Gnther Gassmann and Scott Hendrix, The Lutheran Confessions. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999.xiiiand226pages.$24.00.

It is now more than twenty years since the publication of Lutheranism: The Theological Movement and Its Confessional Writings, byEric Gritsch and Robert Jenson. This volume can supplement, and perhaps supplant, that volume. Both volumes grew out of teamteaching the courseontheLutheranconfessionsatTheLutheranTheologicalSeminaryinGettysburg.

Thisisavolumedesignedforusebystudents.Becausethetwoauthorsdivideduptheterritory thereisabitofrepetitioninthematerial,butifrepititioestmaterstudiorum,thenthatisactually an asset. Church Historian Scott Hendrix wrote Chapters 1 and 2 (the historical introduction), half of Chapter 4 on the Structure of the Faith, and Chapter 6 on The Christian Life. Systematic Theologian Gnther Gassmann wrote Chapter 3 on the texts of the Lutheran Confessions,thesecondhalfofChapter4,Chapter5onthechurch,andChapter7ontheplaceof the Lutheran Confessions in contemporaryLutheranchurches.Thedividedresponsibilitieswork well. The same high quality of introduction, instruction, and insight is present throughout the volume.

Theformatmakesthisvolumeidealforteachingpurposes.Therearequestionsfordiscussionand further study at the end of each chapter. There are convenient theological summaries of the contentinthetheologicalchapters,followingexplicatorynotesthatintroducetheactualtextsin the confessions. There is a map of central Europe, which should at least nudge students to examinehistoricalatlases.Thereisahelpfulchronologicaltable.Thereisanexcellentglossaryof personsandconceptstosupplementtheindex.Finally,thereisamodestbuthelpfulbibliography

that identifies resources in both German and English. This reminds us again ofthemultilingual and multicultural character of the continental reform movement from its origins to the present day. The bibliography is due not only to the fact that Hendrix is American and Gassmann is German.Itisduetothefactthat,liketheRomanCatholicortheOrthodox,Lutheranclergyneed to know another language (in this caseGerman)inordertotakeoptimalresponsibilityfortheir tradition.

th The bibliography is excellent, but I did miss some important volumes from the 20 century's

attentiontotheLutheranconfessions.WernerElertstwovolumeMorphologiedesLuthertums, and especially the flawed but useful English translation of the first volume, The Structure of Lutheranism, should not be omitted from any bibliography. Theodor Mahlmanns Das neue DogmaderLutherischenChristologieisespeciallyhelpfulforexplicatingthedevelopmentsinthe FormulaofConcordsChristologicalarticles.TherewasnomentionofAlbrechtPetersthorough multivolume work on Martin Luthers catechisms, nor the English translation of Herbert Girgensohns twovolume Teaching Luther's Catechism, still an excellent resourceforstudents. Peter Manns 1983 biography, Martin Luther, remains one of the best English language treatments of the reformer, and because it is written by someone whocomesoutoftheRoman Catholic tradition, it illuminates Luthers catholic roots and their lifelong impact on his theology as no other biography does. Missing too are Friedrich Brunstds Theologie der Lutherischen Bekenntnisschriften and the late KarlHeinz Ratschow's two volume Lutherische Dogmatik zwischen Reformation und Aufklrung, especially because both contribute much to identifyingthefailureoftheFormulaoftheConcordtoexploitLuther'srevolutionaryinsightsin the Christological and Trinitarian dogmas. And surely Charles Andersons Augsburg Historical

AtlasofChristianityintheMiddleAgesandReformationneedstobecalledtotheattentionof students.

SincetheBookofConcordisacollectionofdocumentswhichincludesthecatholiccreedsaswell
th as seven documents from the 16 century, some way must be found to organize the repetitive

material.HereGassmannandHendrixhavesucceededsuperbly.Chapter4onTheStructureof theFaithattendstothescripturalandconfessionalnormsforLutheranteaching,thedistinction betweenlawandgospelwhichisdeterminativefortheuseofthosenorms,thewaytheLutheran reformers received and confessed the Christological and Trinitarian dogmas from the ancient church, and the center of reformation theology: justification by faith. Chapter 5 addresses the mostcontroversialconsequencesofthereformmovement:ecclesiologyandsacraments.Chapter 6dealswithTheChristianLife,andtakesupthetopicsofsin,goodworks,andthetworeigns ofGod.

Therearemanyissuesworthyofcomment.SpacerequiresthatIlimitmyselftothree.

First, Gassmann addresses, as everyone must, the fact that Philip Melanchthon confesses the Trinity and Christology in formulations inherited from the ancient church. Martin Chemnitz creativelyadaptedtheChristologicaldogmaforattentiontoLutheranism'sconflictwithCalvinism intheFormulaofConcord.ButLutheraloneoffersimpulsesforthewayinwhichthesedogmatic formulations can be understood as necessary for the proclamation of the gospel. Because the inheritedformulationsaremostoftentaughtandlearnedasintellectualconundrums(threeinone, divineandhuman),onlyLuthersapproachcansavethemfromeitherheteronymousimposition,

or,whenthepoweroftheenforcingauthoritybreaksdown,outrightrejection.Gassmannfollows Robert Jenson (and many other German and American theologians) in exploiting Luthers evangelicalpointofdeparture(touseElertsphrase)inhisChristologyfrombelow.

Second,Gassmannsverycompetenttreatmentoftheecclesiologyoftheconfessionsrevealsonce again the inner tension of the reform movement between its catholic and protestant dimensions. Gassmanns excellent description of the catholic reform of the sacraments is matched by the necessities imposed on the reform movement to develop ad hoc ecclesiological structuresinthefaceofresistanceonthepartoftheGermanbishops.WhatGassmannneglectsis attention to how this development has plagued Lutheranism throughout the centuries (1) in the developmentofmultiplemigrchurchesintheAmericas(resulting,e.g.,indozensofLutheran
th churches in 19 century USA), (2) in the essentially private rather than churchly character of

evangelization and church planting efforts in Asia and Africa (resulting, e.g., in 10 separate Lutheran churches in India), and (3) in the ecclesiological weakness of the Lutheran World Federation(whichonlyin1990byresolutiondeclaredthememberchurchesoftheLWFtobein communion with each other, and which is now struggling to find structures to express that communion). Lutherans reacted defensively when the Vatican called attention to Lutheranisms ecclesiological weaknesses but itdoesnothelpustoignorethem,asGassmannseemstodoin hisotherwiseexcellentecclesiologicalwork.

Finally,thisbookrevealsagainhowdurabletheLutheranconfessionsare.Whencomparedwith
th the theological work of other traditions in the 16 century (The Council of Trent, the many

Reformed confessions, the Anglican Thirty Nine Articles of Religion), the Lutheran confessions

have worn well as Western culture has passed from the premodern religious culture which
th obtainedinthe16 century,throughthemodernessentiallysecularcultureoftheEnlightenment,

topostmodernismanditslossofaculturalgrandnarrative.Lutheranismsdistinctionbetween lawandgospelisthekey,asHendrixandGassmanndemonstrateinthetheologicaldimension ofthisvolume.Thisdistinctionasexpressedintheteachingandpowerofjustificationbyfaithstill uncovers the deepest levels ofthehumanpredicament(sinasmisdirectedtrust)andthehuman potential(thefreedomgivenbythedivinejustificationofexistence).Thisdistinctionsaves(orcan save) Christians from both biblical and doctrinal fundamentalism. This distinction can prevent Christiansfromeitherabandoningtheessentialcommunalandsacramentalcharacterofthegospel orcalcifyingitinrigidtraditionalism.

We need to release the power of the Lutheran confessions in and for another generation of students,laity,andleadershipintheELCA.Thisvolumecandoagoodjoboffacilitatingthat.

WalterR.Bouman EdwardC.FendtProfessorEmeritusofSystematicTheology TrinityLutheranSeminary Columbus,Ohio ScholarinResidence LutheranTheologicalSeminary Gettysburg,Pennsylvania