Joel Biermann

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• 

  Wholly Citizens : God’s Two Realms And Christian Engagement With The World

  $39.00

  Introduction

  ?1. The Legacy Of Luther
  2. The Two Realms: Interpreters Of Luther, Faithful And Otherwise
  3. Two Realms For Today: Suitable And Wholly Relevant
  4. Applying The Teaching To The Church And Her Pastors
  5. Applying The Teaching To The Individual Christian Believers
  6. An Essay Grounded In The Two Realms: “Story Time In America”

  Bibliography
  Index

  Additional Info
  Wholly Citizens addresses the relation between the church and the world in light of the Reformation teaching of the two realms-especially as presented by Luther. Rather than exploring again the usual texts of Luther from the 1520’s, this book begins with a careful reading of Luther’s Commentary on Psalm 81 (1531), and then considers subsequent interpreters of Luther, both faithful and otherwise, and the dubious legacy they have left the church. The book argues that both the corporate church as well as individual believers are responsible for the world, and that each must speak directly about and to the world in meaningful ways. The final section of the book addresses the concrete situation facing believers in the early 21st century in light of faithful Reformation teaching about the two realms. Following this path leads to conclusions not entirely expected, including the forthright rejection of “a wall of separation” between church and state, and also a rebuke of the familiar clamor for the preservation of the rights of Christians and the church. Heedless of the status quo, Wholly Citizens offers an engaging and bracing picture of Christian life in today’s world-a picture framed in theological truth.

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• 

  Case For Character

  $32.00

  Contents:
  Introduction
  1. Virtue Ethics And The Challenge Of Hauerwas
  2. Contemporary Lutheran Voices
  3. The Lutheran Confessions
  4. The Search For A Paradigm-Some Lutheran Efforts
  5. A Creedal Framework-A Proposal For The Reclamation Of Ethics Within Lutheranism
  6. An Ethic For The Church-The Place Of Character Formation

  Additional Info
  Over the last several decades, perceptive observers of Western civilization have documented what virtually everyone has perceived: as the old foundations of society have toppled, morality and personal character have been set adrift and often vanished altogether. How can character be cultivated when it seems no one is willing or able to provide a definitive description of character to which humans should aspire?

  While the reasons for this are many and complicated, one of the more potent singular factors is actually theological, says Biermann. Contemporary Lutheranism, in particular, has struggled with the appropriate place of morality and character formation, as these pursuits often have been perceived as being at odds with the central Christian doctrine of justification.

  A Case for Character explores this problem and argues that Christian doctrine, specifically as articulated within a Lutheran framework, is altogether capable of encouraging a robust pursuit of character formation while maintaining a faithful expression of justification by grace alone through faith alone.

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