In the five hundred years since the publication of Martin Luther's Ninety- Five Theses, a rich set of traditions have grown up around that action and the subsequent events of the Reformation. This up-to-date dictionary by leading theologians and church historians covers Luther's life and thought, key figures of his time, and the various traditions he continues to influence. Prominent scholars of the history of Lutheran traditions have brought together experts in church history representing a variety of Christian perspectives to offer a major, cutting-edge reference work. Containing nearly six hundred articles, this dictionary provides a comprehensive overview of Luther's life and work and the traditions emanating from the Wittenberg Reformation. It traces the history, theology, and practices of the global Lutheran movement, covering significant figures, events, theological writings and ideas, denominational subgroups, and congregational practices that have constituted the Lutheran tradition from the Reformation to the present day.

Some issues include reports of the annual Academy conventions.

In this important new volume, Arand, Kolb, and Nestingen bring the fruit of an entire generation of scholarship to bear on these documents, making it an essential and up-to-date class text. The Lutheran Confessions places the documents solidly within their political, social, ecclesiastical and theological contexts, relating them to the world in which they took place. Though the book is not a theology of the Confessions, readers will clearly understand the issues at stake in the narratives, both in their own time, and in ours.

With the approach of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s inauguration of the Protestant Reformation and the burgeoning dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans opened under Pope Francis, this new edition of Walter Altmann’s Luther and Liberation is timely and relevant. Luther and Liberation recovers the liberating and revolutionary impact of Luther’s theology, read afresh from the perspective of the Latin American context. Altmann provides a much-needed reassessment of Luther’s significance today through a direct engagement of Luther’s historical situation with an eye keenly situated on the deeply contextual situation of the contemporary reader, giving a localized reading from the author’s own experience in Latin America. The work examines with fresh vigor Luther’s central theological commitments, such as his doctrine of God, Christology, justification, hermeneutics, and ecclesiology, and his forays into economics, politics, education, violence, and war. This new edition greatly expands the original text with fresh scholarship and updated sources, footnotes, and bibliography, and contains several additional new chapters on Luther’s doctrine of God, theology of the sacraments, his controversial perspective on the Jews, and a new comparative account with the Latin American liberation theology tradition.

This is a comprehensive and systematic survey of Martin Luther's entire thought by an internationally recognized authority in the field of Reformation research. The main theological questions which engaged the Reformer's attention are set forth in clear and simple fashion, along with a host of quotations from this own writings to illumine the presentation. Scholars and laypersons alike will appreciate the more than a thousand instances in which the author allows Luther to speak forcefully and directly for himself.

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online

This volume is a unique interpretation of what Martin Luther contributes to renewed appreciation of Biblical diversity. The Church in the West is struggling. One reason behind this is that the prevailing models for Theology have imposed logical and modern ways of thinking about faith that renders theology academic, and therefore largely irrelevant for daily life. By letting the first Reformer speak for himself in this book, Mark Ellingsen shows how Martin Luther’s theological approach can reform the Church’s theology today. The real Luther-not the one taught by his various systematic interpreters-presents Christian faith in its entirety, with all its rough edges, in such a way as to direct on how and when to employ those dimensions of the Biblical witness most appropriate for the situation in which we find ourselves.

This book is not claiming Melanchthon rediscovered the gospel. That honor belongs to his friend and mentor, Martin Luther. Nevertheless, Dr. Lowell C. Green argues that Melanchthon helped Luther in the task. Dr. Green knew that in choosing the title, How Melanchthon Helped Luther Discover the Gospel, he risked arousing the prejudice of those who look on Melanchthon with suspicion. Green is not blind to Melanchthon's faults; at times, he is critical of him. But, he debunks the myth that when Melanchthon came to Wittenberg in 1518, Luther had already developed his Reformational doctrine. Green shows that Melanchthon brought the tools of humanism to the aid of the emerging agitation. Although maintaining a subordinate role to Luther, Melanchthon helped him repeatedly at the turning points of the Reformation. Green asserts that Melanchthon was the first to speak of the authority of the Bible over the church. In his Baccalaureate Theses of 1519, Melanchthon became the first to articulate the forensic nature of justification. Most surprisingly, Melanchthon helped Luther move from the medieval view of faith as credulitas or adhaesio (adherence) to the Reformational view of faith as fiducia (trust) and assurance of salvation. Luther testified that he learned this from Melanchthon in 1518. As late as 1519, Luther had not yet abandoned the medieval view of grace as an infused substance. Melanchthon again led the way in 1520 when he declared that grace was simply the attitude of God-His favor. In his 1521 Loci Communes Melanchthon not only pointed out that grace is not something in us, but he made the important distinction between "grace" and "the gift of grace" (the Holy Spirit). Luther generously acknowledged the brilliance of Melanchthon's Loci Communes. This and other accolades Luther showered on Melanchthon are an indication of young scholar's influence on the great reformer's central teachings. Lowell C. Green was one of America's foremost Luther scholars, and his body of work continues to inform and shape Reformation studies today. This edition of How Melanchthon Helped Luther Discover the Gospel is the fruition of more than twenty-five years of Luther studies. Dr. Green's central thrust was to challenge the "Young Luther" cult which originated in the early 1900s and gained such a stranglehold on Luther studies in the 1950s and 1960s. In this volume, Green marshals the evidence gathered over a lifetime of study, joining his voice to a choir of scholars who challenge the central thesis of the "Young Luther" movement. After thoroughly demonstrating that Luther's early works contained a medieval or Roman Catholic "analytical justification," Green traces the emergence of the Reformational doctrine and a real break with medieval theology beginning in 1519. Green amply demonstrates that the mature Luther subscribed to and frequently expressed the doctrine of justification in forensic terms so that the glory of our salvation could be ascribed wholly to Christ and for the comfort of conscience against the accusing power of the law.

The Reformation did not happen overnight, not with the singular act of posting of the Ninety-Five Theses, or even the presentation of the Augsburg Confession. Prof. Dr. Zeeden's classic study of how medieval church practices continued and developed within Lutheran church orders offers readers a unique perspective on how faith influences the act of worship. Historians of liturgy and theology will discover insights and important continuity between the Lutheran churches of the sixteenth century and their forebears of the late medieval period.