Lutheran Questions, Lutheran Answers: Exploring Christian Faith

by Martin E. Marty

Overview

Lutherans often have questions about Lutheran theology and beliefs that are basic to the Christian faith itself. Featuring a unique question-and-answer format, Lutheran Questions, Lutheran Answers is an accessible and concise treatment that provides the most frequently asked questions on important topics and brief but complete answers from a distinguished Lutheran historian and theologian.

Among the questions are: What is the purpose of the Bible? How do Lutherans interpret the Bible? What is the meaning of the cross? What is the purpose of human life? Arranged according to doctrinal topics, the book is ideal for individual and group study, new member and confirmation classes.

Contents include questions and answers about:

Lutheran History and Heritage

Bible

God

Jesus Christ

Humanity

Holy Spirit

Salvation

Church

Worship

Sacraments

Christian Life

Reign of God

Polity

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781451414110
Publisher:	Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
Publication date:	04/13/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	319 KB

About the Author

Martin E. Marty is the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, where he taught chiefly in the Divinity School for thirty-five years. He has published many books with Augsburg Books and Fortress Press including A Short History of Christianity (9780800619442), The Lord's Supper (9780806633398), Faith (9780806601328), Speaking of Trust (Lutheran Voices, 9780806649948) and with his son, Micah Marty, Places Along the Way (9780806627465) and Our Hope for Years to Come (9780806628363). He lives in Chicago.

Table of Contents

Invitation     9
Lutheran History and Heritage     11
Where Do Lutheran Churches Come From?     11
What Are the Origins of Lutheran Churches in the United States?     13
What Do We Mean by a "Lutheran" Church or "Lutheran" Theology?     14
What Is Lutheranism?     15
Why Do Lutherans Have So Many Confessions of Faith?     17
What Makes Lutherans Different from Presbyterians or Methodists or Baptists?     18
Do Lutherans Believe in "Predestination"?     20
The Bible     22
What Is the Basic Message of the Bible?     22
What Is the Purpose of the Bible?     25
What Do We Mean When We Say the Bible Is "God's Word"?     26
Why Is the Bible Considered an Authority for the Church?     27
Since We Have the New Testament, Why Do We Need the Old Testament?     29
Are There Errors in the Bible?     30
How Do Lutherans Interpret the Bible?     32
Do Lutherans Believe in a Literal Adam and Eve?     34
God     36
Can We Prove That God Exists?     36
How Can We Know God?     38
What Is the Trinity?     39
What Are Some Practical Results of Believing in the Trinity?     41
What Is the Providence of God?     42
Does God Will Evil and Suffering in the World and in Our Lives?     44
Is God Male?     46
Jesus Christ     48
What Is the Incarnation?     48
Where Was Jesus Before He Came to Earth?     50
Do Lutherans Believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus?     51
Why Did Jesus Come into the World?     52
Why Did Jesus Have to Die?     54
What Is the Meaning of the Cross?     56
Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead, and What Does His Resurrection Mean?     57
Humanity     59
What Is the Purpose of Human Life?     59
What Does It Mean to Say Humans Are Created in the Image of God?     60
What Is Sin?     62
Why Do We Sin?     63
Do Lutherans Believe That Humans Are Totally Evil?     64
What Do We Mean by "Original Sin"?     65
Do We Have "Free Will"?     66
The Holy Spirit     69
What Does the Holy Spirit Do?     69
In What Ways Does the Holy Spirit Work in the Church?     71
What Do Lutherans Believe about the "Baptism of the Holy Spirit"?     72
What Do Lutherans Believe about the "Gifts of the Holy Spirit"?      73
Is "Speaking in Tongues" a Necessary Sign of the Holy Spirit in One's Life?     75
What Is the Holy Spirit's Role in Evangelism?     76
Does the Holy Spirit Work outside the Church?     78
Salvation     79
What Is the Grace of God?     79
What Does It Mean to Be "Saved"?     80
Must We Be Baptized in Order to Be Saved?     82
Will Non-Christians Be Saved?     83
The Church     86
What Does It Mean to Be a Church "Member"?     86
Why Is the Church So Full of "Sinners"?     88
What Do We Mean by the "Visible" and the "Invisible" Church?     90
What Is the Priesthood of All Believers?     92
Why Do Lutheran Churches Put Such a Stress on Christian Education?     94
What Is the "Mission" of the Church?     96
What Should Be the Church's Relation to Culture?     98
Worship     101
Why Should We Worship?     101
Why Does the Prayer of Confession List Sins I Never Commit?     103
What Is the Function of the Furniture I Might Expect to See in a Lutheran Church?     105
Why Don't Lutheran Churches Have Altar Calls?     106
What Is Preaching, and Why Is It Important?     107
Why Do Lutherans Insist That Sacraments Be Celebrated Only in Worship Services?     108
What Is the Relation between Worship and the Rest of Life?     109
The Sacraments     111
Why Do Lutherans Have Two Sacraments?     111
Why Are Sacraments Important?     113
Why Do Lutherans Baptize Babies?     115
I Do Not Remember My Baptism as an Infant. Can I Be Rebaptized?     119
What Happens in the Lord's Supper?     120
Do We Really Eat and Drink the "Body and Blood" of Jesus in the Lord's Supper?     123
Can Unconfirmed Children and Non-Church Members Take Communion?     124
Christian Life     127
What Do Lutherans Believe about Saints?     127
Do Lutherans Believe That Christians Can Attain Perfection in This Life?     129
If We Are Christians, Do We Have to Obey God's Law?     130
Does God Answer Prayer?     132
Does God Heal Today?     134
How Do We Know the Will of God?     135
What Is My Christian "Vocation"?     137
The Reign of God     139
Why Is Our View of the Future Important?     139
What Do We Believe about the End of the World?     140
When Will Jesus Come Again?     143
Do Lutherans Have to Worry about Being "Left Behind"?     144
What Do Lutherans Believe about the Millennium?     145
What Is the "Resurrection of the Body"?     146
What Is the Kingdom of God?     147
Polity     150
What Are the Main Features of the Lutheran Form of Church Government?     150
What Is Ordination?     153
What Are Elders, and What Do They Do?     154
What Are Deacons, and What Do They Do?     155
What Is a Synod, and What Does It Do?     155
What Is Church Discipline, and Why Is It Important?     156
For Further Reading     158
Index of Topics     159