David J. Monge

Life-Changing Faith for Today: Why Luther’s Theology Still Matters by David J. Monge. Epiphany library section 2 B: Lutheranism, Lutheran writings. This book was written by a Lutheran pastor to help his parishioners understand Luther’s basic theological beliefs. It’s a wonderful book for laypeople. He believes that many modern Christians no longer think carefully about scripture and tradition because they don’t feel it is essential to their faith. Instead they think of worship as entertainment, religion as pop-psychology and the church as a place just for social works. The core of Luther’s message is that we do not choose God. God chooses us. It is not up to us to accept Christ as our savior, and we should not seek to rise to God’s level, as those who tried to build the tower of Babel, or as Adam and Eve did when they ate of the tree of knowledge. Rather, God came down to us, to our level, when he appeared in the form of Jesus. Theology is simply the attempt to comprehend that kind of love – God’s kind of love.
This book has in introductory chapter; an interesting chapter on Luther’s life; the difference between law and gospel; justification by faith – Luther’s main tenet; the theology of the cross (how can we live in an imperfect world without becoming cynical about life?); the church; and let there be justice.
Written for the average person, the author gives concrete examples that illustrate the author’s points and make them understandable. If you need a brush-up on Lutheranism, or have yet to discover what makes Lutheran theology different from other Christian denominations, this book will be a big help to you. Dig in!… (mehr)