Authority Vested

Authority Vested
Author: Mary Todd
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2000
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780802844576

Like other major Protestant denominations in the United States, the 2.6-million-member Luther Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), founded in 1847, has struggled with issues of relevance and identity in society at large. In this book Mary Todd chronicles the history of this struggle for identity in the LCMS, critically examining the central--often contentious--issue of authority in relation to Scripture, ministry, and the role of women in the church. In recounting the history of the denomination, Todd uses the ministry of women as a case study to show how the LCMS has continually redefined its concept of authority in order to maintain its own historic identity. Based on oral histories and solid archival research, Authority Vested not only explores the internal life of a significant denomination but also offers critical insights for other churches seeking to maintain their Christian distinctives in religiously pluralistic America.

Faith of Our Fathers

Faith of Our Fathers
Author: Norwegian Synod of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church
Publisher:
Total Pages: 232
Release: 1953
Genre:
ISBN:

Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower

Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower
Author: Tom Krattenmaker
Publisher: Convergent Books
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2016
Genre: Agnosticism
ISBN: 1101906421

Offers an argument for secular non-believers maintaining that following Jesus Christ as a teacher, example, and primary guide for living can serve to give meaning and direction to those who don't believe in the supernatural elements of Christianity.

Inside the Vatican

Inside the Vatican
Author: Thomas J. Reese S.J.
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 330
Release: 1998-02-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0674418018

There are one billion Catholics in the world today, spread over every continent, speaking almost every conceivable language, and all answering to a single authority. The Vatican is a unique international organization, both in terms of its extraordinary power and influence, and in terms of its endurance. Popes come and go, but the elaborate and complex bureaucracy called the Vatican lives on. For centuries, it has served and sometimes undermined popes; it has been praised and blamed for the actions of the pope and for the state of the church. Yet an objective examination of the workings of the Vatican has been unavailable until now. Drawing on more than a hundred interviews with Vatican officials, this book affords a firsthand look at the people, the politics, and the organization behind the institution. Reese brings remarkable clarity to the almost Byzantine bureaucracy of congregations, agencies, secretariats, tribunals, nunciature, and offices, showing how they serve the pope and, through him, the universal church. He gives a lively account of how popes are elected and bishops appointed, how dissident theologians are disciplined and civil authorities dealt with. Throughout, revealing and colorful anecdotes from church history and the present day bring the unique culture of the Vatican to life. The Vatican is a fascinating institution, a model of continuity and adaptation, which remains constant while functioning powerfully in a changing world. As never before, this book provides a clear, objective perspective on how the enormously complex institution surrounding the papacy operates on a day-to-day level, how it has adapted and endured for close to two thousand years, and how it is likely to face the challenges of the next millennium.

Power Politics and the Missouri Synod

Power Politics and the Missouri Synod
Author: James C. Burkee
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2013-09-30
Genre: Conservatism
ISBN: 9781451465389

Power, Politics, and the Missouri Synod follows the rise of two Lutheran clergymen - Herman Otten and J. A. O. Preus - who led different wings of a conservative movement that seized control of a theologically conservative but socially and politically moderate church denomination (LCMS) and drove "moderates" from the church in the 1970s. The schism within what was then one of the largest Protestant denominations in the United States ultimately reshaped the landscape of American Lutheranism and fostered the polarization that characterizes today's Lutheran churches.

You and Your Synod

You and Your Synod
Author: Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Board for Parish Education
Publisher:
Total Pages: 203
Release: 1972
Genre:
ISBN:

Our Church

Our Church
Author: Elmer Carl Kiessling
Publisher:
Total Pages: 222
Release: 1990
Genre: History
ISBN:

The Life of Martin Luther

The Life of Martin Luther
Author: Agostino Traini
Publisher: Agostino Traini Pop-Ups
Total Pages: 14
Release: 2017
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781506421926

From Luther's conversion to his nailing of the 95 theses to the Wittenberg chapel door, history jumps off the page through the vibrant illustrations of renowned paper artist Agostino Traini.