Theological and Biblical Papers
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A variety of sources provide
the items that we have found and are finding of help in our deliberations and thought.
Some of these have been presentations made at
Free Conferences or at the study sessions of various Church Conventions attended. A number
of the papers were presentations made at the early conventions of the Lutheran Ministerium
& Synod - USA when the founding members of ELCM were involved in the start up of that
effort. Clicking the topics of the The Links for those items should take you to the
LMS-USA Web site directory. The Paper or publication that we list here can then be found
by going to their "Conferences" or "Publications" headings. Other
items have appeared in parish newsletters (our own as well as those of others).
Clearly this portion of our archive will be an
expanding area as we deliberate on the wide variety of matters confronting Christians in
these latter days.
In addition to our own materials we have
listed and hyper-linked to the excellent resources provided by the Wittenberg Project
developed by Pastor Robert Smith as well as the resources in Lutheran Studies offered by
others. Please let us know of sources that relate to these or to yet unlisted areas and we
will be glad to post the links to those from this page. |
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Holy Scripture/ Doctrine of The Word |
Principles
of Biblical Interpretation
by Pastor Donald Thorson
(go to the LMS-USA annual Conference or Publications button found on the
menu bar at bottom of their web site page)
This paper by Pastor Thorson, a founding pastor of the American Association
of Lutheran Churches (AALC) takes a meticulous look and examination of the principles used
historically by Confessional Lutherans in the task of interpreting Holy Scripture. Pastor
Thorson provides us here with a very clear and helpful look at Biblical interpretation. He
was one of the initiators of a movement arising in protest to an excessive
"Charismatic" direction by the AALC. This movement ultimately led to the
formation of the "Lutheran Ministerium and Synod - USA (LMS-USA) but with the
modification of Charismatic excess within the AALC Pastor Thorson and his congregation
remained as members of the AALC. |
Luther and Scripture
by John Warwick Montgomery
This is a very informative presentation by a very noted
contemporary Lutheran Scholar which is of interest and help in the ongoing discussion of
whether to use the words "Inerrant and Infallible" in reference to Scripture or
to use the word "Immutable". |
The Doctrine of Holy Scripture in the Lutheran Confessions
by Pastor David Jay Webber, Rector of St. Sophia Lutheran Seminary, Ukrainian Lutheran
Church. Pastor Webber hails from the same early
Colonial American strand of New York Hudson Valley Palatine Lutherans from which the ELCM
President also comes. Pastor Webber graduated from the LC-MS Fort Wayne Seminary and is a
rostered pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (Little Norwegian Synod). ELS Mission
efforts have been a very strong support for Eastern European Lutheran Churches that are
struggling to rebuild and replant following the aftermath of Communism.
This paper by Pastor Webber is also very relevant to
ongoing discussions regarding the words used in the ELCM constitution in reference to Holy
Scripture as God's Word. |
Two
kinds of Authority: One abiding Purpose
by Pastor Thomas Aadland
(go to the LMS-USA annual Conference or Publications button found on the
menu bar at bottom of their web site page) Pastor
Aadland is the former Presiding Pastor of The American Association of Lutheran Churches (TAALC). He has a clear and abiding concern to
encourage the Lutheran churches to hold to a solid grounding in Holy Scripture and in the
Lutheran Confessions as the true exposition of Scripture. |
Comparison, Lutheran Church positions on Scripture: Historical
and Present. |
| 1995
Indianapolis Statement on the Word, Annotated this was a
basic doctrinal statement of the Lutheran Ministerium and Synod - USA that some of us were
involved in helping to develop (go to the LMS-USA annual Conference presentations area).
We have come to view it as a bit too narrow in definition and feel that there needs to be
provision for a range of views within the inerrant and infallible (immutable)
understanding. The LMS-USA began with the
notion that it would allow for a spectrum range between Moderate Conservative and Middle
Conservative. But as this statement will make obvious the movement was clearly toward a
very narrow "Middle Conservative only" view. The failure of this statement to
truly allow for a bit wider spectrum of understandings is in our view its major
shortcoming. Those in the Middle conservative stance would of course see this as its major
strength.
Go to the LMS-USA annual Conference or Publications button
found on the menu bar at bottom of their web site page and Look for LMS-USA Positional
documents. |
| C.H. Little essay on Scriptural Inspiration. C.H.
Little was a Theologian of the United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA) with a very long
period of tenure at the Seminary at Waterloo, Ontario Canada. He is a clear example that
not all in the ULCA, the LCA which followed, and the current ELCA were of a Gospel
Reductionist orientation. |
The
Reformers & The Lutheran Confessions |
"Critical
Analysis of Dr. Philip Melanchthon"
(STM study paper) by ELCM Pastor, The Rev. Mark D. Isaacs. Pastor Isaacs prepared this presentation critiquing and assessing the
contributions and impact of Luther's friend and co-worker, Philip as an assignment
connected with STM degree studies at LTS, Philadelphia Pa. concurrently with his PhD
candidacy work at Trinity Seminary. |
Church History |
Conservative
elements within Eastern Lutheranism holding to Biblical Inerrancy/ Infallibility/
Confessional Positions
by Pastor Roy A. Steward, Jr. (Former Chairman of the LMS-USA Synod and present President
of ELCM). This paper was a general survey of a
strand of Confessional Faith and Confessional praxis existing from the very first Lutheran
presence in Eastern America down to the present. Conservative principles of Biblical and
Confessional understanding seemed to be winning the day in Eastern Lutheranism as
witnessed by the significant victory in defeating the S.S. Schmucker efforts but the anti
Scriptural - anti Confessional factions simply went underground and slowly began a take
over of the increasingly centralizing governance of Eastern Lutheranism. Nonetheless
Conservative Biblical/ Confessional remnants are still in existence. |
Matthias Flacius
Biography
by Dr. Oliver Olson Volume I - Matthias Flacius and the survival of Luther's Reform. |
Doctrine |
Christian Confessions
Doctrine,
Liturgy, Confessions: They can be divisive - So why do we need them?
by ELCM Pastor, Rev. Roy A. Steward This is a paper
presented at an LMS-USA Convention by our current ELCM President pointing out the
importance of Doctrine, Liturgy, and Confessions. He emphasizes that what we believe is
more important thanstrivingg for a unity which is not grounded on basic agreement in
Doctrine, Liturgy, and Confessions. |
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| History of Christian
Thought |
| Justification
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| Sanctification |
| Baptism |
Means of
Grace
The Holy
Spirit and His Gifts: The Holy Spirit in the Means of Grace
by Pastor Roy A. Steward. This paper was presented
at an LMS-USA Convention by our ELCM President when he served as Vice President of the
LMS-USA Ministerium and as Chairman of the LMS-USA Synod. It focuses upon Communion,
Baptism, and the Word as the only means in which we know for sure the Holy Spirit of God
is at work. |
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| Holy Communion |
| The Office of Holy
Ministry |
| Ecclesiology |
Missiology
| Liturgy & Evangelism in Service of the Mysteria
Dei. Discusses the contrast between a
Confessional Lutheran understanding of Worship and the contemporary Church Growth
understandings. The Paper is written by Rev. John T. Pless, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions and Director of Field Education at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, a seminary of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. |
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A
full range of Doctrines
Disputed
Doctrines
by C. H. Little |
Excerpts
from Charles Porterfield Krauth.
Dr. Krauth was a professor of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and was one of the founders as well as a chief Theological
spokesman of the General Council which separated itself from the General Synod. |
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Worship |
| Liturgy & Evangelism in Service of the Mysteria
Dei. Discusses the contrast between a
Confessional Lutheran understanding of Worship and the contemporary Church Growth
understandings. The Paper is written by a Pr. Pless of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. |
"Luther's Catholic
Minimum"
by Dr. Oliver Olson. This is a paper which Dr. Olson
presented in opposition to the Liturgical proposals of the ILCW which led to the Lutheran
Book of Worship (LBW). Dr. Olson points to trends that were present in the Service
Book and Hymnal (SBH) as early as 1958. |
Ecumenism & Christian Unity/ Fellowship |
Doctrine,
Liturgy, Confessions: They can be divisive - So why do we need them?
by Pastor Roy A. Steward This is a paper presented
at an LMS-USA Convention by our current ELCM President pointing out the importance of
Doctrine, Liturgy, and Confessions. He emphasizes that what we believe is more important
than striving for a unity which is not grounded on basic agreement in Doctrine, Liturgy,
and Confessions. |
Indulgences revisited |
Commentary
& Critique of the 1999 Papal Bull on Jubilee Year Indulgences
by ELCM President, The Rev. Roy A. Steward. The
Ink was hardly dry on the documents jointly signed at Augsburg Germany by representatives
of the Lutheran World Federation (spearheaded by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America) and the representatives of the Roman Catholic Church when Pope John Paul II
proclaimed his Jubilee year Papal Bull on Indulgences.
The Spin was begun that indulgences when rightly understood
are not contrary to Lutheran Confessional understandings relating to Justification.
The ELCM President critiques and comments on many of the
portions of the Papal Bull in this article. |
Church
Missions/ Evangelism |
| Liturgy & Evangelism in Service of the Mysteria
Dei. Discusses Evangelism as focused upon the
Worship style of a congregation. The clear contrast between a Confessional Lutheran
understanding and the contemporary Church Growth understandings is set forth. The Paper is
written by a Pr. Pless of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. |
Church Growth Movement & Charismatic Emphases |
The
Charismatic Movement in The Lutheran Church
by Pastor Julius V. Kimpel This little work by
Pastor Kimpel, a pastor (now deceased) of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, is an
excellent study resource for use by small groups and classes in a congregation. While he
was still living Pastor Kimpel gave permission to Pastor Steward to reprint the
publication. Pastor Steward was then serving as the Vice President Pastor of the LMS-USA
Ministerium and as the Chairman of the LMS-USA Synod and wrote a forward in the study
guide. |
The
Holy Spirit and His Gifts
by Pastor Donald Thorson
(go to the LMS-USA annual Conference presentations area) This Paper by Pastor Thorson of the AALC arose out of deep concern
for the emphasis adopted by many in the AALC that appeared to make gifts such as
"Speaking in tongues", "Healing", etc. into a means of distinguishing
between levels of Christian faith in the church. In this paper, Pastor Thorson examines
these and related areas. |
The Holy
Spirit and His Gifts: The Holy Spirit in the Means of Grace
by Pastor Roy A. Steward. This paper was presented
at an LMS-USA Convention by our current ELCM President when he served as Vice President of
the Ministerium and as Chairman of the Synod. It focuses upon Communion, Baptism, and the
Word as the only means in which we know for sure the Holy Spirit of God is at work. |
| Liturgy & Evangelism in Service of the Mysteria
Dei. Discusses the contrast between a
Confessional Lutheran understanding of Worship and the contemporary Church Growth
understandings. The Paper is written by a Pr. Pless of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. |
ELCM
Triennial General Conference/Synod Presentations
September 20-22, 2002 Triennial General Conference |
"Three Score
and Ten years ago"
Presented by The Rev. Dr. Carl Heinrich Schmutzler, Pastor of Old Zion Lutheran
Church, Philadelphia, PA. A Church History
presentation that looks at the roots of the various problems afflicting Lutheranism in
America in 2002. Published in the October/November 2002 issue of ELCM Quarterly. |
Luther's Catholic
Minimum"
by Dr. Oliver Olson. This is a paper which Dr. Olson
presented in opposition to the Liturgical proposals of the ILCW which led to the Lutheran
Book of Worship (LBW). Dr. Olson points to trends that were present in the Service
Book and Hymnal (SBH) as early as 1958. This paper by Dr. Olson formed the basis
for an earlier presentation made in Springfield, Oregon to the Augsburg Lutheran District
Convention of 2002 entitled: "Liturgy: The Achilles heel" by The Rev. Dr. Oliver
Olson, Minneapolis, Minnesota. |
| The
Augustana Catechism, officially approved by the September 20-22, 2002
Evangelical Lutheran Conference & Ministerium of North America Triennial General
Conference/Synod as a recommended Teaching Catechism for member congregations and pastors. |
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