The Future of Theology By Robert Schmidt Wither theology? One looks in vain for a current Barth, Brunner, Tillich, or Niebuhr. Yes, there is Pannenberg, and John Douglas Hall is worth noting. Yet, when a presidential candidate accuses another of “bad theology,” one asks, “by what criteria?” Is it the Bible or is it politics choosing selected…
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By Robert Schmidt Ninety-four new congregations joined the Missouri Synod in 2003. Of these, sixty-two were made up of non-white ethnic groups. I have had the privilege of working with one of these new congregations. It started about five years ago among some dedicated Oromo people from central and southern Ethiopia. Seven immigrants met in…
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By Robert Schmidt The director of church relations of a local Concordia University was leading a Bible class at the church he was visiting. He was hoping that the congregation would put the university in their budget. In the Bible class he had the opportunity to talk about the university. He talked about their programs in education, management,…
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By Robert Schmidt The 46th Convention of the LCMS passed this resolution in 1965: “Resolved, That we affirm as Lutheran Christians that the Evangelical Lutheran Church is chiefly a confessional movement within the total body of Christ rather than a denomination emphasizing institutional barriers of separation.” In the intervening years that resolution has been challenged again and…
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The Babylonian Captivity of the Church By Robert Schmidt High sacramental doctrine should make men eager…to provide the sacraments for Christians, and to remove all hindrances which prevent men, anywhere, from using them; but we see those who most glorify the sacraments, glorifying them by external adornment and standing most stoutly for those very things…
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Submitted by Robert Schmidt FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES When Jon and Juni Nelson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, they amended their wedding vows with this caveat: “Whoever leaves the marriage first has to take all the children.” All 14 of them. The last time the Rev. Nelson, a longtime civil-rights and peace protester, was arrested, his…
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