Books published by Augsburg Fortress Publishers

In his counseling work, Harold Ivan Smith has heard all the questions - even the most obscure, personal, and difficult ones - that occur to grievers as they process their loss. Here he compiles more than 150 common questions, explores the emotions behind them, and provides clear and forthright responses. Whether readers find the answers they seek, new perspectives to ponder, or comfort from knowing that others ask similar questions, this valuable resource will guide individuals who are in the midst of grief and those who wish to provide comfort.

The loss of a baby is one of the most acute losses a person can experience. In this helpful book, Louis A. Gamino and Ann Taylor Cooney address both miscarriage and stillbirth and the grief implications of each. They offer comfort to mothers, fathers, and families who must find ways to recognize their bond with the child who died and then move forward with their lives.

The death of a spouse can create emotional, spiritual, and financial chaos for the one left behind. It is a journey through grief no one wishes to make. In this helpful volume, Mildred Tengbom addresses the emotions and difficulties widows and widowers face as they look ahead to life without their spouses. She offers comfort and hope for the days and weeks following the death of a spouse.

At the heart of each relationship, says McGinnis, is the friendship factor-the essential ingredient of warmth and caring. With captivating case histories and anecdotes about such famous people as George Burns, Howard Hughes, and C. S. Lewis, McGinnis shares the secret of how to love and be loved. The first edition of The Friendship Factor, published in 1979, has sold more than 350,000 copies.

This book is devoted both to the problem of Paul''s view of the law as a whole, and to his thought about and relation to his fellow Jews. Building upon his previous study, the critically acclaimed Paul and Palestinian Judaism, E.P. Sanders explores Paul''s Jewishness by concentrating on his overall relationship to Jewish tradition and thought. Sanders addresses such topics as Paul''s use of scripture, the degree to which he was a practicing Jew during his career as apostle to the Gentiles, and his thoughts about his "kin by race" who did not accept Jesus as the messiah. In short, Paul''s thoughts about the law and his own people are re-examined with new awareness and great care.Sanders addresses an important chapter in the history of the emergence of Christianity. Paul''s role in that development -- specially in light of Galatians and Romans -- is now re-evaluated in a major way. This book is in fact a significant contribution to the study of the emergent normative self-definition in Judaism and Christianity during the first centuries of the common era.

A concise commentary, highly useful as an accompaniment to the reading of the Augsburg Confession itself. All who are interested in the doctrinal traditions of the Lutheran Church can find here the means to increase their theological and historical understanding of the text.The theological perspective of the Augsburg Confession is made clear by comparisons with the writings of Luther and other Reformers, as well as with other main streams of the Christian tradition.Included for each article of the confession are the English translation of the text, notes on the text, and theological and historical commentary on the meaning of the article. Also included are an extensive introduction to the writing of the confession, footnotes, a selected bibliography, and an index.In its Danish, Swedish, and German editions this commentary has become a indispensable introduction to this classic confession of the Lutheran Reformation.Here is a source of fresh insight into the meaning of the Augsburg Confession -- and guidance into the meaning of the gospel for today.

Creation and Fall originated in lectures given by Dietrich Bonhoeffer at the University of Berlin in the winter semester of 1932--33 during the demise of the Weimar Republic and the birth of the Third Reich. In the course of these events, Bonhoeffer called his students to focus on the word of God the word of truth in a time of turmoil.

This is a comprehensive and systematic survey of Martin Luther's entire thought by an internationally recognized authority in the field of Reformation research. The main theological questions which engaged the Reformer's attention are set forth in clear and simple fashion, along with a host of quotations from this own writings to illumine the presentation. Scholars and laypersons alike will appreciate the more than a thousand instances in which the author allows Luther to speak forcefully and directly for himself.

In Paul's epistles the crucifixion story reveals a God who is free and in no way bound by human categories or expectations. Yet God in Christ chooses to be engaged in the very depths of the human predicament. The message of the crucifixion is that God's power is manifested in weakness, not in strength. The author believes that this "weakness as strength" should be the focal point of the church's identity. However, a celebration of weakness is in complete opposition to traditional American beliefs in personal strength and a powerful church."Ernst Ksemann ... has written on the theme [of the cross] most poignantly and penetratingly. Because the cross is endlessly relentless in its claim and restless in its critical voice, however, even Ksemann's rendering is not final."Cousar's book demonstrates that we can and must move beyond even Ksemann in our own obedient act of understanding and response to the cross. ... Cousar's careful adn acute exposition shows effectively that the cross cannot be contained in such a single category, but functions as a norm and singular definitional voice on a broad range of theological, interpretive, and ethical issues."from the Editor's Foreword, by Walter Brueggemann

This book is a collection of texts designed to illustrate the development of Christian thought about the person of Christ in the era of the church fathers. The earliest text translated comes from the latter half of the second century, when the ideas and problems which were to dominate christological thought in this period were first crystallized. The latest is the well-known 'Definition of the Faith' of the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451), which has generally been accepted as defining the limits of christological orthodoxy.

Final volume in Wink's Powers trilogy. Expanding upon his hypothesis that the "principalities and powers" of the New Testament are the social systems that sustain life and maintain order, Wink says that subversion of the powers resulted in the Domination System--male supremacy, economic oppression, class distinction, and racism--which Jesus intended to replace.

James Fowler's work as the originator of faith development research -- his use of the theories of Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson for theology -- has been widely acclaimed for its profound impact on the field of religious education, and for its promise for other fields.

Bakke paints a fascinating picture of children's first real emergence as people against a backdrop of the ancient world. Using theological and social history research, Bakke compares Greco-Roman and Christian attitudes toward abortion and child prostitution, pedagogy and moral upbringing, and the involvement of children in liturgy and church life. He also assesses Christian attitudes toward children in the church's developing doctrinal commitments. Today, growing numbers of children are impoverished, exploited, abandoned, orphaned, or killed. Bakke's insightful work begins to untangle the roots of their complex plight.

This title is the second of an occasional series of guides to key Reformation treatises by Martin Luther. Aimed at increasing understanding and interest among contemporary readers, these slim, affordable volumes features new translations and a range of helpful features to make them ideal for classroom use.

In this important new volume, Arand, Kolb, and Nestingen bring the fruit of an entire generation of scholarship to bear on these documents, making it an essential and up-to-date class text. The Lutheran Confessions places the documents solidly within their political, social, ecclesiastical and theological contexts, relating them to the world in which they took place. Though the book is not a theology of the Confessions, readers will clearly understand the issues at stake in the narratives, both in their own time, and in ours.