By Erik Herrmann The celebration of saints has a checkered history in the church: raucous festivals around martyrs’ graves, prayers to saints to escape various kinds of sufferings, fantastical stories of their lives, and even trust in their merits. The reformers in the sixteenth century were concerned about these abuses and how such focus on the saints could supplant preaching ..
The first of four sneak peeks into the main plenary presentations for the 2014 Theological Symposium (September 23-24)
No particular anniversary of Lucas Cranach is near on the horizon, but since Steven Ozment will soon be at the Seminary to lecture on “How Cranach Saved Luther,” it seemed appropriate to highlight a little more information on the famous Wittenberg painter of Luther portraits and … naked women … (separate paintings, of course). See ..
Yesterday was the anniversary of Johannes Bugenhagen’s sleep in the Lord … but yesterday was about waking, not sleeping (Christus resurrexit: vere resurrexit: Alleluia!). Still, Bugenhagen is worth remembering. Pastor at Wittenberg, he was, among other things, a brave soul. If you think preaching in seminary chapel is intimidating, imagine preaching with Luther sitting in ..
The third Reformation500 annual speaker series at Concordia Seminary will feature Steven Ozment, McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History at Harvard University. This year the Reformation500 event will be held on Friday afternoon, April 25 at 4:00 pm in Werner Auditorium on the campus of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Professor Ozment is well known to ..
A review of the Lego Movie as embodiment of Reformation theology…
As part of its efforts to commemorate the upcoming 500th anniversary of the Reformation (2017), Concordia Seminary has launched “Reformation500”–a website dedicated to providing reflection and resources on this “Copernican revolution” of church history. The website features an interactive timeline, biographies, upcoming events, and a variety of perspectives on the ongoing significance of the Reformation. ..
Those who try to follow the pulse of American Christianity would be familiar with the name Tullian Tchividjian (even if it takes a little practice to pronounce it correctly!). Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Tchividjian represents a growing trend in evangelicalism to engage a broad spectrum of orthodox Christian writers and theologians. On the ..
By Erik Hermann This second of Isaiah’s so-called Servant Songs continues the theme of Israel’s redemption. Like the exodus of old, God will gather his people out from under the hand of oppression and bring them back to himself. And as in the former days, this salvation will be accomplished through a chosen servant, a vessel and instrument ..
On the last day before Christmas break, campus chapel had a brief service of Lessons and Carols–a bit of proleptic Christmas joy in the midst of Advent repentance and expectation. The music was both solemn and celebratory and included bells, guitar, clarinet, violin, piano, percussion, upright bass, and organ. We cannot share the music here, but the outline of the service and the special collects written for the occasion are reproduced below–a Christmas gift to you, our readers
Yesterday, in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus, Dr. Erik Herrmann chanted the text of the passion account from the Gospel according to Mark. Erik’s description of his preparations are available here, in a previous post. The cantor is positioned in the balcony, out of sight of the worshippers. So we have provided ..
It is that time of year again–Plainsong Passion according to Mark
By Erik Herrmann My children love to listen to the songs of Justin Roberts (a virtual “rock star” of the kid music world)—years of minivan rides have engraved most of the lyrics onto my brain. One of his songs is based on the story of the “Three Little Pigs.” Actually, it is sort of a ..
What happens when we use the term “mercy” to describe our actions toward our neighbor or the church’s orientation to the world?
There was quite a little contingent from Concordia listening to Stanely Hauerwas at Fontbonne University this past Monday evening. The topic was on disability, and it brought some of his usual themes together in a provocative way
Last Friday, chapel was unusual; it took me off guard. First, I did not expect to sing Christmas hymns … in the middle of Lent. Yes, I have to admit that I wasn’t paying attention to the feast day calendar so I missed the liturgical memo on the Annunciation of our Lord. It was a welcome ..