Essays

Confessing the Faith in the Language of America The Historical Context and Enduring Significance of the Henkel Translation of the Book of Concord DAVID JAY WEBBER    In the words of Gerhard Friedrich Bente, The Lutheran Church differs from all other churches in being essentially the Church of the pure Word and unadulterated Sacraments. Not the great number of her adherents, not her organizations, not her charitable and other institutions, not her beautiful customs and liturgical forms, etc., but the…

The Nicene Creed and the Filioque: A Lutheran Approach DAVID JAY WEBBER  On November 4, 1998, representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas approved “A Lutheran-Orthodox Common Statement on Faith in the Holy Trinity.” This communiqué addresses, among other things, the historic debate between the Eastern and Western branches of Christendom on the subject of the Filioque clause in the Nicene Creed. The older Greek version of the Creed, used…

Some Thoughts on the Divine Call to the Ecclesiastical Ministry of Word and Sacrament DAVID JAY WEBBER Prepared for the General Pastoral Conference of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, 30 August 1999  As indicated by the title of this paper, I am here offering “some thoughts” about the Lutheran doctrine of the Ministry, and about the Lutheran doctrine of the Call to the Ministry. This paper is not, and is not intended to be, a comprehensive presentation on these subjects. All…

Are the Lutheran Confessions a Practical Document Today? DAVID JAY WEBBER I.  Are the Lutheran Confessions a practical document today? This is the question that has been posed for the purposes of this paper, and this is the question that we will seek to answer. However, before we reach any conclusions about whether or not the Confessions are “practical,” we must first be clear on the question of what the Confessions are.  First, the Lutheran Confessions are sound Biblical exegesis.…

Church and State, Congregation and Synod With Special Reference to the Church Polity of the Lutheran Church in the Netherlands in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries DAVID JAY WEBBER Basic Principles The authority of civil government has its origin in God and in God’s will for the temporal welfare of the human race. Therefore we should honor the State as an institution of God for the regulation of the outward affairs of men, that we may lead quiet and peaceable…