Lutheranism 101 Here you stand, wondering what the Lutheran Church is all about. Lutheranism 101 examines our Lutheran beliefs and heritage in a fresh way. Whether you are a lifelong Lutheran searching for more information or new to Lutheranism looking to understand what we believe, this book will be your guide. Explore the basics of Lutheran theology, Dig into the history of Lutheranism, Make connections between what Lutherans believe and what Lutherans do, Visit Iutheranism101.com Book jacket.

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Lutheranism 101 Holy Baptism examines how Jesus establishes Baptism as the sacrament that makes us children of God and delivers the gracious gifts of God- forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil, and eternal salvation-to all who believe this. Whether you are a lifelong Lutheran or new to Lutheranism and wondering what Holy Baptism is all about, this book will be your guide. Lutheranism 101 Holy Baptism: digs into the basics of Lutheran theology; examines the importance of Holy Baptism for the believer; explores how Holy Baptism shapes the whole life of a believer; makes connections between Holy Baptism and the whole of Lutheran doctrine and teaching. Book jacket.

The doctrine of theosis has enjoyed a recent resurgence among varied theological traditions across the realms of historical, dogmatic, and exegetical theology. In Christification: A Lutheran Approach to Theosis, Jordan Cooper evaluates this teaching from a Lutheran perspective. He examines the teachings of the church fathers, the New Testament, and the Lutheran Confessional tradition in conversation with recent scholarship on theosis. Cooper proposes that the participationist soteriology of the early fathers expressed in terms of theosis is compatible with Luther's doctrine of forensic justification. The historic Lutheran tradition, Scripture, and the patristic sources do not limit soteriological discussions to legal terminology, but instead offer a multifaceted doctrine of salvation that encapsulates both participatory and forensic motifs. This is compared and contrasted with the development of the doctrine of deification in the Eastern tradition arising from the thought of Pseudo-Dionysius. Cooper argues that the doctrine of the earliest fathers--such as Irenaeus, Athanasius, and Justin--is primarily a Christological and economic reality defined as "Christification." This model of theosis is placed in contradistinction to later Neoplatonic forms of deification.

Why are you Lutheran? It's a valid question in this modern age of denominations, distinctions, and choices.

And strangely, almost no scholarly attention has been given to the relationships between Lutheranism and Judaism as they affect the St. John Passion. Through a reappraisal of Bach's work and its contexts, Michael Marissen confronts Bach and Judaism directly, providing interpretive commentary that could serve as a basis for more informed and sensitive discussions of this troubling work.

In a clear, nontechnical way, this noted Reformation historian tells the story of how the nascent reforming and confessional movement sparked and led by Martin Luther survived its first battles with religious and political authorities to become institutionalized in its religious practices and teachings. Gritsch then traces the emergence of genuine consensus at the end of the sixteenth century, followed by the age of Lutheran Orthodoxy, the great Pietist reaction, Lutheranisms growing diversification during the Industrial Revolution, its North American expansion, and its increasingly global and ecumenical ventures in the last century.