Forthcoming Book on the Lutheran Confessions by Rev. Dr. Martin Noland
Forthcoming Book on the Lutheran Confessions by Rev. Dr. Martin Noland
Ad Crucem Books commissions a unique analysis of the Book of Concord ahead of the quincentenary of the Augsburg Confession.
Lutherans look forward to the Augsburg Confession (AC) quincentenary in 2030, and Ad Crucem will celebrate the milestone with a new book by Rev. Dr. Martin Noland. The book will be a genuinely unique scholarly project that frames the AC in its most fulsome context as an anchor for the symbolical books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The book will be published on All Saints Day 2028 and available for special pre-order in late 2027. It will be available as a hard-cover, soft-cover, and e-book. The printed editions will be an estimated 320 pages, including a comprehensive index and accompanying illustrations.
Pr. Noland is a theologian and historian of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), and Ad Crucem Books is grateful to have won his trust and commitment to this long-term project.
Pr. Noland is presently the parish pastor for Grace Lutheran Church in San Mateo, California, with nearly three decades of service in the pulpit at various congregations and forty years in the ministry. His national-church administration service was as Director of Concordia Historical Institute from 2002-2008. He has been an Associate Editor of LOGIA: A Journal of Lutheran Theology from 1996 to the present. He served on the Board of Directors of The Luther Academy as an officer of the board from 1993 to 2008 (see www.lutheracademy.com). He is married and has three adult daughters. He was born in San Francisco and raised in San Jose, California.
Book Outline
The book will be a foundational resource for professional and lay students of the Lutheran Confessions and, more generally, Protestant apologetics. It will be an essential reader for anyone seeking to understand the Augsburg Confession and its relevance and consequences at the half-millennium milestone.
The provisional outline (copyright, 2024 Rev. Dr. Martin Noland) for the book is set out below the reproduction of the title page of the original Book of Concord, which is available to purchase from Ad Crucem as a poster:
INTRODUCTION
I. What I am trying to accomplish in this book
II. Who this book is for
III. Purposes of this book
IV. Outline
V. For the “modern” and the “post-modern” reader – how our presuppositions differ
WHAT ARE CREEDS AND CONFESSIONS
I. A general statement of a church’s theology and practice for a ruler or community – e.g., Augsburg Confession, Smalcald Articles, Large Catechism – “This is what we believe”
II. A general statement of an individual person’s theology and practice – e.g., Apostles’ Creed, Small Catechism – “This is what I believe”
III. A church’s agreement to settle divisive issues – e.g., Nicene Creed, Formula of Concord – “We have come to an agreement and settled the issues in this way“
IV. A statement of a church’s theology or practice on a particular issue – e.g., Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, Athanasian Creed - “We have come to an agreement and settled the issue in this way“
V. A defense of a previously issued confession or statement – e.g., Apology – “In response to our opponents, we hereby offer argumentation and proofs for our positions.”
ARE CREEDS AND CONFESSIONS MANDATED BY SCRIPTURE?
I. Explicit mandates in Scripture
II. Implicit mandates in Scripture
III. Examples in Scripture themselves
IV. The proper relation between Scriptures, Creeds, and Confessions
V. The idea and practice of confessional subscription
THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSAL CREEDS AND THE LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS
HISTORY OF THE APOSTLES’ CREED (2nd-8th cent.)
HISTORY OF THE NICENE CREED (325 & 381)
HISTORY OF THE ATHANASIAN CREED (5th-6th cent.)
THE SECOND COUNCIL OF ORANGE (529)
OTHER DOCTRINAL DECISIONS OF THE GENERAL COUNCILS OF THE FIRST SEVEN CENTURIES
LUTHER’S SMALL CATECHISM (1529)
LUTHER’S LARGE CATECHISM (1529)
THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION (1530)
THE APOLOGY OF THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION (1531)
THE SMALCALD ARTICLES (1537)
THE POWER AND PRIMACY OF THE POPE (1537)
THE FORMULA OF CONCORD – EPITOME AND SOLID DECLARATION (1577)
THE PREFACE OF THE BOOK OF CONCORD (1580)
APPENDICES TO THE BOOK OF CONCORD (1580)
I. Catalog of Testimonies
II. Christian Visitation Articles
III. Booklets of Marriage and Baptism
IV. Signatures of Theologians and Pastors
THE BASIC PRESUPPOSITIONS OF THE LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS
I. The canonical Scriptures are infallible and inerrant.
II. The New Testament is perennially applicable, both in doctrine and practice, until Jesus returns.
III. The Old Testament is historically true and a reliable account of human origins and the Jewish people, with applicability in the matter of the estate of the family, in ethics, and in morals, but it has no direct applicability in the matter of specifically Jewish ceremonial or civil laws. Its primary use for Christians is the prophecies of the Christ, while the Book to the Hebrews explains its secondary uses.
IV. Our theology and practice are generally in congruence with the “universal Christian church,” i.e., most of the doctrines and practices of the early church up until the division of the church into East and West.
V. For the doctrines and practices of the early church which were contrary to Scripture, we respect those church fathers for their faithful confession (and sometimes martyrdom) but reject their non-Scriptural errors.
VI. We like the most orthodox fathers of the early church and quote them frequently, especially Augustine of Hippo, but we always subordinate their ideas to Scripture. You may see which fathers we prefer by looking at the “Catalog of Testimonies.”
VII. We are particularly suspicious of post-apostolic innovations, e.g., Gregory the Great’s endorsement of the idea of purgatory; the early church and medieval penitential system; the Egyptian innovation of monasticism; and the gradual development of the Roman papacy in the Western church.
THE PRIMARY DOCTRINES OF THE LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS
I. The Bible
II. The Law and the Gospel
III. God and the Trinity
IV. Creation and Preservation
V. The Fall of Man and Woman
VI. Jesus Christ – His Person
VII. Jesus Christ – His Work
VIII. Justification by Faith Alone without the Works of the Law
IX. Holy Spirit – His Work
X. The Church
XI. The Pastors
XII. Repentance and Conversion
XIII. Baptism
XIV. The Lord’s Supper
XV. The Office of the Keys
XVI. Good Works, Restraint of Sin, and Vocation
XVII. Church and State and Family – the Three Estates of Authority
XVIII. Church, Society, and Social Issues
XIX. Predestination and the Election of Grace
XX. The Return of Christ, the Judgment, and Eternal Life
THE PRIMARY ERRORS OF OTHER CHURCH BODIES
I. Method of criticism used here is based on a comparison of official confessions where those are available
II. Pre-Chalcedonian Churches
III. Non-Chalcedonian Churches
IV. Eastern Orthodox Churches
V. The Roman Catholic Church
VI. Hussite and Moravian Churches
VII. Anglican and Episcopal Churches
VIII. Anabaptist and Mennonite Churches
IX. Reformed and Presbyterian Churches
X. Baptist Churches
XI. Methodist and Wesleyan Churches
XII. Restorationist Churches
XIII. Holiness and Pentecostal Churches
XIV. Unitarian Churches
XV. Liberal Protestant Churches
XVI. Evangelical and Fundamentalist Churches
THE PRIMARY ERRORS OF NEO-LUTHERAN CHURCHES
I. Rejection of the authority of Scripture
II. Rejection of the authority of the Lutheran Confessions
III. Infusion of political influences into the European Lutheran State Churches
IV. Infusion of social issues in the Lutheran churches in North America
V. Ecumenical myopia and loss of purpose for the churches
CONFESSIONAL LUTHERAN CHURCHES TODAY
I. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
II. The Wisconsin Synod
III. The Evangelical Lutheran Synod
IV. Smaller synods in the USA
V. Canadian synods
VI. English synods
VII. Australian synods
VIII. The international scope of confessional Lutheranism today
HISTORIC AND CONTEMPORARY CONTROVERSIES OVER DOCTRINES IN THE BOOK OF CONCORD IN THE LUTHERAN CHURCHES IN NORTH AMERICA
I. The Controversy over Church and Ministry between the Buffalo and Missouri Synods (1840-1851)
II. The Definite Synodical Platform Controversy in the General Synod (1855-1867)
III. The Four Points Controversy in the General Council (1867-1896)
IV. The Election Controversy in the Synodical Conference (1870-1882)
V. The Scriptural Authority Controversy in the Missouri Synod (1958-1977)
VI. The LGBTQ+ and Identity-Politics Agendas in the ELCA (1991-present)