The Lutheran History Podcast

Image: Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach the Younger "Wittenberg Uses of Law and Gospel" Our guest today Dr. Robert A. Kolb is a professor emeritus of Systematic Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. See the emeritus faculty page at Concordia Lutheran Seminary: Kolb retired in 2009 after 16 years of distinguished service as missions professor of Systematic Theology and Concordia Lutheran Seminary in St. Louis. Before joining the Seminary, he served as director of the Center for Reformation Research, and in various teaching roles in the religion and history departments at Concordia College in St. Paul, Minn. He has taken much time over many years to teach abroad. He also has been involved in several boards—serving both officially on behalf of the LCMS on commissions, and a leader of 16th century and Reformation societies. There is not enough time to list everything he has written, but I included a selection today: He is the author of several books, including The Christian Faith: A Luther Exposition; The Genius of Luther’s Theology: A Wittenberg Way of Thinking for the Contemporary Church with Dr. Charles Arand; Studies of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century; Lutheran Ecclesiastical Culture, 1550-1675; Bound Choice, Election, and Wittenberg Theological Method from Martin Luther to the Formula of Concord; Sources and Contexts of the Book of Concord, co-edited with James A. Nestingen; Teaching God’s Children His Teaching, a Guide to the Study of Luther’s Catechism; and the list goes on. Perhaps where his name is on most Lutheran bookshelves is in the Book of Concord—he was one of the editors and translators of the most used English edition today. He also has written more than 100 articles and a collection of essays. One of the most recent, titled Wittenberg Uses of Law and Gospel, was published in the Fall edition of the 2023 Lutheran Quarterly and is the focus of this podcast episode. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

Image: Wittenberg c. 1530 from the host's personal collection. In May 1536 several prominent Reformed reformers traveled to Wittenberg to confess their understanding of what is received in the sacrament of Holy Communion and who receives it. Luther, Melancthon, and other Lutheran reformers readily signed on in agreement concerning this contentious doctrine. This was seen as a significant breakthrough and a celebrated establishment of fellowship and would later directly influence the Formula of Concord. Read more about this topic here in Gordon Jensen's book. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

In this episode, translator Michael Holmen takes us through J. W. F. Höfling's How the Lutheran Church is Constituted (Grundsätze evangelisch-lutherischer Kirchenverfassung). In his book Höfling describes how the Lutheran church should be constituted according to the principles given in the Lutheran Confessions and in Martin Luther's writings. Höfling sees the teachings of church and ministry in the Lutheran church as being very different from what the Roman Catholic church teaches. In the wake of the 1848 revolutions, he is also concerned about the loss of the sovereigns as the Summepiskopat of the churches in Germany. He offers his advice for how the churches should work towards structuring themselves in the wake of these new conditions. This third edition of his work has extensive endnotes, which are often more like excurses, where he elaborates on what he has said in previous editions and responds to objections from opponents. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

Image: Carl and Gottlieb Damler. These brothers immigrated to Manitowoc County, WI from the principality of Lippe-Detmold in the early 1850s. Although confirmed Reformed, they worshiped first in a union congregation, but then joined the Lutheran church under the leadership of Pastor Koehler. Carl is the host's g-g-g-grandfather. Our returning guest, Pastor Peter Prange, provides a detailed account of the formation and confessional maturation of the Wisconsin Synod, which finally led to its complete break with the German Union mission societies that had given it so much missionary and monetary support and its recognition by the Missouri Synod as an orthodox church preceding the formation of the Synodical Conference. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

Image: Right wing of the Altar Triptych in St. Peter und Paul, Weimar by Cranach - Lutheran princes of the House of Wettin in worship Worship of the triune God has always stood at the center of the Christian life. That was certainly the case during the sixteenth-century Reformation as well. Yet amid tremendous social and theological upheaval, the church had to renew its understanding of what it means to worship God. In this episode, Reformed Reformation scholar Karin Maag takes us inside the worshiping life of the church during this era. Drawing from sources across theological traditions, she explores several aspects of the church's worship, including what it was like to attend church, reforms in preaching, the function of prayer, how Christians experienced the sacraments, and the roles of both visual art and music in worship. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

Image: The Account of How Two Men of the Augustinian Order Were Martyred in Brussels in Brabant for the Sake of the Gospel (Erfurt, 1523) Five hundred years ago, on July 1, 1523, two observant Augustinian monks from Antwerp, Hendrik Voes and Jan van den Esschen, were degraded, condemned, and burned at the stake by Roman Catholic authorities in the Grand Plaza of Brussels, today an UNESCO World Heritage Site. These monks were adherents of Luther’s Reformation doctrine, making them the first Lutheran Christian martyrs and, as Martin Luther himself noted, perhaps the first Christian martyrs ever in the Low Countries. For this episode, we welcome back Pastor Nathaniel Biebert for his mini-series, "Details Less OftenTold," where he examines fascinating hidden details of the Reformation 500 years later. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

Image:Johann Gerhard In this episode, our guest Rev. Caauwe gives a detailed overview of various forms of Lutheran devotional piety developed in the 16th and 17th centuries as well as a discussion on how that devotional heritage has been transferred through the generations. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

(Image: Synodical Conference founders from Lutherans in All Lands, 1896) Dr. C.F.W. Walther worked tirelessly to realize his dream of a Lutheran Zion in North America that would combine and coordinate ministry efforts of faithful Lutherans in the United States and Canada to proclaim the gospel primarily in German, English, and Norwegian. He took center stage in the history of the doctrine and practice of church fellowship among those Lutherans who organized the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America in 1872. With the Spirit's help, six confessional Lutheran church bodies in the American Midwest would forge a gospel ministry partnership that could and would have a profound impact on American and world Lutheranism for decades. But how did it happen? Had these synods discovered the Holy Grail of complete doctrinal agreement? No, they hadn't. Nor did they expect to find it. Instead, the Synodical Conference was founded on fundamental unity, an important fact that has been too often overlooked by subsequent generations of Lutheran church historians and church leaders. But what did these Lutheran fathers mean by fundamental unity? This volume deals with and answers that question and many more. Get the book Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

Listen to this tribute to Alaska's Lutheran history as I prepare to say goodbye to the wonderful 49th state with deep and unique Lutheran roots! Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

"For Midwestern Lutheran synods, the 20th century was especially dramatic and even traumatic. ..In his article, Dr. Braun describes some of the tensions within two predominantly Midwestern Lutheran bodies, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), as these Lutherans struggled to adapt to change without sacrificing eternal truths and treasured traditions. " [Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly 79, 3 (Fall), 180-194] Dr. Mark Braun is a former professor of theology at Wisconsin Lutheran College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is most known for his Tale of Two Synods. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

Image: Reinhold L. Pieper (1850-1920) Isaac Johnson graduated from Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI with a degree in Latin in 2011 and attended Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN. During his time at seminary he spent two years studying at the Lutheran theological seminary (Evangelisch-Lutherische Hochschule) in Oberursel, Germany. He was ordained in 2016 and was called to serve Risen Christ Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa. He now serves New Hope Lutheran Church, a mission congregation in Charles City, Iowa. Isaac has a strong interest in homiletics and the German language and is currently engaged in translating Reinhold Pieper's Homiletics textbook (Evangelish-Lutherische Homiletik) Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

Image: Three generations of Franks and Kerlers in Greenfield 1889. "I prefer America," one German Lutheran immigrant wrote. Letters of German Lutheran immigrants in 19th century America give under-analyzed perspectives of lay members and their views of church establishment and denominational selection. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

Image: Regina, Veronica and Frank Kerler "I prefer America," one German Lutheran immigrant wrote. Letters of German Lutheran immigrants in 19th century America give under-analyzed perspectives of lay members and their views of church establishment and denominational selection. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

In 1929, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) was a small church body serving primarily German immigrants with congregations in twelve states, mostly in the Midwest; the only “foreign” work was a mission on the Apache reservation in Arizona. By 1961, WELS was still only in sixteen states, but WELS missionaries were working in Japan and Central Africa. By 1983, WELS was carrying out mission work in ten foreign nations and had a presence in every state. This mission expansion occurred despite extensive crosses the synod had to bear: the burden of a substantial debt during the Depression years and other financial challenges, a world war, a shortage of pastors at varying times, and a lengthy doctrinal battle with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) that ended in the painful severing of fellowship ties in 1961. In addition, extensive building projects on the ministerial education campuses of the Wisconsin Synod and the establishment and expansion of area Lutheran high schools and Lutheran elementary schools, as well as building programs at local congregations, were also ongoing during this time period. These various challenges and obstacles contributed to internal tensions over budget priorities and synod mission policies. Some of these crosses became catalysts for mission work. By examining primary source materials, this thesis endeavors to demonstrate that WELS had to persevere under numerous heavy crosses in order to carry out a vigorous mission expansion program at home and abroad, resulting in a nationwide and worldwide confessional church body. Read the paper here Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

In this episode, we welcome back Rev. Nathaniel Biebert to continue his mini-series on lesser-known details of 500th anniversaries of the Reformation. Here, we focus on the 500th anniversary of the "September Testament." In this case, almost any detail will be a “detail less often told.” Most Lutherans familiar with Luther’s life are aware that he translated the New Testament into German at the Wartburg in less than eleven weeks, that it was published later that year, that he famously included the word alone in his translation of Romans 3:28, and that his translation (not just of the Testament, but eventually of the Bible as a whole) helped to standardize the German language and to unify German-speaking peoples. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

Today's guest is Pastor Scott Henrich, a WELS pastor serving in Knoxville, Tennessee. His experiences reading historic Lutheran sermons inspired him to research Lutheranism's homiletical heritage in a way that may challenge some contemporary assumptions about the historic perception of Lutheran preaching. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

From his earliest memories to his final legacy, Wyneken’s life story can be told in connection with the catechism. It is a story of Lutheran catechesis on both sides of the Atlantic. It is a story of centuries of Lutheran catechesis practices in German lands. It is a story that highlights the impact of catechesis upon those who immigrated in the 19th century. Wyneken’s ministry unfolds details on the practice of teaching children and adults. His leadership highlighted the clear need to form individual character and congregational culture. He took part in the transition from state to synod catechisms and formed the place of the catechism in the Missouri Synod's mission and identity. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

The Lutheran History Podcast is back! Support the showLutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request FormAbout the Host

Image: Albrecht Dürer The Annunciation Today's guest is Dr. Beth Kreitzer was raised in California and has degrees from Stanford and Duke Universities. Her graduate study in the Program of Religion at Duke focused upon the history of the Church from the patristic era through the early modern period. Her dissertation, upon the images of Mary in Lutheran sermons of the 16th century, was also her first book, "Reforming Mary." Kreitzer's work looks at Lutheran sermons between 1520 and 1580 and the various occasions on the church calendar where Mary is the main or at least a major focus. While some aspects of reforming the Church’s view and use of Mary focused on key concepts like salvation through faith alone through Christ alone, other aspects of reforming Mary seem less doctrinally central but were just as impactful to the life of everyday Christians. You can purchase the book here:https://www.amazon.com/Reforming-Mary-Changing-Sixteenth-Historical/dp/019516654X Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form

Image: The Wartburg Castle taken during my trip there in 2016. In this episode, we continue our series with Pastor Nathaniel Biebert where he digs into the lesser-known details of important milestones in the life of Luther and the Reformation. Here we look at Luther's "capture" on his way back from the Diet of Worms and his time at the Wartburg Castle. Support the show Lutheran History ShopYoutubeFacebookWebsiteInterview Request Form