A Time for Confessing

by Robert W. Bertram, Michael Hoy (Editor)

Overview

This book is about faithful witnessesfrom the Reformation to South African apartheid to Bonhoefferto the promise of Jesus Christ. Even in the midst of trials, these faithful followers have testified that the gospel is authority enough for the church's life and unity. Significantly, this is the first book in print by the late Robert Bertram, described by Edward Schroeder as perhaps the most unpublished major Lutheran theologian of the twentieth century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506427072
Publisher:	Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
Publication date:	01/01/2017
Series:	Lutheran Quarterly Books
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Robert W. Bertram (1921-2003) was one of the founders of the Crossings Community in the 1970s in St. Louis, Missouri. He also taught at Valparaiso University, Concordia University, and Lutheran Theological Seminary in Chicago.

Table of Contents

Foreword   Edward H. Schroeder     vii
Editor's Preface     xvi
Augsburg: A Modern "Time for Confessing"     1
Confessio: Self-Defense Becomes Subversive     23
Black Churches in the Civil Rights Movement as a Confessing Movement: Confessio as Disencumbering the Gospel     39
"Confession" against Apartheid: When Faith Is Ethos     57
Bonhoeffer's "Battle(s) for Christendom": His "Responsible Interpretation" of Barmen     65
A Philippine Revolution: From Patients to Agents     96
A Time for Confessing; or, When Is the Church a Confessional Movement?     132
Postmodernity's CRUX: A Theology of the Cross for the Postmodern World     150
Theses on "C Is for Criticism"     150
Theses on "R Is for Revelation"     159
Theses on "U Is for Universality"     172
Theses on "X Is for Christ-ening"     184
Bibliography of Robert W. Bertram   Michael Hoy     206
Index of Names and Subjects     217
Index of Lutheran Confession References     219
Index of Scripture References     220

Editorial Reviews

Carl E. Braaten
— Senior Editor, Pro Ecclesia
"At long last we receive the cream of Robert Bertram's critical thinking on what it means to be a confessing church and a confessing Christian in times of challenge and crisis. Bertram articulates a ‘theology of the cross' that draws its inspiration from Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and he models what it means to be a confessing theologian for a confessing church. Thanks are due to Michael Hoy for bringing together the best of Bertram's cross-centered theology in a well-edited collection of essays."
 
Gary M. Simpson
— Luther Seminary
"A Time for Confessing is a mother lode for contemporary confessors and confessing communities. Lutheran ecumenist Robert Bertram mines the classic confessing of his own Lutheran heritage and at the same time discovers a treasury of gospel confessing in contemporary movements spanning the globe, from the U.S. black church civil rights movement to South African Christians resisting apartheid to the Bonhoeffer-era confessing church in Germany and finally to the Vatican II confessing of Filipino Roman Catholics. When you finish this book, you will find yourself praying with our Savior, ‘Save us from the time of trial — but prepare us nevertheless."

Dialog
“A wonderful collection of essays. . . . Fascinating for the historical analysis done by Bertram. But this book is more than that. It is also a collection of essays that provide some foundational bases for a prophetic voice that the church today so needs.”
 
Currents in Theology & Mission
“Michael Hoy, with great dedication has painstakingly drawn together Bertram’s work.”
 
Lutheran Quarterly
“This book serves up a feast in theology — not simply one course, but a full meal. It may take a lifetime to digest because each paragraph is carefully crafted to provide maximum nourishment. . . . A theological treasure for preachers, missionaries, and academics alike.”
 

From the Publisher