Full Text for Faithful to our calling, faithful to our Lord. Part 2 (Text)

FAITHFUL TO OUR CALLINGFAITHFUL TO OUR LORDAN AFFIRMATION IN TWO PARTSBYTHE FACULTY OF CONCORDIA SEMINARYPART III BELIEVEPersonal Confessions of Faith and Discussion of IssuesFaculty of Concordia Seminary. FaithfulTo Our Calling, Faithful To Our Lord.Part 2. St. Louis: Concordia Seminary, [1973].Public Domain.I BELIEVEINTRODUCTIONSt. Peter has told us, "Be ready at all times to answer anyone whoasks you to explain the hope you have in you" (1 Peter 3:15). The Faculty ofConcordia Seminary, St. Louis, is grateful for this opportunity to explain itshope and to confess its faith. By means of this publication, entitled "IBelieve," it shares with the church at large the witness it makes dailythrough teaching and preaching on the seminary campus.Many have requested that the Faculty of our school state its faithand present its position on controverted issues. After the “Report of theSynodical President” was issued in September 1972, the Faculty announcedthat it would “present to the Synod in the months ahead detailed evidenceof our own solid Lutheran convictions." Out of that decision issued a jointstatement by the faculty entitled, "A Witness To Our Faith," which is Part Iof this two-part publication and a companion piece to this booklet.In the meantime the Council of Presidents met on ourcampus andsuggested a course of action to our faculty: "we encourage each of theprofessors of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, to assure the church of hisBiblical and confessional stance by setting forth (in writing), for use indiscussion forums, what is believed, taught and confessed, giving specialattention to the theological issues in controversy among us today such asLaw and Gospel; Holy Scripture, its purpose, authority, infallibility, unity,and its interpretation; the relationship of the Gospel and Holy Scripture;the canonical text; Old Testament prophecy; and original sin, that weencourage these professors and the church to regard this exercise as anopportunity to edify the church."The Faculty accepted the suggestion of the Council of Presidents.When each member of the Faculty had completed his confession, theFaculty informed the Council of Presidents that itsindividual statements were now ready for use in discussion forums. TheCouncil of Presidents then asked the faculty to supply each member of theCouncil with a set of the individual confessions of faculty members.Therefore the faculty resolved to send them to the Council of Presidentsand to make them available to the church at large.It is important to keep a number of things in mind in reading theindividual confessions which follow.1) The individual confessions were written to fulfill a request by theCouncil of Presidents that each professor "assure the church of his Biblicaland confessional stance" in two ways, a) by stating what he believes,teaches, and confesses, and b) by giving special attention to theologicalissues in controversy among us today. The request explains the form of theindividual confessions. In most cases faculty members deal withcontroverted issues as they make specific affirmations of their faith.Because of their specific teaching responsibilities, not ail faculty membersare as conversant with ail the controverted issues to the same degree.2) Faculty members followed no predetermined format in writingtheir confessions. Therefore the individual confessions are as varied inform as the personalities of the individual authors.3) The individual confessions were written "for use in discussionforums," as proposed by the Council of Presidents. They are intended to beplatforms for discussion, not exhaustive or comprehensive treatments ofarticles of faith or theological issues. They are statements to begindiscussion, discourse, and dialog.4) The individual confessions should be seen as companionstatements to the Faculty's common statement, "A Witness to Our Faith.”Both statements, individual and corporate, are intended to complementone another.In resolving to publish their individual confessions along with theirjoint affirmation, the Faculty stated: "We implore God the Holy Spirit tobless this decision and to use these statements to edify the church inserving as a basis for discussion forums, to reassure those who havequestions about us, and to advance the process of fraternal conversation bywhich the unity of the church is realized among us."In the confessions that follow, I joyfully begin with my own. Aftermy confession and those of two other administrators the confessions of thefaculty follow in aiphabetical order. May these words of witness by thosecalled by the Church to teach, encourage your own faith. "And now Icommend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to buildyou up and to give you the inheritance among all those who aresanctified." (Acts 20:32)John H. Tietjen,PresidentJohn H. TietjenPresidentI believe in one God, the Almighty Father, Who sent His Son, ChristJesus, into His created world to free all mankind from slavery to evil for lifeas His children and Who sent the Spirit of His Son finto the hearts of mento enable us to call Him Father, to tive together in love as brothers, and toreceive the inheritance of eternal life which God gives His children.God is at work in the world and present in my life to rescue and tosave. The mighty acts of redernption which God did in the history of Hisservant people Israel and which He did in an ultimate and unique waythrough His servant Son Jesus God continued to do in our world for us.Nothing is more important than to proclaim the good news which is God'spower to save all who believe. Nothing is more crucial for the church inour time than to recover a commitment to its mission of proclaiming God'sgood news to the worid. Through the Gospel words we speak and thesacramental actions we perform we are instruments by which God does forothers the mighty acts which He has done for us and for all who believe inChrist.God is mightily at work to save because He is our Father, the verySource of our lives. He is Creator of the universe, Who has made me andall creatures. The world and human life are not the result of accident orchance but the product of God's purpose and plan. God made us to livewith Him and for Him.From our very beginning we human beings have rebelled againstour Creator. From our first parents to the present generation we havechosen to live without God, we have rebelled against His will, we havefailed to fulfill His purpose for our lives. We are in fact born dead intrespasses and sins.In His grace God did not give us up to the judgment we deserved,nor did He abandon us to our bondage to evil and death. Out of Hisinfinite love God had mercy on a fallen and lost mankind. Out of all thenations of the world He chose Abraham and his descendants to be Hisservant-people through whom He would bring blessing to the world.Among the people of Israel God sent His Son into the world, born by thepower of the Holy Spirit of a virgin mother, to reveal His grace and truth toall mankind.Through Jesus Christ God reconciled the world to Himself. By Hislife, death, and resurrection Jesus Christ atoned for our sins and redeemedus from our bondage to evil and death. By gaining the forgiveness of sinsfor us Christ has made it possible for us to be in fellowship with God andto live under Him in His kingdom. As a result of Christ's redeeming workGod has poured out His Spirit on all who believe in Christ and arebaptized in His name. Those upon whom God's Spirit comes are bornanew with God's own life and become living members of the Body ofChrist, the Church. God is mightily at work in their lives, enabling them todo His will, empowering them to love, uniting them in the bond of peace,and equipping them to be instruments of His grace and mercy. Godcontinues to do His saving work in their lives, forgiving sins, healingdiseases, transforming evilinto good. God will keep on doing His savingwork for them until Jesus Christ comes to earth again to bring history to anend, to judge the living and the dead, and to enable those who are His ownto enjoy the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.The faith I am here affirming I have confessed in other words and indifferent forms, sometimes more briefly, sometimes more completely, forexample in the ecumenical creeds and in the specifically Lutheranconfessions of the Book of Concord. I consider my present affirmation to bein harmony with those creeds and confessions, which I have affirmed andcontinue to affirm as a correct exposition of the doctrine of the Gospelwhich is the content of the Sacred Scriptures. Whether it be confessedbriefly or at length, the doctrine of the Gospel is all important. In othermatters, such as how to interpret specific Biblical texts, questions aboutauthorship of Biblical books or the form of particular writings, hypothesesabout sources or dating of Biblical materials, there can be legitimate differ-ences of opinion, so long as the position does not contradict the doctrine ofthe Gospel.I rejoice to affirm that in His grace and mercy God has cailed me bythe Gospel to faith in Jesus as Lord and to life together with Him in HisChurch. In my baptism as an infant God claimed me as His own. Downthrough the years of my life God has spoken His Word of Law and Promiseto me in a variety of ways and has shared His Life with me through the giftof Christ's body and blood in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper. MyLord Jesus Christ has summoned me to follow in His steps as His discipleand to serve as His undershepherd in the Holy Ministry of the Church.By faith I affirm that the Sacred Scriptures are the same Word of Lifewhich God has spoken to me through the Word proclaimed and theSacraments administered. The Bible is the written Word of God as distinctfrom the proclaimed Word or the Word in visible form or the incarnateWord, our Lord Jesus Christ. Like proclamation and sacrament the Bible isthe Word of God because, as Luther said, it is the cradle of Christ. Since theScriptures were written by men in particular historical situations, theScriptures can be studied and researched like other human writings.Though the ordinary Christianhears God speak through a simple readingof the Bible, those who are called to teach the Bible may use whatever toolsof research are available to help ascertain the message of the Scriptures.Historical and critical research can be helpful to the Bible interpreter. Butthe Scriptures are more than the writings of mortal men in every word andin all their parts they are the Word of God. They were written by in-spiration of the Holy Spirit, and only those led by the Spirit can know theirtruth. As God's Word they are the only rule and norm of faith and practice.Their authority as God's Word must not be separated from their essentialcontent, which is Jesus Christ, the key which unlocks the meaning of theScriptures as a whole and of all their parts. Gospel and Scripture belongtogether and must not be separated. Scripture is rule and norm for ourproclamation of the Gospel, and Scripture is rule and norm because itscontent is the Gospel. Every use of the Scriptures must serve the purposefor which God gave them to us which is to give us the wisdom that leads tosalvation through faith in Christ Jesus.John S. DammAcademic DeanAssociate Professor of Practical Theology(Christian Education and Worship)I consider it a privilege to be able to put into writing a simple and succinctstatement of my confession of faith. I do so realizing that any attempt toput into a few words something so deep and so profound as the Christianfaith I confess is liable to misunderstanding. Some may feel I have not saidenough. Others will question why some things were stated and othersomitted.When l awake in the morning I try to make my first conscious act a renewalof my baptism signaling that the Old Adam in me should, by dailycontrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all my sins, and a newman daily come forth and arise, who shall live before God in righteousness,and walk in newness of life.Each day in my work as a teacher of the church I try, with God's grace, tobe faithful to my ordination vow. I believe both the Old and NewTestaments to be the inspired word of God and the only infallible rule offaith and practice. I accept the three Ecumenical Creeds as faithfultestimonies to the truth of Holy Scriptures and I reject all the errors whichthey condemn. I believe the Symbolical Books of The Evangelical LutheranChurch, as these are contained in the Book of Concord, to be a true andcorrect exhibition of the Scriptural faith. I attempt to perform the duties ofmy office in accordance with these Symbols. Insofar as I am able to do this Iacknowledge that it is the Lord's doing through the powers and grace ofhis Holy Spirit.In the following paragraphs I address myself to several topics which arepresently the focus of attention in our synod.LAW/GOSPELAs a Lutheran I think it is necessary to distinguish clearly between Lawand Gospel. The law commands and requires of us what we should andshould not do. It is concerned with our actions. lt consists of demands. TheGospel, on the other hand, does not command us to do something, ordemand what we should leave undone, nor does it require anything of us.The Gospel does the exact opposite.It calls us to receive what God in His graciousness has done for us in theincarnation, life, death, and resurrection of His Son.The Gospel is the power of God that gives us "new life." It is the Gospelthat makes us what we are, children of God. But this does not mean thatthe Law is set aside. In reality the Law is indispensable. This is due notonly to the fact that the "justified" man is never only a "new" man, butduring his earthly life is also the "old" man and that as "old" man he livesunder the Law and is subject to its accusations and judgment. It is due alsoto the fact that man's earthly tasks and his calling have been given to himby God and are the bearers of the Law. The Law has a universalsignificance.I consider the ability to distinguish the Law from the Gospel as the mark ofgenuine Lutheran theology, the work of an evangelical Christian asdistinguished from all others.(This matter will be treated again in the section that follows.)THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE GOSPEL TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURESIn attempting to show the relationship between the Gospel and HolyScriptures I acknowledge that I, a poor, miserable sinner, have beenjustified before God by grace through faith. The gracious promise of theforgiveness of sins for Christ's sake - this, and nothing but this, is theGospel. And the Holy Scriptures cannot be properly understood except inthe light of that Gospel. Consequently, the doctrine of justification is thekey which "alone opens the door to the whole Bible." This is a matter ofrelationship. The relationship between the understanding of the Scripturesand the doctrine of justification is clear: Christ is the essential content of theScriptures. For this reason Luther emphasized how necessary it is todistinguish clearly between Law and Gospel. Of course, the Law belongs tothe Scriptures, and we cannot talk of the Scriptures without the Law. Butthe Scriptures can only "instruct us to salvation" because it contains theGospel, the message of the forgiveness of sin for Christ's sake. Without thisGospel, the Scriptures would be either an unintelligible history of religions,or a revelation of the incomprehensible wrath of God. Only the witness toChrist makes a Bible of the Bible. It is for this reason that the doctrine of thesinner's justification for Christ's sake is truly the key to the wholeScriptures. Only the person who has graspedthis doctrine, and through it has come to an understanding of the Gospel,can comprehend the Scriptures, because he knows who it is who speaks init: this is no other God than the One who became man; the God who isrevealed in Christ, and only in Christ; the God who, if one seeks Himoutside of Christ or without Christ, is the Deus absconditus, the "hiddenGod" who drives men to despair.It is in this sense that I understand "the Lutheran isolation of the Gospel,"that is the distinction between Law and Gospel and the placing of theGospel as that part of the divine revelation in which God opens His wholeheart, above the Law.I recognize this as the correct understanding of the relationship of theGospel to the Holy Scriptures. I subscribe to our Symbolical explication ofthis dogma. I attempt to apply it to every area of my classroom and parishresponsibility.HOLY SCRIPTURESI believe, teach, and confess that Holy Scriptures is God's Word, writtenunder the Holy Spirit. When I want to know what inspiration as the workof the Holy Spirit is, I must ask myself what Jesus Christ Himself taughtabout the Holy Spirit and his work concerning the preservation of divinerevelation. The passages of chapters 14 - 16 of the Gospel of St. John on theHoly Spirit, the Paraclete are especially helpful. There the Biblical doctrineof inspiration is discussed. There it becomes clear what the foremost task ofthe Holy Spirit is bring to witness to Christ. He will be in the apostles (14:17), their remembrance the Words of Jesus (14:26), bear witness to Christ(15:26), guide them finto all the truths (16:13), and in all His Words He willglorify Christ (16:14). And this is the same Spirit "who spoke by theprophets" when they all - and this includes, according to the usage of theBible, all the holy writers of the Old Testament - did, as St. Peter puts it(Acts 10:43), "bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receivesforgiveness of sins through His name."This witness confirms the Lutheran conviction that Christ is the realcontent of the entire Scriptures. The Bible is the book in which, frorn thefirst to the last page, God the Father, speaking to all mankind, witnesses toChrist through the Holy Spirit: "This is My beloved Son. Hear ye Him."8ut the Bible itself does not ínform us about the process of inspiration,about the way or the various ways in which God gave His Word to theHoly writers. This in no way casts doubt on the reliability of the Biblicalmessage or the writers. It is God Himself who speaks to us through them.I believe that the great purpose of Holy Scriptures is to make us wise untosalvation. The authority of Holy Scriptures rests precisely on the carryingout of that purpose asthe Word judges, promises, and pardons. Iacknowledge Holy Scripture’s authority when I permit myself to bejudged, when I hear the promise and am pardoned by that Word. Faith hasno other sure foundation than the Saviour Himself, Who gives andguarantees the promise and the pardon through His salvific activity. Ibelieve this foundation is secure enough to provide a basis for my faith inthe promise, and therefore in the authority of the Word of God.THE LUTHERAN CHURCH AND OTHER CHURCHESWhen I cheerfully place myself under the Symbolical Books of theLutheran Church I do so with the consciousness that they do not treatlightly the differences between other Christians and the Lutheran church.Obedience to the Word of God makes that clear.But this does not force me to embrace a narrow separatism that ignoresgenuine contacts with other churches. Narrow separatism is not anessential characteristic of Lutheranism. I know of no church inChristendom that can afford to be as open to other churches as theLutheran church.I am confident that the Lutheran Church understands that its offíce ofteaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments is an officeinstituted by Jesus Christ; and that it is effectual by reason of the institutionand commandment of Christ, even if it is exercised by weak and sinfulmen; that Christ the Lord, is really and personally present in the Word andSacraments of our Church, and that the communion of saints, thefellowship of justified sinners, is built up in our midst by this Word andSacraments. And yet I realize that the church of God is not limited to ourconfessional church, but rather embraces "men scattered throughout thewhole world, from the rising to the setting of the sun, who agreeconcerning the Gospel, and have the same Christ, the same Holy Ghost, thesame Sacraments, nomatter whether they have human traditions that are the same ordissimilar." (Apology VII & VIII, 10)Thus the Lutheran Church has perhaps outstripped all other churches inacknowledging that the true church of Christ is present in otherdenominations too.With this confessional stance, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in itsMission Affirmations and at its Milwaukee Convention has alreadyexpressed its conviction that the local congregation of believers, as well asgroupings of believers in denominations, must be in mission to all parts ofthe body of Christ, actively seeking to discover and recognize the unitythey have with other local communities and groupings and mustthemselves be willing to be the object of mission from other parts of thebody in readiness to follow the Holy Spirit's guidance.The doctrine of baptism and the doctrine of justification by grace throughfaith must have the necessary result that we recognize as fellow Christians,and as fellow members of the body of Christ, all those in whom the HolySpirit has created life and faith even as He has in us.As Lutheran Christians we must then be ready to listen to and speak withthose who differ from us, and we must be ready to establish suitableexperiences which will make this possible, so that all who have been calledby God through faith in Christ will help each other to grow in Christ.I believe that it is important to recognize the relationship which Christianshave with each other and to realize that it is based on the act of God bywhich He has created saving faith in Christ through the work of the HolySpirit. When Lutherans attempt to understand the ways through which theHoly Spirit has created faith, and when they are encouraged to articulatethose truths which they know, to which they have given assent andthrough which they rest their confidence on Christ, then they will have theopportunity to exercise the obligation placed on them to witness and tolisten to other Christians so that all may grow in faith.Kenneth H. BreimeierDean of StudentsProfessor of Practical Theology (Counseling)I believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.God the Father is creator of all things that exist wherever they may be. Hemade me and all men. The account of creation in Scripture is inspired,accurate, true, and reliable. The account was not written to provide us withanswers to scientific questions. Because of the reliability of the Scriptures, itis tempting to try to wring out of the creation description data which willanswer questions which we raise for other (good) purposes. It is importantto remember that the Scriptures were written for our learning about Godand His relation to us.Man is the creature of God. Man is to glorify His Maker.The Creator richly provides for the needs of His people, both those whoknow Him and those who do not.Man's relation to God was meant to be one of trust. Man was to do God'swill and in doing that will, receive all the good gifts which God has tooffer. Adam and Eve, however, eiected to break the relation God hadestablished. In rebelling against God and His will, they brought downGod's judgment on them. In terms of God's wrath at their disobedience,they destroyed the beneficent Creator-creature relationship. The Scripturesteach that through the rebellion of Adam and Eve, every man is guilty ofthe same mistrust of God. Guilt is passed on from generation to generation.We all share in the same desire to fight God ano go our own way. Weproclaim our doubt either about His very existence, or at the very least Hisgood will toward us. God could, we say, wipe out all sickness andheartache if He's there and if He cares. That very assertion betrays ourchildish anger toward our God.There is little debate among Christians about the tenacity with which wehang on to our nasty defiance of God. We seem determined to be sinners.The depth of our determination suggests the depravity born in us. All of usfight God; sin and its effects are observed in all ages, in all people. Childrenare not innocent. This is a theological assertion. It is evident that rebellionagainst God is transmitted from generationto generation. The Scriptures, however, cannot be called on to answer theimproper and impossible scientific question of how that transmissionoccurs.The relation that man destroyed through his rebellion God re-establishedthrough His Son Jesus Christ, who was born into this world of the VirginMary, lived among us, and died, and rose on the third day. Through Hisdeath and resurrection man is reconciled to God. Faith in Him counts forrighteousness. I believe that as He passed through death and into lifeagain, I, too, go from death to life in Him.It is only through the Holy Spirit that faith can be worked in myheart. TheHoly Spirit comes to me through Word and Sacraments. The HolyScriptures are God's Word to me and all people. They were written overthe course of many years by men moved by the Holy Spirit. The Scripturesare inspired by the Holy Spirit. They are true, reliable, and dependable. Allof Scripture is inspired, not just part of it. All of the words of Scripture areinspired.The term inerrancy has been introduced into our thinking about theScriptures. Valid Lutheran theology always insists on the Scriptures beingthe norm for doctrine. Since the Scriptures themselves do not use the terminerrant, or claim for themselves that they are "inerrant," it would be wellnot to use that term, but rather use those terms which the Scriptures use ofthemselves, e. g., "inspired," written by men "moved by the Holy Spirit,""cannot be broken," true, "bear witness to the light that enlightens everyman,” “the gospel of God which He promised beforehand through Hisprophets in the Holy Scriptures."The Scriptures tell us what God wants us to know for our spiritualwell-being. The Scriptures are the source of our teaching. There is no othersource. The Scriptures are the norm. All teaching is to be judged by theScriptures. Lutherans affirm that the confessional statements as named inArticle II of the Constitution of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod are acorrect interpretation of the Scriptures. Therefore I have piedged in myordination vow to be faithful to the Scriptures and to the Confessions of theLutheran Church, a pledge which I still uphold.Since Holy Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit, it is vital thatinterpreters take the words seriously. It will not do to make theWord say what we want it to say. It is easy to come at the Word with biasesand preconceptions, including the idea of a "correct" interpretation whichwe have somehow come to accept as correct although just how is veiled inthe past. The Holy Spirit works through the Word. As He has guided thechurch in the past, He still guides those who search the Scripture for itsmeaning, lay people and professional exegetes alike.I and other members of the Lutheran church look at the Scriptures in termsof Law and Gospel. Our guide is the conviction that Scripture speaks to usin terms of God's will for us and His love for us in Jesus Christ.Different methods can be used to study the Scriptures, including methodsthat originated with men who do not come to the Scriptures with theguides and presuppositions, and the faith, which Lutheran exegetes bringto a study of the Scriptures.In the creeds we confess our faith in the Father and the Son and the HolySpirit. Our faith in God comes from the testimony of the Scripture andfrom the efficacy of the Sacraments, the Holy Spirit working through theWord to create and strengthen our faith in God. It would not only bewrong, especially from the Lutheran point of view, but also dangerous tocontend that faith first of all begins with faith in the Bible. Faith beginswith faith in God and His grace for us. We do have faith in the Bible, ofcourse. But we do not worship it. That would be idolatry. We have faith inGod, we worship God, and we rejoice in the Word He has given us so thatwe may know Him as fully as He has revealed Himself to us.By the Scriptures we mean those writings which the church has gatheredtogether into the canon, the books of the 0ld Testament and the books ofthe New Testament.In writing the books the authors made use of materials from other authorsand from oral transmissions. The writers left their own stamp on theirwork; the individuality of the author is apparent. The assertion that awriting may have existed in different form before the final manuscript doesnot preclude the inspiration of the book by the Holy Spirit.In this statement I have tried to cover as many of the points in con-troversy within our church body as possible. I have, however, not coveredthem all, and space and time has not permitted detailed discussion of thoseI did touch on. My impression of the state of the controversy is that weneed to reaffirm the unity of the Body and our trust and mutualdependence on all members of the Body. The Body cannot function wellwhen one part of it doubts the faithfulness and commitment of anotherpart and will not listen - really listen when the part of the Body in questionaffirms again and again, and demonstrates again and again, its fidelity.One wonders what it takes to change hearts. But I do not wonder too long.God is alive and working minute after minute, day after day, year afteryear. His presence is very real, His power is undiminished, and His gracestill is offered us. God is faithful. He wiil keep His people in the future asHe has in the past. Though we wound Him deeply, He still forgives us, forthe sake of His Son Jesus Christ.Robert BergtAssociate Professor of Practical Theology(Worship and Choral Music)Once again I take this opportunity with willingness and gladness toreaffirm what I have said in my ordination vows:"I believe the canonical books of the Old and the New Testament to be theinspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.""I accept the three Ecumenical Creeds - the Apostles'; the Nicene, and theAthanasian - as faithfui testimonies to the truth of the Holy Scriptures, andI reject all the errors which they condemn.""I believe that the Unaltered Augsburg Confession is a true expositionof the Word of God and a correct exhibition of the doctrine of theEvangelical Lutheran Church, and that the Apology of the AugsburgConfession, the two Catechisms of Martin Luther, the Smalcald Articles,and the Formula of Concord - as contained in the Book of Concord - arealso in agreement with this one Scriptural faith.""I promise that I will perform the duties of my office in accordancewith these Confessions and that ail my teaching and myadministration of the Sacraments will be in conformity with theHoiy Scriptures and with the afore-mentioned Confessions.""I promise to adorn the doctrine of our Savior with a holy life andconversation." (The Lutheran Agenda, pp. 106-107)Another way to make this confession and affirmation is to say that Iuphold Christian doctrine in the way the liturgy of the Church proclaimsit. This is the chief content of my teaching besides the music which I teachand through which text and music I witness. I affirm what the liturgy does:In the liturgy the Word of God is upheld and revered and held inhighest esteem. The doctrine of Christ is at the center of worship;the Sacred Scriptures are read and their Law and Gospelproclaimed. The liturgy puts God's Word to work in other ways.There we baptize and distribute the Lord's precious body andBlood. There we absolve and bless men, women, and children inthe name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.When I fail to honor Christ by word or deed, by witness orteaching, the church's worship offers me opportunity forconfession and absolution. As I confess my sinfulness and humanfrailty to God and firmly trust in God's covenant of forgiveness, Iam forgiven, healed, made strong and inspired to go on living,confessing, witnessing, and teaching according to the will of God.Through the church's liturgy I am able to affirm that God is thecreator and sustainer of ail things. I am able to give Himworship and adoration for His great miracies, attested to in theScriptures. I am able to join with the angels in deciaring God's gloryand to proclaim God's majesty with all saints, living andtriumphant.The church's worship is Christocentric. Whether it be through Gloriain Excelsis, Benedictus, or Magnificat, I affirm the incarnation of ourLord Jesus Christ and the redemption which God accomplishedthrough Him.Through the liturgy not only do I affirm the Holy Spirit to be Godbut the Holy Spirit is present to achieve God's purposes in me. Heuses the means God has provided to share His grace. As GodHimself is the author of the Scriptures through men, so the Spiritspeaks through the Scriptures and through Scriptural hymns andprayers to lead us into all truth.Especially through the injunctions of the Scriptures the liturgyplaces proper emphasis on godly living and on the church’s mission.Its proclamation of the Gospel empowers us to do God's will.As the liturgy grows, adapts, and changes with the times, so thechurch must determine how to understand and apply the mysteriesof our faith to the changing world in which we live.To put it as briefly as possible, I have learned from teaching andpraying the church's liturgy that. doxology and Gospelproclamation are the purpose of my life.Robert W. BertramChairman of the Department of Systematic Theology,Professor of Historical and Systernatic TheologyWhat could possibiy be so important about my faith that I should nowbe asked to publish it like this "for use in discussion forums?" What is thereabout my faith that is all that interesting? Certainly not the fact that thisfaith is mine. That is hardly what makes it important. Then what does? Is itthe fact that, being a pastor and teacher, I am in a position to impose myfaith on others? True, that influence upon others, which is why I need to becontrolled by the church's ordination, does render what I believe a matterof public concern. Still, all this only pushes the question back farther yet. Ifwhat is important about my faith is that it might influence the faith ofothers, then why is the faith of these others so important in the first place?Why is the faith of any Christian important?If Jesus our Lord could say to His converts, "Great is your faith," whatwas it about their faith that was great? How could He say about their faiththat that was the thing which "made you well" or "saved you"? Why do wesay of our own faith that it is that and that alone, quite independently ofthe good things our faith does, which endears us to God?What is so great about faith? Is it the fact that our faith is not our owndoing but God's, by grace alone? But that is not unique with faith; thatmuch is true also of our loving, our forgiving and all the other gifts of theSpirit we receive. If that has been our big reason for extolling faith, namelythat it is the work of God, then no wonder we sometimes sound soReformed, emphasizing sola gratia in a way which deemphasizes sola fide.Uniess the Augsburg Confession is mistaken, the only way truly to say solagratia is to say sola fide.Why is faith special? Is it because faith believes what God says and thatway is sure of being right? Of course, that is what faith believes, God'sWord, and His Word is always right. But merely agreeing with Him doesnot make us right. For one of the things God says is that we are all wrong."None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands." "All men are liars." Itis tempting to want to disprove that judgment upon us - of all things, byagreeing with it. For then wouldn't we at least be right about that: abouthow wrong we are? But God does not fail for tricks like that. Nor is Heimpressed with how right we areabout Bible history. So what if I do believe (as I do) that the lsraelitescrossed the Red Sea dry-shod or that Jesus was born of a virgin or that Herose from the dead? That much, says God with a shrug, the devils alsobelieve. So then that could hardly be what distinguishes faith as great,namely, how right it makes us to believe what God says. But there is one thing which God says, one Word of His, which isdifferent: not His word as law but His Word as promise. That promissoryWord does change us from wrong to right if and as we believe it. That,finally, is what is great about faith: in our faith God’s-promise comes true.He promises to forgive us, but only in trusting that promise do we getforgiven. If His promise goes unbelieved, it goes unfulfilled. A man canpromise with all his heart that he loves his wife, but if she disbelieves him,she is not getting loved; his promise is thwarted. With God's other Word,His judging Word, faith makes no such difference. His judgment that weare sinners applies whether we believe it or not. But not so with Hispromise. That depends on being believed. Not that faith creates thepromise. The promise is not something subjective, man-made. The promiseis as real as God and it simply stands independently, the way a man'sBaptism does or the Body and Blood in Christ's Supper, whether it isaccepted or denied. But if it is denied, it stands as judgment and no longeras promise. Still, its original purpose is promise, and the promise is meantto be enjoyed. That is what faith is, enjoying the promise. The one trouble with faith is not that it isn’t great but that it is so scarceeven in the staunchest believers. But isn't that a criticism of us? It is. Thendoes judgment have the last word after all? Not really. The dear God, blessHim, takes our scarce faith and “reckons it to [us] for righteousness.” Notthat our faith isn't already righteous or that God first has to pretend that itis righteous. Our faith, what there is of it, is indeed righteous. The troubleis, our tiny faith is more than outweighed by its opposite, our unfaith -- forexample, our worry, which Jesus equates with faithlessness and, in turn,with hatred of God. Yet God "reckons" that tiny faith to me, to all of me,including the unbelieving me, as wall-to-wall righteousness. Which isenough righteousness for a man to tive off of for the rest of his life. That is,forever. God treats believing sinners as whole righteous persons, butpropter fidem. Because of our faith, timid and paltry though it is, God isdelighted with us whole and entire. But why? Ah, there at last is thequestion by which all theologyand all theologians are to be tested for their biblicalness. Why does Godcount us meagre believers as altogether right when in fact we are stilldesperately wrong? What is it about our faith, even our faltering faith,which prompts Him to pay us such sweeping compliments?The reason, quite simply, is the one whom our faith is faith in, Jesus theChrist. Either He is the Christ, and in that case our faith in Him isvindicated. Or He is not the Christ, and then are we of all men the mostmiserable. If it should turn out at the end of history, in The Last Analysis,that Jesus is not Lord after all, then our faith in Him, no matter howsincere, will be exposed as the very opposite of "great."It will be an everlasting reproach to us. All the more so with publicteachers and pastors like me, who have in addition led others into thissame faith, including our own families. Yet trust Him we do, as the Christof God and our very Lord, and stake our lives on Him. Because it is in Himthat we believe, and not for any other reason, we dare therefore to hopethat God finds our poor faith, finds us ourselves, a joy to behold.This Jesus, whom we believe to be the only-begotten Son of God, is theonly man among us who has been truly right. But He has been right for us,in our stead and on our behalf, even to the point of being made wrong forus - He who knew no wrong. Because He is for us, we believe that the Onewhom He called God is the only God there is and, being the Father ofJesus, is therefore a Father to us as well. Though we do not deny that thereare other spirits, even spirits who may heal and who impel men tosuperhuman activity, we do believe that that Spirit by whom the risenChrist and His Father have spirited the Christian community is the onlySpirit deserving of the title "Holy." Because Christ Jesus is "for us men and for our salvation," we do bybelieving in Him so identify with Him that we take His death to be ourdeath and His resurrection our resurrection. And we believe that Godconcurs in that identification and will see it through. Believing this, we areliberated as never before to take also the criticism of God's law, killingthough that is, and actually have found such dying profitable for living.We call that the "joy of repentance" or "the dear holy cross." In fact, since Jesus Christ is pro nobis, for us, we who believe in Him(though we are originafly from many different races and traditions) nowtake on the very history out of which He came, the history of an obscureand oppressed people, arid take the Scriptures which explain that history.That is, we now take that history, though it does not appear to be ours, ashaving happened for us, and the Word of God which is there recorded ashaving been recorded for us. All this, again, for one reason only: the greatpromise which that biblical history shows is finally kept, for us and for allnations, by Jesus Christ. Accordingly, all biblical history, even the historyof God's law, is subordinated to and real in the light of God's-promise-kept, Jesus our Lord. Our one rule for doing that is the writings of Jesus'own apostles who, like the prophets before them, were inspired by theSpirit of God but who, unlike the prophets, now recorded the history of anew covenant, rendering the prior covenant "old." It is into that New Covenant and its ongoing history that we believeourselves authorized to invite all the peoples of the world, who, sinceChrist was Brother to them, are our brothers as well. Because of our faith,seeing that it is faith in Him, we are confident that none of all those whobelieve in Him will be put to shame when He comes back.Herbert J. A. BoumanProfessor of Systematic TheologyAs one who is unreservedly committed to the Sacred Scriptures as theinspired, "pure, infallible, and unalterable Word of God" (Book of Concord,Tappert Edition, p. 8) and "the only rule and norm according to which aildoctrines and teachers alike must be judged"(Epitome, Rule and Norm, 1) and the Lutheran Symbols as a troe andcorrect exposition of the Sacred Scriptures:Ibelieve in the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as He is confessedin the ancìent Creeds of the church, as re-affirmed in the Lutheran Symbols(Augsburg Confession I, Smalcald Articles I, Small and Large Catechisms,Formula of Concord, Epítome, Rule and Norm, 3).I believe that in common with all people born according to the course ofnature, I was conceived and born in sin, without the fear of God andwithout trust in God, subject to God's wrath and condemnation (AugsburgConfession II).I believe that Jesus. Christ, true God and true man, took my place and diedand rose again to redeem me from aIl sins, from death and the power ofthe devil, and that aIl who believe in him have eternal life.I believe that through my Baptism in the name of the Father and of the Sonand of the Holy Spirit I received the forgiveness of all sins and the gift ofthe Holy Spirit who has brought me to faith and given me the new life inGod.I believe that the love and mercy of God extends to all His creatures, thatGod desires the salvation of all people, and that in Christ God hasreconciled the world to Himself.I believe that the purpose of God's revelation through Jesus Christ, aswitnessed in the Scriptures, is to have the word of reconciliation, thepromise and gift of eterna! life, brought to all mankind.I believe that God manifested His love and faithfulness throughout humanhistory, beginning with His promise of help and deliverance to our firstparents, continuing His promises and His help in His dealings with theOld Testament patriarchs and the people of Israel, and bringing Hìspromises to their fulfiliment in the incarnation and redeeming career of Hisonly Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.I believe that since the Fall God has confronted and continues to confronthuman beings with His holy Law to convict them of their sin and placethem under His judgment in order that He might havemercy on them and lead them to trust in His Gospel promises (cf. Formulaof Concord, Solid Declaration, V, 23; Apology XII, 53).I believe that Sacred Scripture, the inspired Word of God, is God'scompletely adequate and reliabie instrument for achieving the purpose forwhich He has revealed Himself to mankind.I believe that all questions and problems concerning the Bible, such as itsauthority, its infallibility, its unity, and its interpretation, must be dealtwith in connection with God's purpose and from the perspective of Hisgracious promise in Jesus Christ.I believe what the Lutheran Symbols believe, teach, and confess about theLaw and the Gospel:that "all Scripture should be divided into these two chief doctrines(locos), the law and the promises" (Apology IV, 5.6; 186-188);that the Law and the Gospel must be carefully distinguished as totheir content and function (Solid Declaration V, 1ff); Small Catechism,Pref. 18);that a proper distinction of Law and Gospel must lead to theaffirmation of the primacy of the Gospel (Apology XII, 49-53);that the Law (as defined in Solid Declaration V, 17.18) dare never beused as an end in itself (Smalcald Articles, Part III, Art. III, 1-8) andthat the Gospel (as defined in Solid Declaration V, 20-21; SolidDeclaration II, 50 and many other places) is God's definitive Wordto man;that the only proper use of Scripture, "all" of which is either Law orPromise, is to let it function according to its purpose, to convict ofsin and to bring sinners to faith in Christ (Solid Declaration II, 48-52);that, while Scripture of course has more than the Gospel alone, it isthe Gospel which determines the unique character of Scripture,because it is the Gospel which deals with what God is realiy up to(Apology XII, 51f; God's "proper work");that, since it is the Gospel by which "the Holy Ghost has called me,enlightened me with His gifts, and sanctified and kept me in thetrue faith" (Small Catechism, 3rd Article), that is, has led me toacknowledge and confess Jesus as Lord; therefore it is through theGospel that I recognize Jesus as Lord of the Scriptures, and theScriptures as authoritative;that the above considerations provide the guide to the correctinterpretation of Scripture, (Solid Declaration V, 1; Solid DeclarationXI, 12.91 and especially 92; cf. Apology IV, 2, German paraphrase);I believe that the Lutheran designation of the Scriptures as "the propheticand apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments" is all that needs tobe said about the "canonical text."I believe that God through His prophets promised mercy and deliveranceand forgiveness of sins to Old Testament believers and that these promisesreached their climactic fulfillment in the promised Messiah, the incarnateSon of God (John 5; Luke 24; Heb. 1; Acts 10, etc.).I believe it is improper to deal with any aspect of Scripture or theology inisolation from the Word made flesh.I believe it is improper to make any view about Scripture, or any methodof interpretation, that does not vitiate the intended purpose and function ofScripture a doctrinal matterI believe with Luther (Smalcald Articles, Part II, I, 5) that the articleconcerning Christ and faith is the ultimate touchstone of orthodoxy orheresy.Richard R. Caemmerer, Sr. Faculty SecretaryGraduate Professor of Practical Theology (Homiletics)1. Several times a week in the Lutheran congregation of which I am acommunicant member, and in the community of Concordia Seminary, Iconfess my faith by joining in the Nicene Creed. Its words and conceptssay what I believe and what I want my fellow Christians to share withme. The Creed also gives me the opportunity to speak the Gospel ofJesus Christ, which is the power of God to salvation (Rom. 1:16).2. As a teacher of preaching I want students and pastors to help theirhearers acknowledge God not only as their Maker, but as their Father.They help people to have God as the supreme and loving Father intheir lives as they preach Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, whom theFather sent "for us and for our salvation." The Creed puts that Word ofthe Gospel together: Jesus was incarnate through the Holy Spirit; Helived, suffered, died, and was buried for us; He rose from the dead andascended to heaven to rule with the Father over all things. TheScriptures, and the Lutheran Confessions, call that total obedience ofJesus Christ to the Father's plan, the atonement (2 Cor. 5:18-21; Formulaof Concord, Solid Declaration, III, pp. 540-541, Tappert edition).3. I believe and teach that in order to preach this Gospel the preacher hasto help people confront God's will and plan for them, and God'sjudgment upon their failure to meet His will and plan. For the Gospelshould sound to them not merely as a record from the past, but as Godacting through the Spirit at this moment to bring "salvation," tostrengthen their faith in Him for the forgiveness of their sin, and toenable them to live their lives according to the will and plan of God.4. I believe that as man is born into the world he is only flesh and withoutthe ability to change (John 3:5,6). I believe that also regenerate man hasremnants of the flesh which compete with the new life in him, becauseof which he needs the constant supply of Law and Gospel to maintainthe work of the Holy Spirit in him (Gal. 5:16-26).5. I confess the Creed in the setting of a service which includes lessonsfrom the Scriptures and elements of worship which repeatand apply extracts froco Scripture. i teach preaching which is based onthe Scriptures. I believe and teach that in the plan of God and throughthe Spirit the Scriptures already in the Old Testament bring us God'sp(an for the life and purpose of His people, and in the New Testamentthey focos on the Good News that God has completed His plan inJesus Christ.6. I believe and teach that the preacher should employ the richestresources at his command for understanding the meaning of theBiblical materiais which he uses in his work. Thus they are atile tomake men wise to salvation by taith which is in Christ Jesus and toachieve the purposes for which God has given them (2 Tim. 3: 14-17).7. With Christian Dogmatics of Francis Pieper (1, 307), I believe and teachthat the Scriptures have the authority to demand the taith andobedience that is doe God, and their inspiration contributes to it. But Ialso believe that the power of the Scriptures for moving men to thatfaith and obedience is in Law and Gospel (315-317). Therefore I regretthat the term "authority" is used interchangeably with "power; ' or thatother factors of Scripture, such as its inerrancy, are set out to be apower for faith and life rather than the Word of God in His Son andHis atonement. The inspiration of Scripture sucos up the completeprogram of the Holy Spirit for our lite and salvation; the faith to acceptand use it ìs the work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.8. I have not found theories concerning multiple sources of Biblical booksto hamper their trustworthiness. The composite documents as we havethem in some Biblical books convey the plan of God to the church andare the work of the Holy Spirit. Biblical books whose authors cannotbe identified are not for that reason less helpful or inspired.9. When St. Paul described the inspiration of the Bible in the one passagethat use that term (2 Tim. 3:14-17), her was writing about theScriptures of the Old Testament. He affirmed that also his ownpreaching of the Gospel was in words which the Holy Ghost gave (1Cor. 2:13) and which had the power of the Word of God (1 Thess.2:13). I teach future preacher of te Gospel to keep this action of the theHoly Spirit at work also in their preaching, as they become the agentsthrough whom the Holy Spirit speaks in people what Jesus said anddid (John 14:25).11. I have not been deeply concerned over what books are canonical. Thechurch has never attempted to give an exclusive list and has oftenderived much profit from disputed ones. I have found the Epistle ofJames more effective as a vehicie of Law and Gospel than did MartinLuther. I would be distressed if I could not refer to the Epistle to theHebrews for its magnificent word about Christ and about preaching. Ihave very little experience with the Old Testament apocrypha, despiteLuther's recommendation.12 I believe and teach that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is primary for thefaith of the Christian. By that I do not mean that it is merely the chiefdoctrine, or that the rest of the Bible is dispensable. But I mean thatthrough the Word of Jesus Christ God has repaired the breach betweenHimself and mankind, has made all of the Bible intelligible and usefulto faith, and has given me the calling to bring life with God and thepower of the Spirit to men.Robert L. ConradAssociate Professor of Practical Theology (Christian Education)I believe, teach and confess that:Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord.God works faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord through His Word of Law andGospel. This two-fold action of God is important for confessionalLutherans to acknowledge.The distinction between Law and Gospel is an especially brilliantlight which serves the purpose that the Word of Godmay be rightly divided and the writings of the holy prophets andapostles may be explained and understood correctly. We musttherefore observe this distinction with particular diligence lest weconfuse the two doctrines and change the Gospel into Law. Thiswould darken the merit of Christ and rob disturbed consciences ofthe comfort which they would otherwise have in the holy Gospelwhen it is preached purely and without admixture, for by itChristians can support themselves in their greatest temptationsagainst the terrors of the law. (Theodore G. Tappert, trans., ed., TheBook of Concord, Solid Declaration V , 1. )God must prepare a man for the Gospel through means of the taw because"all men are full of evil lust and inclinations from their mothers' wombsand are unabie by nature to have true fear of God and true faith in God"(Augsburg Confession II, 1). The Law always judges and never caves. Itsfunction is to prepare men for the Gospel.The chief function or power of the law is to make original sinmanifest and show man to what utter depths his nature has fallenand how corrupt it has become. So the law must tell him that heneither has nor cares for God or that he worships strangegods-something that he would not have believed before without aknowledge of the law. Thus he is terror stricken and humbled,becomes despondent and despairing, anxiously desires help butdoes not know where to find it, and begins to be alienated fromGod, to murmur, etc. (Smalcald Articles III, II, 4)Just as the Iaw never caves but always judges, so the Gospel, in its strictsense, never judges but always caves....the Gospel is not a proclamation of contrition and reproof but is,strictly speaking, precisely a comforting and joyful message whichdoes not reprove or terrify but comforts consciences that arefrightened by the law, directs them solely to the merit of Christ, andraises them up again by the delightful proclamation of God's graceand favor through the merits of Christ. (Epitome V, 7)The Christian who has been brought to faith in Jesus Christ through theGospel is one who confesses Christ as Savior and Lord.I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father frometernity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, whohas redeemed me a lost and condernned creature, delivered me andfreed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil,not with silver and gold but with his holy precious blood and withhis innocent sufferings and death, in order that I may be his, liveunder him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlastingrighteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as he is risen fromthe dead, and lives and reigns to all eternity. (Small Catechism II, 4)But the Christian who confesses Christ as Savior and Lord stiil wrestleswith sin in his life. He is both saint and sinner. He lives in a cycle ofjudgment and grace. The law still plays a part in his life as does the Gospel."As often, therefore, as Christians trip, they are rebuked through the Spiritof God out of the law. But the same Spirit raises them up again andcomforts them with the preaching of the Gospel." (Solid Declaration VI, 14)God is Father and Creator.God can be known as Father only by those who believe Jesus Christ isSavior and Lord. The Son has made them members of the family, sons anddaughters who know the paternal love of God and can express therelationship in the words of the "Our Father." “Here God would encourageus to believe that He is truly our Father and we are truly His children inorder that we may approach Him boldly and confidently in prayer, even asbeloved children approach their dear father” (Small Catechism III, 2). Toknow God as Father is also to acknowledge with joy that He is Creator ofall.I believe that God has created me and all that exists; that he has givenme and still sustains my body and soul, all my limbs and senses, myreason and all the faculties of my mind, together with food andclothing, house and Nome, family and property; that he provides medaily and abundantly with all the necessities of life, protects me fromall danger, and preserves me from all evil. All this he does out of hispure, fatherly, and divine goodness and mercy, without any meritorworthinesson my part. For all of this I am bound to thank, praise,serve, and obey him. This is most certainly true. (Small Catechism II, 2)But to know God oniy as Creator is to know Him, at best, as judge whoholds man responsible in and for creation. God is active through His law touphold His creation and "to maintain external discipline and decencyagainst dissolute and disobedient people" (Solid Declaration VI, 1). Thisaction of God is not seen by the unbelieving person for whom God remains"anonymous" as the author and source of constraints and demands in life.But the Spirit of God can remove the "anonymity" of God so that men mayknow themselves judged by God and thus be opened to the promise of theGospel.The Holy Spirit is Sanctifier and Preserver.It is the Spirit of God who works faith in men through the Gospel andpreserves them in faith.I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in JesusChrist, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called methrough the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified andpreserved me in true faith. (Small Catechism II , 6)The Holy Spirit "calls" through the written (Scriptures), spoken (preached),and enacted (Sacraments) Word of God. The written Word of God,Scriptures, is a Word of both law and Gospel which the Spirit uses to bringmen to faith. As the Apology states, "All Scripture should be divided intothese two chief doctrines, the law and the promises. In some places itpresents the law. In others it presents the promise of Christ" (Apology IV, 5).The Scriptures are a fully adequate means to perform their God-intendedfunction.The Scriptures express what God wants them to say and accomplishwhat God wants them to do. In this sense and in the fulfillment ofthis function they are inerrant, infallible, and wholly reliable. Theirtruthfulness, their infallibility as the only rule of faith and practice,and their reliability are incontrovertible. There is no human orsecular criterion by which their truthfulness, their infallibility as theonly rule of faith and practice, and their reliability can be measuredand made evident. This truthfulness, this infallibility as the only ruleof faith and practice, and this reliability is known and asserted onlyin faith; those who believe the Scripture, trust them, and rely on themare not put to shame, for the Scrip-tures neither go astray nor lead astray. ("A Statement on the Formand Function of the Holy Scriptures," Faculty, Concordia Seminary,St. Louis, 1960)In order that the church might use the Scriptures for their God-intendedpurposes in teaching and preaching, the best available exegetical andpractical tools need to be used. For the Gospel is to be spoken in thechurch, not just read. The AugsburgConfession speaks of the church as "theassembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is preached in its purityand the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel"(Augsburg Confession VII, 1). It is also obvious from the preceding that thechurch must practice a full use of the sacraments. They are the enactedWord of God. They give what the Gospel gives. Baptism “effectsforgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and grants eternalsalvation to all who believe, as the Word and promise of God declare”(Small Catechism IV, 6). Confession and Absolution continue what wasbegun in Baptism. "Repentance, therefore, is nothing else than a return andapproach to Baptism, to resume and practice what had earlier been begunbut abandoned" (Large Catechism IV, 79). The Lord's Supper also gives whatthe Gospel gives. This "we are toid in the words 'for you' and 'for theforgiveness of sins.' By these words the forgiveness of sins, life andsalvation are given to us in the sacrament, for where there is forgiveness ofsins, there are also life and salvation" (Small Catechism VI, 6). As the churchuses the written, spoken and enacted Word of God the Spirit is active.In this Christian church he daily and abundantly forgivesall my sins, andthe sins of all believers, and on the last day he will raise me and all thedead and will grant eternal life to me and all who believe in Christ. This ismost certainly true. (Small Catechism II, 6)John W. ConstableAssociate Professor of Historical TheologyChairman of the Department of Historical TheologyI believe that "the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation toeveryone that believeth" (Romans 1:16). As a Christian and a member ofThe Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, I believe and accept this Gospelrevealed by God in Christ even before the church had written Gospels anda good century before an established canon. I stand in the company of St.Paul.In July 1949 I voluntarily pledged myself as a Lutheran pastor tothe Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. My life has been used in astudy of both. I have served the church for nearly a quarter of a century. Inmy ministry I have labored in three districts of our church. I havepersonally ministered to hundreds of students at two major stateuniversities and have taught several hundred more in classes at theSeminary for over eight years.I stand pledged to the Scriptures as the divinely inspired Word ofGod. They are to "make us wise unto salvation" (II Tim. 3:15) and to "trainus in holy living." They are not given to us to answer every problem ofman's existence or to solve every historical or scientific question.When our Lord said, "Search the Scriptures;" (John 5:39) I believethat I have been given His counsel to use every tool of historical andscientific research in that task. When a Lutheran Christian, committed as heis to respect the Scriptures, uses an historical critical method, I do notbelieve that he destroys or negates the Word but finds richer meaning anddeeper comfort in that Word for himself and in his preaching to those towhom he has been called to serve.I believe that the Bible is both a human and a divine Word. "Holymen of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (II Peter 1:31).God did not dictate His Word, but used the talents, abilities and even theshortcomings of fallible men to produce His divine Word of grace. "AllScripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, forreproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Tim. 3: 16).I believe that too much attention has been given in the LutheranChurch to agreement in abstracto with propositions about the Gospelseparated from the Gospel itself. A minimal amount of attention has beengiven to the other great solas of the Reformation -- sola fide and sola gratia.There is a pronounced tendency within our church to demand agreementwith certain theological positions that are the product of rationalism.For me, as for Luther, the two great doctrines of the Bible are Lawand Gospel. The passages that are Law direct my attention to my sin, thesins of others and this world's sin. The Gospel passages lead me directly tomy Savior who by grace has saved a sinner such as myself. I find it futileand valueless to argue in such a way as to rnake Gospel passages intoanother Law, a practice which leads the agent to legalism and negates theredemptive work of Jesus Christ.I believe that differences of opinion over the mode of creation, thelength of the creation days, whether Moses wrote the Pentateuch or not,whether there is more than one Isaiah, whether Jonah is a real history or aparable are useless logomachies in a world where men are crying out for aword of comfort that the Gospel offers to confused and alienated sinners.I believe and accept the doctrine of original sin. I do not believethat the question of the literal or figurative role of Adam is crucial to thedoctrine. I have adequate witness to this doctrine from many other parts ofthe Scriptures, from the world about me and from my own personal life.With all deference to the Synod, I believe that synodical con-ventions are not the place to deal with complicated theological questions ashas been done in recent years. Conventions of the synod should be used foredification and reporting on the work that we have been able to do by thegrace of God. Theology should be based on the Gospel of Christ and not onsynodical resolutions. It should be prayed over, labored over by the bestminds available, studied diligently in small groups, allowed to mature bytime and then presented to the church by the best lay and clerical talent inthe church.I personally believe in Biblical miracles culminating in the miracleof the resurrection. I do not, however, believe that a person can be saved byfaith in miracles alone. Salvation is by faith in the life, death andresurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.I believe and accept the Lutheran Confessions because they are aproper interpretation of the Word of God. I accept the doctrinal content ofthem but do not consider myself to be bound to their historical judgmentsor scientific world view (cf. Traducianism, Ptolemaic world view).I believe that The Lutheran Chucch-Missouri Synod, founded bymen of very diverse backgrounds and interests, can and does containwithin its scope a variety of emphases and positions that can be reconciledwith the doctrine of the Gospel. Our Synod was built out of diversity -- thatof Saxons, Pomeranians, Franconians, etc. Their historical backgrouridswere in Germany where variety was the rule and not the exception. Thiscan be illustrated from the various hymnals, orders of service, standards ofchurch and ministry, etc., that our church early showed. The result of thisdiversity and variety is that they sought for the highest degree ofconsensus that was possible among them under the Gospel. Our foundingfathers attempted the agreement in faith and practice, but did not insistupon absolute uniformity in every area of church life.The history of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has shownthat it can and did support the right of many to hold diverse andsomewhat different views -- and they were in the tradition of MartinLuther himself. His views on the Scripture and its authority plus his viewson the sacraments are prime examples of reformation variety.I believe that The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has and canlive under diversity where the Gospel has not demanded uniformity.Frederick W. DankerProfessor of Exegetical Theology (New Testament)I believe that the doctrine of original sin needs to be reemphasizedin our time. With Adam and Eve each one is linked in a massive rebelliousplot against the Creator. Original sin displayed itself in the murder of Abelby his brother Cain. Original sin is constantly operative among us ascounter-rebellion against God's grace that comes to us through the Gospelof our Lord Jesus Christ. Original sin displays itself, to use St. Paul'slanguage of Galatians 5:19-20 and Romans 1:30, in the polarization, politi-cal jockeying, party strife, name-calling, prejudicial labeling and suspicioneven of brethren, that can take place also in The Lutheran Church-MissouriSynod. Original sin asserts itself in my life as a theologian when I enjoy thedigging more than the receipt of God's treasure, or when through aridintellectualism I obscure simplicity of the Scriptures. No one, whetheradministrator, pastor or professional scholar is immune,and we must be onconstant guard lest Satan use misdirected theological and scholarly zeal(see Romans 10:2) to raise mountains of offence within the church so thatthe unconverted find further excuse not to accept the Gospel of our LordJesus Christ. I believe that we must all pray together for the Holy Spirit todrive out our old Adam and give us increasing measure of new Adam --Jesus Christ our Lord.I believe that through the Scriptures God investigates us and putsunder judgment all pretensions and motives and deeds that wouldchallenge the authority vested in Jesus Christ. Through the Gospel,described in the Scriptures, God offers to the repentant sinner forgiveness,the joy of His Holy Spirit and life that is everlasting. The Scriptures areinfallible. They challenge all other claims of infallibility and constitute thecanonical text. Canonical means for me that the Bible is the ultimatewritten source and judge of what is taught and practiced in the church.Thus the Lutheran Symbols emphasize that they contain only such doctrineas is founded on God's word.I believe that prophecy permeates the Bible. Prophecy may disturbor comfort God's people. When God's people fail to carry out Hisinstructions for them, the prophet usually pleads with them to repent lestdisaster befall them. A large part of propheticmessage deals with hope of deliverance in the future. The New Testamentdeclares that Jesus Christ is the fullness of what was hoped for in the OldTestament. Also the New Testament contains prophecy. Some of thisprophecy warns the church against renewed rebellion. Some consoles thechurch in her tribulations with assurance of the Lord's deliverance.From the preceding it is apparent that I believe the Scriptures to beconstantly concerned with the relation between Law and Gospel. TheApostle Paul sums the matter: "Where sin abounded grace did much moreabound" (Romans 5:20). Law has to do primarily with the abounding ofsin; Gospel with the abounding of God's power to cancel out my sin andrestore me to a new relationship with Himself through Jesus Christ myLord, so that I might henceforth be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.Since Sacred Scripture constantly displays God's concern to rescuerebellious mankind, it is the task of an edifying interpreter to show therelationship between the Gospel and the many situations or contexts inwhich it finds expression in the Scriptures.In view of the awesome esteem in which the Scriptures are to beheld, it is all the more incumbent on the scholar to tell the truth and notpermit the text of Scripture to be bent in the direction of any private orcollective interest. The exegete must be a watchdog for the church andprotect it against distortion of the meaning of Sacred Scripture. His task isto help improve preaching. I use historical method so that especially theinterpretation of the Old Testament by the New Testament might beappreciated. I also use such method so that the historical values of theScripture might not be sacrificed to philosophical and ecclesiasticalinterests that do injustice to the data of the Scriptures. I use critical methodin order to understand the Scriptures on their terms rather than on myterms or those inherited without question from other interpreters. Thuscritical method aims to preserve the text against false interpretations. It isevident, therefore, that to be critical does not mean to be negative, but to beopen to whatever God has communicated in His Word. I engage in gram-matical criticism in order to hear out the text in an the clarity with which itfirst found utterance. I am convinced that much of the problem in thechurch is due to the fact that the responsibilities of exegete (that is, asprofessional biblical interpreter ata seminary) and pastor (of a congregation) are frequently confused. Thetask of the exegete is to tell the truth about the text and its content so thatthe sermon derived from comparable study is truly Scriptural. The task ofthe preacher is to proclaim to his contemporary generation the truthexpressed in the text. Thus the exegete is pastoral and the pastor isexegetical, but the exegete does not deliver a sermon in the classroom andthe pastor does not detiver an exegetical lecture from the pulpit. In thismanner Lutheran interest in scholarly inquiry and also recognition of theneeds of the average hearer may be preserved and encouraged among us.Such a pastoral approach is in the spirit of Ephesians 4 and will promoteunity instead of polarity in our midst. For this preserve us HeavenlyFather!William J. .DankerDirector of Missionary TrainingProfessor of MïssionsI Believe In God Who Does WondersI believe that God who created the galaxies of the macrocosm and theintricate wonders of the microcosm, has made me and all creatures.No man is able to tame and prison the creative power of God in any cagebarred with ideology or man-shaped dogma. Whenever finite man thinkshe has God boxed in, His irrepressible, life-giving Spirit breaks forth anew.God's Word is a declaration of independence from man's control.Because I kneel in dumb-struck awe before the Resurrection of our Saviorfrom the dead, I boggle not at other wonders. I take a dozen, a thousand, ahundred million others in my stride.Precisely therefore, I stand fast in my freedom under the Gospel to seekafter the Spirit's intent and that of the inspired writers of Holy Scripture. Ifeel no need to play down the supernatural where I find it, nor to dress upthe natural where I encounter that.Man was the balance wheel that was supposed to keep all the lesser wheelsof God's Creation turning in perfect theocentric harmony. But manabandoned God as his center. He became ex-centric by becomingself-centered and thus profoundly disturbed the smooth machinery ofCreation.Now the world will not work properly because man no longer works forGod but for himself. Man's self-interest is both cause and result of the Fall.There is nothing in man to remedy the fatal sickness of his alienation fromGod.I Believe in Jesus Christ, My Promised LordI believe that God the Son is our Promised Lord. God's promise becomesflesh in Him. While the promise is means of grace, He is grace itse!f. Thehighest revelation of Islam is a Book, the Quran. The highest revelation ofChristianity is a Person, Jesus the Christ, Whom we learn to know throughthe inspired Scriptures.I believe that the Promised One has entered into history to liberate me, alost and condemned creature, from the power of sin, death and the devil.For me He was bom of the Virgin Mary under Caesar Augustus. For me Hesuffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. For me Herose from the dead on the third day that He might give me Life that neverends.I believe that my Promised Lord reconciles me and all He has made to Godby the blood of His Cross. In Christ I become a new creation. I findfulfillment as His redeemed creature by witnessing in words and actionsthat He is my Risen Lord as well as my reconciling Savior. His love seeksto overcome my self-centeredness and move me to serve Him in peoplewho need my help, especially the least of His brothers and sisters, thehungry, the naked and the oppressed.Though His lordship is perfect, my present discipleship is very far from it.But by grace He has promised me that beyond this time I will share in theperfection of His risen glory.I Believe in the Holy Spirit the Lord of God's MissionI believe in the Holy Spirit who revealed Himself supremely when Heconceived in Mary's virgin body the Word made flesh. To witness thisWord to all ages the Spirit guided the persons He chose to utter and recordGod's revelation so that we in these latter days might come to faith in Himand carry out His mission in the world.This is not a static but a dynamic Word. Through the Gospel and thesacraments the Spirit moves His Church everywhere to carry out her basicNew Testament functions, such as service, witness, fellowship, worshipand nurture.Within the generous limits of Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions theSpirit sets us free, allowing form to follow function in His great mission.The New Testament is the story of the Spirit’s liberation of the Church forHis mission. He strikes off the shackles of Old Testament law and thehobbles of scribal tradition. He lifts the handicapping weights thatbiblicistic, legalistic Judaizing Christians had loaded on the missionoutreach.With our entire Synod, I affirm as a Lutheran Christian that "theEvangelical Lutheran Church is ch iefly a confessional movement withinthe total body of Christ rather than a denomination emphasizinginstitutional barriers of separation." (Mission Affirmations)David E. DeppeDirector of Instructional Media CenterAssistant Professor of Practical Theblogy (Speech)I.I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, MAKER OFHEAVEN AND EARTH.A.I believe, teach and confess that God is the creator of allthings.1. God is Lord of all heaven and earth. He alone was inthe beginning: nothing else; no one else.2. Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God; the firstborn of allcreation; in Him, through Him and for Him all things werecreated. All things were made through Him, and without Himwas not anything made that was made.3. God created me and all creatures. There is nothing visible orinvisible that is not created by Him.4. God has given me my body, soul and life; my members greatand small; all the faculties of my mind, my reason andunderstanding. None of us has life, physical or eternal, outside ofthe creator God.B. I believe, teach and confess that God is the preserver of all things. 1. God's creating activity is a present reality as well as a pastevent.2. God daily and abundantly provides me with all the necessitiesof life3. God protects me from ail danger and preserves me from alievil. This He does out of His pure, fatherly and divine goodnessand mercy without any merit or worthiness on my part.C. I believe, teach and confess that all of creation is bound togive God thanks and praise. The mystery of creation, however, canonly be comprehended by faith and only a person of faith can exclaim:"Worthy is our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and powerfor He created all things and by His will all things exist."II. I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD; WHOWAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY GHOST; BORN OF THEVIRGIN MARY; SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE; WASCRUCIFIED, DEAD AND BURIED; HE DESCENDED INTOHELL; THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD;HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND SITTETH ON THE RIGHTHAND OF GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY; FROM THENCE HESHALL COME TO JUDGE THE QUICK AND THE DEAD.A. I believe, teach and confess Jesus Christ, God incarnate.1. Jesus Christ is true God from eternity.2. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of the Father, was miraculouslyplanted in the womb of the Virgin Mary and became true man,conceived and born without sin that He might become Lord oversin.3. Jesus Christ, in fulfillment of God's promises, came for us menand for our salvation. In Adam's fall all men are lost and liveunder the curse of God's wrath and the judgment of death; butJesus Christ, the Second Adam, has come to bring us back fromdeath to life, from sin to righteousness.B. I believe, teach and confess Jesus Christ crucified and risen.1. Jesus Christ suffered, died and was buried that He might makesatisfaction for me and pay what I owed, not with silver andgold, but with His own precious blood. I receive forgiveness ofsin and become righteous before God by grace, for Christ’s sake,through faith, and not by my own merits, works, or satisfactions.2. Jesus Christ bodily rose from the dead on the thirdday in the same body which He assumed from thel Virgin Maryand which was nailed upon the cross, but a body which nowhad different attributes. He swallowed up and devoured deathand finally ascended into heaven and assumed dominion at theright hand of the Father.3. Jesus Christ is the sympathetic high priest, mighty Lord to besure, but one who was made like His brethren in everyrespect; who even now lives as our brother and our king topray for us and to protect His people.C. I believe, teach and confess that it is the duty of all men to thankand praise, to serve and obey Jesus Christ. The mystery ofredemption, however, can only be comprehended by faith and ontya person of faith can truly exclaim: "Worthy is the Lamb that wasslain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, andhonor, and glory and blessing."III. I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY GHOST; THE HOLY CHRISTIANCHURCH; THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS; THE FORGIVENESS OFSINS; THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY; AND THE LIFEEVERLASTING. A. I believe, teach and confess the Holy Spirit.1. The Holy Spirit is God, proceeding from the Father and the Sonfrom eternity.2. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, that is, the One whostrengthens us with the power of Christ. By my own reason orstrength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come toHim. Only the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, sanctifiesand keeps the whole Christian Church in the one true faith.3. The Holy Spirit is the Counselor, the Advocate, who is at workin the Church and through the Church, interceding for theChurch with sighs too deep for words. He brings to that Churchvarious gifts that areeven more diverse than God's varied gifts of creation. TheChurch rejoices in the abundance of gifts and uses those giftsfor the upbuilding of the Body of Christ.4. The Holy Spirit is the Revealer, who breathed God's Word tomen. He caused all Holy Scripture to be written, both Oldand New Testaments, in all its concrete wording, throughmany human authors, for the one purpose of making menwise unto salvation. The Scripture is the witness to the Word,Jesus Christ, who is the center and scope of the Scripture. TheHoly Scripture possesses divine authority, that is, in all that itsays it is entitled to the same faith and obedience that is dueGod.5. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. His Word is not false; itdoes not lie. His Word teaches perfectly whatever we need toknow for our eternal salvation.6. The Holy Spirit is the Enlightener, opening trhe minds of thepeople of God to understand the Word of God. He alonegives such understanding, equipping His Church withvarious interpretation and application of that Word.7. The Holy Spirit is the convincer, convincing the world of sin,righteousness and jedgment. He does this through theproclamation of Law and Gospel. The Law teaches what isright and God-pleasing and condemns everything that issinful and contrary to God’s will. The Gospel teaches thatChrist has satisfied and paid for all guilt and without man’smerit has obtained and won for man the forgiveness of sin,life and salvation. It is essential that this distinction be madebetween the Law and the Gospel so that the Word of Godmay be properly applied!8. The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier, working in and through theGospel: Through the spoken Word by which the forgivenessof sin is preached to the whole world, through Holy Baptism,through the HolySacrament of the Altar, through Holy Absolution and throughthe mutual conversation and consolation of the brother, to makemen holy, that is, to set men apart for God's own purpose.B. I believe, teach and confess that it is the duty of all men to thank andpraise God for the Work of the Holy Spirit. The mystery ofsanctification, however, can only be comprehended by faith and only aperson of faith can exclaim: "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and powerbelong to our God. Ha!lelujah! For the Lord, our God, the Almightyreigns. Let us rejoice and exhalt and give Himthe glory; for themarriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, small andgreat! Hallelujah!"Ar1is J. Eh1enAssistant Professor of Exegetical Theology (Old Testament)The following is a personal statement drawn up in response to arecommendation made to the faculty by the Council of Presidents. It is notintended to be a complete confession of faith, covering all points ofChristian doctrine; rather, it sets forth my convictions on certain matterscurrently under discussion. Hence the omission of various subjectsindicates only that I do not consider them to be among the main points atissue. I am willing to discuss these matters and others further with anyoneof good will, in the spirit of the Council of Presidents' resolution.As a baptized Christian, a confirmed Lutheran, and an ordained servant ofthe Word wholeheartedly pledged to the Holy Scriptures and the LutheranConfessions, I desire first to state some fundamental aspects of my faithunder two headings, then to show at the hand of two examples how thisfaith guides me in the interpretation of the Scriptures.A. FIRST DUALITY: LAW AND GOSPELIf it were not for God, I believe, neither I myself nor anything in the worldabout me would prosper or even exist. But I believe that God has made meand all creatures and still preserves us.These two statements stand in contrast yet also in relationship to eachother. They constitute one example of a basic duality that underlies theentire Biblical faith and my own faith. The two elements of that continuallyrecurring duality are the human condition without God and the actions ofGod to change that condition. Following the Lutheran confessions, I oftenrefer to these two poles of the Biblical message as law and gospel.Thus I see first what we are as long as we do not have God. I recognize inmyself and in the whole history of mankind an innate failure toacknowledge God and to live as he intended in his good creation. This hasbrought estrangement from God and a great variety of conditions in whichhumans are miserable and lost without God. It is particularly the HolyScriptures, in their law aspect; that lead me to understand the full depth ofthis common human experience and to acknowledge my own fateful sharein it.But I have come to believe, by the Spirit of God working through thegospel, that it is the nature of God to change those miserable humanconditions by his gracious action. Along with all others who make up hischurch, I have experienced this grace in my own life, beginning with hisfostering care from the moment of my birth, and especially at my baptism.I believe, however, that God has acted most significantly in a series ofspecific events in the history of mankind, recorded and interpreted in theScriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Through the recounting ofthese real historical events and the promises conveyed through them theHoly Spirit has led me to trust that in spite of God's judgment on me he isnevertheless merciful to me through his Son, the Christ.This is the two-part pattern which I see in history and in my own life: ahopeless human situation reversed by a gracious act of God. This dualityprovides an essential key to the interpretation of the Scriptures - and to theinterpretation of events in contemporary life as well, since I believe that inthe midst of today's misery and need God continues to act graciously.B. SECOND DUALITY: DIVINE AND HUMANI believe furthermore that God's gracious response to human need and sinmost often takes the form of acting through human means rather than in adazzling display of his unveiled majesty and power. This furtherduality-divine, yet human-appears clearly in very many of God's acts asreported in the Scriptures. God worked and spoke both his judgment andhis grace through his human servant Moses, through kings and prophetsand numerous other persons. Yet it was God's own will that wasaccomplished through these human means.Most significant of all, God accomplished the gracious salvation of fallenmankind through his own divine Son, born as a human of the Virgin Mary.In him God shared our human life and then passed through death itself, inorder to give us with him a resurrection to eternal life. Christ still lives andreigns as true God, fully able to save us, but also as true man, fullysympathetic to our human experiences and human needs.Even to this day, I believe, God continues to do his divine work in theworld through Christ and through many "little Christs;" real men andwomen in whom God is graciously active.Yet another instance of this divine-human duality is God's way of speakingto us. The message of law and gospel, whatever the vehicle, is truly theWord of God. It comes to us in its authoritative form in the Holy Scripturesof the Old and New Testaments, which are in their entirety the Word ofGod. The message and even the words themselves are God's. They can befully understood and accepted in faith only through the working of theHoly Spirit.The words are God's, but we thank him that they are expressed in humanlanguage. Otherwise we could not know what God is saying to us. Godused men like us to speak and write his words by inspiration. In order tounderstand these words of God through men wemust use our knowledge of normal human language and literature andhistory; that is, we must use the same historical, critical methodology thatis appropriate for the study of other human writings. And that is simplybecause God usually chooses to accomplish his divine work throughearthly, human means. Yet the faith that results is entirely God's doing.These two dualities - law and gospel, divine and human - are deeplyembedded into the very structure of my faith, which is the faith taught inthe Holy Scriptures and correctly expounded in the Lutheran Confessions.As a Lutheran interpreter of the Scriptures, I approach anyexegetical-doctrinal matter in full awareness of these two basic dualities.Several examples will show what this entails.C.FIRST EXAMPLE: ANGELSIn the light of what I have already set forth, I believe that the Biblicalstatements about angels must be understood against the background ofwhat other humans in ancient times were saying and thinking aboutsupernatural beings. Much attention was devoted to such beings, theirnames and ranks and personalities were described in detail, and they wereoften actually worshiped. In contrast, it is noteworthy how very little theBiblical writers say about the kinds of beings the angels are.In the Scriptures our attention is directed instead to the many differentways in which the angels serve and glorify God. An angel of destructionbrought death to the Egyptian oppressors (Exodus 12:23). God's angelstood between the camp of Israel and that of Egypt (Exodus 14:19-20). Theangel of the Lord announced the birth of the Savior (Matthew 1:20-24; Luke2:9-12). Angels were the first to proclaim the resurrection of Christ(Matthew 28:2-7; Luke 24:4-8).A faithful study of the human-divine Word has showed me that Godevidently does not want us to become fascinated by the existence of angelsin and of itself. Rather, he wants us to see these creatures too as involved inhis all-important dealings with mankind in judgment and in mercy (lawand gospel).D. SECOND EXAMPLE: THE DELIVERANCE AT THE SEAI affirm the Biblical testimony that God wrought a spectacular act ofjudgment against Pharaoh and his army at the Red Sea (law). Thus Godcompleted the gracious redemption of his people Israel from theirEgyptian tyranny (gospel).I have come to see, however, that the event itself was only the beginning,and that its law-gospel character extends much further. This terrifying yetsaving act of God was fundamental to the entire relationship between Godand his people. On its basis he made a covenant with them and gave themlaws (Exodus 19:3-8), then led them into the promised land (Joshua 24:6-8).His loving miracleforthem at the Red Sea made their rebelliousness and sinall the more detestable (Psalm 106:6-15). But in the end he graciouslypromised further deliverance after the pattern of the Red Sea event (Isaiah11:15-16; 43: 14-21).All this is still significant for my faith as a New Testament Christian. Itforeshadows our own redemption from the tyranny of sin. We passthrough the waters of baptism, sharing in Christ's death in order to becomehis living people. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 10:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14; Revelation15:2-4.) God is still speaking both law and gospel to us today through theseancient events and words.I think we must recognize that these words also clearly involve a humanaspect. God used a number of different human spokesmen to testify tothese events and their meaning. Each of the many Biblical references to thesubject has its own special viewpoint and its own particular application tofaith or life. Some inspired authors emphasize this aspect, others that.Some elaborate here, otfiers expand there on the basis of various otherexperiences of God's might and mercy. Some details are surely meant asliteral fact -- the death of the pursuing Egyptians by drowning, forinstance. Others are just as surely to be taken figuratively, in the light of allwe know about literary conventions - the neighboring mountains skippinglike lambs (Psalm 114:4,6). Still others are uncertain, and may be variouslyexplained without questioning the interpreter's orthodoxy -- the Egyptianssinking to the bottom like a stone or a piece of lead (Exodus 15:5,10;weren't they already on the dried-up sea bottom before the waters cameback?).Faced with such diversity built into the Scriptures themselves, I amconcerned to remain faithful to God's Word. Various details about themiracle remain obscure in spite of our best exegetical efforts. Itwould violate the passages themselves, I believe, to make these details intoarticles on which perfect agreement is required. When we properlyrecognize the divine-human duality of the Scriptural statements we arehelped immensely in hearing the intended message of God's Word, inwhich the law condemns our sin and the gospel shows us God's love inChrist. I thank God for giving us this message so clearly andunmistakably!Alfred O. FuerbringerDirector of Continuing EducationIWhen I was ordained to the ministry of the Gospel of our Lord JesusChrist on 18 September 1927, I stated publicly that I “believe the canonicalbooks of the Old and the New Testament to be the inspired Word of Godand the only infallible rule of faith and practice” (Liturgy and Agenda, CPH,St. Louis, 1921, p. 376) and that I "hold and profess the doctrine of theEvangelical Lutheran Church as laid down in the Symbols contained in theBook of Concord of 1580, to wit, the three Ecumenical Creeds, the AugsburgConfession, the Apology of the same, the Smalcald Articles, the Small and theLarge Catechism, and the Formula of Concord, to be the true doctrine of theHoly Scriptures" (ibid).At the convention of the Oklahoma District of the Evangelical LutheranSynod of Missouri, Ohio,and Other States in May 1928 I was received intosynodical membership. I signed the constitution and testified to myacceptance of the confessional paragraph which stated then, exactly as itdoes now,"The Synod, and every member of the Synod, accepts with-out reservation1. The Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament as the writtenWord of God and the only rule and norm of faith and of practice;2. All the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as atrue and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word ofGod, to wit: the three Ecumenical Creeds (the Apostles' Creed,the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed), the Unaltered AugsburgConfession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the SmalcaldArticles, the Large Catechism of Luther, the Small Catechism ofLuther, and the Formula of Concord. " (Synodical Handbook 1924, p.1; Handbook of rhe LCMS 1971, p. 15)For 46 years I have lived with, and kept, these commitments. Not that I layclaim to perfection in studying, understanding, thinking through, andputting into proper words for myself and my hearers and readers what theSacred Scriptures and the Lutheran Symbols teach. On the contrary, I amconscious of much misunderstanding, faulty formulation and errorthroughout my career. I agree with and am comforted by the words ofC.F.W. Walther, the first president of our synod,"The situation in the case of error is the same as in that of sin. Just asall Christians because of human fraiity have their sins, so all havetheir errors-and both are forgiven thern" (Lehre und Wehre, XIV,1868, p. 236).I thank God that I can also state with Walther:"It is [my] continual earnest endeavor to make progress in theapprehension of the truth and with the help of God to cleanse[myself] more and more from all error that adheres to [me]" (DerLutheraner, XIII, 1856, p. 1).Surely, all those who appreciate Walther as a great gift of God to Hischurch will join him in this confession.I also thank God that, in spite of strong and sustained efforts on the part ofsome people to alter the doctrinal requirements for synodical membership,the LCMS has kept them unchanged and has neither subtracted from noradded to them.The ministry entrusted to me by the Lord of the church has included14 years as parish pastor and 32 years as school administrator. In responseto the request of the LCMS Council of Presidents for a simple andunsophisticated statement of my “Biblical and Confessional stance” I amhappy to give the following.IIWhen John the Baptist began his ministry of preparing the way for theappearance of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, among His people, the chiefaccent of John's preaching was, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is athand." (Matt. 3:1ff). Our Lord had the same theme, as He began Hisministry, "Repent and believe in the Gospel" (Mark 1:15). When Peterpreached on the day of Pentecost and the people asked him, "What shallwe do?" his response was, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in thename of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" (Acts 2:38). This noteis echoed again and again throughout the New Testament as it had beenscores of times in the Old (the history of Israel from Exodus throughChronicles, many Psalms, frequent utterances of the prophets).Repentance was also a Reformation keynote, sounded in the first of Luther's famous 95 Theses and called in Apology XXIV, 46, "The principaldoctrine of the Christian faith" (Tappert, p. 258).Repentance is the result of the work of the law of God which is “thethunderbolt by means of which God with one blow destroys both opensinners and false saints. He allows no one to justify himself. He drives alltogether into terror and despair” (Smalcald Article III, Art. III, 2; Tappert, p.304). But "to this office of the law the New Testament immediately adds theconsoling promise of grace in the Gospel. This is to be believed, as Christsays in Mark 1:15 "Repent and believe in the Gospel!" (ibid, 4). "ChristHimself says in Luke 24:47, 'Repentance and the forgiveness of sins shouldbe preached in His name to all nations!"' (ibid, 6). Every human being iscondemned as a sinner (Rom. 3:9,19f.). To every human being is offered theforgiving grace of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:18 - 21). It is this proc-lamation of judgment and promise, law and Gospel, that is the heart ofGod's Word to men, the essential content and message of the SacredScriptures and, derivatively, of the Lutheran Symbols and therefor of thetheology, witness and teaching of every true Lutheran.Of course, it is the Gospel that is the great, the significant thing in all ofthis. "It is the saving power of God for everyone who has faith . . . becausehere is revealed God's way of righting wrong" (Rom. 1:16f). All that Godhas done, and still does, to reverse the evi! man brought upon himselfthrough his disobedience is part of the “Good News,” especially theincarnation of the eternal Son of God in the person of Jesus, Son of theVirgin Mary, His earthly ministry and His suffering, death andresurrection - all carried out "for us" (2 Cor. 5:14f).The Gospel also includes what God has done in His work of creation,making "me and all that exists," and what He continues to do in orderingthe universe and in giving us our daily bread, that is, "everything requiredto satisfy our bodily needs."The Gospel furthermore includes the work ascribed to the Holy Spirit,namely, calling men to saving faith through the Gospel, preserving them inthis faith and uniting them with their fellow-believers in the "one, holy,Christian and Apostolic church." The Holy Spirit, operating in the churchthrough Word and Sacrament, conveys the forgiveness of sins, assures theresurrection of the dead, and grants eternal life to all believers in Christ.IIIAmong the marvelous and unique acts of God for His children on earthmust be ranked the giving of His written Word, the Sacred Scriptures.While both under the Old Covenant and in the New Testament era thepeople of God were first gathered and sustained spiritually through thespoken word of the inspired prophets and of Jesus and His apostles,respectively, God soon inspired servants of His also to write His Word andthus gave to His people "the prophetic and apostolic writings of the Oldand New Testaments as the pure and clear fountain of Israel [which] is theonly true norm according to which all teachers and teachings are to bejudged and evaluated" Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration; Rule andNorm 3, Tappert p. 503f).The Scriptures say practically nothing about the manner in which theinspiration took place, or about the way in which the writings wererecognized for what they are, were used, circulated, gathered and kept.The latter is as great a miracle of God as the former. In spite of the loss ofall original manuscripts, in spite of copyists' errors andother forms of textual degeneration and emendation, and in spite offrequent mistranslations into other languages, the peoples of today have -as their forbears had before them - in the Bibles or portions thereof theycan read or have read to them "the sacred writings which have power tomake you wise and lead you to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2Tim. 3:15).The authority and the power of the Sacred Scriptures are the authority andpower of God Whose word they are. This truth is apprehended by faith.The manner in which the authority and power assert themselves is, again,a mystery which God has not revealed to man. The great diversity withinthe Scriptures - interesting, enlightening, helpful, necessary - is partly aresult of the wide span of subject matter, of time and circumstances, partlydue to the human factor, that is, God's use of an array of writers of vastlydifferent backgrounds, abilities, characters and personalities. Yet theScriptures forma beautiful and unified whole, like a diadem of manyprecious jewels and metals.IVIn recent years controversies about the doctrine concerning the SacredScriptures have become quite sharp in the church, including the LCMS.While the written Word of God is a great treasure and is worth whateverstruggle is necessary to hold on to it, some of the aspects of the discussionabout the Bible have harmed rather than helped matters. The importantquestion must always be, "Are the Sacred Scriptures recognized as beingthe Word of God which He has given to men in the divine-human form inwhich we have it?" If there is agreement on this and on the corollary that,therefore, whatever the Scriptures are found to say is to be accepted as thesubject of faith and the standard for life, whatever problems ariseconcerning the meaning of the text of the Scriptures should be discussableand should yield to fraternal discussion, especially among peoplecommitted to the Lutheran Symbols.In our circles much is made of the matter of the inerrancy and the facticityof the Sacred Scriptures. The questions arise because of obviousdisagreement between what the Bible says in one place from what it says inanother, or between what the Bible says and what is discerned fromscientific observation or known from geography, geology, history or someother branch of human knowledge. People who become greatly concernedabout such matters need to keep severalthings in mind. It is quite generally agreed that scribal errors and de-liberate textual changes account for disparities in numbers, names andsimilar data. These do not change the message of the Scriptures and there’snot much point in arguing now about an original text we do not have.Furthermore, the style of the Biblical writers is to a very large extent thelanguage of ordinary communication with its generalizations, lack ofexactness, phenomenology, etc. A large part of the Old Testament iscouched in poetic terms, also in historical and prophetic books. What Godsays here is just as fully true as the rest of Scripture, but both the every-daylanguage and the poetic style need to be interpreted for what they are.Finally, people need to remember that there is usually more than one trueand correct way to describe a given event, thing, or concept. When theScriptures give more than one account of the creation or of an event in thelife of Jesus, one is just as true as the other and each fulfills the purposeGod wished to accomplish through the inspired writer. This may also bethe case where secular sources differ from Biblical accounts. Each may be alegitimate way of telling the story in keeping with the end in view. Whatthe seminary faculty said in 1960 in "A Statement on the Form andFunction of the Holy Scriptures" is still valid,"The Scriptures express what God wants them to say andaccomplish what God wants them to do. In this sense and in thefulfillment of this function they are inerrant, infaliibie, and whollyreliable. Their truthfulness, their infallibility as the only rule of faithand practice, and their reliabiiity are incontrovertible. There is nohuman or secular criterion by which their truthfulness, theirinfallibility as the only rule of faith and practice, and theirreliability can be measured and made evident. This truthfulness,this infallibility as the only rule of faith and practice, and thisreliability is known and can be asserted only in faith; those whobelieve the Scriptures, trust them, and rely on them are not put toshame, for the Scriptures neither go astray nor lead astray."The method to be employed in Biblical interpretation is another con-troversial issue. How do we find out what the text really says, what itsintended meaning is? There is no doubt that here enlightened humanjudgment and sanctified common sense must be used. If God had seen fitto give us a Bible directly from heaven that had a firm text in every man'slanguage, and notes for the understanding of it, we’d be saved theseproblems. But given the text we have and ourlimited knowledge of its history and original form, we have to operate withthe best tools available. As soon as we begin to study the various extantBiblical manuscripts we of necessity start making critical judgments as tothe probable original form of the text and the meaning of many of thewords it contains, and expressions. As we proceed from this point there isno sharp dividing line to mark off form criticism, redaction criticism andother aspects of historical-critical methodology. All have their proper useto open up the Sacred Scriptures to a better understanding. All also may beand are being improperly used to the detriment of Biblical understanding.The attitude of the interpreter and the presuppositions with which heapproaches the text are the determining factors. The history of Biblicalinterpretation amply demonstrates that there never has been a foolproofmethod which eliminated all errors. Committed Lutherans need to makesure that they use their tools within the framework of their confessions.Since the controversy in the church has become very sharp and threatens tocause further division beyond those obtaining at present, it is essential thatall who really love the Lord and His church bend their efforts towards thepreservation of unity. This must be done through evangelical persuasion.High pressure methods and scare tactics to win converts to either side dogreat harm. It must be borne in mind that persuasion is by the power of theHoly Spirit who works through the Gospel to produce faith.What St. Paul says as he inveighs against the judaizers of his day indenouncing their attempts legalistically to impose the unnecessary andharmful burdens of Jewish law and ritual on Christians from Gentile ranksapplies today also whenever legalistic methods are being used to attemptto force followers of Christ to accept unnecessary and potentially harmfullimitations on methods of arriving at Biblical understanding.VSince much attention is being focused on the theology confessed andtaught by the members of the faculty of Concordia Seminary and sinceconsiderable pains have been taken to discredit much of it, I believe thatthe following facts ought to be carefully weighed and be reflected in anyconclusions that are proposed.Since my coming to the seminary in 1953, the members of 18 classes havebeen graduated and recommended for ordination to the ministry in theLCMS. All had completed a year's supervised vicarage before their finalyear of studies. The 18 classes totaled 2,697 men. Add to that the membersof this year's senior class, who also completed vicarage, and the presentthird-year men who are serving in congregations at present and have hadplenty of opportunity to give evidence of their theological stance. Theybring the 20-year total to 3,024.It is very significant that, considering this large number of studentsengaged in vicarage over such a long span of years, the bad reports orcomplaints on theological grounds received from congregations,supervising pastors, circuit counselors and district executives have beencomparatively very few. If the current theology to which the seminarystudents were exposed were to any appreciable degree non-Biblical,non-Lutheran, this ought surely to be discernible in more than one percentof the vicars and graduates -- a percentage that is no higher now than itwas a generation or two generations ago.If the opinion is voiced that what is held to be serious theologicaldeterioration at Concordia Seminary is of too recent vintage to have anoticeable effect in the synod, the answer must be given that the facultyhas been under heavy fire for a long time, continuously for almost 40 yearsand heavily as long as 60 years ago. Also, there have been comparativelyfew recent additions to the faculty. The average tenure of the 46 presentfaculty members is 14 years.Each member of the LCMS, and especially everyone in a position ofleadership who is really concerned about helping to bring peace to thechurch, had better make sure that he looks both wider and deeper for thecauses of the current unrest than the present theological stance of the St.Louis seminary faculty.Paul F. GoettingAssistant Professor of Practical Theology (Church and Society)The miracle of God's turning me to Himself by the power of His Spirit hasawed me throughout my life. In spite of my rebellion, sin and doubt, Hehas made me His own through His grace and haskeptme by the power ofHis Spirit. The miracle of faith for me as for much of the church wasinitiated by Holy Baptism when God conveyed to me all the benefits ofChrist's suffering and death and united me as a person to Christ and HisHoly Christian Church, with all the saints past and the whole ecumenicalchurch present.My life with Christ's body, the Church, has been immensely strengthenedthrough the means of grace. The Word and the Sacraments have proved tome a wellspring of spiritual blessings. As sin, doubt and weakness bring ondespair, God's ministry within His Church has comforted andstrengthened me with the declaration of forgiveness and hope in Christ'sname.It is Christ's Word that is attached to baptism, to my baptism; it is Christ'sWord that is with the Holy Supper. It is the effective Word of law andgospel, of judgment and grace, which turns us in repentance and holds usin the arms of our Father. Such events, the daily events of my life signalcelebration, joy and gladness - Christian worship.The Word of Baptism, the Word of the Eucharist is the same Word that waswitnessed to by the prophets, evangelists and apostles of the Old and NewTestaments. It is the same Word to which God's faithful people have bornwithess by the Spirit's power in each generation.It is the Word which I know and believe in the Scriptures. Indeed the HolyScriptures are the Church's primary witness to the miraculous events ofGod's self-revelation of Himself. Because they are the very Word of Godthey are the authority, the norm above ali norms to determine both faithand life.In my studies I have found that the Lutheran Confessions beautifullyexhibit the Word which the Scriptures reveal. And I am thereforefully committed and obedient to the Lutheran Symbols, for they dofor me what they claim to do, confess freely and clearly our LordJesus Christ. They are not merely accepted in so far as they are a trueexposition of the Gospel; they are accepted because they do truth-fully confess the Gospel and properly instruct against false gospels.The Scriptures are in ali their parts God's Holy Word. They are to berevered, studied and handled as they indeed are, God's unique revelationof Himself to mankind. At the same time, God's revelation must also berecognized as it also truly is, God's revelation of Himself through Moses,Abraham, Mary, Jesus and the apostles. They are thus God's revelation inand through history at particular times and under unique cultural andsocial conditions. Because the Scriptures are both divine and human,because they have been entrusted by God to His Church to be known andproclaimed, they invite scholarly study, including the best methods ofhistorical research. This is not in any way license for irresponsibility, letalone irreverence. Because the Scriptures are Christ's Holy Book andsubject to His Lordship, scholarship in biblical matters as in all other workin the church must be approached with the specific discipline of faith, forby no other means will the Scriptures ever be understood as the truth ofGod.In our circies the Lutheran confessional principies give shape to thisscholarly biblical enterprise. Faith and the Lutheran Confessions do notstifle or restrict sound biblical scholarship; faith dares to look deeply,seeking for our generation as well as tomorrow's a clearer and more perfectwitness to the mercies of God.How insidious are the ways that tradition becomes frozen and so easilyobstructs an authentic expression of Christ's Word and the work ofChristian mission. Luther, we should recall, knew something about theidolatry of tradition. To be sure, the traditions of the church from onegeneration to another are important. And biblical schoiarship dare notdisrupt traditions in the church merely to disturb. But traditions must bedisrupted when they confound the teaching and life of the church andobstruct faith and hinder mission. I have found good biblical scholarshipdisturbing, especially when I discovered how a traditional interpretation ofa biblical passage has become "institutionaiized" at the expense of a freshhistorical interpretation.Finally I believe and teach that God who has shown Himself uniquely inChrist Jesus continues to call to ali men through the sufferings of society,the sick, the imprisoned, the oppressed -- through all manners of injustices.In such contexts Christians must be caught up with God in His mission.Our Lutheran insight to law and gospel both protectsus from falsely identifying His Kingdom with any particular humanideology and frees us in faith for prophetic preaching and effective serviceto all men in their many needs as God gives opportunity.Carl GraesserAssociate Professor of Exegetical Theology (Old Testament)My faith, my teaching, my confession grow out of and are basedupon the nurture in the faith I received among God's people, the Church. Iwas baptized by my grandfather, first taught the love of Jesus by mymother, confirmed and ordained by my father. The wellspring of my hopeand life is God's promise that He will ever be my gracious God in JesusChrist. This Gospel of God's forgiveness is the heartand source of myministry as a servant of Christ and His church.My specific ministry is that of a teacher of Old Testament to menpreparing for ordained ministry in the Lutheran church. I consider this aparticularly weighty responsibility, since the Scriptures of the Old andNew Testaments are the written word of God and the only rule and normof faith and practice. It is crucial that ministers develop professional abilityto interpret these Scriptures, to hear clearly the Word of Law and Gospelwhich God speaks there, as the Lutheran Confessions have rightlyperceived the heart and purpose of the Scriptures. This transforming Wordof the Gospel is the basis and power of their ministry and mine.In interpreting the Scriptures, I take its divine inspiration with allseriousness. God wrote this book through certain men, to bring Hismessage to a specific audience in their specific need. The interpretivemethods I use must take into account this God-chosen historical specificity.I must avoid unwittingly reading into this text myown 20th century concerns and rather attempt to discern the meaningintended in the text. To this end I thankfully use the whole array of toolsand knowledge of the biblical world which Christian scholars haveacquired under the Spirit's leading. This naturally involves many technicalprocedures and detaiìs, for my students and I are professional exegetes. Weowe God and His church the very best efforts of which we are capable. Theultimate purpose of this labor is this: to understand the Scriptures; to hearclearly the message which God spoke and still speaks in them today, HisWord of law and Gospel. To aid my students to accomplish that purpose, Iowe them the example of the witness of my own faith and that of theChurch. This I gladly give, and I cherish that they will join me in thatconfession.I believe that God has created me and everything in this universe.He exercises all power over His creation through means we term both"natural" and "miraculous." God has set man at the crown of His creation,in order to care for it. In fact, he places each human being in his owncalling and place in the world and society. Therefore, each person finds hisidentity and meaning in life only as he responsibly fulfills that divinelyordained role. We are to care for this earth and for fellow men in all theirneeds of body, mind, and spirit, and in every relationship with God andfellowman.I believe that God has redeemed me and all mankind. This is ourultimate need, for since the fall we are all born sinful, rebellious, withoutproper fear of God, without ability or desire to please God. Yet God, in Hisinexplicable mercy, set in motion His redemptive plan. He chose thepatriarchs, promising them the blessings of land and descendants, thatthereby he might mediate every blessing needed to remedy our fallen state.This promising, saving, forgiving God fulfilled that plan: by the Exodusand the Red Sea rescue, by forming a chosen covenanted people, by the giftof the promised land, by the promise to the Davidic dynasty, by nurturingHis people through the prophets who announced judgment and held forththe promise that God would bring in the blessed age of His Kingdom aridMessiah. Finally, in Jesus God fulfilled all the promises of His prophets, thehopes of His people, and the needs of all mankind. Setting aside the glorythat was His, our Lord Jesus became man, bom of the Virgin Mary. Helived for us a life of obedience to God. Through preaching and wondrousdeeds He brought in the reign of God, and, praise God!, the beginning ofthe end of every form of the rule of Sin, Death, Satan, and Law. In Hisdeath and bodily resurrection He wonfor us a gift too wonderfully full to describe without an endless series ofwords: victory, forgiveness, life, reconciliation, propitiation, salvation, andon and on. Happily we look forward to resurrected life beyond death, aneternity where we may contemplate this gift fully.I believe that the Holy Spirit is working powerfully among us toaccomplish His saving purposes. He is the One who calls us to faiththrough the Gospel, preserves us in it, and empowers the Christian Life inus. He sees to it that His people are never without the comforting power ofthis Good News. He raised up leaders, Moses, Joshua, David, the prophetsand apostles, and those sacred authors of the Scriptures. Today Hecontinues to work behind the mask of human history, in ways visible onlyto faith: in the water of baptism, in the bread and wine of the sacrament, inthe words of absolution, in the printed page of Scripture, and in the livingvoice of the Church, men, women, and children. He works through us aswe carry on His Mission within this fallen world to mediate every blessingwhich Christ has wrought and which God would give to fill the needs ofevery person.This is the biblical faith which I confess. This is the faith which theLutheran Confessions, to which I cheerfully subscribe, proclaim andexplain in greater detail. I pray and cherish for my students that they willjoin me in it that they, with me, will believe it to their salvation, teach it infulfillment of their calling and ministry, and confess it before the churchand the world, to the edification of God's people and the glory of God.Robert A. GrunowDirector of Seminary RelationsAssociate Professor of Practical TheologyWith Luther I believe, teach and confess that Jesus Christ, true God,begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the VirginMary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature,purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power ofthe devil; not with gold or sílver, but with His holy precious blood, andwith His innocent suffering and death; that I may be His own and liveunder Him in His Kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness,innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives andreigns to all eternity.I believe, teach and confess the ecumenical Creeds and theConfessions of our church, especially Luther's Small Catechism. I wasordained in February, 1949, and took my oath to uphold the Bible andthese confessions. I have repeated this oath three times, including myinstallation as professor at Concordia Seminary nine years ago. I havenever knowingly taught ANYTHlNG against my ordination vows andwould not knowingly do so.Since becoming professor at Concordia Seminary in 1963, I havetaken sixteen courses from fourteen of my colleagues, have listened tohundreds of their sermons and meditations, have listened to theminformally and formally at meetings, social gatherings and in privatediscussions and have NEVER heard any false doctrine. There weredifferent doctrinal emphases, differing approaches to questions, variety inpious opinions expressed, but no false doctrine. Never has my Savior beendenied, never has salvation by grace alone been attacked, never has theatoning blood of Christ been questioned. In my honest opinion the presentsituation is simply a continuation of arguments which have gone on forgenerations.I believe that the Bible, the 66 books of the New and Old Testaments, arethe inspired and infallible Word of God. This can be said only of theoriginal texts which we no longer have. Therefore, we are dependent uponcopies, and undoubtedly copies of copies, which were handed downthrough the years by dedicated, but very human men. However, I believethe Holy Spirit, who originally used ordinary men and their own peculiarlanguage, phrases and idioms to express the very words, thoughts andideas of God, has basically preserved forus His truths necessary for our eternal salvation.In studying the Bible, I believe every scholarly tool is viable, as longas the presupposition is that we are dealing with the verbally inspiredWord of God, and respect it as sacred and holy, revealing God's eternaltruths. As long as this presupposition is applied conscientiously andseriously, I believe God expects us to use our reason and scholarship to digfinto His Word and rediscover in each generation that which He Himself issaying to man. The Bible is not a dead Book, but is relevant, dynamic andliving. It is so deep the greatest mindscannot comprehend. It is so simple achild can know his Savior. Each generation will have to search, study anddig into it to find those answers hidden within it for the questions andproblems of each age. I fear too often today answers given by devout anddedicated men of years gone by are being applied to questions no longerbeing asked. Similarly, I believe questions being asked today by the churchoften are not being answered from the Bible, because those attempting toanswer are not digging deeply enough to find God's answers.I believe the basic Lutheran approach or presuppositions must stillbe applied: every word is God's word; Scripture interprets Scripture; thetext itself decides whether it is to be taken literally or symbolically; Christis the key which unlocks the real meaning.Where there is an honest differing opinion on whether a word,number, story, book of the Bible is literal or a hyperbole, parable or otherliterary form, I am not convinced fellowship with that person is involvedUNLESS he denies a clear teaching of Scripture. For example, the story ofJonah. I personally believe there was a historical person swallowed by agreat fish. I was brought up to believe that since I was born. But if a fellowLutheran sincerely believes this Old Testament Book is a parable, given toteach God's people of the Old Testament, I would not deny that individualfellowship, as long as he did not deny me the right to hold a literalinterpretation, or deny the possibility that God could have performed allthe miracles mentioned in the book.Paul wrote Timothy: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and isprofitable for doctrine, for reproof, etc." The Bible teaches us how to besaved eternally. It is not meant to be a book of geography, science,sociology or psychology. This does not say thatthe Bible does not teach other truths, but if perchance a statement ofhistoric fact in the Bible could be proven wrong, this would not alarm meor cause me to question its truthfulness in spiritual matters. To insist thatthe Bible is a book of science, etc., in my opinion is a misuse of Scripture.We must not ascribe more to the Bible than God ascribes to it.Concerning original sin, I have no doubts in regards to this doctrine.Man by birth and nature is an enemy of God and is blind, dead andactively in opposition to God. The Gospel is the only known divine meansof overcoming this situation.I accept Old Testament prophecy concerning Christ. Whether theseprophecies were understood by the prophets or the people of their time inexactly the same way we know them after fulfillment I am unable to say. Idon't believe we are given enough evidence. The Holy Spirit alone leadspeople to the truth, then and now. How clear an understanding Heprovided individuals thousands of years ago have no way of knowing.My faith may be summarized in one of Franz Pieper's favoriteScripture passages: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not ofyourselves: it is a gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”Ephesians 2: 8,9. (Quoted on plaque at entrance to Pieper Hall at ConcordiaSeminary, St. Louis.)Norman C. HabelAssociate Professor of Exegetical TheologyI am free. I was born free in my baptism. Through baptism I diedwith Christ. But the waters of baptism were also the waters oflife for me and I was bom free. I did not free myself. My Father created thenew me. I rose with Jesus Christ, rose a new man. Christ's resurrectionmeant victory over all ugly forces lurking in the shadows of my life. Sin,death and the !aw can no longer dominate me or my brothers and sisters inChrist. I have died many times since my baptism. I have lost many of thesecurity blankets that people in my family, my church and my society saidwere necessary for falth or success. I lust like other men, I am frightened bymy finitude and I am intimidated by the demonic. But I am free from theirfinal threats. In Christ I know who I am! By his liberating power I rise toaffirm my identity. I also affirm the words of faith spoken softly on my be-half at my baptism. The Apostles' Creed they confessed is true.I am free today because I trust God and His Promise. He, by grace,without the demands of presumptuous men or the threats of militantpowers freely chose to love me! I find His love disclosed in the Gospel ofJesus Christ, His Son. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are like noother event. That event is the hinge of history and the turning point in mylife. Through Jesus Christ I hear the Promise of God loud and clear: "Myson, you were lost but I have found you." "Sinner, your sins are forgiven.""Slave, I have delivered you from the prisons of death." "Laugh, for I haveovercome the world." "Arise, take up your broken life and live."Despite these liberating promises, I fall. I fall into pits of my ownmaking. But the Spirit of God leads me back. I return to find my Lord inthe Eucharist. There I hear God's word of healing. There I sense themystery of my oneness with Christ who frees me to live and celebrate.There I receive more than bread and wine. I share the body of Christ insome mysterious way as I remember his death. I share the blood of Christas I relive his resurrection and my liberation. At His table my Lord affirmsme and I am assured again of who I am. There I experience communionwith all who are free in Christ. There I unite with all the church and all thecosmos in giving glory to Christ our Lord. "We are one in the Spirit, we areone in the Lord."So the I becomes we, doesn't it? We are free to see and wonder at the gloryof the Creator in the softest petal or the boldest glacier. We stand in awe atthe goodness and beauty of all that God is creating in us and for us: newcolors, new songs, new selves, new tomorrows. We hail the Word madeflesh as the Word at work liberating this groaning creation and forming anew creation. It's happeningnow. And we are part of it.I, like the first human being, am Adam in this present creation. AsAdam, I am one with each man and each woman throughout the world.God has created each man and each woman as a distinct human being withunique characteristics. The worth, dignity and identity of every man andevery woman is as important as my own. Wherever human beings areforced to be something less than human or less than free, I am called totheir side. For the risen Lord is there. Yahweh espoused the cause of theIsraelite slaves in Egypt. Our Lord loved the outcasts of his society andgave them new identities. Today He walks among the blacks and thebeaten, the Indians and the oppressed, calling us to hear and speak Hismessage of freedom. Through them He confronts us anew with the scandalof the cross. In America, especially at this time in human history, Christ isblack, and He calls us to be His disciples. That word is crucial for God'smission among us.We are also free to hear God speaking to us through His Scriptures.For in the Gospel word of the Scriptures we encounter Christ. God drivesthrough the human language of those pages into the very depths of ourbeing. His Spirit impelled His messengers to announce His Word long ago.A similar urge of the Spirit led His people to record and preserve Hismessages. But the Spirit of God is free. It blows where it wills. We cannotdictate to the Spirit what kind of language or literature is appropriate forconveying God's will. As professional students of His Scriptures we arecalled to discover how He speaks. The better we understand the medium,the better we understand the message. We are free to search diligently intoevery word, for we trust our Father who speaks through these words. His-torical criticism is a valuable tool for this kind of search. If, however,historical criticism becomes an end in itself it is damnable. As a pro-fessional exegete I must be as current as the scientist in my technical skillsand as sensitive as the artist to the needs of my students. Thus I am free tobe a responsible expert in my field for I teach in the community of criticswho are free in Christ.As part of that community I am free to endorse the Affirmations of faithand the Discussions of the issues approved by the Faculty of ConcordiaSeminary on November 21, 1972. Because I have been freed by the powerof the Gospel I relate all theological issues to that Gospel as the governingcenter of the Scriptures and myfaith. Any teaching which does not promote the truth and sufficiency of theGospel dare not be made a test of orthodoxy. Hence, questions of the sixday creation, the historicity of the account of Adam and Eve, the facticity ofall geographical or historical data and similar questions are of secondaryimportance. They may be subjects of theological debate but they must notbe made the touchstones of biblical truth.Far more important than these issues is the meaning of the Gospelfor our world. How do we speak the Gospel to our contemporaries? To thescientist? To the poet? To the starving? Sectarianism and deceit haveobscured the liberating power of the Gospel among us. Meanwhile wehave paid little attention to the challenges of medica. research, worldreligions, political ideologies, racism, world hunger, oppression andsimilar forces. We have become slaves in a denominational squabble. Noone hears the message of freedom, the Promise of liberation, from us. It istime for the Truth. It is time for lhe Gospel. Amid this bondage I reaffirmmy freedom, my identity, my faith! Come Lord Jesus and free us.H. Lucille HagerArchivistDirector of the LibraryMy confessional statement of faith is based on what I have been taughtfroco Luther's Small Catechism and more specifically from the Apostles'Creed; for in the three articles of the Creed, I confess my belief in lhe threepersons of the Holy Trinity and the part each of them plays in my life.I believe in the Father, who has created me, who defends me againstall danger and guards and protects me from all evil, who does all this forme out of His Fatherly divine goodness and mercy. I do not deserve whatHe does for me, but out of His Fatherly love He does this for me. I,therefore, daily should thank and praise Him, serve and obey Him. Byconfessing "I believe," I know and accept as true what the Bible says of Himas Creator and put my trust and confidence in Him.I confess my faith in the second person of the Trinity, the Son, Jesus Christ.I accept Him as my personal Savior and trust only in Him for theforgiveness of my sin and for eternal life. By His death on the cross, Heredeemed me that I might be His own and willingly serve Him by being atrue follower of His.I confess my faith in the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost. TheHoly Ghost makes me holy by bringing me to faith in Christ. He calls meby the Gospel, the means by which I hear the good news about the grace ofGod in Christ Jesus, and works in my heart the faith by which I acceptJesus Christ as my Savior. He helps me to overcome sin and keeps me inthe true faith. He daily and richly forgives me all my sins and also the sinsof all believers. He does this by grace for Christ's sake, as it is expressed inRomans 3, 28: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faithwithout the deeds of the Law." I can be sure of this forgiveness of my sinsbecause God's promises are certain. I also firmly believe that He will raiseme froco the dead on that last day and that I shall Tive with Him in eternaljoy and glory. He promises this in John 3, 16: "For God so loved the worldthat He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Himshould not perish but have eternal 1ife."With the continued presence of the Holy Spirit in my life, as I study God'sHoly Word, as I listen to His Holy Word, and as I regularly partake of Hisholy sacrament, I continue to receive forgiveness of my sins andstrengthening of my faith.George W. HoyerDean of the ChapelProfessor of Practical Theology (Homiletics and Worship)For purposes of discussion and for clarification of my own position Iwould distinguish between what I believe and what I accept.This is not a division which allows for a simple listing of items under eachcategory. Many items will overlap. The result is more spectrum thanspecification. The differentiation aims to call attention to the basic fact thatfaith is a relationship with God which the Holy Spirit works. Other areas ofmy Christian conviction develop through sequences of reasoning. Since thelogical development is based on the primary fact of faith, the conclusionsaccepted are more than mental constructs, but they are nevertheless ofdifferent dimensions from the basic gift of faith.Without attempting a complete classification under this division, I makehere a statement of what I believe and confess and endeavor to teach, withan eye on the articies of the Augsburg Confession.I have come to a relationship with God, as loved child with dear Father,through the sacrament of Holy Baptism by which I was committed to Godand became acceptable to Him. (AC IX). Since I was unable by nature tohave true fear of God and true faith in God (AC II), I could not by my ownreason or strength believe in or come to Him. I believe that God the Sonbecame man, was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered, was crucified, died,and was buried in order to be a sacrifice not only for original sin but alsofor all other sins and to propitiate God's wrath (AC III, IV). This sameChrist truly rose from the dead, and is exalted by God that He may eter-nally rule and have dominion over all creatures. What God accomplishedfor all mankind through Jesus Christ was given to me through HolyBaptism. By that sacrament I was buried with Christ and rose with Him tonew life in the family of God, the Church, the assembly of all believers andsaints. (AC VII, VIII). The Church shared with me the Gospel and thesacraments through which, as through means, God gave me the HolySpirit, who works faith. Faith is the confidence that I have a gracious God,not by my own merits but by the merit of Christ (AC V). The Spirit hasbrought me into a restored relationship with God and enabled me tobelieve in Him.The true body and blood of Christ really present in the supper of our Lordunder the form of bread and wine which were distributed in the Churchand which I have received, have strengthened me in this relationship andconfirmed me in my belief (AC X). This indwelling Spirit continues to giveme power in the new life to enable me to produce good fruits and goodworks and to do so for God's sake and not in order to merit favor throughthem (AC VI ).Though I have sinned after baptism, I have been contrite and confessed mysin. Believing the Gospel and absolution, namely that sin has been forgivenand grace has been obtained through Christ, I have received forgiveness ofmy sin (AC XI, XII). In the Church I have come to understand and tobelieve that there is one divine essence which is called and which is trulyGod, and that there are three persons in this one divine essence, equal inpower and alike eternal: God the Father, God the Son, and God the HolySpirit (AC I ). I have also been taught and believe that the Lord Jesus Christwill return on the last day for judgment and will raise up all the dead, togive eternal life and everlasting joy to believers and the elect but tocondemn ungodly men and the devil to hell and eternal punishment (ACXVII).I accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as inspired by Godand profitable for doctrine, for reproof and for correction. These scriptureswere written by holy men who were inspired and who yet remained men.We are to search them, study them, carefully and with the critical tools thatassist in understanding them, because they testify of Christ. Just as theGospel of God's action for all mankind in His Son Jesus Christ is the sourceof faith, so it is the touchstone for understanding all the teachings of theBible. Our fathers in the faith who established the canon of scriptures havepassed them on to us and with them I accept them as reliable for all thatGod wishes to reveal to us through them. There can be differences ininterpretation of scripture, as for instance in the opening chapters ofGenesis, even as there are different understandings of the type of literatureand the understanding of history found there, but the word to faith is that"almighty God has created and still preserves nature" and that "sin iscaused in all wicked men and despisers of God by the perverted will." (ACXIX). The scriptures clearly teach the law of God revealing that all men assinners are under the judgment of God. They teach that good works shouldand must be done, but only the Gospel can move men to such fruits offaith. When through faith the Holy Spirit is given, the heart is moved to dogood works. (AC XX). Whenthe Christian man who knows that there is no condemnation to those whoare in Christ Jesus hears the will of God for his sanctification, he hears it asopportunity, as directional signals which can be followed through thepower given by the Gospel.Church usages which contribute to peace and good order in the church andwhich aid men in appropriating the power of the Gospel and in advancingin holiness of life are included in my acceptance. (AC XV). With theConfessions I teach that nobody should publicly teach or preach oradminister the sacramenta in the church without a regular call (AC XIV).but I recognize the procedure of seminary and the council of presidentswhich allows seminarians to undertake preaching and participation in theconduct of the Church's services as part of their training. The sacramentsare not only signs by which people are identified as Christians, but areinstituted for the purpose of awakening and strengthening our faith (ACXIII). They require faith and are rightly used when they are received infaith and for the purpose of strengthening faith. While the church strivesfor confessional unity, pastoral concern must recognize the priorities of theGospel and of faith in administering the sacrament of the altar.In keeping with the summons, I have desired to present the abovestatements as a declaration of my confession and my teaching. If anyoneshould consider that it is lacking in some respect, I am ready to presentfurther information on the basis of my understanding of the divine HolyScripture. (AC ConclusionjHolland H. JonesAssociate Professor of Exegetical Theology (Old Testament)I believe and confess that God, the Creator of the sky, earth, sea, and allthings in them, is my Father:Who has given and gives me physical life and what pertains to it, suchas body, mind, senses, and health.Who daily and richly has and does provide me with what I need tosustain this physical body and life.Who has and does protect me from all that threatens to destroy my life.Who cares for me as a loving father cares for his beloved son, dailygiving me new evidence of His loving care.I recognize it as my obligation to this wonderful Father:to worship Him.Thus giving Him the credit for doing what He has done and does forme, by thanking Him and declaring His praises to others, as myBenefactor.to obey Him.By both learning to know His will for me and conforming my life toit, realizing that the best possible life is one that is lived in accordwith my Father's desires and wishes.to serve Him.Thus dedicating to Him, who gave and gives it, the life He gives, byemploying these gifts to perform His wishes and desires.As I strive to do this, I experience that my physical and mental beingrebel against such worship, obedience, and service, and are abetted in thisrebellion by a demonic force, which I find to be operative in every otherhuman being with whom I associate and in the events of life on this earth. Irecognize and acknowledge such mental and actual rebellion as sin againstmy Father, by which I constantly forfeit my right to live and deserve toreceive the wages of sin, which is death.I believe that my heavenly Father promised to send and sent His Son, JesusChrist, to earth as a human beingto make known and exemplify His ways with and will for me and allmen.to solve for me the problem of my sin, by dying to assure me of thelove, forgiveness, goodwill, and reconciliation with my Father.to reveal to me my Father's plan to give me eternal life, by rising fromdeath and ascending to the Father.I trust this Jesus as my Savior, being convinced that because of His deathfor me my Father forgives all my sins, as I acknowledge that I am a sinner,confess those sins that I recognize, and ask for His forgiveness. I regard astruth His teachings about my Father's ways, will, and plan for me. Iworship Him as my Savior, and recognize it as my duty as His disciple toserve Him as my Lord, by seeking to know, understand, and observe allthat He taught and commanded. I look forward to His return, when Iknow, though I have died, I shall live again and enter His eternal, gloriouskingdom.I believe that the Holy Spirit empowered me, when I could not havedone so by my own reason or strength, to know, believe in, and love Godmy Father and Jesus my Savior: that He daily conveys to me theforgiveness of sins, and keeps me convinced that I am forgiven for Jesus'sake; that He constantly influences me to forsake sin and to dedicate myGod-given and God-redeemed life to God; that he will continue to do thisdivine work in and for me till death; that he will raise me from the deadand give me eternal life.I am convinced that the Holy Spirit has done and does this, in answer tomy prayers and the prayers of others in my behalf, by means of God'switness of His love to me through His people, word, and sacraments.This is The One in whom I believe. This expresses essentially what Ibelieve about this One. Of course I could expand that:by describing what I believe He did for me today. This would require5,000 words,by describing in so far as I can remember, what he has done for me inthe past year. This would require 70,000 words,by describing, in so far as I can remember, what he has done forme in my whole life. This would constitute a book.However, it has been suggested to me that I should relate my confessionof faith to my work as a teacher of the Old Testament. So here goes.When I graduated from Concordia Seminary I was:.biblically illiterate. I didn't know the contents and message of onebook of the Bible. My courses had never covered one entire book.They had consisted of some indoctrination based on some part ofsome books.opinionated. I was convinced I had the truth the whole truth andnothing but the truth.dogmatic. I insisted that my truth, biblical or not, was the dogmaof the The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.legalistic. I demanded that everyone accept my truth, biblical ornot, or get out.schismatic. I refused to regard anyone as a fellow brother inChrist, if he in any way disagreed with my truth.I was regarded as such a good example of what a student ought to bethat I was contracted to teach other students, i.e., I was offered andaccepted a position of instructor at Concordia Seminary. My assignmentwas to teach the Old Testament Scriptures. I realized and told the Seminaryadministration that I was not equipped for this task. I didn't even know thecontents and message of one book of the Old Testament. But I thought, andstill do, that calls, even contracts, are divinely arranged. And I began toteach the contents and message of those books of the Old Testament, whichthe curriculum of the seminary required. I soon realized that those aspectsof my seminary training that left me biblically illiterate and made meopinionated, dogmatic, legalistic, and schismatic weren't very helpful. But Ialso recognized that there were some significant results of my training atthe seminary. My teachers had inculcated:A reverence for the Bible that motivated me to try to discover what itsaid and meant.A conviction that, if I could discover what it meant, I could relyon that as the truth.An understanding of the word of God as law and Gospel and therealization that the law-judgment part was God's way to get me tograb hold of the Gospel-grace part.As I, influenced by these last three insights, attempted to teach thecontents and message of a variety of biblical books, God slowly but surelymade me biblically literate. In the process he dissipated my opinionated,dogmatic, legalistic, schismatic attitudes toward others. Praise God. I havetried to analyze what it was in my training that produced the opinionated,dogmatic, legalistic, schismatic product I was when I graduated, and I havereligiously eliminated those things from my teaching. I have tried todetermine what it was in my training that nourished a reverence for andwillingness to trust God's word and helped to inculcate the insight that theGospel was Sovereign over law in the purpose of God and I haveemphasized those things in my teaching of the Old Testament. I have neverdone anything that was not tainted with and corrupted by mistakes andfailure, so I'm sure my analyses in this area have been. And l'm sure thatmy attempts to teach what I found significant in what I learned have beenfaulty. My study of the Bible - motivated by my desire to teach it properlyand influenced by the things that were really significant in what I hadlearned as a student at Concordia Seminary - has led me to the convictionsthat:the essential characteristic of the body of Christ is unity.this unity is produced by the Holy Spirit who alone produces faith inthe favor of God the Father, expressed most clearly in theincarnation, ministry, death, and resurrection of God the Son.this unity is expressed by recognizing and acknowledging thateveryone who experientes and confesses that he lives by the favor ofGod the Father, especiaily as this was expressed in the life of Jesus, ismy BROTHER.Such a faith in God-Father-Son-and Holy Spirit-as I confessed at thebeginning of this document I want to create, nourish, or increase in mystudents. I try to do this in such a way that my convictions - just stated - areclearly discernible. I am interested that my students share my convictions,but I consider it the matter of greatest im-portance that they share my faith.In attempting to help them share my faith and to understand that apersonal relationship with the persons-Father, Son, Holy Spirit is theessential of Christian life, in attempting to express my conviction, thateveryone believing in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is my brother, inattempting to fulfil my vocation which is teaching the contents andmessage of the Old Testament, I employ many tools that are not objects ofmy faith. My faith is in God, not in the many useful tools and techniques Iemploy.Iuse in translating the only authoritative text of Old Testament in theLCMS - the best tools available - because they're helpful inunderstanding words and syntax. I have discovered books produced byhistorical-critical scholars are far superior to those produced by thosewho reject this method.Iengage in textual criticism - to attempt to discover an intelligibletext-witnessed to by variants or versions - because I think an intelligibleemended text will be more comprehensible than a printed text, which isin places unintelligible. Books in this area produced byHistoricai-Critical Scholars are also superior.Iengage in form criticism - to explain and exemplify that materials wereoriginally produced in specific literary types - because this is demandedby the nature of the biblical text, and I'm interested, that if material isancient, I assert it is. Books in this area have been produced only byHistorical-Critical Scholarship.Iengage in tradition criticism - to explain the nature of biblical materialsand to describe the transmission history of the ancient materials -because I'm interested in knowing what traditions were developed andwhat message they conveyed to people to whom they were addressed.Books in this area have been produced only by Historical-CriticalScholars.I engage in redaction criticism - to explain the nature of the biblical textand to describe the situations that effected revisions of the ancientmaterial - that had been preserved in written documents; and tocomprehend the message these revisions conveyed to people to whomthey were addressed. Books in this area have been produced only byHistorical-Critical scholarshipI try to understand - Biblical re-interpretations of old materials because Iwant to know what other biblical writers said on the subject - so as I usea pericope in preaching - teaching - counseling etc. - I won't contradictwhat a biblical writer said about it.I try to understand the history of the interpretation - of a given pericope,because I'm interested in knowing how previous people ofGod-understood, interpreted, used - this pericope - because I think thismay be helpful in my understanding the pericope and in my applicationof it.Iuse those aspects of historical-critical method that help me to understandthe Bible - to expand my knowledge of God and to be able to use it betteras a medium for transmitting such a knowledge of God. Since myinterest is to discover the biblical witness to the action of God in history,I don't use this method in such a way as to reject or deny God's action inhistory.Everett R. KalinAssociate Profsssor of Exegetical Theology (New Testament)1 Cor. 15:3-5 - I delivered to you AS OF FIRST IMPORTANCE what I alsoreceived, that CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS IN ACCORDANCE WITHTHE SCRIPTURES,that HE WAS BURIED,that HE WAS RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY IN ACCORDANCEWITH THE SCRIPTURESand that HE APPEARED . . . .This early Christian recital of God's action in Jesus Christ, recordedby Paul and declared by him to be of primary importance, is the center ofmy faith as it was of his.I believe that the bondage under sin that I share with every memberof the human family has been decisively broken by the death of JesusChrist on our behalf. He has set us free, so that we might be enabled totrust God and to love and serve our brothers and sisters. God raised himfrom the dead, vindicating his sacrifice and exalting him with power andglory. This exalted Lord has poured out upon us his life-giving Spirit, whocalls us to faith and empowers us for worship and witness.I believe that this happened in accordance with the scriptures. Thatis, Jesus Christ is the glorious fulfillment of many promises of rescue andmercy God made to his people Israel, promises that are recorded in thescriptures of the Old Testament. And these Old Testament scriptures notonly point forward to Jesus Christ but also bear witness to the many andvaried ways in which God showed himself gracious toward his peopleIsrael. This people, enslaved and oppressed, he set free, deigning to callthem his people. He thus showed himself to be a God who bringsoppressors to judgment, sets free the oppressed, and covenants with hispeople to worship him and act justly toward the whole family of man.Just as God bore witness to his actions on behalf of Israel byinspiring the prophetic documents we call the Old Testament, so also heinspired an apostolic witness to his decisive action in Jesus Christ, awitness that is recorded in the New Testament scriptures. The early churchset these documents apart from other products of the Spirit's ongoingactivity among them by declaring them to be the unique apostolic witness-to God's action in Jesus Christ. They derive their authority from the one towhom they bear witness, and I affirm their binding authority on myteaching and life because I joyfully affirm his authority and lordship overme.When Jesus of Nazareth began his ministry, he announced thatGod's reign was at hand, a reign that would bring forgiveness, healing andjustice. I believe that God has inaugurated that reign by the ministry,death, and resurrection of his Son and that he thus already now offersforgiveness and healing and calls us to act justly. By baptism and faith weare united with Jesus and with one another in acommunity of forgiveness and healing and justice and thus already nowexperiente, in a partial measure, the blessings of God's reign As his sonsand daughters we share the eucharistic meal that celebrates theinauguration of the reign of God and anticipates its culmination. The Godwho acted in mercy toward Israel and who acted once and for all in thedeath and resurrection of his Son continues to act in our day. He continuesto offer freedom from sin and every other evil by which men are enslaved.He invites his people to celebrate and announce his presence and todemonstrate this presence by speaking his word and acting justly. Hisreign is now only partially manifest in a worid that still bears evidentmarks of radical evil. He invites us to live already now as sons anddaughters who manifest his reign, empowered by his Spirit. And we livealso in expectant hope of the day when our Lord shall come as judge of theliving and the dead and raise us up to share perfectly in his life and glory.The assertion that God continues by his Spirit to act and speak inour time and in our world - as surely as he did in Israel and on Calvary -carries with it the necessity of judging as best we can where and how hespeaks and acts today and where he does not. There must be a criterion bywhich one judges among the diverse voices that claim to speak for Godand among the varied persons who claim to act on his behalf. I believe thatthat criterion is the way God acted graciously on behalf of Israel andespecially through the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.Those who come in God's name are indeed empowered by his Spirit if theirspeaking and life bear faithful witness to Jesus Christ, the one who carne asa servant, to offer God's forgiveness and reconciliation, to set free theoppressed, and to proclaim glad tidings to the poor. Jesus Christ is thenorm by which we evaluate God's intention toward the human family inthis and every age. For this reason the scriptures, the prophetic andapostolic testimony to God's actions in Jesus Christ, are the norm by whichthe proclamation and life of the people of God are to be judged. The Spiritwho gave these scriptures also enables his people today, using the besttools at their disposal, to interpret them, believe their message, and reapplytheir words to the ever-new situations in which we find ourselves. That isto say, I believe that he continues to lead us into all the truth.Wi Jo KangAssistant Professor of MissionsCurator of Mission MuseumI believe in God the Father who created heaven and earth and is thefather of all people and nations. I believe in God the Son the Savior of allmen. I believe in God the Holy Spirit who brings people into theknowledge of Christ, sanctifies the life of believers and strengthensChristian faith through the Means of Grace.I believe, teach, and confess that the Holy Scriptures are written forthe knowledge of our salvation in Christ by the hands of prophets,evangelists and apostles with the language that existed in the time ofwriting. God used these men of prophecy, evangelists, and apostles towrite down the very purpose of God's revelation for the salvation of allmen. Therefore the initiator of the writings is God himself, and He is thebasis of the Scripture and its authority. Therefore the Holy Scriptures areWords of God and by His"inspiration" the words are written. However, Ido not believe such "inspiration" in translations. "Inspired word" shouldrefer to the original writings.I believe, teach and confess that the three Ecumenical Creeds aretrue expressions of the Christian faith in the Triune God.I believe, teach and confess that the confessional writings of theLutheran church are a true exposition of the Holy Scriptures. However, theunderstanding of the confessions should be done in the historical contexts.In the Asian milieu the historical background of the confessions is so alienthat the church may have to formulate a new confession on the basis of theHoly Scriptures.I believe, teach and confess that the Gospel is the Good News ofsalvation in Christ, but this Good News must be proclaimed not only bywords and speech, but by deeds and truth. Gospel of Christ motivates us toattack social ills, injustice and meet the needs of people in all situations.I hold the position that universalism, that is, to recognize thepossibility of salvation through all religions, is an unChristian teaching.Christ is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father butthrough Jesus Christ. At the same time, however, one should not condemnall teachings and practices of other religions asdevilish. Also Christian mission works in non-western countries shouldtry to accommodate the indigenous cultural traditions in Christianteachings and practices without sacrificing the centrality of Christ.I believe, teach and confess that the miracles of Christ were"manifestation of his divine majesty" and His "use of the divine nature"(Solid Declaration, Article VIII). Performance of miracles by Christ is trueevidence of Christ's divine nature and the extension of God's work in Him.I believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.However, I do not think the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions are tryingto define the resurrected body of Christ. The Holy Scriptures andLutheran Confessions are concerned about the affirmations of the realityof Christ's resurrection. I do not think it is important for us to define whatthis physical resurrection is, but what is important is to accept and believethe resurrection of Christ as the reality and true historical event.Richard KlannAssociate Professor of Systematic TheologyPlease recall that in his meeting with the seminary faculty on May17, 1972, President J. A. O. Preus requested the faculty to make personal orindividual responses to him, that each faculty member write him apersonal statement regarding his agreement or disagreement with thetheology of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, specifically as it wasexpressed in the statement of the synodical President of March 3, 1972.I fulfilled the request of the synodical President last spring, and Ihave received his reply to that effect.After studying the provisions of the Handbook regarding the"Relationship Between the Synod and Districts," I am compelled toconclude from the provisions of the Bylaws that the "request" of theCouncil of Presidents, to which the faculty resolution cited above refers, isincompatible with Bylaw 3.07 e (Handbook, p. 82): “Jurisdiction with respectto everything which is administered by or for the entire Synod resides inthe Synod itself, including but not limited to general supervision ofdoctrine and practice; foreign missions; synodical institutions . . . and thelike.” That means, obviously, that President J. A. O. Preus, in his capacityunder Article XI B, exercises such supervisory functions, and that theDistrict Presidents collectively have been denied by the Constitution ofSynod the supervision of doctrine and practice regarding the institutions ofSynod, such as this seminary.I am unable to see how the refusal of the request of the President ofSynod, made to the assembled faculty in person on May 17th, and theresolution of the faculty cited above, expressing its willingness to complywith the request of the Council of Presidents, can be interpreted asanything else than an explicit displacement and rejection by the faculty ofConcordia Seminary of the supervisory function of the President of Synodordained by the Constitution of Synod.I understand the factors pertaining to this faculty resolution to besuch that I cannot avoid the point made by the faculty resolution: thefaculty is willing to refuse a request made of it by the President of Synod inconsonance with Article XI B of the Constitution, but it is contrariwisewiliing to accept and to heed a similar request made of it by the Council ofPresidents, which has no jurisdiction of this faculty.In view of my subscription to the Constitution of Synod many yearsago when I officially entered the full-time service of Synod, I cannot forconscience sake act contrary or rebelliously against the provisions of theConstitution of Synod. For that reason, as well as for the plainer reasonthat I have fulfilled President Preus' request which he made to the facultylast spring, I do not believe that I ought to file an individual profession offaith with you by October 24, 1972, to be used for the purposes indicatedby the faculty resolution.Apart from the consideration of these regrettable circum-stances mentioned above, I am willing and ready at the request of thePresident of Synod, made in the behalf of Synod, to offer a publicconfession of the faith which I have preached, taught, and professed in mylife-time.Ralph W. KleinAssistant Professor of Exegetical Theology (Old Testament)I first professed the Apostles' Creed through the mouths of mysponsors at my Holy Baptism. Each day as I see the rising sun, I rememberhow my Lord arose early in the morning and how he empowers all of hispeople, who are buried with him in baptism, to walk in newness of life.Daily I return with repentance to that faith which was nurtured throughthe forgiveness of sins.My parents who brought me to the font taught me from early on thecontents of the faith gained in baptism. Literally "from a child" I haveknown the Holy Scriptures which were and are able to make me wise untosalvation through Jesus Christ. By their devout and holy life and by theiruncountable repetitions of the good news my parents were special agentsof the means of grace.I believe that God has made and that he does preserve me and allcreatures, and that it is "my duty (in Luther's words) to thank and praise,serve and obey him." Genesis 1 and Psalm 8 tell me that God would haveall things in subjection to man, that God is so marvelous that he has mademe a little lower than the angels or, as some translations put it, than Godhimself. With the writer of Hebrews we all must confess that we do not yetsee everything in subjection to man, and that is because of the universalpresence of sin in all men. But we see Jesus, who for a little while was madelower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of thesuffering of death.I believe that this Jesus is true God and also true man, born of theVirgin Mary. In fact, He is my Lord who has shown his lordship by living,dying, and rising again for my salvation - that I might be his own, and liveunder him, and serve him. Jesus is the fulfillment of all God's promises,including especially those of the Old Testament. With Christians of all agesI confess that Jesus is the Christ (that is, the Messiah) and that he is also theprophet who was to come and the Son of Man. I see him as theembodiment of the Suffering Servant, as the one who carne not to beserved, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.The piety of my parents and the good gifts God has given me wouldnot have made me a believer. But the Holy Spirit called me through theGospel, gave me his gifts, and keeps me in the faith. It is this same Spiritwho moved the writers of the Old and New Testaments as they recordedtheir definitive witness to the words and actions of God. These Scripturesare the sole rule and norm of my faith and life. I joyfully thank God for theholy Christian church, pray often for its unity through its one Lord, onefaith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, and I look for theresurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.I would like to comment briefly on some of my goals, ambitions,and responsibilities as a Christian. 1) God has elected me to be a part ofthat process through which he would extend blessings to all the families ofthe earth (Gen. 12:1-3). This means first of all the verbal proclamation ofGod's action in Jesus Christ, which I do often, in sermon and classroom, inhome and office. The apostle has written: "Always be prepared to make adefense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yetdo it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, sothat, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christmay be put to shame." It also means, as the Old Testament prophets makeabundantly clear, that I am to defend the cause of the poor and needy, tocare for widows and orphans, and to work for the setting free of all theoppressed.2) God has also called me to the office of the ministry. I guess Inever seriously considered any other vocation - and I say this withabsolutely no regret. I view the pastor as one who through word andsacraments equips the people of God for their work of service. Mymanifold academic activities have one goal: that I and mystudents might know God and the power of his Gospel, and that we mightbe strengthened to live and speak for him.3) I am a Lutheran - by that joyous confession I am not just trying todraw arbitrary distinctions between me and others. Being Lutheran meansfor me that I believe that I am justified by grace for Christ's sake throughfaith. One of the great joys of our century is that this is again recognized asa truly ecumenica! confession. As an evangelical Lutheran I subscribewithout reservation to all the symbolical books of the Evangelical LutheranChurch as a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the wordof God.4) In addition to believing and witnessing, a Christian is called topraise God and to worship him. The frequent public opportunityforworship in myvocation is an especially great joy. I would like men tosay when I die, "This man praised God with his life." In fact, I would behappy to die as my father did - in his vestments, in the sacristy, ready topreach, with a sermon on the word Hallelujah stuffed in his pocket.Standing at his coffin as he lay in state was one of the most joyous, perhapseven happy moments of my life as I was comforted by hundreds of peoplewho had learned Jesus Christ through this father and brother. When mymother purchased a tombstone, she did it with conscious allusion to myfather's last intended sermon and with a profound theological basis. On thegranite is inscribed one word: Hallelujah.There is literally nothing that could separate me from Jesus Christand the joy he has given me.Edgar M. KrentzProfessor of Exegetical Theology (New Testament)I BELIEVE, TEACH, AND CONFESS! . . .Part IThe joint confessional statements of the faculty of ConcordiaSeminary adopted on 3 November 1970, 24 November 1970, and 21November 1972 are accepted by me and are part I of this response to theCouncil of Presidents' request to the individual members of the faculty.Part III believe in Jesus, God's elect Messiah, as my personal Savior fromsin, death, and the law (Rom. 8:2). He is the Savior of all men who everwere, are, or will be; all men are alike sinners and need Him as their Saviorand Lord. His is the one name under heaven by which all must be saved(Acts 4: 12).This Lord Jesus, God's agent in making and preserving me and allthings (Col. 1:15-18), first called me into faith by the Spirit. As His servanthe sends me and all Christians out to bring the message of the Gospel andthe ministry of loving care to all mankind.I first carne to faith by baptism, the washing of regeneration andrenewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). Since then my faith has beennourished by hearing the good news of God's love for me in His Son, bythe forgiveness of sins and power for the new life given me with His bodyand blood in the Eucharist, and by the forgiving Word spoken to me in thefellowship of the church.By His grace God called me to the ministry of Word and Sacrament.At my ordination I gladly, freely, and without any reservation publiclyconfessed that I believe and accept "the canonical books of the Old and theNew Testament to be the inspired Word of God and the only infallible ruleof faith and life." I still hold that confession without change.I also confessed that I accept all the articles of faith stated in the three greatecumenical creeds: the Apostolic, Nicene, andAthanasian. I repeat one of these creeds in faith each and every Sunday.Thus I confess my acceptance of such articles of faith as the creation of allthings seen and unseen by God; the full deity and humanity of Jesus; HisVirgin Birth; His death for me and all men; His bodily resurrection; Hislordship over history and the church; His return as judge of living anddead; the work of the Holy Spirit in producing faith and Christian life; Hison-going activity in Word and sacraments; the one, holy, apostolic, andcatholic church; the forgiveness of sins; and the resurrection of the bodyand eternal life.I also publicly pledged myself to the Lutheran Confessions as acorrect summary of and statement of the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures.The seven documents included in the Book of Concord define what it meansto be a Lutheran Christian, as the ecumenical creeds define what it is to bea catholic Christian. I am a catholic Christian and must therefore also be aLutheran Christian.The Lutheran Confessions teach the distinctively Lutheran mannerof reading the Bible and teaching the Christian faith. They affirm that theGospel is the central doctrine of Christianity and that the key that unlocksthe Bible is the distinction between law and Gospel, for the Scripturescontain law and Gospel. The Confessions make clear that the Gospel is notone doctrine among many others; it is rather the one doctrine of which aliother "doctrines" are a part. The Gospel, used together with the law, alonegives clarity to the will of God, forgiveness in our lives, power by the Spiritto live and love, and hope for the future.The Gospel comes before all other things and beliefs in my faithand life as a child of God. It is the center to which ali else must be relatedand from which all else must be understood. If anything else inChristianity is separated from the Gospel, no matter how good and true itis in itself, it becomes perverted and hostile to God and His saving work.Every heresy, if followed to its roots, is ultimately an article of faith that iseither improperly related to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His atoningwork or not related at ali.Lutheran theology holds that the written Word of God, the Bible,must also be understood in the light of the distinction between law andGospel, or it is misunderstood. The theologian must seek to relate allteaching in the Bible to law or Gospel, since Lutherans hold that "allScripture should be divided into these twochief doctrines, the law and the promises" (Apology IV, 5). The Bible existsfor the Gospel, that is, it is to make men wise unto salvation (2 Tim. 3:15). ifone separates the Bible and its interpretation or use from that divinelygiven purpose, then the Holy Scriptures are misunderstood and can evenbe harmful to faith and man's salvation. !t is this dynamic Gospel thatmakes the Scriptures powerful .and authoritative, for the God of the Bibleis the God of promise and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.I accept the Bible as God's written Word because I accept the Gospelof Jesus Christ. The Holy Scriptures, when used as God intends them to beused, are infallible; they say what God wants them to say and do what Godwants them to do (Is. 55:11). They are inspired by the Spirit as to both wordand content. (Thus I accept the "Statement on The Form and Function ofthe Holy Scriptures" adopted unanimously by the faculty in 1960.)These Scriptures have a glorious unity, given to them by the Spiritof God who speaks law and Gospel through them. As God's savingpurpose is one, so his Scriptures are one.The Holy Scriptures also have a marvelous, Spirit-given variety. Inthem law and Gospel are spoken to men in different languages (Hebrew,Aramaic, and Greek), in different cultures (Semitic, Greco-Roman), and indifferent times and places (urban and rural over many centuries). Thisvariety is part of God's gracious speaking to men in the places and timeswhere they are; it is part of the historical character of God's revelation tomen in His son and in His Word. Since the Scriptures share in history, theyare to be interpreted in a manner that corresponds to this historicalcharacter and best enables one to hear God's variety in unity. In our agethat method is the historical-criticai method, for it compels minuteattention to the text of the Bible in its own world.Lutherans use this method with convictions and presuppositionsthat honor God as the Lord of history and the Savior of lost man.Lutherans recognize that the Scriptures as God's written Word are aunique gift to God's people and fulfill the unique role of rule and norm forfaith and life. Lutherans see in their confessional commitment a controlthat guards against individualistic, willful, and capricious interpretation.The historical-criticai method aids greatly in understanding the textof the Scriptures in its original (God selected) language and historicalsituation. The method serves a ministerial function in helping one to hearthe Bible carefully and precisely and thus to proclaim God's law andGospel with care.Thus the Scriptures are honored as inspired Word of God andinterpreted as what they in fact are, revelation given to man by a mercifulGod in man's world and history. The promissory character of God's actsand words in the Old Testament and the final fulfillment in the NewTestament are given full weight. This method takes seriously that the OldTestament has something old and the New Testament something new.The Scriptures fulfill their role as judge and norm in theology andpreaching. Their message of law and Gospel stands in judgment over allteachers and proclaimers in the church, over the pronouncements anddecisions of all synods, councils, denominations and sects, over the actionsof all officials and workers in the church. Thus, in a confessional Lutheranchurch body, one honors and upholds both the church body, itsresolutions, and the documents it adopts in the best manner by takingthem so seriously as to submit them to careful study under the Scripturesand the Lutheran Confessions. Here also one must put everything to thetest and hold fast only to what is good (1 Thess. 5:21).In this way the Scriptures are honored as God's Word and used asGod wishes. They, together with the Lutheran Confessions, keep thechurch from sectarian division and help to preserve the truth of the Gospelin all its articles. God's Gospel is kept free in all its power, its freshness, itsfreedom, and its joy.This I believe with all my heart and endeavor to teach and confess.Paul G. LessmannDirector of Field EducationAssociate Professor of Practical TheologyMy basic Christian faith is simple and uncomplicated. I cannot rationalizeit because it is a miracle performed in me by the power of the Holy Spirit,which He initiated and keeps alive in me by Word and Sacrament throughthe remission of sins in Christ Jesus, who has purchased and won me withHis holy precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that Imight be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him bothnow and after my physical death. In short, I believe that God the Father hascreated and still preserves me and all creatures; I believe that Jesus Christ,true God and also true Man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who hasredeemed me a lost and condemned creature; I believe that the Holy Spirithas called me by the Gospel to be God's child, and later, His minister. Allthis my God has done and still does for me, not because my name is PaulLessmann and I am a Lutheran Christian, but because God is love; Hismercies are new every morning!God knows my faith. He also knows my failings. In Christ Jesus He hasaccepted me "just as I am," and even ordained me as His minister 28 1/2years ago, with my latest Call being to work as His servant at ConcordiaSeminary almost 8 years ago as professor and director of field education.I was a parish pastor for almost 21 years before coming to the seminary inthis capacity. My first eleven years were spent establishing a new missionchurch and later a Christian day school and bringing both to self-supportin Baltimore, Maryland; thereafter I served more than nine years as pastorof a 2,000 member congregation in Peoria, Illinois. During that time Iprepared and preached more than 1,500 sermons in regular Sunday andweek-day senrices, at marriages, burials, and special services. I am certain Imade the normal amount of mistakes in my parish ministry; yet I do notrecall that my doctrine was ever cha!lenged. If someone were to challengeme about my teachings and preaching of the Gospel in the past, I would beinclined to answer (without appearing presumptuous and being fullywilling to admit of errors and niistakes in both preaching and practice) asJesus replied to Caiaphas, “Ask those who heard me, what I said to them;they know what I said …. I have spoken openly to the world.”I don't believe my preaching or pastoral care has changed radically sincecoming to Concordia Seminary in this new ministerial capacity. It is thesame simplicity and centrality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I endeavor touse God's Law with the same directness and severity, as need be.Approaches might be different, since one deals with a unique, educated,near professional Christian young man, much as one relates to brotherpastors. My colleagues preach the same Gospel, apply the same Law, asneeded.The substance of my faith subscription is found in the Holy Bible assystematized and defended in the Lutheran Confessions. Luther's SmallCatechism is an excellent summary of the essentials of that faith. TheGospel of Jesus as Savior is central in all of these. This is beautifullyepitomized in the words of St. John (20, 30-31): "Now Jesus did many othersigns in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Sonof God, and that believing, you might have life in His name." Prophets asweil as evangelists and apostles give witness to this central fact of faith, asPeter asserts in Acts 10, 43: "To him all the prophets bear witness thateveryone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through hisname." Nor is there any other way or any other Gospel! Jesus said so whenHe prociaimed, John 14, 6: "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; noone comes to the Father, but by me." Peter underscores this exclusivesalvation fact of faith in Acts 4, 12: "There is salvation in no one else, forthere is no other name under heaven given among men by which we mustbe saved."This is the simplicity of the “foolishhess” of my faith. I share it with myfamily; I have believed and preached it from the pulpit; I have ministeredit to the sick and dying; I have discussed it with brother pastors withoutshame or suspicion of others; I have found it unfailingly on the campus ofConcordia Seminary, both in chapel services, which I attend regularly, andin classroom, where I have taught some and attended at least two classesfor two terms in the Confessions and in exegesis. I have used manyprofessors as resource persons in various conferences forpastor-supervisors, where they, like me, found them to be confessional,theologically sound, professional, and scholarly, as they should be, in atheological school. These professors are dedicated to preparing young menfor the sacred ministry. God has very wisely given a variety of gifts to HisChurch: "His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, someevangelists, somepastors and teachers " (Eph. 4, 11). All ordained pastors are one or more ofthese; some few pastors are all of these; and in this day of specializationsome are more specifically gifted in one area than in another. God hasgiven some very unique, specialized gifts to members of the faculty. Withthose gifts they are working with young men who have been blessed byGod with the basic saving faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Our calledprofessors have the task of teaching future shepherds of the Church tothink and be equipped with the proper tools for ministry among modernthinking, educated, as well as deprived mankind. They must teach morethan the catechism, else what is a theological seminary all about? Theseyoung men must learn to use, interpret, preach, and in general relate God'sWord and will to people in all their complex needs with purity, reality,honesty and accuracy. No papal pronouncements or weil intendedwhite-wash here!In my opinion, having interviewed, pastored, placed, supervised, andcounseled some 1,300 student "products" in the past eight years as directorof field education and vicarages, both the faculty and the students aredoing a real job. What a pity if Lutheran professors, who have subscribedto the Confessions of our Church, are not allowed to teach theologicallyand professionally; if the very gifts for which the Church called them to theseminary are used against them, if the clear thinking and writing of thefaculty, brother pastors, are turned against them.I am a product of the same seminary. I honestly believe the present productis better equipped for ministry then we were in our time.Pastor-supervisors of vicars say the same about the faith and professionalskills of our students. They out there in the field say with almostmonotonous (but beautiful!) regularity, "If this student is typical of theministerial students being prepared at the seminary, the church has a greatfuture."Yes, I believe! I believe in My Lord. I believe in His Church. I believe in ourchurch. I believe in our seminary. I believe in my colleagues. I believe inthe product.Erwin L. LuekerProfessor of Systematic Theology1.By the grace of God I have been incorporated into Christ and HisChurch by the working of the Spirit through the Word.2. By the grace of God I am a member of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.3. By the grace of God I am a minister of the church. I am convincedthat the doctrinal commitment for such ministry in The LutheranChurch-Missouri Synod is in harmony with the Word of God.4. I accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as the written Word of God and the only rule and norm of faith and practice.5.I accept all the Symbolical Books itemized in Article II of theConstitution of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod as a true andunadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God.6. I believe that my ordination pledge has the nature of an agreementsolemnly made before God by me and the church. It can, therefore,only be altered (expanded-díminished) by mutual consent.7. I agree with Walther that Article I I gives the maximum optimumdoctrinal basis for our Church. I also agree with the view of Waltherthat the Augsburg Confession is the basic confession of the LutheranChurch of which later confessions listed in Article II aredevelopments and elucidations.8.I believe that the Augsburg Confession (or, for laymen, Luther’s SmallCatechism) is an adequate and the best norma normata for determiningthe Lutheran stance. I believe that additions to the symbolsenumerated in Article II, suggested on the plea of inadequacy of theconfessions, should be carefully studied for possible deviations fromthe Lutheran position.9.I believe that the unity of the Church is Christo-centric and isattained by preaching the Gospel according to a pure under-standing and by properly administering the Sacraments.10. I beiieve that all who participate in Christ by faith are true bers of the Church.11.I believe that all those who participate in Christ strive for unity in thechurch (unitas in ecclesia; harmonia) incfuding doctrinal unity.12.I agree with Walther that knowledge in doctrinal matters is in thearea of sanctification. Hence no one, including theologians, is free oferror in this life. This has three implications: a) Christians shouldcontinualfy forgive each other their errors as they forgive sins. b)Christians should strive together for perfection in doctrine and life, c)Though error dare never be condoned, errorists should not be treatedas though they were heretics.13.There have always been differences in the church like those ofPaul and Peter, Luther and Melanchthon, Walther and Pieper.14.There will always be diversity in the church. Such diversity shouldnot always be construed as differences in doctrine. In patristicliterature there was extensive diversity on conceptualizations ofcreation. Luther's conceptualization of the descent to hell need not beshared by those who agree with his doctrine.15.Proper distinctions must be made between such factors as doctrine,dogmatics, exegesis, historical theology, rationalizations,conceptualizations, logic, world view, etc.16.Walther is my favorite American theologian although I am aware ofhis limitations. Particularly significant for me is his view that puredoctrine is attained by relating dogma properly to justification.Here Walther followed in the footsteps of Luther, who frequentlyemphasized the Gospel-centered approach in statements like thefollowing:"Thus all of Scripture, as already said, is pure Christ, God's andMary's Son. Everything is focused on this Son, so that we might knowHim distinctively and in that way see the Father and theHoly Spirit eternally as one God. To him who has the Son Scripture isan open book; and the stronger his faith in Christ becomes, the morebrightly will the light of Scripture shine for him." (15:339)This basic principle naturally leads to an approach to Scripturethrough Law-Gospel dichotorny.17.I believe that a critical study of isagogics has been a prominentpresupposition of Lutheran biblical study.18.Historical critical methodology is a valuable tool also for theologiansin the best tradition of Lutheranism. Since it is methodology, no exactrules can be devised for its use (note its use in areas like thefollowing: authorship; text interpretation; textual criticism; origin andunderstanding of Athanasian Creed).19.The foregoing are only random statements and are not to beconstrued as covering all the important points of theology. Theypertain to concerns properly or improperly catapulted into currentdiscussion to which faculty members of Concordia Seminary, St.Louis, were asked to respond. They are not a systematic presentationof theological presuppositions.20. As a teacher I regard it as my vocation prayerfully and humbly to dedicate myself to the interpretation of the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.Herbert T. MayerManaging Editor, Concordia Theotogical MonthlyProfessor of Historical TheologyIn the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.Amen.I believe in God the Father Almighty, that is, I place in Him mycomplete trust, confident of His love, guidance and support.I believe that God the creator is Lord of the universe and controlsall human affairs, although He is not responsible for the evil that men do. Ibelieve that he governs the course of the world and its peoples normallythrough natural and historical cause-effect relationships, although He isfree to suspend such obervable cause-effect relationships whenever Hechooses. (We call such actions "miracles.")I believe that through His Son Jesus Christ, God created the world,that He created man in His own image, but that man rebelled and by thatact introduced sin into the lives of all His descendants. I believe that I am asinner who deserves eternal separation from God, were it not for my LordJesus Christ. I believe that God gave His only-begotten Son into death sothat all who believe in Him might not perish but have everlasting life. Ibelieve that His Son was made man through the Virgin Mary, that in allthings He was tempted as we are, yet without sin, that He suffered, diedand rose again, that He is now seated in glory at the right hand of theFather, still clothed in His human nature, and that He will come again tojudge the living and the dead.I believe that God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into my heart,teaching me to cry “Abba, Father,” for I know that I cannot by my ownreason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. Ibelieve that the Spirit uses a variety of means to call me to faith and topreserve and nurture me in the faith, including Holy Baptism, the HolyBible, Holy Communion and the conversation and consolation of thebrethren.I believe that the Spirit has inspired the Scripture to be the record,witness and medium through which God expresses His wrath against sinand His unchanging love for sinners. Through the Scripture, the HolySpirit accomplishes God's foreign work of judging thesinner, and His proper work of forgiving the repentant sinner.In the church the Holy Scriptures is the only norm for establishingand judging doctrine. As they interpret and apply Scripture, Christians arebound to use only those methods that are compatible with the nature of theScriptures themseives. In my judgment, the use of the techniques ofhistorical-critical research with the specific Lutheran presuppositionsspelled out in the CTCR document, "A Lutheran Stance TowardContemporary Biblical Studies," is a proper and helpful method ofinterpretation. As I study the Scriptures, I discover that they have becomeauthoritative for me because they testify to Jesus Christ and to my need forhim. Thus in my own experience I have come to balance the "Gospel"principle and the "Scripture" principle, for I have discovered that theGospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is the object of my faith and that theScriptures are dear to me because they witness to Him. I cheerfully acceptthe doctrine that is taught in the Lutheran Confessions because it is basedsolidly on the divine Scriptures.I believe that the Spirit continues to guide ali those whom He hasmade members of the One, holy, Christian and apostolic church althoughno noncanonical writings possess the same authority as the canonicalScripture. However, I find that the Spirit often uses the writings of thesefathers to instruct, reassure and educate me. Like the Lutheran Confessors,I refuse to follow any father who contradicts the clear meaning ofScripture. Nor do I accept or believe any doctrine only because it is foundin the fathers or in the creeds and confessions of the Church.I believe that the Holy Spirit continues to give to His church aninfinite variety of great and wonderful gifts so that the entire church maymove toward the mark of the stature of Jesus Christ. I believe thatwhenever anyone of these brothers or sisters teaches or corrects me, theHoly Spirit is fulfilling His promise to lead us into all truth.I believe that the Spirit calls us into the church to follow in thefootsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who went about preaching that thekingdom of God was at hand and healing all manner of diseases. I believethat the Gospel of God's grace empowers meto be gracious to my neighborin all his necessities and to use ali propermeans to share with my neighbors the spiritual and physical blessings ofGod, Who causes His sun to shine on the just and the unjust.Duane P. MehlAssistant Professor of Practical Theology(Homiletics, Pastoral Theology)I believe in one God, Father, Almighty, Who has made and still sustains theheavens and the earth; upon Whose Breath and Word all things visible andinvisible depend for their existence.I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, my Lord Jesus Christ, the only begottenSon of God, precisely God, Who came down from heaven for all men fallenin sin from the family of the Father and thereby worthy. of damnation;Who, bom of the Virgin Mary as Man, yet God in one Man, was crucifiedfor us in our history under Pontius Pilate; Who suffered, died and wasburied for us who have fallen from the Father together with our parents,Adam and Eve. As the Scripture prophesied, Jesus Christ rose from thedead for us on the third day and thus gave us the Way with Him back tothe family of the Father. The Lord Jesus ascended for us to the right handof the Father; and He shall come again for us with glory to judge those ofus alive and those dead. His Kingdom, his rule, shall have no end.I stake my life on Jesus Christ. I believe that the record of His life, togetherwith all God's mighty words and acts as revealed in the Sacred Scriptures,are the sole source and norm of, the infallible witness to, the Christian faithand life. I believe and stake my life upon God's continuing presence injudgment and in grace in a world, visible and invisible, which he alonesustains, He alone redeems, and He alone continues to render worthy ofHis love through His love.I believe, therefore, in the Holy Ghost, the continuing Presence of God inour world. I believe that the Holy Ghost is the Lord and Giver of Life, Whoproceeds from the Father and the Son, and Who together with the Fatherand the Son is worshipped and glorified by and in the Church, now andforever. I believe the Holy Ghost spoke by the prophets and evangeliststhrough the Scriptures, and through the prophets and evangelists of theScriptures continues to speak with Divine authority His Word of judgmentand grace in our world today.I belleve in the one holy catholic and apostoiic Church, in the family of Godraised through and by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believein the family which together shares the One Baptism in faith for theremission of sins; in the family which together shares in faith around thetable of God in communion the real Body and blood of Jesus Christ inanticipation of the celestial meal to which His saints look forward in the ageto come. I humbly give thanks to God for granting me membership in Hisfamily through His most gracious means. Together with His saints, I lookforward in faith to the life of the world to come.In His wisdom, our Lord called Professor Carl S. Meyer to hiseternal home on Sunday, December 17, 1972. Dr. Meyer joined his facultycolleagues in cheerfully confessing his personal faith to the church which heserved, His faith and trust in his Savior give us all reason for joy.Blessed are those who die in the Lord.Carl S. Meyer !!!!Graduate Professor of Historical TheologyIn the first article of the Augsburg Confession reference is made to thedecree of the Council of Nicaea regarding the Trinity. With that thesubscribers to the Augsburg Confession profess their continuity with theancient church.I, too, would profess my agreement with the ecumenical creeds ofthe church and with the Confessions of the Lutheran Church because theyare in harmony with the apostolic and prophetic Scriptures. I made thisvow on the occasion of my ordination on 13 September 1931, when mynow sainted father laid his hands on me. I repeated the vow when I wasinstalled as professor of Historical Theology at Concordia Seminary inOctober 1954. Furthermore, in the preface to the Apology of the AugsburgConfession Melanchthon said, "I have always made it a point to stick asclosety as possible to traditional formulas in order to foster the attainmentof harmony."Like Melanchthon I have been ready to use "traditional formulas" inmy teaching and preaching, although I have recognized and have alsoaccommodated myself to changing patterns of speech without in any waywishíng to negate the power of the Gospel or to disturb the harmony ofthe church.I speak to some specific issues below, commending my cause toChrist. "We beseech Him to regard His afflicted and scattered churchesand to restore them to a godly and abiding harmony," as Melanchthon alsoprayed.I. The Holy Scriptures.The prophetic and apostolic Scriptures were given by the HolySpirit's inspiration to human authors, who were supplied with the"content and fitting word." These writings are the inspired Word of Godín which God "speaks as the infallible and unchanging God, whosemessage never chances." This Word of God alone establishes articles offaith (Smalcald Articles, Part II, Art. II). The Holy Scriptures teach both Lawand Gospel, but the chief content of the Holy Scriptures is ihe Gospel.God has given us the Scriptures to comfort us with the for-giveness of sins and reconciliation with Him. Luther was very explicitabout his emphasis on Christ and the Gospel. He defines the Word as "thepromise and the ministry" (Luther's Works, VIII, 181). The Word, thesacraments, absolution are given by God to the church for the consolationof the sinner. The efficacy of the Word is due to the power of God in thatWord. In it God reveals to us His Son. "Hear ye Him" (Matt. 17:5). Lutheroften quoted this passage. Once when citing it he added, "He wants us tohear the Word and to believe it." (Luther's Works, V, 348)There are difficulties and dark passages in the Scriptures and theorigins of these difficulties are not always easily uncovered. Nor is theirsolution always easy or possible. Terms like "verbal inspiration," "plenaryinspiration," "inerrancy," introduce dimensions which the Scripturesthemselves do not stress. The Apostle Luke says that "many" compiledaccounts from eyewitnesses and that he, too, since he had paid closeattention to what was happening, wanted to record his "orderly account."Luke is concerned about giving an accurate report. Yet he does not addthat his record is truthful because of inspiration although he might have.There are many passages in the Scriptures that assert, "Thus says the Lord,"or words to that effect. The fact of inspiration is closely coupled with thefunctions for which God gives His Word.II. The Historical-Critical Method.Biblical exegetes approach the sacred writings with presuppositionsand assumptions regardless of what method they use. It is only proper thatthey should state their presuppositions, assumptions, and beliefs, or makethem evident. However, it is not proper to make a method of biblicalinterpretation the criterion of orthodoxy. Luther, for instance, said of themethod of interpretation that found four senses of Scripture that he wouldnot disallow it, so long as it would not make Scripture uncertain. He askedthat any interpretation based on that method be "supported by theauthority of Scripture, by the custom of the fathers, or by grammaticalprincipies" (Luther's Works, XXVII, 311). Luther used the most up-to-datetools for Biblical interpretation at his disposal. In our day scholars who usethe historical-critical method should not rely on unsupported speculations;Lutheran scholars should not allow their conclusions to depart from thedoctrinal position to which they have subscribed.Historians subject their sources to examination. They want to knowthe date of the composition of a given document, the place of composition,its originality, in fact whatever may be known about the origin of thesource. Its authenticity or genuineness is not necessarily dependent on itsauthorship; an anonymous document may be authentic. In thetransmission of a document from thetime of origin to the present there canbe changes and variations.Historians are also concerned about the content of the source. Theywish to establish the real sense of the testimony. Language is not static.Moreover, the nature and the purpose of the document is important tothem. They examine the accounts of two or more witnesses of the sameevent, if at all possible.The writers in their telling of events come with their interpretations.Historians in reading the documents come with their presuppositions andmake their interpretations.Biblical interpretations must ask about the composition of theBiblical books, the nature and purpose of each of the books. They apply thecanons of the historians of literature. Such canons must be used with theproper safeguards. Naturalistic suppositions, theories which discredit anyevidence of divine actions, hypotheses which rest on the imagination of thecritic and not on fact, and the like must be avoided in the interest of soundBiblical scholarship. Conclusions that negate the doctrinal teachings of theLutheran Confessions are not permitted to the Lutheran practitioner of thehistorical-critical method.III. Creation and the Fall of Man.The God who rules, governs, and preserves the universe is the Godwho made it and all creatures. His creation was not a once-for-all timeaction, even as His providence is not a one time act. God operates throughnatural forces, various factors in history, men, and supernatural beings.His acts may be cataclysmic, revolutionary, sudden; they may follow theprocesses of growth, development, change, continuity, and discontinuity.The Biblical accent on the creative acts of God must be kept. One account isin Genesis 1. Psalms 104 and Job 38-42, e.g., also tell about God's work ofcreation. The earth, the waters, the living things in them were created byGod. God, not chance, is the author of nature, the controlling force, whosewaysare often hidden to us. When God reveals Himself to us, He revealsHimself primarily in His Son.By His Word, His Son, He created the heavens and the earth and allthings in them. His creation, even as His providence, is a continuousprocess. However, God has not made us privy to the deep mysteries of Hiscreative or providential activities.Luther in his comments on Genesis 1:14 says that the Holy Spirit"has His own language and ways of expression." The philosopher and theastronomer, too, uses his own terms. Luther says: "Every science shouldmake use of its own terminology, and should not for this reason condemnthe other or ridicule it; but one should rather be of use to the other, andthey should put their achievements at one another's disposal." (Luther'sWorks 1, 48)To me the evidence points to a specific, deliberate, creative act ofGod in making man. He who in the fullness of time sent His Son, also at aspecific time made man. This man was made in righteousness and holiness.Man fell into sin by an act of disobedience. The account in Genesis 3is obscure. Luther, recognizing this, said: "This account is so obscure inorder that all things might be held over for Christ and for His Spirit, whowas to shed light throughout the entire world like the midday sun andopen all the mysteries of Scripture" (Luther's Works, 1, 145). Since man's fallall men are sinners.God is not the author of evil. Demonic forces are active and they tryto negate the good, the true, and the beautiful in the continuous creativeand providential activities of God.Creation and Providence, the conquest of evil and the restoration ofrighteousness, hope and comfort are ail in all in Christ and come to usthrough His Word, His sacraments, absolution, and the ministrations ofHis church.IV. Miscellaneous Questions.It is not necessary, I believe, to comment on every issue that hasbeen raised in the present situation. However, several questions have beenraised that need to be touched on.He who made all things and upholds all things by the word of Hispower certainly can, has, and does perform miracles. We may not alwaysrecognize them and His intervention may be indirect rather than direct.The physical resurrection of Christ is fully attested in the Scriptureseven though there were no actual eyewitnesses of the event itself.The Virgin Birth is confessed by the Christian Church. The VirginMary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.In the Lord's Supper we have the communion of the Body and Bloodof Christ in communion with the members of His Body, the church.The sacraments grant, convey, and seal to us the forgiveness of sinand reconciliation with God.The third function of the law is set forth in Article VI of the Formulaof Concord. There is a distinction between Law and Gospel, as Article V ofthe Formula of Concord testifies. The fruits of the Spirit are evident in the lifeof the believer. Because he is sinner and saint (simul iustus et peccator) bothLaw and Gospel are preached to him. "We hear God when He addresses usin Baptism, in Holy Communion, in confession, and in His Word as itproceeds from the mouth of the men who proclaim His message to thepeople." (Luther's Works, XXII, 202)V. The Confessions and Synod's Doctrinal Stance."The Church is the pupil of Christ; and although it teaches, it doesnot teach anything except what has been entrusted to it by Christ. Even theSpirit of God does the same thing (John 16:14): 'He will take what is Mine"'(Luther's Works, II, 356). We subscribe to the Confessions of the LutheranChurch because they agree with the Scriptures. They exalt Christ. Absoluteand complete agreement in all points of doctrine, not merely in the chiefarticles of faith, or agreement in the interpretation of all Scripture passagesis not demanded by the Confessions. (See John Gerhard's Loci Theologici,V, 1095)Melanchthon in his treatise on "The Church and the Authority ofthe Word" (1539) emphasized that the ancient writers "must be judgedaccording to the Word of God, which abides always as the rule of doctrine."The church does not originate articies of faith, he maintained. He added tothat: "The synods of the church which, while disputing about the Word ofGod, do teach and admonish us, are to be heard. But let judgment be usedand when they yield us things that are true, let us believe them because ofthe Word of God."Eldon E. PedersonDirector of Health and Physical EducationI think of my faith as being very simple; perhaps best expressed bythe Apostle's Creed and its explanations in Luther's Small Catechism. Thewitness and guidance of my Christian parents and the instruction Ireceived during my confirmation classes formed the foundation for myfaith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, my Lord and Savior. His death onthe cross and His resurrection from the dead paid for my sins. So out of Hisgreat love for me and other sinners, I am assured of everlasting life. Godsays that He will give eternal life to me and all believers, but to believersonly."God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, thatwhosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."(John 3:16)My faith has grown and matured over the years. God has put methrough trials and experiences that have challenged and tested thestrength, sincerity and depth of my faith. I've had to make some choicesregarding my relationship to God. My faith had to be put into action if Iwas to claim Christ as my Savior. Through the help ofprayer and the Holy Spirit, I have put my problems in God's hands, thentried my best to do what I thought would be pleasing to God and finallyaccepting His will without my second guessing.I believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God. The Bible and theworking of the Holy Spirit have built and strengthened my Christian faith.I regard the Bible as my guide to Christian living.I am saved by faith, not by what I do. Because of my faith and theWord and the Spirit working in me, I believe that I live my faith daily. If Iam going to claim God as my Father, then I should act as one of God'schildren. If I don't use my faith, I feel I will surely lose it. As a follower ofChrist, I should reflect my Christian faith by loving others, serving others,being patient and gentle with others, being courteous to others, setting anexample for others, forgiving others as God forgives me, not judgingothers, edifying others, praying for others, and having a thankful heart.I know that I fall short in my Christian living because I am a sinnerand not a saint. But I believe I should try to do my best in living myChristian faith and sharing it with my fellowmen.Through a life in athletics, most of it spent coaching and directingthe program at Concordia Seminary, I have attempted to teach and witnessin accordance with what I have stated as my confession of faith.Arthur Carl PiepkornGraduate Professor of Systematic TheologyI believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, the maker of theheavens and the earth, of everything that is seen and everything that isunseen.I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the unique Son of God, eternallybegotten by the Father. I believe that Jesus Christ is true God from trueGod; that he is begotten, not created; that he is identical in being with theFather; that through him everything was made and that without himnothing came into being (St. John 1,3); that for us human beings and for thesalvation of all of us he came down from heaven without ceasing to be inheaven (St. John 1,18); that he was born out of the Holy Spirit and theVirgin Mary, the Mother of God (Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, 8,24);that he became a human being, like us in everything, except that he wassinless (Hebrews 2,14; 4,15); that for our sake he was crucified underPontius Pilate; that he suffered the death penalty; that he was buried; thaton the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures; that heascended into heaven; that also as a human being he has entered into thefull exercise of his divine power (Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, 8,26);that he will come again in glory to pronounce judgment on the living andon the dead; and that his kingly rule will have no end.I believe in the Holy Spirit, lordiy and life-giving (to kyrion kaizoopoion). I believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father throughthe Son; that together with the Father and the Son the Holy Spirit isworshiped and glorified; and that the Holy Spirit has spoken through theprophets.I believe in (eis) one holy catholic and apostolic church. I believe thatour Lord Jesus Christ founded the church and that it has never ceased toexist and that it will continue to exist upon the earth until his parousia(Augsburg Confession, 7,1). I believe that to enable human beings to obtainthe faith that forgives sins our Lord Jesus Christ established the sacredministry in the church and gave to the church the gospel and sacraments,by which God communicates his Holy Spirit to human beings (AugsburgConfession, 5,1-3). I believe that through these means the Holy Spirit createsin human beings faith in the gospel, namely, that human beings receiveforgiveness of their sins freely for Christ's sake alone when they believethat they are indeed received into God's grace and that their sins areindeed forgiven for Christ's sake (Augsburg Confession, 4). I believe thatthrough these means the Holy Spirit continually calls the church intobeing, gathers it together from all the nations of the earth, enlightens it,makes it holy, and keeps it loyal to its Lord and Head in the one true faith(Small Catechism, Creed, 6). I affirm that the church's chief mission on earthis to proclaim this gospel to all human beings (St. Matthew 28,19; SmalcaldArticles, III, 4).I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I affirm thatin the sacrament of the altar the consecrated bread and wine are the bodyand the blood of Christ (Smalcald Articles, III, 6,1); that through reception ofthe holy communion God's people are united in one body (Apology, 10,3)and obtain forgiveness of sins, God's own divine life, and liberation fromthe conseyuences of their native sinfulness and of their sins (SmallCatechism, Sacrament of the Altar, 6). I affirm that in holy absolutionChristians who have rejected their baptismal grace are restored to thecommunion of the church (Apology, 28,13). I affirm that when pastorsordain qualified candidates to the sacred ministry such ordinations arevalid by divine right (Treatise on lhe Authority and Primacy of the Pope, 65,72).I affirm that marriage, divinely instituted at the beginning of humanhistory, is a symbol of the union between Christ and his church (Apology,13, 14; Small Catechism, Marriage Booklet, 16).I await the resurrection of the dead at the end of this age and thefulness of the life of the age to come.Apart from this general statement of my convictions, I have twofurther observations to make:1. The specific issues on which I am asked to state my stand -- therelation of law and gospel; the purpose, authority, infallibility, unity, andinterpretation of the sacred scriptures; the relation of the gospel to thesacred scriptures; the "canonical text"; Old Testament prophecy; andoriginal sin -- are not of equal theological importance nor are they, taken asa whole, the most important theological issues confronting the church. Ispeak to these issues specifically because I have been asked to do so and Itake them up in the order in which I do because that is the order in whichthey have been proposed to me.2. In all of these issues, and in all theological issues to which I amrequired to speak in carrying out my duties as a professor of systematictheology at Concordia Seminary, I cheerfully accept the dootrinal contentof the Lutheran symbolical books. I conscientiously try to let the doctrinalcontent of the Lutheran symbolical booksinform my public and private teaching on these issues and on all othertheological issues.1. The Relation between the Law and the GospelI regard the conventional Lutheran law-gospel polarity as a de-nominational construction which is derived from data of the sacredscriptures, although the sacred scriptures do not explicitiy distinguish thelaw from the gospel, as Lutherans understand these terms. I hold that inthe sense that the terms have in Lutheran theology, the law and the gospelare ultimately functions of the word of God. That is, for the Christian everyword of God, however conveyed, has both a law function and a gospelfunction. Every word of God calls the Christian's attention to the divinedemand for holiness and to the divine judgment upon our humansinfulness, as well as to God's concern that we see him as the merciful andgracious God who in Christ has reconciled the world to himself. (Thisobservation is not intended-obviously-to deny that at the level of Christianexperience, many passages in the sacred scriptures will appear to beprimarily "law" passages and others will appear to be primarily "gospel"passages.) To stress the fact that the law and the gospel, as Lutheransunderstand the terms, are functions that inhere in the word of God, I preferto speak of a law-gospel polarity (rather than of a law-gospel antithesis).In my theological use of the law-gospel polarity I feel myself boundby the definitive Lutheran exposition of this subject in Article 5 of theFormula of Concord. I would stress that the law-gospel distinction is aparticularly useful hermeneutical criterion in dealing with the sacredscriptures; but it must not, in my view, be exalted to the place where it isthe primary or the exclusive hermeneutical criterion. When it does becomethe primary or exclusive hermeneutical criterion, the tremendous “bite” ofthe law-gospel distinction is lost.In the cited article I find especially helpful the priority that thegospel function of God's word receives as God's proper and hence most"godly" work over his "strange" work of punishment. I also find thedefinition of the gospel as "everything that comforts sinners and offersthem the favor and the grace of God" (Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration,5,21) as highly helpful.According to that article our life in Christ is a ceaseless rhythmin which the gospel constantly reassures us that God has forgiven oursinfulness and our sins and empowers us more perfectly to do his will andin which the law presents us with impossible demands that even asforgiven children of God we cannot meet, so that we stand in constantneed of forgiveness.2. The Purpose of the Sacred ScripturesI see the purposes of the sacred scriptures defined in the sacredscriptures themselves. These purposes are to disclose to us the being ofGod and his purpose to enlighten us through his written word in ournative darkness (Psalm 119, 105), to create and confirm in us faith in JesusChrist as the Son of God (St. John 20, 21); to provide us with instruction(didaskalia), to reprove us, to correct us, and to train us in righteousness, sothat. as children of God we may be complete, equipped for every goodwork (2 Timothy 3, 16); to give us a right mind-set (nouthesia) (1Corinthians 10, 11); to provice our hope with encouragement (paraklesis)(Romans 15, 4). He did not give us his revelation to satisfy our curiosity(even about spiritual things), to play games with it, or to give usinformation about the subject matter of secular disciplines likemathematics, history, astronomy, physics, and geography. Where thesacred scriptures in incidental fashion speak in these areas, we mustrecognize (1) that the documents of the sacred scriptures reflect thescientific and historical information of their times; (2) that a concern formeticulously exact descriptions of the historical, physical, and otherscientific details that attended the episodes which the biblical recordreports obviously does not characterize the sacred scriptures; and (3) thatin many parts of the sacred scriptures -- especially in the Old Testament --literary forms are used in which the historical, physical, and scientific dataare not integral to the religious purpose of the sacred scriptures.3. The Authority of the Sacred ScripturesI do not find the sacred scriptures talking about their "authority." Certainlythe common English meaning of the term which attributes to authoritycoercive power to decide issues and exercise jurisdiction does not apply tothe sacred scriptures. When James Andrea calls the sacred scriptures theone eternal judge in controverted articles of religion (Formula of Concord,Epitome, Of the Summary Concept, 7), this is as much a metaphor as whenthe symbols call the sacred scriptures a fountain.As long as there has been a church there have been sacredscriptures. Precisely what this term inciuded at a given time is onlyrelatively clear. The Jewish canon was not fixed until late in the firstcentury of our era and exactly what happened at the council of Jamnia wedo not know. In broad outlines the Christian church took over the"canonical" scriptures of Judaism, with all the ambiguities as to detailswhich this statement implies. Again, the early church operated with agrowing canon, which was not the same at all points in time or place.Indeed, even today the historic churches are not in total agreement aboutthe scope of the Old Testament canon. The early church never officiallydefined the canon of either Testament. The canon that the Western church,and ultimately the Church of the Augsburg Confession, worked with wasone the outlines of which were determined more by liturgical usage thanby any other factor.Among all the historic churches, the Church of the AugsburgConfession is the only major communion which did not undertake to list thebooks of its biblical canon in the 16th century.This is all germane to the question of the "authority" of the sacredscriptures. The church historically has accorded to its canon for the timebeing a unique status not shared by any other collection of documents. Itsaw in these documents, in a sense that it was never able adequately toexplain or account for, the written word of God. The term referred not onlyto the passages that explicitly profess to be divine oracles, but in a generaland inclusive way to the totality of what the church regarded as sacredscriptures.The "authority" of the sacred scriptures lies in the fact that at thesupernatural level they have God as their author. This ancient reverencefor the written word of God I share.Although my specific tasks as a teacher of theology are primarily inthe historic-systematic field, I have a responsibility to try to determinewhat God is saying to me, to the church, and to the worid through hiswritten word. On the "high articles of the divine majesty" I see myself asstanding in agreement with ail Christians; in the articles which theLutheran symbolical books discuss I see myself as standing in agreementwith all who with me are committed to the acceptance of the doctrinalcontent of the Book of Concord; in many points of teaching beyond theseissues I see a wide range of positions both on points of synthesized andformulated theology and on theinterpretation of individual passages of the sacred scriptures where there isno unanimity.In this last area I see it as my task (1) to try to discover, with all ofthe means available to me, what a specific passage of the sacred scripturesis affirming and (2) to integrate these insights into my understanding of thedoctrinal content of the Book of Concord which is for me the normativeinterpretation of the biblical message. In this area I must expect to finddisagreement on the part of theologians among themselves and with myown conclusions. As long as these views do not contradict "the high articlesof the divine majesty" as the "catholic" creeds set them forth, I cannot readthose who dissent from my views out of the Christian community; as longas these views do not contradict the doctrinal content of the Book of ConcordI cannot read those who dissent from my views out of the Lutherancommunity.To summarize: I see the "authority" of the sacred scriptures in thefact that at the supernatural level they have God as their "author." For theterm "authority of the sacred scriptures" as it is commonly used intheological discussion, I should prefer to substitute the term "normativecharacter of the sacred scriptures" that is, the sacred scriptures are thestandard by which all teachings and all teachers are to be evaluated(Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Of the Summary Concept, 3).4. The lnfallibility of the Sacred Scriptures"Infallible" as applied to the sacred scriptures is a theological, not abiblical, term. It does not occur in the Book of Concord in this context. Theclosest biblical category would be "truthful." The closest symbolicalcategory would be "veracious" (wahrhaftige/certissima) (Formula of Concord,Solid Declaration, Of the Summary Concept, 3). As in the case of the parallelword "inerrancy; " the most that the sacred scriptures can say of themselvesand that we can say of them is that they are truthful and dependable.It is my understanding that “infallible” is intended to say preciselythis: When the sacred scriptures make a statement to me about God orabout his saving purpose in Christ for all human beings and for me, orabout his will for the ordering of the life of the people of God and of my lifeas a member of his people, such a word is com-pletely true and dependable. I can follow it without having to fear that thisword of God either goes astray or leads his people or me astray.5. The Unity of the Sacred ScripturesThe unity of the sacred scriptures arises from the fact that at thesupernatural level they have one God as their author and his one plan forthe salvation of ali human beings in Christ as their subject. Certainelements are unchanging. God is throughout the one who disposes of thefuture according to his own sovereign will. He is always the one whothinks and acts in a totally different way from the way we think and act.He is always merciful and gracious, long-suffering, compassionate, andforgiving. He is always in the process of directing the course of historytoward the conclusion when he will be all in all.As we look back we can see that during the era of the Old Covenanthe was revealing the manner of his ultimate salvation with cumulativelyincreasing clarity, until in the incarnation of the Son of God in Jesus ofNazareth, in his life, in his death, and in his exaltation God has finally andas fully as he ever will revealed himself as eternal Love. Precisely becausethe biblical documents that come to us out of the Old Covenant werewritten prior to the coming of our Savior, the unity of sacred scriptures issomething that we can affirm only in the Holy Spirit, only in faith, andonly in the recognition that God's purposes were constantly movingtoward that climactic point in human history when his Son would enterour history to be our Savior and our Redeemer.6. The Interpretation of the Sacred ScripturesThe interpretation of the sacred scriptures is both like and quiteunlike the interpretation of any other written document.The sacred scriptures themselves give us no list of principies ofinterpretation. The frequently invoked principles of the unicity of theliteral sense (sensus literalis unus est) and of internal consistency (scripturascripturam interpretatur) are rational principles used in the interpretation ofsecular texts as well.To be able to see the sacred scriptures as the written word of God is agift that the Holy Spirit must impart. There are no criteriathat we can devise that will prove such a thesis. To be able to see in thesacred scriptures what the Holy Spirit designed them to disclose to usrequires the illumination of the Holy Spirit that presided over theirproduction. It is the experience of the church and of individual Christiansthat in these areas scriptures are unlike any other document and theirinterpretation requires more than linguistic and historical competence.On the other hand, God chose to use a variety of human authors,who wrote their messages in human words over a long period of time, in atleast three different languages, in quite varied historical circumstances, in avariety of literary forms (not ali of which are immediately obvious to us inour culture, and who were as limited in their scientific and historicalknowledge as their contemporaries were. The way in which the individualdocuments came to be, the manner in which their component parts werecompiled and edited, the mode by which they were transmitted fromgeneration to generation - all these processes are amply illustrated by whatwe know about other but similar documents that come to us from the sameperiod and the same cultural matrix. From these aspects, the interpretationof the sacred scriptures does not differ significantly from the interpretationof other contemporary documents. We must proceed to establish the text aswell as we can, we need to know as much as we can about the historicalcircumstances that attended the production of the document, we need toknow as much as we can about the language, the grammar, the syntax, thevocabulary, the literary forms, and the underlying world-picture that weencounter. We need to take due cognizance of the theological emphases ofthe author, as well as of the broader and immediate contexts of the passagethat we are studying. By God's providence we know much more aboutthese things than any previous generation and many passages of the sacredscriptures have gained in clarity as a result; at the same time, somecommonly accepted past interpretations, based upon inadequate in-formation, have had to be abandoned.In applying the principie that "Scripture interprets Scripture"(scriptura scripturam interpretatur) we discover which scripture is in thenominative (scriptura) and which scripture is in the accusative (scripturam)not from the bible immediately, but from our theological tradition.7. The Relation between the Gospel and the Sacred ScripturesThe term "gospel" has two meanings in Lutheran theology (and inthe saered scriptures). Taken strictly, it can mean the glad announcementof God's saving action in Christ; taken broadly, it can mean the wholeChristian religion, of which God's saving action in Christ is the cardinaldatum. Since God's saving action in Christ - or speaking more generally soas to include the Old Covenant, God's merciful, gracious, andcompassionate disposition toward human beings - is the one decisivereligious datum which human beings can know only through divinerevelation, the specific contribution that the sacred scriptures make to ourreligious knowledge as the written word of God is to document God'ssaving action in Christ. In this way God's saving action in Christ is the core,center, heart, and chief part of the sacred scriptures. Other areas ofreligious data in the sacred scriptures are ultimately significant as theyrelate to this central datum. Some are so very intimately related to thiscentral datum that they are substantially an integral part of the centraldatum - the biblical teaching about God, about the church, about theministry and what theology calas the sacraments, and about the relation ofthe present age and the age to come, to cite a few examples. Others are lessdirectly, although importantly, related to the central datum - he biblicalteaching about creation, about secular government, about personal andsocial ethics, and about the sacred scriptures themselves, to cite examples.These less directly related data are important, but they are notautonomously so; they derive their Christian significance from theirrelation to the central datum which they subserve.In summary: The gospel in the narrow sense is not one doctrinaldatum in the sacred scriptures among many, but in the hierarchy of veritiesthat the church has always taught it is the crucial, decisive, and uniqueitem; all the other items derive their ultimate significance from theirrelationship to it.8. The "Canonical Text""Canonical text" I know as a Roman Catholic theological term,which describes the text of the Latin "Vulgate" version, not as either abiblical term or one that the Book of Concord employs. I have spoken aboutcanonicity above. The closest that the Lutheran symbols come to "canonicalscriptures" on their own is their reference to the "prophetic and apostolicwritings," which may, however, benothing more than a circumlocution for "both testaments." As far as Iknow, "canonical scriptures" occurs only once in the Lutheran symbols, butthis is in a quotation from St. Augustine (Augsburg Confession 28, 28 Latin),whose canon included the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testamentthat we commonly call the "apocrypha."The Lutheran Church knows no "canonical text" just as the sacredscriptures themselves know no "canonical text" if we are to draw anyconclusions from the way in which they quote biblical documents. TheNew Testament, for instance, makes very extensive use of the Septuaginttext.Lutheran biblical scholarship is understandably concerned torecover, as far as it is possible to do so, the original Hebrew, Aramaic, andGreek texts, but Lutherans have always recognized that the Holy Spirit canmake use of any edition of the text that has not been deliberately mutilatedand of any version that seriously tries to reproduce the sense of the originalin order to creste and confirm faith in those who hear it proclaimed or whoread it themselves.One observation may be in place here: The sacred scriptures withwhich Lutheran theotogians work is a collection of completed rlocuments.While theologians may legitimately use all the available techniques ofliterary analysis, of form and redaction history, and of similar methods, inorder to improve their understanding of the best available text of a biblicaldocument by considering possible earlier forms and possible sources, thebiblical documenta themselves, as the Holy Spirit permitted them to comedown to us, are the basis for our theological construction.9. Old Testament ProphecyWe should look at Old Testament prophecy in terms of the sacredscriptures, rather than in terms of a theological construction given by ourdogmatics or by a traditional interpretation of certain texts. When we doso, we learn that it is too simplistic to think of Old Testament prophecy asthe forecasting of some future event of history in so obvious and explicit afashion that when the event occurs every reasonable person acquaintedwith the prophecy sees the event as the enactment of the prophecy. It istrue that short-term precognition, often with the rehearsal of considerabledetail, is, like related phenomena, extensively documented in bothtestaments. Butlong-term prophecies are obviously of a different order and are usuallydescribed in general terms. (Apocalyptic, with its generous use of symbolicdetails, is a special case.) It is true that God in the Old Covenant made hissaving purpose that was to eventuate in Christ's atoning work increasinglyclear during the Old Covenant and (looking back from the vantage point ofthe New Testament) in the intertestamental period. He did so through awide variety of indications. Some of these were recognized as such onlywhen his purpose was realized in Christ's reconciling work and only bypeople whom the Holy Spirit had specially illuminated.The link between the "prophecy" and the "fulfillment" is not alwaysobvious, even when we have a statement in the New Testament assertingthat a "prophecy" was "fulfilled." No one explanation will account for allthese cases. In some instances, we can postulate two or even a series of"fulfillments," one contemporary with the "prophecy," the other, or the last,taking place in a preeminent way in the life and work of Christ. In othercases, we can hardly say more than that the analogy between the OldTestament "prophecy" and the New Testament "fulfillment" is such thatboth are seen as the parallel or analogou sactions of the same Godaccomplishing his saving purpose at different stages of history.10. Original Sin"Original sin" is not a biblical term. It is not a catholic term, in thesense that it has been in use at all times, in all places, and by all Christians.In the West it does not appear to antedate significantly St. Augustine ofHippo (died 430). The East has never on its own adopted the term;sometimes, in the interest of a specious accommodation to the West, it hasspoken of "the original sin" of our first parents.The doctrinal content of the term as it is used in the Lutheransymbolical books is the native sinfulness that characterizes every humanbeing and the retroactive persistence of this native sinfulness as far back ashuman history goes.This native sinfulness is not merely the absence of the kind of trust,love, and obediente that God as the creator of human beings has a right todemand, but the native inability of human beings born in this world togive God that kind of trust, love, and obedience.Baptism takes away the guilt of this native sinfulness, but itcontinues to infect us as long as we live. While the Holy Spirit assists us inrestraining its vicious effects upon our lives, this process is alwaysimperfect, and underlines the necessity for the daily repentance to whichChrist calls us.Robert D. PreusProfessor of Systematic TheologyDr. Robert Preus requests that President J. A. O. Preus' "Statement ofScriptural and Confessional Principles" be considered as his personalconfession of what he believes, teaches, and confesses.Arthur C. ReppProfessor of Practical Theology (Christian Education)I believe and confess that God has made me and all creatures. Withthis I acknowledge too that God's creative activity did not come to an endsome time in the distant historical past but that God continues to create allthings by his will and by the power of his might: This is vividly portrayedfor me in the creation psalm, 104.The precise details as to how the creation of matter, time and lifetook place we are not told. But what is clearly revealed to us, and what ismuch more important for our daily living, is God's purpose in creatingmankind, namely that we are "to live for the praise of his glory" (Eph. 1:12).This is portrayed so vividly for us in Psalm 96.On the basis of God's word I believe that our first parents rebelledagainst God and by their action brought all mankind under God'sjudgment and eternal wrath. Because of this, I too was born a sinner,lacking the fear, trust and love for the very God who created me and assuch, I was marked for eternal death.But God, who had provided man with physical life in the first placeand who had planned for the human race to enter the eternal Sabbath(Heb. 4:1-11), in his mercy provided for all the world a redemption in hisSon so that in the fullness of time all things might again be united in Him(Eph. 1:10). They who by grace through faith accept this redemptive workwill, as new creatures (Eph. 2:10), be able to enter that eternal rest.This gracious act of God in Jesus Christ came to me personaily whenthrough the sacrament of Holy Baptism I was declared to be his child,dying and rising with Him through the water of Baptism (Rom. 6:1-11) andthereby sharing in his death and resurrection and with it his mightyvictory over sin and death. By the Word of God, who came to me inBaptism, I was incorporated into his church, God's people, and with thembecame an heir of eternal life.As the years went by, God's providence continued to nurture mephysically and spiritually. Christian parents, together with other of God'speople, helped me through the Gospel to learn my identity as a child ofGod. Through the continuous power of the Spirit I came to believe thatScripture was God's word too, that the same Word that had given me thespiritual life had by inspiration moved men to write Scripture empoweringit with His Spirit and thereby becoming for me the sole rule and norm offaith.To speak of this unique inspiration of Scripture is to be mindful toothat the same Spirit who "authored" it comes to us today with the samepower through Word and Sacrament. When we use his means of grace hebreathes upon us so that our words too are em-powered to regenerate people, to keep and nourish them in the faith, toforgive and to retain sins and to impart the blessing of God on his people.As stated above, it is this gift and power of the Spirit that has led meto accept Scripture as true and reliable in all its parts. I do not believe thisbecause I have found it to be so by my reason or strength, by some processof rationalization, but because of a conviction and the gift of faith that theSpirit has created in me.In view of the present climate in the Christian Church I do not findthe word "inerrant" a useful way of describing Scripture. In many instancesthis word has led to an a priori tendency to assert that every declarativesentence must be taken literally and as a result it has spawned a host ofdivisions and sects in the church. I prefer, instead, to operate with theassumption that every word in Scripture is true and that it is reliable forGod's intended purpose in revealing it to us. Therefore my purpose as achild of God must be, with the help of the Spirit, to get at God's intendedmeaning in the light of the Gospel, rather than accept surface meaningsthat literalism is satisfied with.The center and heart of Scripture is the Gospel. It is the focal pointfor all of Scripture and every article of faith in Scripture. Indeed everyarticle of faith must be related to the Gospel or it will become meaningless.When we fail in this we approach the beginnings of heresy. For example,when we teach creation without a christological emphasis we have sheerlaw, making us responsible to a sovereign God under whomwe stand injudgment: Similarly every miraculous event in the New Testament taughtwithout the Gospel implication leads to moralism or makes of Jesus aWundermensch whose power we can only marvel at or debate, even as didmany of the originai witnesses.The nurturing power of the Word of God becomes apparent also inthe Lord's Supper where we partake of the body and blood of our Lordunder the bread and wine. Through this mysterious sacramental union, webecome contemporaries of the past, remembering that through his deathand resurrection we have the assurance of our forgiveness. In taking thatvery body and blood of our Lord, we become participants of his grace andwith it, confess his future return, expressing and holding on to the hope ofeternal life. Through thesacrament we anticipate our own resurrection. In partaking of thissacrament we confess not only our union with our Lord, but simul-taneously give witness to our fellowship with all believers.To all of this I am led to say, Amen. How can I be so certain? Evenwhen I share with others sharne at the hands of brethren? I know that ithas been granted to me that for the sake of Christ I do not only believe inHim, I shall suffer also for His sake. Both the believing and the sufferingare marks of His grace. For Christianity is the religion of the cross underwhich stress the Spirit bears witness that I am a child of God. It is thealready/not yet of the eschatology.And the future? It lies in heaven with Christ. A glorious experienceto be shared with all of God's people. There I will be clothed with aspiritual body, whatever that means, yet with a body. It will be me! PraiseGod!Alfred von Rohr SauerFaculty MarshalChairman of the Department of Exegetical TheologyProfessor of Exegetical Theology (Old Testament)Born at Winona, Minnesota on the Feast of St. Nicholas the first week inDecember, 1908, my new birth in the city of Zion (Ps. 87:5) was recorded atSt. Martin's less than a fortnight later. It was my maternal grandfather, thenpresident of the Wisconsin Synod, Pastor Philip von Rohr, whoadministered regenerative water to me as his last public act before he wastranslated from the glory of an earthly Christmas to the glory of a heavenlyZion. With a double measure of his spirit, I was reared in a parsonage thathad all of the earmarks of German culture and Lutheran religion. Parochialschool training from 1914 to1921 introduced me to the Catechism of the Great Reformer as well as theexploits of the Big Bertha and the rousing sentiments of "The Watch on theRhine." Confirmation instructionswere an unforgettable bilingualexperience.After a four-gear exposure to "American" public high school education Ientered the ministerial training program of the LutheranChurch-Wisconsin Synod and completed its college and seminary re-quirements at the height of the depression, May, 1932. During the last threeyears at seminary I met the man who has left the deepest imprint on myprofessional career, Prof. August Pieper, brother of Missouri Synod giantsFrancis and Reinhold Pieper. What impressed me about this man of Godwas the warm, pastoral concern with which he dealt with his students. Onehad the impression that every time "Pips" entered the classroom, he stoodbefore us primarily and preeminently as a proclaimer of the Gospel ofJesus Christ.It is significant that as early as 1916 this eminent theologian took as thestarting point of his theology the memorable words of the apostle Paul inGal. 1:15-16: "IT PLEASED GOD TO REVEAL HIS SON IN ME." As 1 lookback, it was A. Pieper's deep conviction that it had pleased God to revealHis Son in him which enabled him to get through to his classes soeffectively. The Spirit of God saw fit to implant and preserve and extend asimilar conviction in the hearts of those students who sat at his feet. God'sgreat pleasure in revealing His Son to men provided the basic motivation,the underlying drive, the necessary push to involve young seminarians inthe ministry of Christ and His Church.In the fall of 1932, however, the revelation of God's Son in me wasconfronted with a major crisis: I enrolled in a program of graduate study atthe Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Between October andJanuary of that academic year all hell broke loose in an effort to undo thefaith of a very immature young seminarian. Unfaith and agnosticismcrowded in from every hand. After six weeks of frantic wrestling withspiritual chaos I desperately looked up A. Pieper in Milwaukee. He seemedto have only one concern: "Do you still pray?" When I assured him that Idid but that I feared I was no longer a Christian, he unabashedly advisedme to relax and get back to my Semitic studies in Chicago. Thus thismature man of God showed his utter confidence in the God who hadrevealed His Son in both of us. The crisis subsided and I actually camethrough the experience witha stronger faith than I had had before.Could there be an explanation of this crisis and its faith-strengtheningoutcome? The answer would seem to be that the dimensions of faith hadbeen more sharply defined in the process. If, as Hebr. 11:1 affirms, "faith isthe assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen," thenthe crisis of 1932 taught me to be very clear about what that assurance andconviction really means. The revelation of God's Son in me took on fargreater importance than acceptance of certain views about the origin of thebooks of the Bible and about their literal interpretation. Surviving this crisisproved to be the first step in a long period of maturation which graduallymade clear to me that problems of Biblical introduction are not properly inthe realm of faith at all.On the other hand, when the miracle of God's revealing His Son took placein me, a long series of other miracles followed in quick succesion. I wasenabled by the Spirit to recognize God as my real creator and preserver, asthe one who produced the vast universe and who keeps it functioningaccording to His divine law. The same Spirit enabled me to appreciate thedivine-human factor in the person of Jesus Christ and the combination ofGod and man both functioning in the production of the Bible. The sameSpirit brought me the insight into his own great work of faith-producingand faith-preserving which is so essential to the life of the church. At thesame time Word and Sacrament took on ever new significance as the mediathrough which God continued to reveal His Son in me. Especially in theEucharist the Presente of Christ brought ever repeated assurances that thebond of fellowship with God was secure and irrevocable. The permanenteof such a relationship was based on the conviction that, as Christtriumphed over death and the grave, He would enable me one day to risewith Him and to share in His glory.As a result of this "tower experience" my role as a pastor was clearly cutout for me. The Lord taught me to ask: What can I do in my professionallife to help Christians young and old cope with their spiritual andtheological problems? Nine years in the parish ministry gave me anopportunity to minister to lay people in large and small parishes of ourchurch. Seven years of university work helped equip me to take up myteaching ministry at Concordia Seminary. Here it has been my objective forwell nigh 25 years to show seminarians what the revelation of God's Sonmeans in their lives and in the lifeof the church.In the meantime I have expressed my views in a number of areas that maybe regarded as controversial. For example, I regard historical-criticalrnethodology as very helpful in enabling us to understand what theScriptures say. I hold that it is possible for us to use this method as long asthe Scriptures in all their parts are recognized as God's Word and as theonly norm for our faith and life. I recognize the presente of Messianicprophecy in the Old Testament and I see its fulfillment in the NewTestament. But after careful study of the Old Testament I see various kindsof prophecy in it. In some the real meaning of the Old Testament prophecywas not known to the contemporaries, but the New Testament made itclear. I have learned that in matters of interpretation it may sometimes beadvisable to take the text of Scripture in something other than a literalsense. I maintain that these may be legitimate differences of interpretation,provided the integrity of Christian doctrine is retained.I have emphasized that the anorymity or the diverse authorship of Biblicalbooks in no way calls into question their authority of inspiration. I havelearned from experience in the field that archaeological work has animportant contribution to make to our understanding of the Bible and thatwe should welcome the results of such research. I have enjoyed the benefitsof two sabbatical leaves in 1960 and 1970, especially the leisure to pursueresearch work without the responsibility of classroom teaching. I haveobserved that the broadening influence of travel, of mingling with othernations and other religions, can be of great help in the promotion of theChristian Gospel.Whatever I have said or written in these controversial areas has been adirect outgrowth of the conviction that God has revealed his Son in me.Such is the Gospel which rules my own life and which I would convey tomy students in classroom, chapel and counseling session. Such a pastoralobjective is my one and only reason for continuing to serve at ConcordiaSeminary.Edward H. SchroederProfessor of Systematic and Historical TheologyIThe first word of God we confess is that He is Creator and we arehis creatures. Our own existence is thus a gift from him. Every othercreature, human and non-human, is also gift. Thus our existence isderivative; we are not self-made men. Our existence continues in theposture of dependency. This basic premise underlies the admission: "for allof which it is my duty (N.B., "schuldig bin") to thank and praise, serve andobey him." Thus the Christian confession about God the creator centers onthe personal lived relationship that constitutes creaturely existence.Questions of how it all began, how far back the beginning was, whether"the man" (Adam) of Gen. 2-3 is a literary figure or a person who lived onthe earth, are irrelevant to the givens of our being God's creatures.Thus creation is unquestionably a good gift of the creator, eventhough we sinners cannot hear this first word of God as an unmitigatedgood word. The gifts of our creaturely existence are the vehicleswe use tolive out our sinfulness. It is we, not Adam of ancient history, who are thecause of our own sinfulness. Consequently "this article would humble andterrify us all if we (really) believed it." Since the creation is nove populatedwith sinners, the gifts of creation are also the agents for God's criticism ofsinners. Therefore we do not call God "Father." a term that confessespersonal good relationship and positive loving care, merely on the basis ofthe ambiguous "first word" that God is our creator and we his creatures.We need the data of the second article, concerning the "only-begotten son,"before we can faith-fully confess the creator to be our Father.IIThe second word of God we confess is Jesus Christ our Lord. He is Godtalking to us in person, keeping faith with ancient Israel in the promise hepledged to them, and also addressing us in our day with a surprisinglypromising word: "Take heart, my son, your sin is forgiven." This is whatmakes him our Lord. He is our Savior, our rescuer, our sin-forgiver. Heextricates us from the all-pervasive dilemma called sin, and does so byconfronting and conquering the power (dynamis) of sin, which, as St. Paulsays (I Cor. 15:56b) is the lave. Jesus' death and resurrection silences the"bad news" which the "lawof sin and death" constitutes for every sinner. Thus He in person is God'sgood word to sinners countermanding the law's "bad news" for them.This word holds high promise for the future as well. In fact,"promise" is the very term frequently used in the Holy Scriptures for thesurprising good news of God's forgiving sinners. Promise is this historicalgift of forgiveness which is uniquely incarnate in Jesus, and which lies atthe center of our confessing him to be Son of God, Christ, Lord, and Savior.The future for sinners is bleak apart from Christ precisely because of thecontinuing operation of God's "incarnate" criticism and killing of sinners(Deut. 32:39, John 3:36). The graveyards of the world are evidence of how"down to earth" this action of God is. But just because of thatoverwhelming evidence of the "law of sin and death," the work and wordof Christ is such a happy surprise. It bodes well for our lives now, andeven better for the future.Our confidence that He is our Lord and Savior is grounded in theconcrete historical events wherein he achieved this Lordship over ussinners by lording it over the law of sin and death. These biographical datainclude the entire path from the Virgin's womb to Calvary and the emptytomb, and even beyond that to H is ascension and coming again. We clingto this promissory word in the face of considerable evidence to thecontrary in our own lived experience. Our faith in Christ's promise doesnot go unchallenged - by our own old Adam, by the manifold voices of thetempter, by God's own law as it continues to carry out its verdict in ourdaily lives. Thus our redemption, Christ's lordship in our individualbiographies, is "not yet" complete. In trusting his promise we trust that hewill prove himself to be our Lord yet in the future by resurrecting us fromour own sinner's death (1 Cor. 15).We also confess the Holy Ghost, the holy Christian church, etc. Thechief work of the Spirit is to get sinners connected to the Lord Jesus andkeep them connected. The church herself, the preaching and sacraments ofher ministry, and the Scriptures are vehicles whereby the Spirit carries onthis work. The church in her concrete life on the earth is herself an object offaith -- we believe that sinners calling Christ Lord are indeed His holypeople even thoughthe evidence to the contrary may seem overpowering. Thus the"forgiveness of sins" is expressly confessed in this article to keep the eyefocused on the one thing needful for the church to exist at all. The churchbecomes apostate only when she moves away from this one base which isthe source of her existence.The chief difference between church, understood here as the locusfor the Spirit’s promoting the forgiveness of sins, and the world is thedifference between forgiven and unforgiven sinners. The presence of theSpirit is not necessarily accompanied by "signs and wonders" ofsupernatural power and explosiveness. For the natural powers themselvesare just as much God's as any supernatural ones might be. Instead theunique rnark of the Spirit's active presence is the concrete re-presenting ofChrist and his word of forgiveness. Where that is made present, there theSpirit is at work. This also applies, of course, to the inspiration of the HolyScriptures. The picture here is not one of a supernatural powercommandeering men to write and speak whatever the power makes themsay. It is rather people already connected to God's forgiveness ("holy menof God") promoting that same Word via the "normal" channels that areavailable to them. According to the Gospel of St. John that is what is meantby "being moved by the Holy Ghost." The goal of the Spirit's work is thegoal of Christ's: "He takes what is Christ's and declares it to us."Kenneth J. SiessAssociate Professor of Practical Theology (Counseling)I believe teach and confess that which I have heard from thefathers, experienced myself, and accepted in faith. Born into a Christianhome I was made a member of the Body of Christ through the Sacramentof Holy Baptism. In and through that gift the Holy Spiritbegan to work in me the miracle of faith; convincing me that God is, as hehas always been, and always will be; teaching me that he is the Maker ofheaven and earth; assuring me that he has also made me as a unique,individual being for whom he exercises daily care.The experience of life however soon began to confront me withsome harsh realities as well. I quickly began to learn that living in thisworld was far from ideal or perfect. I learned living involves pain, sorrow,separation and death. I learned too that there were definite limits to what Icould be or have or do. This raised feelings of frustration and anger,because I had the mistaken notion that I was not just unique and importantbut that I was the center of the worid. This notion, I know now, is one that Ishare with all men since Adam and is the cause for God's condemnation. Imust confess however that I have not totally given up that delusion. A partof me still wants to believe that and act on it. Therefore I experience anongoing daily struggle between'that part of me which is deluded and per-verted, and to which God says “no” on the one hand,and that part of mewhich is of God through his Spirit on the other hand.Of course that raises a serious dilemma. If God says "no" to one partof me and "yes" to another, then where do I really stand with God? Thesolution to this conflict was provided by God himself and witnessed to byhis people, all of whom share my dilemma. It was this testimony of thepeople of God who have gone before me that pointed me to the Way. Theirword was that God ruled his "no" by placing that negative judgment on theone and only human being who carried no negative judgment on himself:Jesus, who is the Christ. This One took on himself all the condemnationwhich was coming to the world and suffered and died from it for us all.Then God was able and ready to speak his decisive "yes." He did it, thewitnesses testify, by raising Jesus from his death. He then revealed himselfto his followers, who have passed their witness on to me. So I believe, evenin the midst of unbelief, that God will forever say "yes" to me so long as Isay yes to him. I further believe that he will go on helping me say "yes" tohim in both word and deed through the same means by which he made itpossible for me to say "yes" to him in the first place, namely throughreception of his Sacraments and Word.At this point I feel compelled to deal with the issue of the nature ofthe testimony of God's people, its purpose, authority,unity and infallibility. It shouid be understood from the outset that what Isay here is entirely a matter of faith. I believe that this testimony is faithfuland true and that it is God's own message. I cannot prove that, nor will Isuccumb to the temptation to try to do so in an arena of empirical tests andmeasurements. To do that wouid be to forsake my faith in favor of reason.I believe that from the beginning God has desired and intended tocommunicate with men and women to let us know the nature of therelationship between himself and us. Primarily he wants people to knowthat ourself-centered revolt against him violated his original intention forus, broke his relationship of trust and put us under his condemningjudgment; and therefore our only hope is in his forgiving grace, which isthe only way the relationship can be restored. God established a covenantof grace with his people who passed on his word. They also recorded thehistorical events which were intended to demonstrate God's judgment orgrace in action. That covenant reached its climactic fulfillment in thehistorical Christ event, as anticipated by the faithful among the Jews, andwitnessed and recorded by Christ's followers. Because these records wereand are God's own means of communicating his will and way to men heguaranteed their accuracy by giving his Spirit in a peculiar way to specialpeople who became his interpreters and scribes. What they wrote has beenheard, believed and taught and transmitted through the community of thefaithful. These writings carry the authority of God himself because they arethe very words and messages of God. For those who believe they show theway to salvation and provide a guide for life. For those who do not believethey are a scandal.Finally I believe and teach that my citizenship in the community ofthe faithful is a great gift of God's grace because in and through thisfellowship my faith in God's saving love is strengthened as I experiencelove from my fellow believers. This is what makes it possible for me to goon working and loving even when others are suspicious of me.Robert H. SmithAssistant Professor of Exegetical Theology (New Testament)I believe in the holy eternal triune God. God has created all thatexists. From him I have received all that I am and all that I have except forsin, and to him alone I owe the gratitude of worship. He has called me tolive under him in the world, caring for his earth and loving the people whoare his creatures.I acknowledge that I am a sinner dwelling in a fallen world.Nevertheless I rejoice that God has not only created the world but has alsoredeemed his world. In the miracle of his mercy he came in Jesus ofNazareth to perform for me (and all people and his whole world) what Icould never accomplish for myself: my redemption, reconciliation,salvation. This he did by his works and words, his suffering and death, hisresurrection and ascension.That I might know him and his grace and be reconciled to him, thesame God sent the Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life and the Consummatorof the purposes of God. Through the word of reconciliation, focused onJesus Christ and his cross, the Spirit has called into being a newcommunity in which the Gospel is preached and the sacraments areadministered. 1 rejoice that in and through that community I myself havebeen called, forgiven and enlightened by the Spirit, and that by the sameSpirit I have been sent to share with others the word and work ofreconciliation.Issues1. By confessing God as Creator and declaring that the world is hiscreation I speak in the first place of the present: he is (not merely was) theCreator and wills moment by moment my existence and the being of allthat is. Speaking of creation involves at least two distinct judgmentsregarding the world: all that is, as creature of God, is good and God is to bepraised for his creation; and yet the world is always dependent upon Godand subordinate to him and to worship anything in creation is idolatry.God alone is eternal and all that is came to be and will pass away. As longas the world has existed it has been God's creation. Thus creation refers tothe past, present and future relationship of the world to God and not onlyto six days some few thousands of years ago. (Creation)2. Original sin refers to the state of sinfulness which is the origin of allmy individual thoughts and words and acts of sin. Furthermore mycondition from the moment of my origin is such that I am not only God'sgood creature but also fallen, in need of redemption and restoration if I amto live the life for which God intends me. (Original Sin)3. I cherish the Bible as a unique gift of God, holy and inspired. TheBible does not function for me as a guarantee of the truth of the Gospel.Rather I find that the Gospel I have learned in the Christian family isattested with original force, profundity and breadth in the pages of theBible. The Bible is the cradle in which Christ as Savior is laid, and it is theplace "where Christ proclaims Christ most purely." Therefore it is the onlyrule arid norm for judging all the church's teaching and proclamation. Notcouncils, not administrators, not theologians, but only the Scripturesdetermine what shall be taught as our church's dogma or doctrine. TheBible is the normative proclamation of the Gospel. (Bible and Gospel)4. In the whole Bible from beginning to end, on every page and incountless ways I hear God speaking as Judge, confronting, exposing andcondemning sinfulness. And I hear God speaking as Savior, promising,forgiving, reconciling, calling to new life. The salvation of the world isGod's aim, and even God's word of judgment is in the service of his mercy,preparing the way for that new life wh ich springs up where and when I(and others) trust his offer of grace. The one great purpose of the Bible is tobring to bear God's offer of forgiveness and so produce new life. TheScriptures are “prophetic and apostolic” witnessing in all their parts andwith great consensus to "the Son of Man (who) came to seek and to savethe lost." I have not properly understood and expounded any portion ofthe Bible until I have related it to God’s work as Judge and Savior. Indeedno interpretation of any portion of the Bible can be called "true" in anyreligiously significant sense until that relationship has been grasped.(Priority of the Gospel)5. The essential message of the Bible -- the Gospel of the grace of Godin Jesus Christ -- appears to be foolishness and weakness when judged bysecularist standards. God himself as Holy Spirit moved prophets andapostles to believe the promise and to bear witness to their faith throughthe words of Sacred Scripture. The same Spirit who once "spoke by theprophets" is still at work today. Throughmany means ("baptism, absolution, Lord's Supper, sermon, the mutualconversation and consolation of the brethren") the Spirit overcomesobjections to the foolishness and weakness of the Gospel, moving people tofaith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and prompts them to share their faithwith others. The Bible is inspired and given by inspiration, that is, it wasproduced neither by the strength nor wisdom of man but by the activity ofthe Spirit opening people up to the treasure of the Gospel. (Inspiration)6. The authority of the Bible differs from the authority of just anyaccurate historical report. The Bible has the unique authority of God theRedeemer who in and through its pages offers mercy and newness of lifeto the sinner, the lost, the outcast. Because it has pleased God that his wordof judgment and grace should come to us in and with and under the wordsof historical men, it is right and appropriate to study the words ofScripture with the best available tools of literature and history. As Iapproach any Biblical passage I am mindful of the following aspects of anyfull interpretation: study of the ancient manuscripts, investigation of theliterary form, inquiry into the historical situation in which the passage waswritten, the meaning of the words for the original audience, the message ofthe passage on the background of the ancient near eastern world and in theiight of the whole message of the Bible. Following carefully these stepskeeps me from reading into the text ideas foreign to it and throws light onthe words of Sacred Scripture. At the same time I recognize that it is onlythe Spirit of God who enlightens a person concerning the real subjectmatter of the Bible, namely the Gospel. (Method of Study)7. The Bible seems to contain statements in conflict with one another,quotations that are not verbatim, numbers that apparently are not literallyaccurate statistics. Nevertheless the Bible speaks the truth and hits themark unerringly. The Bible indeed has the perfection and wisdom andinerrancy of the Gospel, of "Jesus Christ and him crucified." Its wisdomand power and infallibility are hidden under the cross and to any eye butthe eye of faith the Bible with its message of the Gospel is foolishness andweakness. I am not offended at the weakness or lowliness of the words ofthe Bible. The Bible has the form of a servant and performs its serviceinfallibly. The Bible is God's holy and inerrant word, and I rejoice in thetreasure and do not stumble at the shape of the vessel. (Inerrancy)8. The Bible is "the prophetic and apostolic scriptures of the Old andNew Testaments." The Bible is a rich and diverse set of documents frommany centuries in many idioms, forms, styles and vocabularies, and yet itis perfectly one in its ultimate origin in God our Savior, in its message ofLaw and Gospel in its purpose of absolution and redemption. The prophetsof the Old Testament bore witness to the same God and the same promiseand the same salvation to which the apostles point as having come in Jesusof Nazareth. I recognize and appreciate the varying accents and differingperspectives in the chorus of Biblical witnesses, and I rejoice in the song ofsalvation which they sing. (Unity of the Bible)Gilbert A. ThieleProfessor of Historical TheologyIn opening my response to the request from the Council ofPresidents for an assurance to the church of our individual and collectiveBiblical and confessional stance, I declare that I believe in Jesus Christ. Heis the Subject of salvation and the Object of my faith.Within this understanding of Christian faith, that it is concernedwith a Person, the incarnate Son of the Eternal God as the believer'spersonal Redeemer and Eternal Savior and the Head of His Church,everything else falls into its proper place. But no amount of declaration andcommitment will convince anyone of another's Christianity and Faith inChrist. The endless proliferation of persons and groups who over the yearssince Christ, but especially in more recent times, have laid claim toacceptance of an infallible, authoritative, inerrant Bible and have come upwith one heretical and sectarian idea after another, offers the strongestpossible indication that commitment to Scripture is not coextensive withbeing a believingChristian, not to say Lutheran.Therefore in setting down in writing my own personal Confessionof Faith I want it clearly understood that, with all the value I place on theBible and what it says, I beleive in Persons, God, His Son, and the HolySpirit. No one and nothing else saves. Christ is all in all.What I Believe about Law and GospelThe Law, by which is the knowledge of sin, and the Gospel bywhich is Life and Salvation, are discoverable in many parts of theScriptures. That is to say that the uncovering of sin, iniquity, and guilt canhappen in response to both Old Testament and New Testament passages.The Gospel, in its fullest sense the good news of Salvation in and throughChrist, is chiefly known through the New Testament. However since God'slove is the cause of salvation ave can accept that when that Love is spokenof and revealed in Old Testament times and in the Old Testament as well,then essentially those ancient persons also heard and even saw the Gospel.Distinguishing Law and Gospel without separating or confusing them issaid to be the highest skill of the theologian -- or anyone. This simplymeans that using the Gospel to uncover sin and condemn it or using theLaw to comfort the contrite sinner are misuses and confusion.Holy ScriptureMy commitment at ordination and instaliation in this presentposition as a teacher in the Seminary is by definition to Article II in theConstitution of the Missouri Synod (Handbook 1971 ed. p. 15). As to HolyScripture, its purpose is to make men wise unto salvation with all that thatimplies about the purpose and effect of the Law and the Gospel.The authority of Holy Scripture in its canonical books derives fromits internal power as the Word of God to men -- God speaks throughScripture. The Scripture's authority, unfortunately, can be compromisedand hampered by men, but its authority can in no way be increased orextended by men.The word infallibility is not an expression found in Scripture, butsince John 10:35 can be and usualiy is cited as proof of infallibility, it isproper to state that the word of the Lord refers to itswitness to His Saviorhood and that on that Scripture can not be misleadingor wrong.Interpretation of the Bible is the right and duty of any reader of itswords. But what is the Bible or Holy Scripture? If certain facts are ignoredhere only trouble can ensue. Example: We do not have the originals of anyportion or portions of the Scriptures. We have only copies and copies ofcopies, and then translations of those copies and translations of copies ofcopies. Of transiations as of the textual sources it can be said that there ismuch disagreement on what words are original and what translations areaccurate. Despite these complicated circumstances, known and unknownas they may be to the reader of Scriptures, we know that reading andexpounding the Scripture leads to faith and strengthens faith in Christ.Interpretation means, of course, explaining what the words we read inthese copied texts and translated editions mean. When it is said thatScriptures interpret themselves this is simply applying a basic canon ofinterpretation to biblical studies. But since the Scriptures carry their ownpower of creating and nurturing faith, we are helped greatly by as large abody of knowledge in ancillary disciplines to give us their results and anappreciation of the Bible's importance to its original recipients and to us.Holy Scriptures are the vehicle in which the Good News ofSalvation (John 3:16, Rom. 1:16f, Rom. 3:21-28, Gal. 3, Eph. 2: 8-10, to citeonly a few of many texts) has reached us. As the swaddling clothes andmanger of Bethlehem contain the Incarnate God and Savior of mankind, sothe Scriptures bring us Him and all He did and still does forall especiallyfor those who believe. The Gospel is preached to many and all who believeare saved. One should not try to drive wedges between Holy Scripture andGospel but neither should one say that "Gospel" means every word inScripture. It is all God's word, but only what concerns itself with Christand salvation is Gospel.Without citing many examples of Old Testament prophecy and what hasbeen considered as such, one has to affirm on the basis of the present stateof knowledge of history and Scripture, that some predictive prophecieswere fulfilled soon after their announcemente.g. deliverance from Egypt,conquest of Canaan - while others were understood as still lying ahead andmaybe not to be fulfilled within the lifetime of either speaker, writer,hearer or reader. If we speak ofprophecy it means, strictly speaking, speaking for God. If we meanpredictive speaking it may under certain circumstances refer to Christ, butthis is often apparent only in retrospect.Original SinOriginal Sin in the terms of the Lutheran Symbols (AugsburgConfession 2, Apology 2 and related passages in large numbers: TappertIndex p. 694) is an innate corruption of human beings in their ethical andmoral capacity, which includes "deadly concupiscence (evil desire) andabsence of fear of God and faith." Original sin is not removed by Baptismbut with divine help we receive faith in God and the power to curb evildesires. Original sin is a disease for which the only available cure isforgiveness by the grace of God to all who believe. But it persists in us tilldeath.Arthur M. VincentAssociate Professor of Practical Theology(Homiletics, Church and Society)I have been called upon to state what I believe, teach and confess,particularly in my capacity of Professor at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis,Missouri.I was ordained as a minister on July 20, 1947. At that time I cheerfully gavemy ordination vows. I repeated them at my installation at ConcordiaSeminary eighteen years ago. I have joined the entire faculty repeatedly inpublic statements to the synod assuring them of my unchanged convictionsregarding my ordination vows.I believe the canonical books of the Old and the New Testament to bethe inspired Word of God, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.I hold and proclaim and profess the doctrine of the Evangelical LutheranChurch laid down in the symbols contained in The Book of Concord of 1580,that is, the three ecumenical Creeds, the Augsburg Confession, the Apology tothe Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Small Catechism and theLarge Caiechism, and the Formula of Concord, to be the true doctrine of theHoly Scriptures. By God's grace, I have endeavored faithfully to dischargethe duties of the holy ministry in accordance with the Holy Scriptures andthe Symbols of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.When I was accepted into the membership of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, I signed its constitution and I subscribed then and I stillsubscribe wholeheartedly and without reservation, to the entireconstitution, including Article II, the confessional basis of the Synod: Iaccept "without reservation the Scriptures of the Old and the NewTestament as the written Word of God and the only rule and norm of faithand practice." And I accept all "the symbolical books of the EvangelicalLutheran Church as a true and unadulterated statement and exposition ofthe Word of God."Along with all Christians who confess The Apostles' Creed and The NiceneCreed, I believe in the one true God, the triune God, Father, Son and HolySpirit, my Maker, my Redeemer, and my Sanctifier.I love the Lord Jesus Christ, who was sent from the Father and who led meto know God as my Father in Him, and who has sent His Holy Spirit fromthe Father to me, as He promised. I believe this Lord Jesus Christ is trueGod, begotten of the Father from eternity and also true man, born of theVirgin Mary. I accept as historical what the Scriptures say about His birth,His life, His ministry, His mighty works, His suffering, His death, Hisresurrection, and His ascension. I believe He sits at the right hand of Godthe Father Almighty and that He shall come again to judge the living andthe dead.As I have studied, expounded, proclaimed the holy Scriptures, the authorof these same Scriptures, the Holy Spirit Himself, has worked in me theconviction and the faith that all the Scriptures are given by divineinspiration, both in their content and in their word. I believe that theScriptures are dependable, reliable, true, infallible, and in-errant. They have never led me astray and I have learned that God isfaithful and keeps His Word to His people in any and all conditions andtrials. I believe in the clarity and the power and the effectiveness of theWord of God, and I have seen also the written Word of God in all myministries effectually work in the iives of people. I have always been able topreach Biblical texts confidently as the Word of God; and if I did notbelieve wholeheartedly that God Himself is speaking in and through theScripture text, I would not be able to stand in a pulpit before anycongregation.When I have found differing accounts, emphases and sequences of eventsamong the various authors whom God inspired and moved to write HisWord and have been unable to explain them, I am willing to let themstand, because I know that in this life we know only in part. I ndeed, I havelearned with maturity to look for the distinctive and the unique purposeand plan of each writer and to appreciate these in the light of what eachwriter says. For me varying accounts add to and do not detract from thepower of the Scriptures to teach in a fresh way the truths of God's Word fordifferent people and different circumstances.I believe in the divine character of the Scriptures, because through them theHoly Spirit has brought me to know Christ as my divine Savior.I accept and use the Law-Gospel principle as basic for a correctunderstanding and interpretation of the Bible. Dr. C. F. W. Walther's ProperDistinction Between Law and Gospel I still find a clear and useful book and Irecommend it to students.In interpreting the Scriptures, I proceed from faith in Christ Jesus as Lordand Savior. "Scripture alone" must also be kept Christocentric. All mytheology begins, centers, and climaxes in Christ Jesus, the Gospel, orjustification by faith for Christ's sake. This is the key that unlocks themeaning of sacred scriptures, I believe.I rejoice that our holy Christian faith is a historical faith. I believe in thegreat acts wrought by God in the course of human history for the salvationof all mankind. The Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament witnessto these events. I believe all of God's words of judgment and forgivenessspoken through historical persons which preceded, accompanied, orfollowed the events in which God acted.Since God's acts and words have a historical character, I believe theyshould be interpreted and expounded with a rigorous historicalmethodology.I have found a number of techniques which now beiong to historicalcritical research useful for interpreting the holy Scriptures. When I study abiblical text for preaching or teaching I use a number of techniques: 1.Establish the text or determine the original reading as accurately aspossible. 2. Make a linguistic study of the words and sentenceconstructions of the text to apprehend what they meant to the originalwriter and his readers or hearers. 3. Ascertain the literary form of thepassage. 4. Determine the historical situation or setting. 5. Understand thepassage in the light of its total context and of the background out of whichit emerged.As a Christian interpreter I want to use the best tools available to uncoveras far as possible the exact meaning of words and passages of theScriptures. At the same time, I ask the Holy Spirit to give me humility andawe for the unique authority of the Scriptures as the Word of God. In theuse of this method of interpretation, I am cautious lest I set myself up as anauthority over the Scriptures, or fail to do justice to the data of Scripture, orin any way distort or discredit the witness of the Scripture.I believe that the mission of God is the work the Triune God has done, isdoing, and will do to deliver, help, reconcile, and preserve mankind.I believe that the one, holy, apostolic, catholic church is the result of andinstrument for God's own mission to the whole world. The mission of Godhas become the church's mission and that means God's people and Christ'sdisciples are to do the same works that Jesus did when He was sent by theFather into the world. These principal works are to evangelize, witness,proclaim, practice fellowship, worship, nurture, and serve or minister. Ibelieve these functions operate effectively by combining both word anddeeds; that they are interrelated and inseperable; that they can bedistinguished from each other but not divorced. In this mission of God, theproclamation and witness of the Gospel for the salvation of mankind haspriority in principle -- but not always in practice, because God's people,guided by His spirit, must discover in each situation what others needmost immediately and urgently. I believe that all these functions areempowered by the Holy Spirit working through Word and Sacrament.I believe an evangelist is a messenger from God who proclaims with joy, toboth Christian and non-Christian, the good news of God's actual victory inHis Son, Christ Jesus, so that the effective power of this message may bringthem into a relationship of faith and obedience to God in Christ and theywill have the benefit of God's total salvation.Carl A. VolzAssociate Professor of Historical Theology1.I believe, teach, and confess the three Ecumenical Creeds (Apostles'Nicene, and Athanasian).2. Regarding the Fall and Original Sin, I believe that every personborn into the world is naturally alienated from God and is a captive of sin,Satan, and death. Together with ali other persons who have preceded us increation (excepting Jesus of Nazareth) we share this stain of Original Sin.The Scriptures attest to the presence of Original Sin, and human experienceconfirms it.3. The Holy Scriptures (66 canonical writings) are the source andnorm of Christian faith and practice. The Scriptures reliably express whatGod wants them to express, and they accomplish what God wants them toaccomplish. The truth of Scriptures is something to be evaluated in termsof their own criteria and of the qualities they themselves exhibit. TheSacred Scriptures have the Holy Spirit as their principal Author, they arethe Word of God, and they are true and dependable.The purpose of the Sacred Scriptures is to make known to mankindGod's saving acts in the past, His will for man in the present, and Hispromises for the present and the future. This all-embracingpurpose includes God's Law, that is, His demand for man's totalcommitment to Him in faith and life. The Law also judges and condemnsman. In addition to the Law the purpose of the Sacred Scriptures includesthe Gospel, that is, the Good News that through the life, death, andresurrection of God's Son, incarnate in Jesus Christ, man is offered pardon,release from bondage, and the promise of life with God including the hopeof eternal life. All of the Scriptures are authoritative for man, but the heartof the Bible is the Good News that Jesus Christ has come to bring ussalvation. Since this Gospel is the key to the Scriptures, Christians seevarious Old Testament promises and events as pointing to the comingMessiah, although such Old Testament references may also have found aproximate fulfillment in their own day.Regarding canonicity, the Early Church considered a large numberof writings and traditions to be inspired, including those which ultimatelyformed the New Testament canon. Together with the criterion ofinspiration the Church required that canonical works also bear the marksof apostolicity and usage. The Scriptures themselves derive apostolicauthority from personal association with Jesus and from having beeneyewitnesses to the risen Christ (Acts 1:21-22). St. Paul defended himselffrom the attacks of his critics by using this two-fold definition ofapostolicity (and therefore of authority, 1 Cor. 9:1, Gal. 1:1, 12). St. Peterbased his authority on having been an eyewitness of the resurrection ofChrist (Acts 2:32, 3:15).Ultimately, the reliability and the authority of the Scriptures remainsan article of my Christian faith, neither capable of proof or demonstration.The desire to prove the authority of Scripture through such categories asverbal inspiration and inerrancy displays a fear that the Person, Words,and Work of Jesus Christ are not a reliable ground of faith. Attempts toapply such categories to Scripture reflect an underlying doubt in quest ofcertainty, which is basically a rationalistic enterprise. Faith is the result ofthe work of the Holy Spirit, Who has called me by the Gospel and Who stillworks through the Word of God and the Sacraments (means of grace).4. Throughout its history, the Christian Church has interpretedScriptures in various ways. The Church has exercised extreme economy inits pronouncements of dogma. These are basically contained in the threeEcumenical Creeds and in the doctrinal conclusions of the first fourecumenical councils. That which is not dogmarepresents exegetical (interpretive) tradition, which dare never becomestatic or absolutely binding. The application and interpretation of God'sjudgment (Law) and His Good News (Gospel) may vary with the timesand the circumstances. Thus there is both continuity and change in the lifeof the Christian Church. Difficulties arise when one exegetical(interpretive) tradition assumes the status of dogma, for it stifles the workof the Holy Spirit, Who is the very Agent and Source of change.5. The Church includes ail those who believe in Jesus Christ as theirSavior from sin and death. Various interpretations of the meaning of thistruth have led to the formation of denominations. I believe that allbelievers in every denomination are my brothers and sisters in Christ, but Ialso believe that the Lutheran Confessions reflect truly and accuratelywhat the Scriptures teach. These Confessions are normative for me becausethey clearly express what the Scriptures express. Justification by gracethrough faith because of Jesus Christ is the cardinal teaching of the Faith,as it is clearly set forth in the Augsburg Confession. At the same time, Ideplore all efforts to bring uniformity of belief into the Church throughcoercion or threat since such unity is solely the gift of the Holy Spirit. TheHoly Spirit continues to bring men to faith in every Christian sect anddenomination, Eastern and Western.6. I rejoice in the hope of eternal life, where we shall be gatheredtogether with all the saints, and we shall be at peace with God and eachother.Walter WegnerDean of the School for Graduate StudiesProfessor of Exegetical Theology (Old Testament)Joyfully I confess my Spirit-given faith in the one true God who has madeHimself known to mankind through His Holy Spirit and who has revealedHimself preeminently in His Son Jesus Christ, my Lord.I believe that God is the Maker and Preserver of all that exists. Everythinghas its origin in Him and it is He who empowers and sustains all thingsand all living beings, including myself. it is He who gives me and myfellowmen the commission to represent Him in exercising care anddominion over all He has made. (Gen. 1 and 2)I confess my innate human inability to do and to be what my Creator Godexpects of me. I confess my rebellion against Him, my active disobediencetoward Him, my inborn tendencies to be independent of God, evenblasphemously to usurp God's place and to be a god in my own right. It isthis human rebellion against God which places me under His divinejudgment. (Gen. 3)I confess that rebellion against God is the source of all ills and disorders inHis created world. My broken fellowship with God is the source, e.g., offriction between me and my wife (Gen. 3); it results in my brokenrelationships with my brothers and sisters; it leads, in fact, even to violenceand murder. (Gen. 4)I believe that all people without exception share this inborn humanattitude of rebellion against God. All of us together stand under Hisjudgment and under threat of death and destruction - like that portrayed inthe Biblical account of the Flood. (Gen. 5 to 8)All of us continue to display our attitudes of insolent defiant rebellionagainst Him and thus also to deepen those divisions among men whichmake true human brotherhood impossible. In our human rebellion wehave destroyed both our communion with God and communion amongmankind. (Gen. 9 to 11)Nevertheless I believe that the God whose wrath I have incurred ispreeminently a merciful God whose wrath is tempered by His mercy, yes,over-ruled by His love! The divinely inspired Scriptures which make meaware of my sinfulness and God's wrath on sin emphasizeabove all the message of His amazing grace toward fallen men! I believethat it was His unmerited love for rebellious humanity which moved himto single out one man - Abraham - and to speak to him the Word ofPromise assuring him and all mankind that through him and hisdescendants God would again bring His divine blessings to "all thefamilies of the earth." (Gen. 12)I believe that the entire Old Testament record that fo!lows the statement ofthat Word of Promise is simply the record of God at work in humanhistory bringing that promise to fulfillment for me and all mankind (Gen.12 through Malachi 4). As the Old Testament era closed, the Word ofPromise was only partially fulfilled; but the New Testament follows tocomplete the record of its culminating fulfillment in the person and workof Jesus Christ, "the Son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1) and above all thebeloved Son of God (Matthew 3:17). The entire New Testament testifiesthat the Word of Promise that went forth from the mouth of God toAbraham did not return empty but accomplished that which Godpurposed and prospered in the thing for which He sent it. (Matthew 1through Revelation 22)I believe that in Jesus Christ God Himself became man, entering into ourhumanity so that He might fulfill the divine Word of Promise "to Abrahamand His descendants, that they should inheritthe world." Abrahambenefited from the promise because of his trusting faith which wasreckoned to him as righteousness. Such God-given faith, which is fullyconvinced that God is able to do what He has promised, continues to bereckoned for righteousness to me and to all who believe in Him whoraised from the dead our Lord Jesus, who was put to death for ourtrespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4)I believe that my faith-union with Jesus Christ was initiated when I "wasbaptized into His death." But I was buried with Him by Baptism into deaththat as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father I toomight live a new life. In fact, all who are so united with Christ are dead tosin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. My brokem communion with God hasbeen restored by Him, and with it carries the restoration of communionwith all the sons and daughters of God; a communion kept alive by myLord's living presence in my life mediated through His Word and HisSacrament of Holy Communion. Slavery to sin has been replaced byobedience from the heart to God. Death, the wages which my sin hadearned, has now been replaced byGod's free gift of eternal life in Christ my Lord.I believe that God has redeemed me through Jesus Christ so that I mightnow serve Him with my life, dedicating my life out of love to Him to theservice of my fellow men, to minister to them in Jesus' name in all theirhuman needs. I recognize my feliow man's greatest need to be therestoration of his fellowship with God. To help meet this need, I have byGod's grace and Spirit dedicated my life to the Gospel ministry in which itis my privilege to serve under the Church's call in carrying out theChurch's Christ-given commission to proclaim His message of redemptionto all mankind. As a minister of the Church of Christ I share with all whoare His the privilege of serving the God of our creation and redemption asHis messenger to bring to the fallen sons and daughters of Adam themessage of the Last Adam, Jesus Christ, and through that Gospel to sharewith our fellow creatures the blessings of God's New Creation for time andeternity.Because of my Spirit-given faith in my Lord Jesus Christ I accept Histestimony regarding the divinely-inspired Scriptures, whose message Ihave endeavored to summarize in the preceding paragraphs. I believe theScriptures, by virtue of their divine inspiration, to be the Word of Godwritten in the words of men. In their word-of-man aspect the Scripturescome to us in languages and forms of ancient human literature which hadtheir origins in the historical and cultural contexts of their own day; that iswhy I consider it essential to employ all pertinent linguistic, iiterary,archaeological, historical and cultural evidence and to utilize all availablemethods of research in attempting to determine as fully as possible theorigin, nature and meaning of a given text of the Bible. In theirWord-of-God aspect the inspired Scriptures are the Holy Spirit's messagewritten and preserved for the purpose of witnessing to our Lord JesusChrist; that is why as an interpreter of Scripture I consider it essential toinvoke the on-going guidance of the Holy Spirit, convinced that just as "noore can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit" so no one can gainfrom the Scriptures their Christ-centered meaning “except by the HolySpirit” - regardless of which exegetical methodology is employed.I not only cheerfully reaffirm my commitment to the Lutheran Symbols asa true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God butI also renew my personal affirmation of the statement in the Preface to theBook of Concord relative to my workas a professor of theology: "We desire particularly that the young men whoare being trained for service in the church and for the holy ministry befaithfully and diligently instructed therein (i.e., in Scriptures, Creeds andConfessions), so that the pure teaching and confession of the faith may bepreserved and perpetuated among our posterity through the help andassistance of the Holy Spirit until the glorious advent of our onlyRedeemer and Savior Jesus Christ."Robert J. WerberigDirector of Cultural ActivitiesAssociate Professor of Practical Theology (Pastoral Theology)1. I believe that God has created all things, and that by His power andpresence He sustains them all.2. I believe that God's love for a fallen mankind moved Him to senddeliver up to death, and raise again, His Son, Jesus Christ, so thatmen might receive again the life that was the forfeit of their fall.3.I believe that God's Spirit is in the world working through theMeans of Grace to call and lead God's people to fuifill their role asthe one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. It is this same Spiritwhose presence and activity causes individual members as well asthe corporate body of the Church to both mature and grow up intoChrist-likeness.4.I believe that God imputes righteousness to the sinner because ofChrist, and that having been reconciled to God through faith, theChristian is a free man, in bondage to nothing more, or less, thanChrist's law of love.5.I believe that the Scriptures are the inspired Word of God-that theywere given to, through, and for men, and that the Symbols of theEvangelical Lutheran Church are a true exposition of that Word ofGod.6.I believe that the proper distinction between Law and Gospel is thekey which unlocks the Scriptures for their application to the humancondition, and that any interpretation which begins with acceptanceof the Gospel and ends with its proclamation is valid. Furthermore, itis my conviction that the commitment of the interpreter will, underthe guidance of God's Spirit, ensure the correctness of hisinterpretation.7. I believe that the Gospel is the love of God in action. That love wasmost concretety demonstrated in Jesus Christ. Such "love in action" isthe vital context in which the Church is called to proctaim the Gospelto the world in which it lives.Andrew M. WeyermannChairman of the Department of Practical TheologyAssociate Professor of Practical Theology(Homiletics, Ethics)I believe, teach and confess that God has created me and allcreatures. By His continuing creative Presence, God preserves me and thewhole cosmos.I believe that I together with every other human being enter andexist in this life without true awe for and trust in God. We not only do notwager our existence on God alone, but we cannot by our own reason orstrength so trust in God. We live our life out under thetyranny of sin, the law and death. For this reason all attempts at selfsalvation are self defeating. I can alter what I do, but I cannot alter who Iam. I am a man driven into himself by the tyranny of sin so that even thegood that I do falls under God's criticism because it was not done in thefreedom of faith.I believe that God in His grace entered into our world in the personof Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus Christ is true God and true mar born of theVirgin Mary. In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ God hascovered the sins of all men in His forgiveness and has overcome every evilpower that tyrannizes us. God raised His Son from the dead as the sign tothose who receive that Spirit that we are sons of God and not slaves, andthat we are saints in Christ and not disenfranchised sinners.I believe the Holy Spirit of God, who proceeds from the Fatherthrough the Son to the people of God, has called me by the Gospel andcreated and nurtures my faith that God is my Father and that l am freefrom the fear of guilt over past mistakes, or anxiety over my future fate.The Spirit is present to me and gives me a new identity in baptismby linking my life with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.Through the body and blood of our Lord in the Sacrament of the altar theSpirit creates and nurtures a new brotherhood called the Body of Christ.This brotherhood is revolutionary because it is formed and maintained onthe basis of the forgiveness of sins alone. I believe I am a new being in anew order in a new age already present through the Presence of Christ, yetI hope for a full realization of God’s rule of grace at a point beyond mydeath and beyond history as we now know it.CONFESSIONAL COMMITMENTI reaffirm the confessional commitment that I made at myordination and that is oulined in Article II of the constitution of TheLutheran Church-Missouri Synod.THE THEOLOGICAL TASKI distinguish carefully between my trust in the Promise of God inChrist and my attempt to articulate the full implications ofthis faith in the Gospel in my theology. The doctrine of the Gospel which isthe object of the Catholic Faith is not negotiable, but the articulation of thefull implications of that doctrine must be critically reviewed. Almost all ofthe controversy in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod today has to dowith theological formulation and not with the essential confession of thedogma of the Church. Many of the issues are not even theological, but theyhave to do with the proper use of tools to get at what the Scriptures assertand with an honest difference of interpretation of certain specific texts.The real theological task for the Church is to articulate the fullimplications of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for our age. Luther stated, 'Truetheology and knowledge of God lies in the crucified Christ." The Comingof God in Jesus Christ is the Word of God to which all the coming intowords of the Word of God are related. The knowledge of God which isgiven in Jesus Christ does not constitute a particular item of doctrine whichsupplements the general knowledge of God, but it is the beginning of alltrue knowledge of God and His relation to men. The theologian seeks toconsistently relate what he says about God and His relation to the world tothe Gospel of Jesus Christ. He seeks to make explicit the full dimensions ofthe necessary content of the Gospel.This is not to say that the only activity and Word of God is aboutHis activity of grace in Jesus Christ. God's judging and retributing activityis expressed in the Word of God Lutherans call "law." The point is, noactivity or Word of God can really be understood in terms of its intentionand depth, much less accepted for what it really is, apart from the Gospelof Jesus Christ.The theologian's task is to evaluate the theology and practice of thechurch. He tests every theological assertion and practice in the Churchevangelically, i.e., he seeks to show whether it is properly related to theGospel. He asks, "What are the adequate foundations of the Gospel itselfand for asserting that this particular article of faith or quality of action canbe called Christian?" The only sufficient reason for affirming a given articleof faith is that it is necessitated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thefundamental critical question is, "Why is Jesus Christ necessary in thistheological construct or system?"THE SCRIPTURES AS RULE AND NORMThe Scriptures are a unique rule and norm under which myown theological statements are reviewed and criticized. The task of thetheologian is the exposition of the Word of God in the Holy Scriptures. Hedoes this when he interprets the Scriptures in accord with that statedintention of the New Testament writers that these things were written thatwe might believe Jesus was the Christ and have hope. True biblicalinterpretation means interpreting every text in terms of its intendedmeaning. The key and ultimate intention of every text can be understoodonly when the text is related to the Gospel of God's redemptive activity inthe life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.HISTORICAL CRITICAL METHODI support any method of interpretation that will throw light on theoriginal intended meaning of the text. I reject any philosophical or religiouspresuppositions that would result in a reduction of the original intendedmeaning of the text. I personally have discovered tremendous new insightinto the original intended meaning of the texts of Scripture through the useof textual, historical, form and redaction criticism. I believe these tools forinterpretation can be employed without having to accept certainideological assumptions that some users of the methods have as they cometo their conslusions about the meaning of a text. The text must beinterpreted honestly in terms of its own form and intended meaning, andthe proper use of the historical critical method has facilitated this task.LUTHERAN CONFESSIONAL THEOLOGYI am committed to the Lutheran Confessions as a true exposition ofthe Word of God. The Confessors professed the Gospel of Jesus Christ andits implications for the total faith and life of the church in their time.Through my study of the Lutheran Symbols the Spirit of God has called meby the clear confessional witness of the Gospel in the Lutheran Symbols toa radical trust in Christ alone and in the God’s grace alone. I intended to befaithful to this confessional commitment by theaching a theology thatmaximizes the merits of Christ in the spirit and direction of the Confessors.At the same time, I will resist the temptation to deal with theological ormethodological differences in a way that turns the brotherhood of faiththat lives by differences in a way that turns the brotherhood of faith thatlives by God’s grace in Christ into a legal and sectarian institution. Thetruly evangelical and Lutheran character of The Lutheran Church-MissouriSynod is embodied in its repeated reaffirmation of commitment to theHoly Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions.Leonhard C. WuerffelDirector of PlacementProfessor of Practical TheologyIn the first days of my earthly existence my good parents as faithfulchildren of God brought me to the Lord Jesus in Holy Baptism. AsChristians they believed their Lord's will for salvation to be found in Himwho was revealed to them in the Sacred Scriptures as their God and Savior.With them I now know and confess that as I was born into this world of sinI too needed salvation from the corruption common to all men. Thissalvation is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ, the benefits of whose life,suffering, dying, and resurrection became my own in "the washing ofregeneration" at that early age.By the life and teaching and the blessed influence of my parents andmany others I was confirmed in my faith in the God who makes Himselfknown to us in the Bible and through which He strengthens our Christianfaith. I see the Bible as God's revelation to all men and as a product of theHoly Spirit who employed human beings to make known the Good Newsin Jesus Christ, the Gospel. I hold the Gospel as central to all that isrevealed in the Word of God or as Luther put it, Scripture is the cradle thatholds Jesus Christ before men, In our Lutheran tradition we hold in carefulbalance and distinction the two teachings commonly known as Law andGospel, the former reveals God's will toward moral rectitude before Himand the latter shows the righteousness established for us in the work ofJesus Christ and made our own by faith in Him as our personal RedeemerAcross the years the study of these Sacred Scriptures hasstrengthened my faith in God as the Creator of all things in heaven andearth as well as the Preserver of iife frof day to day. He it is who has sentHis Son, born of a Virgin, into the world of sin to accomplish for me and allmen what man under sin could not achieve. He has fuifilled all thedemands of God's holy law for me and has suffered what I deserved by mysins and sinning. Daily He assures me by the power of the Holy Spirit ofthis forgiveness and has led me to the joy of serving God's people as anambassador of this Gospel. I see all of this as God's undeserved mercy andgrace in my life. By the strengthenimg of His Spirit I have also been led tobelieve wholly in the Sacred Scriptures as the rule and norm of my faith,life and ministry to His people and I view the Lutheran Symbols as acorrect exposition of the doctrine of the Gospel which is the content of theSacred Scriptures.Accordingly in doctrinal matters I attempt with the gifts with whichGod has endowed meto teach only what is taught in the Sacred Scripturesholding forth the Gospel in all its fullness and sweetness as the source ofredemption and eternal joy. In addition, I join with God's people at theTable of the Lord to receive His sacred body and blood as a pledge andassurance of forgiveness and as a strength to perform better the task of"mutual conversation and consolation of, the brethren" which is alwaysfound where the Spirit's gift of unity in the faith is granted.I believe, teach, and confess that this Christian faith has been planted in myheart for the purpose of also spreading the Gospel into all the world andliving that Gospel and its benefits in day to day existence as a witness toGod's mercy and grace. This means that I not only need to renew mycommitment regularly as a minister of the Gospel but that I also need toput forth every effort to increase my skills in helping others as I have beenhelped in so many and varied ways. As to the Sacred Scriptures this willmean to use every means at my disposal. to understand what God issaying and by the power of His Spirit to apply the truths of the Word to theneeds of the hour. I may not achieve this goal as well as I ought but what ajoy to be associated with brothers dedicated to the same cause, holding thesame conviction, and pursuing the same commitment. A merciful God andFather has in so many ways prompted the brothers to minister to oneanother to the glory of God and the confirming of faith in the Lord JesusChrist. I shall always praise God and thankHim for the privilege of this communion of teachers who have shared thefaith as efforts were made in training men for the office of the holyministry.Lorenz WunderlichProfessor of Systematic TheologyIn compliance with the resolution of the faculty of Concordia Seminary ofOctober 10, 1972, that each member of the faculty "prepare a statement ofhis confessional position," I herewith, in consonance with my ordinationvow and with Article 11 of the Constitution of The LutheranChurch-Missouri Synod, affirm:In my faith, confession, and teaching, I accept without reservation "theScriptures of the Old and New Testament as the written Word of God andthe only rule of faith and practice:"and "all the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a trueand unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God, to wit:the three Ecumenical Creeds (the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, theAthanasian Creed), the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, the Apology of theAugsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Large Catechism of Luther, theSmall Catechism of Luther, and the Formula of Concord."In a very real sense, more than this I could not say, less than this I wouldnot say. However, additional explanation may be desirable.What this means for me personally as a child of God and as a pastor in TheLutheran Church-Missouri Synod is that the prophetic and apostolicwritings of the Old and New Testaments are truly God's Word in everydetail.In these divinely inspired Scriptures God reveals Himself as Father. Son,and Holy Spirit.He is the Creator of the universe and of all which was a part of thatuniverse at the beginning, terrestrial as well as celestial, according to theaccount of creation in Genesis. This creation included the first humanbeings, Adam and Eve, the angels plants and animais, planets, and allwhich the Creator determined for their continued existence and welfare.Because Adam and Eve were unfaithful to God and thus sinned, I am anheir to that legacy and stain of sin, sinful from birth. But I am also a sinneron my own, a sinner in my thinking, saying, and doing.Accordingly, God in His grace also revealed His plan of salvation in theprophetic writings of the Old Testament and effected this salvation in theNew Testament through His Son Jesus Christ, Who became man by Hisbirth of the Virgin Mary. Though sinless He took upon Himself the sins ofall mankind and by His sinless life He completely met all the demands ofGod's holy Law and through His suffering and death and resurrection Heeffected the reconciliation of mankind with God.This reconciliation is now proclaimed by the Holy Spirit in and through theWord of God as we find it in the infallible writings of the prophets andapostles of the Old and New Testaments. Law and Gospel reveal both sinand grace in order to accomplish God's graclous purpose for the salvationof human beings.Through Word and sacraments the Holy Spirit makes it possible for me tobelieve that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ was for the sinsof all. Thus, and thus alone, sins are forgiven and Christian faith and lifeare estabtished.In God's own appointed time our Savior will return as the Judge of all andas the Redeemer Judge of all of His saints.By God's grace, this is my faith and my confession.My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will continue to preserve and sustain mein this faith and confession to the end of my life!Gratefully and joyfully submitted.Professors Mark Bangert, Ralph Bohlmann, and Martin Scharlemannwere on leave and off campus at the time of the publication of thesedocuments. Professor Arlis Ehlen, though not teaching, was on campusand was invited by the faculty to join in offering a confession of his faith tothe church.