The Augsburg Confession is one of the most important Lutheran confessions which represent the faith and true identity of Lutheran teaching. It is one of the parts in the Book of Concord and together with others parts in the Book of Concord, they confess state valid interpretations of the faith of the Church.
In relation to missiology and mission practice, some people might argue that the Augsburg Confession does not have a fundamental missiological element. One reason might be because there is no specific word “mission” or “missiology” written in the content of the Augsburg Confession. They also critique Luther for the lack of his mission theology.
As David J. Bosch notes, Gustav Warneck, one important figure in missiology who critiqued
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This paper challenges missiological element of the Augsburg Confession by first looking at several articles in this confession. It further argues that a proper understanding of the Augsburg Confession should be taken into account by Lutheran Churches in their mission calling. This paper will also investigate the book God for Us in light of the missiological implementation which revealed in the Augsburg Confession. Finally, this paper will introduce some missiological ideas which can assist in the formation of Christian faith in my own context of mission and ministry.
Article I of the Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession begins its article with the teaching of one God, and as this first article states, “There is to say, there is one divine essence which is called God and is God: eternal, incorporeal, indivisible, of immeasurable power, wisdom, and goodness, the creator and preserver of all things, visible and invisible” (AC 1:2; Kolb and Wengert: 37), it has missiological implementation to introduce the one God. It is necessary to introduce one God in the midst of various religious claims of
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God justifies man through the means of grace; delivers him from rebellion, sin, and death; subjects him under His kindly reign; and leads the redeemed community toward the final goal in history (2009: 97). David Bosch notes that there is important to distinguish mission (singular) and missions (plural). He sees that mission refers to the missio Dei and missions relates to specific times, places, or needs, of participation in the missio Dei. As he says, “(God’s mission is) God’s self-revelation as the One who loves the world, God’s involvement in and with the world, the nature and activity of God, which embraces both the church and the world, and in which the church is privileged to participate”, this is his definition of mission Dei (2011:10).
Schulz also puts his concern on the understanding of the term mission and missions. He gives his own explanation on this matter as he says, “Mission is reserved for describing the activity of God, in particular His work in reconciling sinful humankind to Himself, whereas missions implies the activities of the various denominations or congregations as they plan to accomplish the mission of God” (2009:
James Kittelson’s biography on the life of Luther is thought provoking and informative. Kittelson does not have a concise thesis, but as it is a biography the central theme of Luther the Reformer is an insightful narrative of Martin Luther’s life from his birth in Eisleben until his death on February 18, 1546 in Eisleben. Kittelson thoroughly and with great detail and sources explains Luther’s mission to reform the catholic church. Luther the Reformer seeks to condense Luther’s life in a manner which is more easily read for those who do not know the reformer’s story well. Luther is portrayed not only as a theologian throughout the book, but as a person with struggles and connections throughout the Germanic region in which he lived. Luther’s theology is portrayed throughout the entirety of the book, and Kittelson approaches Luther’s theology by explaining Luther’s past. The inclusion of
One of the most debated topics within the Christian churches today is baptism. This debate began during the 16th Century reformation, where on the base of Scripture many theologians separated from the Catholic Church. A prime example of this debated topic can be seen in The Augsburg Confession, "Concerning Baptism." "Concerning baptism they teach that it is necessary for salvation, that the grace of God is offered through baptism, and that children should be baptized... They condemn the Anabaptists who disapprove of the baptism of children and assert that children are saved without baptism." Luther centered his baptism theology on the salvations promises of God. He stressed forgiveness of sins received by baptism when the believer puts his or her trust in that promise. Luther's emphasis on the saving work of Christ Jesus, and his belief that the Church of Rome still had some things right, led him to accept the baptism of infants. Luther saw baptism as a sign of the covenant God had made with us at Calvary. The understanding and acceptance of infant baptism is seen widely throughout by modern Christian denominations such as: Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Episcopalians. The idea of infant baptism is contested by some denominations as well including Baptists and many Church of Christ congregations.
In 1517, Martin Luther wrote what would lead to the Protestant Reformation, the 95 theses (Pavao). Luther's theses is composed of ninety- five statements about the Roman Catholic Church that he didn't agree with, by posting his theses on the doors of the cathedral at Wittenberg he was looking to engage in debate with fellow theologians (Pavao). In a matter of weeks Germans that agreed with him about Church practices were printing and spreading his theses. The following will be a discussion of the 95 theses and some of the ideas presented that give an idea of the problems in the Church of his time.
In I.17.1 of John Calvin’s work, Calvin argues that people do not need to worry about anything they do not understand because God takes care of everything. It is important to understand that this is not the beginning of Calvin’s Institutes of Christian Religion, because his points in chapter sixteen set the basis for his argument in this next section. Chapter sixteen on providence gives the foundation of
After translating The Bible into German, Martin Luther paved the way for Lutheranism. Luther believed that one must not repent their sins by payment or indulgences. He believed we simply needed to have faith in Christ and that salvation came from God. Luther also believed that priests should not be celibate. His beliefs also rejected the ideas of purgatory. Lastly, Lutheranism did not view transubstantiation in the same way as with Catholicism. Though Lutheranism maintained the closest in practices of the Catholic Church, it was their abuses of those sacraments that swayed Luther to reform. His initial intention was not to d...
Through combining the spiritual concerns of Martin Luther and ambitions of German monarchy, the Protestant Reformation was produced. Martin Luther, a German theologian, stirred up much controversy when he presented his 95 theses attacking abuses within the church in 1517 (Obelkevich 83). He set the stage for Protestant reform with the idea of Christianity lying in direct communication with God and not direct communication with the Pope. Lutheran reformers claimed the Bible rather than the church as the source of all religious authority. Considerably, many Lutheran followers would have stayed in the church if nonbiblical practices had been eliminated. In 1530, Lutherans and Reformed Christians confessed they could not compromise with Catholics or each other at the Diet of Augsburg (Aston 162).
The political organization and religion aspects during the 16th century influenced Protestant Reformation to occur in Germany. Martin Luther’s writings reflect on his views and perspectives of German politics and religion at the time. Martin Luther’s ideas in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation and The Statement of Grievances mentions Martin Luther’s thoughts about how corrupt the church is, why the corruption in the church needs to end, and what Martin Luther’s ideas are to change the way of the church.
As each detail of the Protestant reformation is further examined and the interconnected theological perspectives and practices are considered, they represent a crucial aspect of the movement as a whole. Almost acting as building block for one another, each individual movements represents a piece that is essential for the practices of Protest Christianity to transcend. As Luther introduces the ninety five theses to the Catholic Church, he sparks a change. Even though the aims and intricate aspects of each do not inline, the tenacity is affluent in each. Because they each required an ability to clash against the established traditions of Christianity to establish for themselves the connection between the practice of Christianity and the actual Word of God.
Forde, Gerhard, O. On Being a Theologian of the Cross: Reflections on Luther's Heidelberg Disputation, 1518. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997.
Lynn Malone, is currently the senior pastor at First United Methodist Church in Monroe, Louisiana. On June 13, 2008, Malone gave a homily that entailed a very key component of the Christian faith, the church. In this homily, the main concept of the homily is the church as being one whole entity. Throughout the homily, numerous examples are given that exemplify this concept. I will be discussing two themes more in depth throughout this paper, the Christian Church as one entity, and the universality of Christianity and Christ’s teachings.
During Luther’s early life he faced a severe inner crisis. When he sinned he looked for comfort in confession and followed the penance, the fasting, prayer and observances that the church directed him. But, he found no peace of mind and worried about his salvation. But reading St. Paul’s letters he came to believe that salvation came though faith in Christ. Faith is a free gift, he discovered, it cannot be earned. His studies led him to a conclusion that, “Christ was the only mediator between God and a man and that forgiveness of sin and salvation are given by god’s grace alone” (Martin Luther, 01). Historians agree that, “this approach to theology led to a clash between Luther and the Church officials, precipitating the dramatic events of Reformation”.
“The Changing Face of World Missions” attempts to educate readers as well as evaluate certain trends which are taking place around the world in the area of missions. The book is divided into three sections; which are the global context of missions, missional context, and strategic context. The authors describe the chapters by saying, “(t)he global context describes major trends in the world in which we minister; the missional context deals with trends internal to the body of Christ and the mission community; and the strategic context focuses on trends of a strategic or procedural nature” (14). The thesis for the book is found on page twelve where the authors e...
This God is the sole origin of reality, creating what is good, and a world of order
“The Mission” is based on a true story that occurred around the borderlands of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil in the years 1750’s according to the film and history. The Treaty of Madrid of 1750 with the Spanish and Portuguese caused both havoc and death for the people of the Guarini and the members of the Jesuits. The Jesuits, members of the church, tried to bring Christianity and civilization to the natives while keeping at peace with Spain and Portugal. The Jesuits were the teachers for the natives; Teaching them not only the Christian religion but also civilization. Father Gabriel, a Jesuit, is first introduced in the film when he is showing his respects to a former Jesuit priest killed by the natives. He walks through the South American
The Catholic Church has many avenues for teaching the word of God. This is a difficult task due to language barriers and variations in interpretations of various church documents. The complications of these interpretations are exampled in such terms as inspiration, inerrancy and canon. This essay will briefly describe these terms and attempt to shed some light on how the Catholic Church uses them in the interpretation of biblical documents.