Missouri Synod Lutheran apologetics

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Does anyone know of a good apologetics book that concentrates specifically on Lutheran doctrine? I have a lot of books that answer objections to Fundamentalist, Evangelical and general Protestantism, but need something specifically to answer Lutheran questions.
 
Sroth,

I’ve heard that *There We Stood, Here We Stand : Eleven Lutherans Rediscover Their Catholic Roots * by Tim Drake is supposed to be very good, but I haven’t read it myself.
 
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have Tim Drake’s book and it’s very good and uplifting. Sort of the Lutheran version of “Surprised by Truth”. However it does not get into a lot of details on how to respond to objections the way an apologetics book does. My Lutheran friends make statements like, “All of your ‘good works’ are sinful since they are not perfect.” They also talk about how we are unable to do anything good. They basically deny free will in the positive sense. In other words, they say we only have free will to do evil or to reject God and no free will to do good. I’m having a hard time finding apologetics books or even on-line debates specifically related to Lutheran apologetics.
 
I’m not sure how deep you want to get, but have you considered the Book of Concord? It’s a compilation of the original Lutheran Confessions, penned by the original Lutherans in the mid-1500’s (Luther, Melancthon, etc.). That’s really the only place you’re going to find the full answer to “official” Lutheran beliefs.

From a Roman Catholic perspective it may be quite helpful, because the Confessions were written directly addressing what they believed were the errors in Rome’s doctrine. But they will also show many points where honest Lutherans and Roman Catholics share commonality.

For example, both firmly believe the Real Presence. Lutherans do not fix a point in time at which it happens, where Rome does. Lutherans believe that the one and only Sacrafice has already been made and that the Mass is not a “sacrafice.” Yet Lutherans share much of the same liturgy with Rome.

Unless you go back to the original Confessions, you are likely to get any range of answers from current day Lutherans. Some Lutheran denominations say they hold dearly to the Confessions, yet they turn around and enter into official fellowship with protestant denominations that hold beliefs directly contradictory to the Lutheran Confessions (such as denying the Real Presence). It’s a sad condition. Some like being called Lutheran and want to hold on to the name, yet they don’t want to maintain the beliefs.
 
By the way… your Lutheran friends are mis-stating the Lutheran position of “good works.” What they are most likely trying to say is that no human works, because of sin, are sufficient to merit salvation or God’s favor in their own merit. Here’s the Missouri Synod’s official stance on good works…

(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, N.D.)
[Adopted 1932]
  1. Before God only those works are good which are done for the glory of God and the good of man, according to the rule of divine Law. Such works, however, no man performs unless he first believes that God has forgiven him his sins and has given him eternal life by grace, for Christ’s sake, without any works of his own, John 15:4, 5. We reject as a great folly the assertion, frequently made in our day, that works must be placed in the fore, and “faith in dogmas” – meaning the Gospel of Christ crucified for the sins of the world – must be relegated to the rear. Since good works never precede faith, but are always and in every instance the result of faith in the Gospel, it is evident that the only means by which we Christians can become rich in good works (and God would have us to be rich in good works, Titus 2:14) is unceasingly to remember the grace of God which we have received in Christ, Rom. 12:1; 2 Cor. 8:9. Hence we reject as unchristian and foolish any attempt to produce good works by the compulsion of the Law or through carnal motives.
If you are looking for Missouri Synod information specifically, try…
lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=523
 
Well, I didn’t even think of looking at the Book of Concord! That would be getting deep into it for sure. The only thing is that there is no Catholic response to the assertions in the book, is there?

My friends are in the LCMS and seem to hold to many of the original doctrines of Luther. They are lamenting the fact that some of the leadership in their synod are leaning a bit to the liberal side and they fear the future of the synod.

Thanks for your explanation on good works and sin. Interesting how a statement like “all of our works are sin” should have been stated more succinctly.

I was thinking about looking online for some debates, maybe Dave Armstrong’s site.

Thanks again for your help.
 
Lutheran Mo Synod…it’s Catholic Lite…less guilt, more singing
My husband was amazed when he came to a Catholic mass and saw how similiar it is…
 
If you’re looking for Catholic apologetic books refuting Lutheranism, I’ve heard that Louis Boyer does a good job of that in *The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism. *I haven’t read it, though, so that is just hearsay.

Now if you’re looking for Lutheran “apologetic” books on Lutheranism, Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics, Chemnitz’s Examination of the Council of Trent would be a good place to start. The Book of Concordlays out the basics, Pieper and Chemnitz expand, if you will. Now if you want something easier to tackle, The Spirituality of the Cross by Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is an excellent book and probably the nearest to a Lutheran version of apologetics that I’ve seen.

Hope this helps.
 
All good recommendations, Tina.

Pieper is a very heavy read, 3 full volumes, plus index volume. But it’s a great resource for understanding Lutheran belief.

Spirituality of the Cross is probably one of the easiest to read and Veith is a solid source.
 
Thanks for all of your ideas! I will check them out, especially the one by Veith to start out with. I did a little searching online yesterday and found that Dave Armstrong on his website does a pretty thorough job of defending Catholic belief in relation to Lutheranism. He also has a step by step approach to sections of the Book of Concord along with a Catholic response to each statement. I’ve heard he’s pretty reliable, isn’t he?
 
I would recommend the following books for honestly and sincereity when reading about LUTHER : Formula of Concord, Augsburg Confession ( heavy reading) Luther’s Small and Larger (Explained) Catechism, Smallkald Articles , Why I am Lutheran, Luther’s biography HERE I STAND ( Very hard to find a copy) I do not recommend the book Luther by TAN books as it is EXTREMELY predjudiced in its reporting of facts and I do not recognise it as a historical reference due to the predjudice of its author . I also recommend the two DVD’s Luther ca 1953 and the recent Luther 2003 both of these are excellent . very well made and researched for accuracy. Why do I list these… read my profile and find out
 
Sroth said:
Well, I didn’t even think of looking at the Book of Concord! That would be getting deep into it for sure. The only thing is that there is no Catholic response to the assertions in the book, is there?

My friends are in the LCMS and seem to hold to many of the original doctrines of Luther. They are lamenting the fact that some of the leadership in their synod are leaning a bit to the liberal side and they fear the future of the synod.

Thanks for your explanation on good works and sin. Interesting how a statement like “all of our works are sin” should have been stated more succinctly.

I was thinking about looking online for some debates, maybe Dave Armstrong’s site.

Thanks again for your help.
Click to expand...
I know there are other LCMS members on this board also that may help. I have just recently left the LCMS to come back to the CC. Let me know if I could be of any help to you.
 
Sroth said:
Well, I didn’t even think of looking at the Book of Concord! That would be getting deep into it for sure. The only thing is that there is no Catholic response to the assertions in the book, is there?
Click to expand...
You might want to read the Augsburg Confession alongside the Confutatio Pontificia (the Catholic response to the Augsburg Confession) and, if you really want to go deep, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession (a reply to the Confutatio.

The Augsburg Confession is the foundational statement of Lutheran belief, presented at the command of Emperor Charles V. The Confutatio addresses the AC article by article, stating both agreements and disagreements. The Apology is a response to the Confutatio, addressing the disagreements and providing elaboration on the Lutheran position.

If you look here

bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.php

you will find the Augsburg Confession with links following each article to the Confutatio and the Apology.
 
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