Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #327765 in Books
• Published on: 1999-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 127 pages

Customer Reviews

now what?
I was raised in a Lutheran church & school but now work at a non-denominational church. This very good book forced me to ask questions not only about my personal beliefs, but about the state of the Lutheran church today. No doubt this book will be hailed as genius by Lutheran's everywhere as Veith does a very good job at pointing out that Lutherans have it theologically right. Even after going to hear Veith speak I found myself amused at the notion that here was another Lutheran being 'right' talking to a bunch of other Lutherans about how right they were. I actualy agree with almost everything he says. My question for him is 'ok, now what?' Cause if all we're going to do is go to a potluck afterwards and sit around patting each other on the back about how 'right' we are, are we really living out the great commission? That being said, his chapter on vocation is phenomenal. All Christians should read this book.

Easy to understand

Written by a lay person who frames the Lutheran theology and how it applies to our existence and our spirituality in an easy to understand manner.

Explains the unique viewpoint of Confessional Lutherans
Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a professor of English at Concordia University (Mequon, Wisconsin) and Culture Editor at World Magazine. He is also a man who has had a rough go at finding an adequate Christian denomination. During his earlier years, he had been involved with American Evangelical church bodies, Liberal Protestant church bodies, and others...but finally became a faithful member of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. Veith writes this book in part to reflect on his own spiritual journey--to record what most attracted him to Lutheranism. He writes in part to explain what makes Lutheranism unique among the various Christian denominations. He writes in part to members of other Christian denominations because he thinks they can learn a lot from the Lutheran take on various spiritual/doctrinal/practical matters.

The end result, "The Spirituality of the Cross," is an excellent book that summarizes the unique theological outlook championed by confessional Lutheran Christians. This book does not deal with basic points of Christian doctrine (e.g. the Trinity, Christology), but rather deals with aspects of theology in which Lutherans neither "side" with Roman Catholics nor Eastern Orthodox nor Baptists/non-Denominationals nor liberal Episcopalians/Presbyterians/Methodists nor five-point Calvinists. These topics include:

Justification (neither free will nor predestination yet still faith alone by grace alone);

The Means of Grace (how God gives his gracious gift of saving faith to a person--through deceptively ordinary means);

The Theology of the Cross (more about how God showers the richest blessings on his people through deceptively ordinary means; why the cross is central to a Lutheran understanding of God; why Lutherans don't buy into the idea that great faith leads to earthly wealth; why bad things happen to people)

Vocation (why Lutheran pastors say, "I forgive you of all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit;" why a garbage man is just as honored and esteemed as a pastor or a CEO just as honored and esteemed as a housewife; how one should go about his calling/career; the Christian ideal of mutual dependence)

Living in Two Kingdoms (how a Christian is to balance the facts that he is a forgiven child of God with heavenly citizenship while living in a sinful world; why Christians can be proud of their vocation as judge, soldier, or public executioner)

Worship (that a Christian is served by God in worship, not vice versa; why we use the objective, emotionless historic liturgy instead of emotional, ever-changing praise-band forms of worship).

The book ends with a reprint from an article Veith wrote for Touchstone Magazine that introduces Lutheranism (60 million strong worldwide) to Catholic/Orthodox and Protestant readers.

In all, Veith does an excellent job of identifying some of the idiosyncrasies of the Lutheran understanding of the Christian faith, fully explains them (both theory and anecdotes), and explains the many merits of the view. This is my third time reading this book and Veith is more insightful every time he is read. Highly recommended to Lutherans as well as Catholics, Orthodox, Baptists, Presbyterians, etc., etc., etc.