SA国际传媒

A new book, The Genius of Luther鈥檚 Theology: A Wittenberg Way of Thinking for the Contemporary Church, authored by Dr. Robert Kolb, mission professor of systematic theology, and Dr. Charles Arand, professor of systematic theology at SA国际传媒, was recently published by Baker Academic.

鈥淭he Kolb-Arand presentation on The Genius of Luther鈥檚 Theology is itself genius, focusing, as it does, on Luther鈥檚 two greatest contributions to theological discourse, viz., the nature of human beings and the primacy of God鈥檚 Word,鈥� commented Dr. James Voelz, professor of exegetical theology and dean of the faculty at SA国际传媒.

鈥淎s noted in the sub-title, this focus provides a 鈥榳ay of thinking鈥� for contemporary Christians, especially in our land, who are living in an environment that is either increasingly hostile to Christianity, or increasingly captive to 鈥榚vangelical鈥� understandings of our faith that privilege feelings and uncontrolled notions of the Spirit. 聽This volume not only makes you proud to be a Lutheran, it also provides a solid basis for dialogue and outreach.鈥�

The Genius of Luther鈥檚 Theology: A Wittenberg Way of Thinking for the Contemporary Church offers a unique approach to the theology of Martin Luther, focusing on two central ideas that informed the basic conceptual framework of Wittenberg theology. The first concerns Luther鈥檚 emphases on 鈥減assive righteousness鈥� and the related aspect of 鈥渁ctive righteousness.鈥�

The second deals with Luther鈥檚 focus on the way God works in the world through his Word. Kolb and Arand find that the combination of these ideas shaped the theological reflections of Luther and his followers. Luther鈥檚 emphases, as discussed in Kolb and Arand鈥檚 study, are relevant for today鈥檚 challenges of proclaiming the Gospel and existence as a faith community, allowing contemporary pastors and theologians to utilize Luther鈥檚 theological emphases as they formulate God鈥檚 message for the 21^st century.

鈥淥ver the years Charles Arand has stimulated my thinking in hundreds of conversations and to combine our efforts and produce a book out of those conversations was a delight and blessing,鈥� commented Kolb. 鈥淲e pray that those who 鈥榚avesdrop鈥� on our conversations by reading The Genius of Luther鈥檚 Theology will be enriched by our Lutheran heritage.鈥�

Kolb received an associate鈥檚 degree (1961) from Concordia College, St. Paul, Minn.; a bachelor鈥檚 degree (1963) from Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, Ind.; the M.Div. (1967) and S.T.M. (1968) degrees from SA国际传媒, St. Louis; the M.A. (1969) and Ph.D. degrees (1973) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.; and an honorary doctor of letters degree (2000) from Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind. He has served as executive director of the Center for Reformation Research, St. Louis; guest instructor at SA国际传媒, St. Louis; Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Luther Northwestern University, St. Louis.

Arand received the B.A. degree (1980) from Concordia College, Milwaukee, Wis.; the M.Div. (1984), the S.T.M. (1987), and Th.D. (1989) degrees from SA国际传媒, St. Louis. Prior to joining the SA国际传媒 faculty in 1989 as professor of systematic theology and associate vice president for academic affairs at SA国际传媒, St. Louis, he served as a pastor in parishes in Illinois(1984-1989).