articles written by Martin Luther, and The Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, written by Philip Melanchthon.

Each session examines a portion of these important historical writings and includes these sections:

Focus -- focuses the participants' attention on the key concept that will be discovered in the session.
Inform -- explores a portion of the Confession and questions that help the participants study the text.
Connect -- helps the participants apply the doctrine to their lives.
Vision -- provides the participants with practical suggestions for taking the theme of the lesson out of the classroom and into the world.

In addition, each session also includes a Law/Gospel focus, psalms for worship and a hymn for worship.

Binding: LayFlat

Born in controversy and raised in university settings, the Lutheran reform movement was embroiled immediately, publicly, and perennially in theological disputes and political battles. While controversies during Martin Luther's lifetime centered on disagreements with Rome and Geneva, present and later differences emerged over interpreting Luther's and Melanchthon's theologies on such issues as governmental interference, liturgical practices, justification's implications for good works and sin, the Lord's supper, and election. It is this defining dis-concord, alternating with attempts at concord and conciliation, that is reflected in the documents newly translated in this indispensable documentary companion to The Book of Concord, which includes the works of Agricola, Eck, Chemnitz, Melanchthon, and Luther.