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.

A new translation with expanded introductions and annotations.

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.

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.

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. Though the book is not a theology of the Confessions, readers will clearly understand the issues at stake in the narratives, both in their own time, and in ours.