From the time I was five years old until my college years I attended with my family a Lutheran church (Holy Cross) in Jenison, MI. As this was a member of the conservative Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), I’ve long assumed that the previous church we attended (Faith Lutheran in Grand Rapids, MI) when I was …
Luther’s Augustinian Theology of the Cross, by Marco Barone with foreword by David J. Engelsma. Resource Publications, Eugene, OR. 2017. 141 pp. For first thirty years of my life I was a member of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Though I am now a licensed Presbyterian minister, I have retained a great interest in …
Review of Luther's Augustinian Theology of the Cross Read More »
“We preach faith, and any person not willfully resisting obtains faith.” – C.F.W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between the Law and Gospel, p. 15. Lutheranism is neither Calvinistic nor Arminian. But what is it? There are at least three soteriological views I’ve heard ascribed to modern Lutherans: 1 . Salvation is a paradox. God desires …
Soteriology:Theodicy: This first graph is the Lutheran view of soteriology (as it has taken me years to pry out of them). They believe there are three major soteriological teachings of Scripture (“Christ died for all”, “Not all will be saved”, and “Salvation is a work of God Alone”) and that we should not try to …
Graphical Representation of Lutheran Soteriology and (lacking) Theodicy Read More »
Calvinism and Arminianism are commonly presented as the only two options regarding soteriology, the doctrine of salvation. Either 1) Jesus’ death sufficiently atoned for the sins of a specific number of people elected by God to salvation (as in Calvinism) or 2) Jesus’ death made salvation possible for each and every person who decides to …
