Doth Protest

Seminex: A Discussion with Dr. Erik Herrmann

"With any kind of history, there's a lot of empathy that has to be involved. You have to try to understand that there are objective issues but there's also the subjective: why people get caught up in this sort of thing, and any good history tries to deal with both."
This was a statement from our guest Erik Herrmann on this episode about the controversy that shook Concordia Seminary in St. Louis several decades ago that culminated in a walk-out of faculty and students. This is still a sensitive topic for faithful Lutheran Christians in the United States from different Lutheran denominations, and we pray for the day that Christ's Church may be united in confession, truth, and love. While we could not nearly get to every aspect of the Seminex story in this one episode, we do point you to the following resources (several which we discuss in the episode):
The video recordings of the entire course that Dr. Herrmann taught (along with his colleague Dr. Gerhard Bode) on Seminex "Controversy in the LCMS" can be accessed here: https://scholar.csl.edu/controversylcms/
The article that Andrew referenced by Robert Benne near the beginning of the episode:
https://www.firstthings.com/article/2011/05/the-trials-of-american-lutheranism
Frederick Danker's book No Room in the Brotherhood
*This book is from the perspective of a student involved in the walkout who later went on to be a New Testament scholar and professor in the ELCA.
Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/No-room-brotherhood-Preus-Otten-Missouri/dp/091564410X?scrlybrkr=c3bf1423
Paul Zimmermann's book A Seminary in Crisis: The Inside Story of the Preus Fact Finding Committee
*This was written by chair of the committee that went to Concordia Seminary to interview the faculty.
Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/Seminary-Crisis-Inside-Finding-Committee/dp/0758611021
James Burkee's book Power, Politics, and the Missouri-Synod: A Conflict That Changed American Christianity
*This book is discussed at length in the episode and focuses on the role Herman Otten played in the events leading up to Seminex
Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Politics-Missouri-Synod-Burkee/dp/1451465386/ref=sr_1_1?crid=AEDQQFTMPAYT&keywords=james+burkee+missouri+synod&qid=1668473964&s=books&sprefix=james+burkee+missouri+synod%2Cstripbooks%2C109&sr=1-1
A primary source: Exodus from Concordia: A Report on the 1974 Walkout
* The official report put out by the seminary in book form
Available digitized for free at: https://archive.org/details/ConcordiaSemBdOfControlWalkoutOf1974
James E. Adams' book Preus of Missouri and the Great Lutheran Civil War*Biography of the president of the Missouri Synod at the time of Seminex and how he dealt with the issue
Available at: https://www.amazon.com/Preus-Missouri-great-Lutheran-civil/dp/0060600713
John Tietjen's book Memoirs in Exile: Confessional Hope and Institutional Conflict
*Book written by the president of Concordia Seminary at the time of Seminex
Available digitized for free at: https://archive.org/details/memoirsinexileco0000tiet
The early article from Martin Scharlemann on Scriptural inerrancy that Charlie referred to can be read here:
https://archive.org/details/ScharlemannMTheInerrancyOfScripture/page/n23/mode/2up
A related article on this topic written by the Concordia theology professor Arthur Carl Piepkorn (mentioned by Andrew) can be found here: https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm/vol36/iss1/48/

Our Favorite Hymns Part 3

The title for the episode comes from our discussion on Charlie's hymn today. Andrew, James, and Charlie gather to go further down the list of their favorite hymns (or further up?). We did just two today as James and Andrew shared one. Stephen was unfortunately unable to join us but will be back with a double feature on the next part of this series.
Andrew made a reference to Jack Kilcrease's recent book Justification by the Word: Restoring Sola Fide in connection to Charlie's hymn. This book aims to restore the true Protestant sense of 'the faith' where we find our certainty rather than 'my faith'- the latter which has become so characteristic (and sometimes toxic) in later forms of Protestantism especially in pietism and North American revivalism/Great Awakening (and as James and Andrew get into, also takes form in mainline Protestantism and modern Catholicism).
We give special thanks to Aaron Shows for providing all the music for this episode.
Without trying to give spoilers, here are two links to versions/renditions of Andrew and James' hymn that they enjoy. (Give them a listen after you listen to the episode).
James' favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reGoqWBs30o
Andrew's favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsVnvN3EVxY

Known and Loved: David Zahl and Low Anthropology

"an antidote to all the self-help nonsense that weighs down our bookshelves and our self-regard" -These words from Nadia Bolz-Weber are about David Zahl's new book Low Anthropology: The Unlikely Key to a Gracious View of Others (and Yourself). 
David Zahl joins Andrew, Stephen, and James on this episode of Doth Protest Too Much for a great discussion about where our true hope lies: not in the illusion that people are "infinitely improvable", which Zahl argues only leads to despair, burnout, and the feeling of "not enoughness", but in an acknowledgement of a low anthropology (which we define and discuss at length on the podcast). We also have fun discussion about David’s favorite member from a certain band, his favorite Funko Pop figure that he owns, and more... *Andrew apologizes for his mic. He tried out a new set of headphones for this episode and apparently the mic isn't that great.* 
David Zahl is the founder and editor of Mockingbird Ministries, and the editor-in-chief of the Mockingbird website. He is based in Charlotesville, NC and has served since 2010 as the College and Adult Education Minister and Lay Preacher at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, NC. He is the author of numerous books including A Mess of Help: The Crucified Soul of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion (And What to do about it),  Law and Gospel: A Theology for Sinners (and Saints), and his latest book which we will be discussing today Low Anthopology: The Unlikely Key to a Gracious View of Others published this year through Brazos Press. 
Shownotes: 
*the word 'kiss' when referring to the band KISS, does not stand for Kids in Satan's Service, neither does it stand (as Andrew joked) for Keep it Simple and Stupid (although that is an acronym Andrew remembers from his military days). 
Dave's podcast on music 'Well of Sound' that he co-hosts can be found here.

You Are Forgiven for Jesus Christ’s Sake: A Conversation with Mark Mattes

Notable Luther scholar and theologian Dr. Mark Mattes joins DPTM hosts Stephen Burnett and Rev. James Rickenbaker in this episode to discuss the importance of God's forgiveness and righteousness given to us by His efficacious Word. Dr. Mattes is Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa, and has served congregations as a pastor in Illinois and Wisconsin. He has authored many books and journal articles on Martin Luther and Lutheranism. Some of the titles of these works include Martin Luther’s Theology of Beauty: A Reappraisal and Law & Gospel in Action: Foundations, Ethics, and Church. In this episode, we discuss Luther, Law & Gospel, the contemporary Luther scholarship of Gerhard Forde and Oswald Bayer, as well as spending time to get to know Dr. Mattes and what led to his interests.
Shownotes:
Mark’s article “Preaching to C and E Christians” from 1517 can be read here:
https://www.1517.org/articles/preaching-to-c-e-christians
The works referred to in this episode are:
C.F.W Walther’s The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel-public domain available at https://lutherantheology.com/uploads/works/walther/LG/
Martin Luther's commentary/exposition on the Magnificat
-found in Luther's Works, Volume 21
https://www.cph.org/p-627-Luthers-Works-Volume-21-Sermon-on-the-Mount-and-the-Magnificat.aspx
Martin Luther's Treatise on Good Works-the Annotated Study Edition of this is available at https://www.amazon.com/Treatise-Good-Works-1520-Annotated/dp/1506413536?scrlybrkr=c3bf1423
Gerhard Forde's On Being a Theologian of the Cross
-https://www.amazon.com/Being-Theologian-Cross-Reflections-Disputation/dp/080284345X
Roland Bainton’s biography of Luther, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther
-https://www.christianbook.com/here-stand-life-of-martin-luther/roland-bainton/9780452011465/pd/011469

We Need to be Rescued: Rev. Kyle Tomlin from ”God and Comics”

Rev. Kyle Tomlin joins the podcast to discuss his longtime interests in comic books and superheroes. We discuss Spiderman, Green Lantern, Deadpool, Batman, Superman, the Watchmen, the Boys, and more. Andrew is a bit less seasoned in the comic book universe, so James and Kyle really carried the conversation today. But importantly, we explore what messaging may people be internalizing from comics and superheroes as well as wider pop culture, and ponder what the Gospel of grace in Christ can offer to a culture that is, as Kyle believes, hungry to be rescued.
Kyle hosts a podcast called "God and Comics" along with Rev's Matt Stromberg and Jonathan Mitchican. He is the rector of Church of the Messiah, Episcopal in Fredericksburg, VA. He is an Anglican with a Christ-centered, Reformationally-rooted theology.
Check out God and Comics at www.godandcomics.com and their podcast at anchor.fm/godandcomics

Conscience Over Councils: A Discussion with River Devereux

River Devereux joins Andrew on this episode of 'Doth Protest' for a helpful conversation about the Reformational understanding of Scripture's authority in relation to Creeds and Councils. River's recent work in the North American Anglican has generated great conversation and some controversy surrounding this topic. River's argument is: "our entire theological system necessitates the validity of private judgement" (from his article "To Follow One's Conscience: A Defense of True Protestantism"), and that church councils cannot claim to bind our conscience. This does not equate to, River says, a type of anarchic individualism nor does it, importantly, subject Scripture to our own reason (as we see in the case of the Enlightenment). 
Here are links to the River's articles that we mentioned:
"To Follow One's Conscience: A Defense of True Protestantism"
"To Reject a Council: An Essay on Scripture, the Church, and the Believer"
"Reformation Anglicanism and Nicaea II"
This is a link to River's YouTube channel New Kingdom Media: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc9i77qgn4y1yTat-LgjLMg
Additional show notes from Andrew (Disclaimer: the authors of these may or may not be in agreement with every point we made in the episode):
"The Authority of Scripture" by Jack Kilcrease
Heiko A. Oberman's book Dawn of the Reformation

A Damnable Statement About God: Justin Holcomb on What Heresy is and Why Humility Matters

What is heresy? Can it be understood sympathetically without condoning it? James and Stephen of 'Doth Protest' had a great discussion with Justin Holcomb on this topic. You are in for a fascinating and uplifting discussion. Justin is an Episcopal priest and has served as the Canon for Vocations in the Diocese of Central Florida since 2013. He teaches theology and apologetics at Reformed Theological Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. You can visit Justin's website at justinholcomb.com
SHOWNOTES:
Justin’s article “Why You Shouldn’t Call that False Teaching a Heresy?”
Justin’s new devotional: God with Us: 365 Devotions on the Person and Work of Christ
Justin and Lindsey Holcomb’s new children’s’ book: God Made Babies
We also referenced Michael Horton's book Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church

Our Favorite Hymns (Part #2)

We go further down the list of our favorite hymns in this second of a five part series on sacred music.
We give a huge thanks and shout out to Aaron Shows, James's brother-in-law, who played segments of all of the hymns we discuss on organ or piano. Please do not kill Andrew for mispronouncing your name today! We featured Aaron's music on the episode as we introduced each one. Aaron is a film-composer and also serves as the organist for First United Methodist Church of Pasadena, CA. Listen in to hear what hymns we picked (we give the writing credits on the episode audio).
Without giving too many spoilers, here are some show notes:
James referred to the book Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund when he was discussing the theology of his hymn.
Charlie mentioned to hymn 604 out of Lutheran Service Book as a superior version of a hymn (that isn't on any of our lists but it disliked by two of our hosts). He also mentioned hymn 539 out of the same hymnal as his favorite tune setting to his hymn that he discusses.
Here is a link to the German hymn writer Andrew referred to who lived during the 30 Years War.
Charlie mentioned the hymn scholar Jon Vieker out of Concordia Seminary who has written about Catherine Winkworth (who we mentioned on the show). Andrew was unable to find anything exclusively on Catherine Winkworth from him. However, his faculty bio page is here
*We also recommend you search him on https://scholar.csl.edu/

Interpreters from our Past: Stephen Chester on the History of Pauline Interpretation

"For a scholarly generation, students of Paul have confidently treated the sixteenth-century Reformers as Paul's 'misinterpreters-in-chief.' Now Stephen Chester's patient and learned treatment of the Reformers' Pauline exegesis exposes both their thoughtfulness and their potential as wise conversation partners in the present. This is a major contribution to Pauline study." 
These were New Testament scholar Beverly Gaventa's words of praise for Stephen J. Chester's book Reading Paul with the Reformers: Reconciling Old and New Perspectives. James and Andrew were honored to have Stephen Chester on the podcast in this episode to discuss his work and share valuable insights in how we can appreciate interpreters who have gone before us. Tune in for a great discussion. 

The Evangelicals of Anglicanism (with Rev. Zac Neubauer of EFAC)

Zac Neubauer, President of Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion-USA, joins the podcast again, this time with Andrew and James to talk about some of the leading Evangelicals from Anglicanism's recent past including Charles Simeon, Charles McIlvaine, and John Stott. We also catch up about EFAC-USA in recent years. 
Zac has been president of EFAC-USA since 2018. He earned his M. Div from Trinity School for Ministry in 2017 and serves as Priest-in-Charge at St. Clement's Episcopal Church in Rancho Cordova, CA. 
Shownotes
*Zac mentioned the following resources in this episode that are good further reading for history of Evangelicalism in the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion:
(Book) Standing in the Whirlwind: Evangelical Episcopalians in Nineteenth-Century America by Diana Butler Bass
(Essay) "The Strange Death of Evangelical Episcopalianism" by Gillis Harp in Anglican and Episcopal History, Vol. 74, No. 2 p. 180-206
*Andrew mentioned the book Christ in Conflict by John Stott.
Additionally, we recommend the following books about Charles Simeon:
Charles Simeon by HCG Moule (Methuen, 1892- now published by Christian Focus Publications)
Charles Simeon of Cambridge by Hugh Evan Hopkins (Hodder, 1977- now published by Wipf & Stock, USA)