I appreciate hearing from people. I cannot offer any details, except to say I exchange a lot of doctrinal views with people. The contacts are mostly email. Some are IM. A couple of people phone every so often.
I offer my opinions and satire to get people to study the Scriptures and the Confessions. Battles alert people to the issues. Otherwise we are listless and apathetic. The great Confessions have arisen during doctrinal crises, and so have our best hymns. The ecclesiastical corporations, in league with Thrivent, do not like that. But it must be God's will.
Here are some brief suggestions. I get used books from Alibris. Far better to have a few great books than tons of famous books.
The KJV is the gold standard of English translations.
For those who cannot take the KJV, some updates are fairly good, as long as people realize they are anti-Sacrament (Babtist customers). Grammar is no longer as precise, so the KJV should be the favored version for any citation.
I like the Concordia Triglotta because of its Historical Introductions. The Introductions should be read a little at a time, ignoring some of the excruciating details preserved for all posterity. The episodes like the Crypto-Calvinists should be studied. The Triglotta is the best translation.
I will talk about how to read the BOC on another post.
The Sermons of Luther should be read, studied, digested, read over again - before any other books. I have linked some on the left column. The sermon set from Grand Rapids is very cheap and in a good format.
The best authors are Chemnitz - any of his books.
Henry E. Jacobs - mostly out of print but very good. Krauth and Schmauk are from the same Muhlenberg tradition and worth owning.
Schmid - Doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. This was popular among all conservative Lutherans. The ALC and WELS pastors often owned a Schmid because one volume contained so many fine quotations from the age of orthodoxy. He also wrote the History of Pietism, NPH.
Lenski is the only commentary I would suggest, and Lenski is not universally handy for people. However, for a dedicated layman, Lenski is quite useful because he deals with the doctrinal issues. I believe he tried to straddle the UOJ issue, unsuccessfully.
The best Biblical commentary is the Book of Concord.
3 comments:
I wish more people would judge Ichabod on these posts than the others. They give a more birds-eye view into what the spirit of this blog is all about. I'm of an older generation and can appreciate the benefits of the tough love that is exhibited in the more polemic/satiric posts.
JK
JK,
I wish pastors I know would read this blog too rather than focus on the controversial sides that this blog has. They skim through this blog like judging the book by its cover.
People who are not welcoming to critical thinking and who are happy with just mimicking the herd will not appreciate this blog. Yet it is the one that does good service the most!
Pr GJ,
Please also pass my compliments to Norma. She is a fine artist, the sketches/drawings are superb and God honoring.
God bless,
LPC
I forwarded your comment, Lito. I know many read enough so they can complain, often erroneously. There have been some amusing examples of that. They contact people I know and complain to them - in the spirit of Matthew 18!
However, that does encourage more reading. The evidence is mounting that Changers are losing their grip on people because too many are informed enough to verify the facts.
Two things speak loudly:
1. Erasing material after I have linked or copied it. Usually I copy it for that very reason.
2. Refusing to acknowledge by name or link the person they are arguing against.
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