Twentieth Century Lutheran Theologians

This collection of essays examines important twentieth-century Lutheran theologians, including European and North American voices. Each essay provides an overview of the life and thought of important confessional Lutherans who shaped theology with an ecumenical, world-wide impact. The focus here is not on later twentieth-century figures but earlier ones, selected similar to the spirit manifest in Karl Barth's contention »lest we forget where contemporary theology came from« (Protestant Theology From Rousseau to Ritschl). The essays composed over the last five years were initiated by Lutheran Quarterly in order to assess our recent past as we move into a new millennium. The goal of each author, each a leading theologian, has been to describe each thinker's life and vocation and how each thinker's work continues to impact theology today.

This collection of essays examines important twentieth-century Lutheran theologians, including European and North American voices. Each essay provides an overview of the life and thought of important confessional Lutherans who shaped theology with an ecumenical, world-wide impact. The focus here is not on later twentieth-century figures but earlier ones, selected similar to the spirit manifest in Karl Barth’s contention »lest we forget where contemporary theology came from« (Protestant Theology From Rousseau to Ritschl). The essays composed over the last five years were initiated by Lutheran Quarterly in order to assess our recent past as we move into a new millennium. The goal of each author, each a leading theologian, has been to describe each thinker’s life and vocation and how each thinker’s work continues to impact theology today.

This collection of essays, a companion volume to the book, Twentieth-Century Lutheran Theologians (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013), examines important nineteenth-century figures from the perspective of contemporary European and North-American scholars. Each essay provides an overview of the life and central ideas of a key Lutheran/Protestant theologian who has had a significant impact on theological reflection down to the present. The focus here is on those thinkers who were active between 1799 (the year when Schleiermacher's Speeches appeared) and the First World War. These are individuals who deserve repeated examination, whose insights are still worth pondering today, and whose theological positions help us to understand better "where contemporary theology has come from" (Karl Barth). All of the essays were initiated by the journal Lutheran Quarterly in order to assess our theological heritage as we move further into a new millennium. The goal of the authors, each a leading theologian, has been to describe a given thinker's life and vocation and how that person's work continues to impact theology today.

The only one-volume anthology of twentieth- century theology. Indispensable to understanding the advent and import of today's radically pluralistic scene, this unique historical anthology presents thirty- seven signal readings from key theologians of this century. Outstanding interpreters of these figures and their generative ideas, Braaten and Jenson offer solid and sympathetic introductions and a clear scheme, a roadmap that makes sense of the fundamental and formative questions, concerns, "schools," and movements that have animated the theological enterprise in this explosive century from 1900 right up to the threshold of contemporary currents.

Carl Braaten’s memoirs tell the story of his life as a theologian, from his early years as a missionary kid in Madagascar to his years of study at the universities of Paris, Harvard, Heidelberg, and Oxford to his decades of teaching. Throughout the book, he delves into the many theological movements, controversies, and personalities that shaped his thinking and writing. Braaten’s fight for the faith is reflected in his theological work―spoken and written―that tangles with the “isms” of the surrounding culture of American religion. Because of Christ is more than simply a biography; it is a chronicle of the chief theological conflicts of the twentieth century that put the integrity of the gospel to the test.

This book is an invaluable survey and memoir of 20th century coming-of-age American Lutheran theology and the fractious company of theologians who made it happen. Written as a "participant observer" in the story he tells, it not only offers crisp summaries of theological ideas but also unique insight into the persons and events from which the ideas came.

Preliminary Material /George Harinck and Dirk van Keulen --Introduction /George Harinck and Dirk van Keulen --Swiss Reformed Theology in the Twentieth Century /Christian Zangger --Reformed Theology in Germany in the Twentieth Century /Georg Plasger --A Christianized Society according to Reformed Principles: Theological Developments in The Netherlands in the Twentieth Century /Abraham van de Beek --The Theological Course of the Reformed Churches in The Netherlands /Dirk van Keulen --From Common Grace to Secularization /Barend Kamphuis --Reformed Theology in Britain in the Twentieth Century: A Bibliographical Survey /Allan Sell --The Theological Reflection of the Transylvanian Reformed Church in the Twentieth Century /Botond Gudor and Foka van de Beek --From Princeton to Wheaton: /John Bolt --Reconciling Two Kingdoms and One Lord: Conservative Presbyterians and Political Liberalism in the United States /Darryl Hart --On Adventures and Misfortunes: More Stories about Reformed Theology in South Africa /Dirkie Smit --'Our own Point of View ... ': /Dolf Britz --A Reformed-Theological Perspective on the Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika and Apartheid /Dries le Roux du Plooy --An Historical Survey of the Church and Theology of the Reformed Tradition in Korea /Yung-Jae Kim --List of Contributors /George Harinck and Dirk van Keulen --Index of Names /George Harinck and Dirk van Keulen.

Questions about Lutherans and the Holy Spirit? This book probes Lutheranism from Luther to the Formula of Concord (1517–1577) and presents a striking consistency regarding the Holy Spirit among Lutheran Reformers. The Holy Spirit dominated Luther’s writing, not only in theology, but in all aspects of living out God’s will. Six of the theologians researched in this book were also pastors dealing with enormous challenges from government interference, war, religious disputes, and, as Luther declared, “The rage of the devil.” The solution was not brilliant arguments or “best practices.” The solution to a Christian’s guilty conscience or lukewarm faith was not trying harder or doing good works. Rather, it was to confess failure, to eliminate self-dependence, and to cry out to the Holy Spirit, who alone is totally sufficient in every situation. Theologians, pastors, missionaries, Sunday-school teachers, workers and retirees, moms and dads, students and kids—everyone—is powerless to accomplish anything in the kingdom of God. Only the Holy Spirit is able to change hearts and meet needs. He graciously responds to all who call. Yes, the work of the Holy Spirit and his power is Lutheran, for Luther in the sixteenth century and for Lutherans today.