IC 2620 LUTHERAN
CONFESSIONAL WRITINGS
FALL SEMESTER 2007
Mary Jane Haemig – mhaemig@luthersem.edu
Patrick Keifert
– pkeifert@luthersem.edu
Tuesday, 10:40 am – 12:30 pm (NW 100)
Thursday,
10:40 am – 11:30 am (NW 100)
The
Lutheran Confessions are inherently missional documents. Concerned with
clearly speaking God’s word into the heart of the human situation, the Lutheran
Confessions are central to any thinking about mission today. In this
course, we will explore the Confessor’s witness to Jesus as our roots and as
the source of our freedom for mission in new era of mission.
This new
era of mission has many local embodiments.
In this course, we will particularly consider the Lutheran Confessions
in the context of the American West. The American West, multicultural,
multireligious, and in some respects pagan, is an area growing not only in
population but in political, cultural, social, and economic influence.
Westerners are largely detached from any European immigrant heritage or may be
tied closely to an Asian or Hispanic immigrant heritage. Their worldview
is shaped by the seemingly endless possibilities both of natural resources and
of industries relying on human ingenuity. Their values emphasize the
importance of neighborliness, family (conceived in multiple ways), openness,
and tolerance for other viewpoints. The Westerner’s first question may
well be “who needs the gospel?” Those who hope to minister in the 21st
century must learn to speak gospel to these people.
Course objectives:
- To know the historical
situation in which the Lutheran Confessions were written.
- To understand the Lutheran
confessions’ witness to the Gospel.
- To see how the Lutheran
confessions may function to inform the proclamation of the Gospel in the
church today.
- A fluent working knowledge of the Small Catechism
and the Augsburg Confession.
Texts:
Kolb, Robert and Timothy Wengert,
eds. The Book of Concord: The Confessions
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Grane, Leif. The Augsburg Confession: A Commentary.
Wengert, Timothy. A Formula for Parish Practice: Using the
Formula of Concord in Congregations.
Recommended: Arand, Charles. That I
May Be His Own.
Lecture Schedule:
September
Week 1 11 Introduction
(P. Keifert)
11 Historical
Background (Mary Jane Haemig)
13 Historical Background (Mary Jane Haemig)
Week 2 18 Confessional
Subscription (P. Keifert)
18 Sola
Scriptura (P. Keifert)
20 Law
as a Theological Category (P. Keifert)
Week 3 25 Catechism
and Parish Practice (Mary Jane Haemig)
25 Commandments
(Mary Jane Haemig)
27 Law
and the Lutheran Witness (P. Keifert)
October
Week 4 2 Justification
(Mary Jane Haemig)
2 Precept/Review of Sola Scriptura
4 Precept
Week 5 9 Justification
and the Christological Witness (P. Keifert)
9 Bondage of the Will (P. Keifert)
13 Precept
Week 6 16 Lord’s
Prayer (Mary Jane Haemig)
16 Lord’s Prayer (Mary Jane Haemig)
18 Precept
22-23
25 Last
chance to take mid-term (class will not meet)
ALL MID-TERMS MUST BE
COMPLETED BY OCTOBER 26 (11:30 AM)
Week 7 30 Faith and
Good Works (P. Keifert)
30 Holy Spirit (P. Keifert)
November 1 Precept
Week 8 6 Holy
Spirit (P. Keifert)
6 Baptism
(Mary Jane Haemig)
8 Precept
Week 9 13 The Church (Mary Jane Haemig)
13 The Church (P. Keifert)
15 Precept
17-25 Thanksgiving Break
Week 10 27 Adiaphora (Mary Jane Haemig)
27 The Lord’s Supper (Mary Jane Haemig)
29 Precept
December
Week 11 4 The
Lord’s Supper in Christological Witness (P. Keifert)
4 The
Lutheran Confessions and the Ecumenical Movement (P. Keifert)
6 Confession
and Absolution (P. Keifert)
Week 12 11 Confession
and Absolution (Mary Jane Haemig)
11 Precept
13 Ministry (Mary Jane Haemig)
Week 13 18 Ministry
(P. Keifert)
18 Course Review
Take Home Final Due December 21
Requirements
1. Two
Exams:
a.
The
mid-term exam tests fluency with the Augustana and the Small Catechism
(Sections I-VI). Sign-ups for this exam
will be posted outside of Dr. Keifert’s door.
Any questions regarding this exam can be directed to the teaching assistant.
“Fluency” is defined as memorizing the Small Catechism and knowing the titles
and basic topics of each section of the Augustana (Augsburg Confession).
b.
The
final is essay questions, which will be handed out a week in advance to be
completed at home, part of which will be a case study developed out of preceptorial
conversations with congregations.
2. Precepts:
These are designed to relate
confessional theology to Lutheran parish life and witness in a multi-cultural
context. You will receive more
information on these later.
3. Regular
Class Attendance
Students are expected to attend all
classes. Unexcused failure to attend six
or more class sessions (including precepts) will result in an automatic FAIL
for the course.
Please note: Excuses are granted only for the serious
illness or death of yourself or an immediate family member. (If you have another important reason to miss class, please speak with
the instructor.) We will not change
schedules, exam dates, and requirements for other reasons, e.g., student travel
plans.
Students should complete readings
before precept.
Week 1
BC
1-29, 107-11, 295-6, 329-330, 345-351, 377-386, 481-5
Grane
1-28; Wengert 1-15
Week 2
BC
30-105, 345-376; 486-487, 524-531.
Nils Dahl “The Lutheran Exegete and
the Confessions of his Church,”
Lutheran World
v6 pp2-10
Week 3
BC
345-431.
Grane
29-49, 166-177, 190-193
Week 4
BC
107-173, 354-356, 431-440
LW
vol. 33: 246-295
Grane
50-68
Week 5
BC
231-235, 277-294, 310-311,
487-497,
531-573
LW
vol. 35: 155-174
Grane
178-189; Wengert 16-61
Week 6
BC 356-358, 440-456
LW vol. 42, pp. 87-93
Week 7
BC 40-41, 52-59, 235-245, 497-503,
574-591;
Grane 81-88, 194-210
Wengert 62-102
Week 8
BC
183-4, 359-360; 371-5, 456-467;
481-573;
Grane
103-112, 145-150, 228-233
Week 9
BC
42-3, 174-183, 295-343;
Grane
89-102, 217-220, 234-251
Week 10
BC
222-230, 247-257, 277-294,
362-363,
467-480, 515-516, 635-640
Grane
113-165, 215-240
Wengert
165-179
Week 11
BC 19-25, 258-277, 360-363, 467-480,
503-515, 591-635, 574-660
Wengert
103-164, 180-214
Week 12
BC
184-222, 360-33, 467-480
Grane
127-144, 221-227
Week 13
BC
40-41, 46-49, 90-103, 222-230, 289-298, 329-344
Grane
69-80, 151-165, 241-249
Bibliography:
The authoritative edition of the
confession in German and Latin, the original languages, is Die Bekenntnisschriften der evangelisch-luterischen Kirche 7th ed.,
rev. Goetingen: Vandenhoeck and
Ruprecht, 1976.
The
best English translations are:
Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church,
ed. by F. Bente and W. H. Dau, 1917.
The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church, tr. and ed.
Theodore G. Tappert et. al., 1959.
A nearly
complete and up-to-date bibliography of confessional literature may be found in
Neelak S. Tjernagel, ed., The Lutheran
Confessions: A Harmony and Resource Book.
Recommended Reading
Anderson,
Charles S. Faith and Freedom: The Christian Faith According to the Lutheran
Confessions.
Bente,
P. Historical
Introduction to the Book of Concord.
Burgess,
J.A., ed. The Role of the Augsburg Confession, Catholic ‑ Lutheran Views.
Fagerberg,
Holsten. A New Look at the Lutheran Confessions 1529‑1537.
Forde,
Gerhard O. Justification by Faith: A Matter
of Death and Life.
Forell,
George W. and James F. McCue, eds. Confessing One Faith: A Joint Commentary on the Augsburg Confession
by Lutheran and Catholic Theologians.
Kingdon,
Robert M., ed. The Sixteenth Century Journal: The Formula of Concord: Quadricentennial
Essays. Vol. VIII, No. 4, 1972.
Kolb, Robert. Confessing the Faith: Reformers
Define the Church, 1530-1580. Concordia 1991.
Maurer,
Wilhelm. Historical Commentary on the Augsburg Confession.
Mildenberger,
Friedrich. Theology of the Lutheran
Confessions.
Tavard,
George. Justification: An Ecumenical Approach. Paulist Press, 1983.
E.L.C.A.
Constitution.
Bibliography for Additional Reading
Confessional Studies
Allbeck, Willard D. Studies
in the Lutheran Confession.
Aulen, Gustaf. Reformation
and Catholicity.
Bente, F. Historical
Introduction to the Book of Concord.
Bergendoff, Conrad. The
Church of the Lutheran Reformation.
Elert, Werner. The
Structure of Lutheranism.
Gensichen, Hans‑Werner. We
Condemn: How Luther and 16 Century
Lutheranism Condemned False Doctrine.
Krauth, Charles P. The
Conservative Reformation and Its Theology.
LC‑MS & National Lutheran
Council. Essays on the Lutheran Confessions Basic to Lutheran Cooperation.
Neve, J. L. Introduction
to the Symbolical Books of the Lutheran Church.
Schaff, Philip. The
Creeds of Christendom. 3 vols.
Spitz, Lewis and Wenzel Lohff,
eds. Discord,
Dialogue, and Concord: Studies in the
Lutheran Reformation's Formula of Concord.
Vajta, Vilmos and Hans Weissgerber,
eds. The
Church and the Confessions: The Role of
the Confessions in the Life and Doctrine of the Lutheran Churches.
The Augsburg Confession
Forell, George. The
Augsburg Confession: A Contemporary
Commentary.
Kimme, August. Theology
of the Augsburg Confession.
Neve, J. L. The
Augsburg Confession.
Reu, M. J. The
Augsburg Confession: A Collection of
Sources with a Historical Introduction.
1930.
Luther's Catechisms
Girgensohn, Herbert. Teaching
Luther's Catechism. 2 vols.
Mueller, J. T. Luther's Large Catechism. 1929.
Nestingen, James A. and Gerhard O.
Forde. Free to Be: A Handbook to the
Small Catechism.
Reu, M. J. Dr.
Martin Luther's Small Catechism.
1929.
Holy Spirit, Church, and Sacraments
Aulen, Gustaf. Eucharist
and Sacrifice.
Hicks, F. C. N. The
Fullness of Sacrifice: An Essay in Reconciliation.
Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue. Vol.
III. The Eucharist as Sacrifice. Published jointly by U.S.A. National
Committee of the Lutheran World Federation and the Bishops' Committee for
Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, 1967.
Prenter, Regin. Spiritus Creator.
Preus, Herman. The
Communion of Saints. 1948.
Sasse, Hermann. This is
My Body.
Schlink, Edmund. The
Doctrine of Baptism.
Tappert, Theodore G. The
Lord's Supper, Past and Present Practices.
The Formula of
Kolb, Robert. Andreae
and the Formula of
Jungkuntz, Theodore. Formulators
of the Formula of
Klug, Eugene & Otto
Stahlke. Getting into the Formula of
Scaer, David P. Getting
into the Story of