Luther’s Large Catechism with Annotations and Contemporary Applications

by John T. Pless (Editor), Larry M. Vogel (Editor)

Luther's Large Catechism with Annotations and Contemporary Applications presents this foundational Lutheran text with more than 50 essays, written to help address and apply the Large Catechism in an increasingly complex contemporary world.

Nine introductory essays provide an overview of the Large Catechism and its influence around the globe. Each chief part of the Large Catechism is then treated with topical essays to underscore its relevance in contemporary society.

Extensive annotations address the needs of readers: terminology, translational challenges, biblical support, cross-references to the Small Catechism, confessional documents, and historical context.

Luther's Large Catechism with Annotations and Contemporary Applications is a project of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod's Commission on Theology and Church Relations.

1064 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 19, 2023

About the author

Rev. John T. Pless joined the Concordia Theological Seminary (CTSFW), Fort Wayne, faculty in 2000. He is assistant professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions and also serves as director of Field Education.

Reviews

[Jacob Benson · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A Camel is a horse designed by a committee.”
By its nature, any work with this many contributors is a camel.
While much digital ink has been spilled concerning this volume, the problems that were circulated popularly are overstated. This is not a CRTechism, nor is it pushing Marxism. However - and this is not narrowly a critique of the LCACA, but of anything published by Christians in recent years - all of our wells have been so poisoned with Neo-Marxism that we must always be careful to speak in such a way that we are never allowing demons to slither between our words, but instead heap coals on anyone who would accuse us of being progressives, liberals, marxists, etc. It's for this reason that I think it was a foolish choice to include female authors, non-LCMS authors, and odd editorial choices that give the appearance (even if unintentional) of ceding ground to liberalism, progressivism, feminism, or critical theory in any of its forms.

If we want to hold authors accountable, we have to have some sort of measuring rod. The best way to do this is to only let ordained men who have publicly vowed to uphold the teachings of the 1580 Book of Concord comment on, well, the Book of Concord. Why do we have women writing essays meant to interpret doctrine? Why laymen? Why non-LCMS theologians? I'm not even saying that such people can't comment on theology publicly or shouldn't be published. But when it comes to things like bible commentaries, theological works, and commentaries on our confessional documents, why not leave it to the men who have sold all to follow Christ?

Because of the mixed bag of essays, I won't be recommending that anyone in my congregation read this. As someone who regularly preaches on the Large Catechism and consults it for new members and confirmation classes, there are a few essays that I'll be returning to, those are listed at the end of this review.

(oh, and yes. I read all of it)

Introductory Essays 2⭐
Notes: The editors tried to do get a lot of information into this introductory section, and the essays about the use of the LC internationally felt more like a rallying cry for the triumph of LCMS missions than any actual historical overview of the LC's use in world Lutheranism.

Martin Luther's Prefaces
Essay 5⭐
Annotations 5⭐

Part I The Ten Commandments
Essays 2 ⭐
Annotations 4 ⭐ the annotations are especially helpful concerning the fourth commandment. This is not only a commandment for "youth," but is for all people with living parents - the aged cannot be neglected. Arand's footnotes are rich in this area.


The First Commandment
All of these essays were helpful in expanding the view of idolatry from what is popularly seen as “worshiping statues,” to a more introspective understanding of false gods. I was, at first, thrown by Menuge’s essay on apologetics in regards to the first commandment (why not the Creed and its historicity?), but I quickly realized the brilliance of placing the article here. Menuge is, in a way, speaking against those who would turn apologetics into a form of idolatry. There are always temptations to engage in "Christianity And" when witnessing and Menuge draws us back to Christ throughout this essay. It's also worth noting that he refutes Critical Theory, which some see elsewhere in this volume.

The Second Commandment
Gieschen’s article was a concise way of explaining the tetrgrammaton to lay audiences, and though this was hardly an essay on the Large Catechism, it’s an incredibly important thing to understand not only in regards to the second commandment, but also what it means when someone reads LORD vs Lord in their bible. The Second Commandment was also where I ran into my first controversy regarding women teaching. Why is a woman (Whiteford) teaching courses on the bible at Concordia Irvine? This isn't me nitpicking and being sexist and saying women should ever speak at all - I just don't understand how this is anything besides a woman teaching with authority over a man. My problem with this article isn’t only conceptual. She writes "we are reminded that using prayer, the sign of the cross, or God's name in an attempt to manipulate God is a kind of witchcraft," (p. 296 Kindle Version). Yikes.

The Third Commandment
Why do we have to be edgy? Everyone knew what the pushback would be when they asked Paulson to contribute to a volume on one of our confessional documents. He's unclear, unnecessarily poetic, and at times dangerous. What does it mean that worship is election and the resurrection of the dead (p. 303 Kindle)? If his sentiments are confessional, he could have just used confessional language. Arand’s article may be helpful for those congregations coming out of CoWo

The Fourth Commandment
The opening lines of Geisler’s essay made me long for the good ol' days when we took seriously 1 Timothy 2 and AC V& XIV. She writes that "all authority flows from God to those whom He has designated to hold that authority on His behalf," (p. 315 Kindle). Usurped authority aside, the article is far too irenic. The "contemporary" issue in regard to authority is not that parents abuse their children or that members of LCMS congregations are staging revolts: it's that children are not disciplined and members of LCMS congregations have proven themselves (since early 2020) to be slavishly devoted to any form of government.
Furthermore, why on earth do we only have one article on the Fourth Commandment, especially given how much space Luther gives it in the LC?

The Fifth Commandment
My issue with women publicly teaching on confessional or biblical documents remains. Maybe it's because I know Tiffany personally, or because I'm so thankful for the work of the Pro-Life movement in the Lutheran world that I don’t find it offensive in this essay. Though the more I reflect, this is a different situation. Manor doesn't offer a bible passage or paragraph from the LC and then interpret it authoritatively, she uses a few Bible verses as jumping off points and then spends most of her time on political and historical arguments surrounding the abortion (and euthanasia) debate. This doesn't feel like a usurping of authority and while it also doesn't feel like an essay on the LC, I don't think we should ever miss an opportunity to publish on the evils of abortion. If there is any authoritative teaching here (I don't think there is), I know that she bounced ideas off of her husband, an ordained man whom I also know personally. Biermann’s article caused a lot of online strife, it’s unclear and feels like it’s made to be a tongue that’s stuck out at the pro-gun crowd. Malueg-Lattimore’s essay doesn’t feel controversial – I truly believe that if it weren’t for a capital “b” in a footnote, this article wouldn’’t receive any attention at all. This isn't to deride it, but it's a very cut and dried treatment of Christ's interpretation of the fifth commandment.

The Sixth Commandment
I think the argument that "be fruitful and multiply" is no longer a commandment because Jesus was born is a sloppy reading of the bible (Meilaender, p. 351 Kindle). Again, the "contemporary" problem of the church isn't that we're having too many kids. It's that birth control and contraceptives are seen as normative by most Christians. His comments on divorce are unhelpful. Unlike Manor's essay, the one by Andrea Schmeling does feel like an authoritative interpretation of the LC, Scripture, and offers a correction of the LSB marriage rite. There's nothing in this article that feels unique to a woman's perspective, and so I wonder why Mrs. Schmeling was chosen to write it. Her litany of sexual temptations (p. 357 Kindle) has been skewed by the Twitterverse as equating all sexual sins. I don't think that's what she's doing here, but if this were written by a careful theologian, there wouldn't even be room for such an accusation. Yes, we should all repent of our sins. But so also, some sexual sins are more perverse and more damaging to the soul and society than others. And, yes, the problem with pornography is that it's too explicit (p. 358 Kindle). On page 361 (Kindle) Schmeling offers exhortations. This is quite clearly authoritative teaching. Rueger’s essay doesn’t add a lot to the conversation, but may be helpful when a Pastor needs a “second opinion” in convincing a couple that cohabitation is a sin. Lee’s essay leaves a lot to be desired. Commentary on the Law should focus on the Law. We don't need to constantly interrupt ourselves to mention that Christ forgives sins. If this is sermonic, save it until the law has been preached. If this is a reflection on homosexuality and gender dysphoria in light of the sixth commandment, then just reflect on those particular sins. Again, the "contemporary" application here is missed: the issue isn't that people aren't being absolved enough, it's that they're not repenting.

The Seventh Commandment
Everytime I re-read the LC, I'm blown away by how often usury is mentioned. This is captured well in the annotations, though the articles (save the last half of Johnston's) miss this, which is a shame especially given recent fascinations with micro-loans, crypto-currency, and investments among millennials and Gen Z. Benne touches on this briefly, though he paints a picture of suits and ties, rather than twenty year old day traders. Again, Johnston draws this out both historically (a la Luther) and observes the sinful problem of greed today, though it is unclear (not Johnston's fault) how this could possibly be remedied today.

The Eighth Commandment
Not a lot to say here, Park does a good job summing things up.

The Ninth and Tenth Commandments
Nunes uses the term "Systemic depravation of others"(p. 411 Kindle). I’m not entirely sure what this means, but we should ask, is coveting done more often by the "privileged" or the impoverished? I've heard Nunes speak before, and despite the color of my skin and my geographic location, I'm sympathetic to a lot of the points he makes concerning the way we Lutherans speak about race, poverty, and the muddy overlap between the two. But the sort of language he uses in this essay is unhelpful and divisive. Pless’s article, on the other hand, is a very helpful analysis of Commandments 9&10 in light of the first commandment. Coveting is idolatrous because it's a misalignment of the appetite "it's not merely a craving for ahouse, a wife, some money, or any servants, but for the neighbor's house, the neighbor's wife, or the neighbor's servants" (p. 418 Kindle)

The Close of the Commandments
Good on dr. Eggers for being bold and saying that God deals with humanity through family lines. Rather than trying to apologize for the bible in light of modern views on, well, everything, he lets the bible (and The LC) speak for itself. This is a great explanation of the generational curse/blessing in the close of the commandments. So too, Vogel draws out the scriptural truth that God's wrath is poured out on the naughty and the unrepentant, and that faith, salvation, and humility are all tied up together.


Intro to the Creed 5⭐

The First Article of the Creed
Essays 4⭐
Annotations 5⭐
Notes: Bushur, as always, is poetic and thoughtful, and encourages readers not only to "know stuff" about God, but to meditate on who God is and specifically the implications for being a human now that God has taken on human flesh (nb: one may think Bushur is pushing universalism with his use of "God" but footnote 3 explains his usage of the word, which is in line with how Luther speaks throughout the LC). | Pless's essay on God the Father does an excellent job of not only drawing from the LC, but form Luther's hymnody, thus invoking Luther both as prosaic theologian and poet | Serina helps us to realize that material things are "good" and if we lose the goodness of the First Article we will fall into the pit of nihilism, despair, and all sorts of dysphoria concerning sex, gender, and skin tone

The Second Article of the Creed
Essays 3⭐
Annotations 4⭐
Notes: Corzine unpacks the three genres in an easily digestible way | Elowsky on the councils could easily be adapted for a Sunday Morning Study on the development of articulating Christology | Kolb's article on Luther on the Atonement attempts to do the same historical cataloging, though the waters get a bit muddied at times | Cwirla's employs Austin’s Speech-Act Theory, a Cartesian split between the objective and subjective, and a Radical Lutheran definition of Gospel. Such a thought-system has no place in a publication of the LCMS.

The Third Article of the Creed
Essays 2 ⭐
Annotations 3.5 ⭐
Notes: Introductory essay uses "The old Adam and Eve." The Old/New Adam distinction made in Holy Scripture and throughout Christian History loses its power if it is reduced to gender neutrality; This is so incredibly problematic. I can't understand how this passed Doctrinal Review. fn 34 does not explain how or why or where Luther rejects Mary as the mother of the Church | Sanchez says that the Holy Spirit “is not bound to work through means in order to sanctify us. Yet in His divine mercy, the Spirit freely binds HImself to “the Word and signs God has chosen in order to make us holy.” I don’t know what this means. | Masaki’s essay on the church is great! | Sutton's essay is well-said, but sadly if anyone is still convinced that online worship is real worship, I can't imagine anything will change their minds at this point.

The Lord’s Prayer
Essays 3 ⭐
Annotations 3 ⭐
Notes: Kleinig's annotations are legion, and while most are helpful, there are a few red flags. In fn 248 he gives credence to the odd "fourth estate" of work, making the Three Estates model by Luther culturally relative. The trajectory of this footnote is problematic and is picked up again in footnote 260. Fns 262 and 275 are weirdly Australian, and could be misconstrued by readers as stating that things like "livable minimum wage" and "governmental healthcare" are, by their nature, Godly. Fn 300 is problematic: Jesus does command that we forgive (Matthew 6:15) not merely that we pray the Lord's Prayer along with Him | Once again, I don't understand how Geisler's essay is not "teaching," (1 Timothy 2:12). She is explaining the Lord's Prayer in light of other passages of scripture and then teaching Christians how to enact piety. | Lehenbauer's essay is good. I especially like that he draws not only from the LC, but also Luther on the Psalms. I'm still not convinced that "two kingdoms" is a better way of speaking than "three estates" (and in case anyone is keeping score, I follow Bayer on this) | Ziegler and Senkbeil show that suffering is not only a part of God’s permissive will, but is a participation in Christ’s suffering. | Murto helps us understand our fight against the devil. I wish he would have spoken of the Lamb in Revelation, not only as gentle, but also as atoning sacrifice. This would have been a wonderful way of speaking about deliverance from evil in light of the atonement. It also would have been a good way of introducing the practice of making the sign of the cross at the seventh petition | Pietsch's article on suicide neither says too much nor too little. It's a good way of framing a conversation about suicide among elders or other leadership in a church |

The Word of God - The Chief Thing in the Sacraments
Essays 4 ⭐ excellent overview of the Lutheran view of Sacraments and the historical news to "re"-define them in light of medieval abuses. The article ends with a concise explanation of how Lutherans can hold the sacraments in such high esteem and yet day that some are saved apart from the sacraments.

Baptism
Essays 4 ⭐
Annotations 4 ⭐
Notes: I didn’t take many notes on this section, and as I skim it while writing this review, I’m reminded why. Lutherans, generally speaking, knock it out of the park with baptism. Sanchez’s article on the Baptism of Christ is very helpful. | Kolb's essay feels more like an academic treatise on Luther's evolving views on election, rather than an explanation of the Lutheran Doctrine of election. It feels out of place in regards to the LC

The Sacrament of the Altar
Essays 4 ⭐
Annotations 5 ⭐
Notes: Masaki’s article repudiates the talk of “real presence,” which is something we as Lutherans need to be better at avoiding (what’s a “false” presence??). Vogel blends CTCR, synodical resolutions, and Scripture. I would have liked to have seen more use of the confessions rather than denominational statements, to make it clear that closed communion is a doctrinal conclusion, not a policy.

Brief Exhortation to Confession
Essays 3 ⭐
Annotations 10 ⭐ super in-depth. This must be Pless realizing his own vision for the annotated LC
Notes: Pless’s introductory article lays out a great historical development of the practice (and abuses) of individual confession and absolution. I had never heard about the Celtic missionaries bringing the practice to the continent before, I’m excited to look more into this. Note 18: Who knew that this wasn’t part of confessional subscription? | Harrison writes in such a way that it is impossible to read him without hearing his grandfatherly voice. His essay captures this paternal and pastoral care well. It is a great primer for any layman who is on the fence about whether or not to begin confessing his sins to his pastor | Kuhlman’s essay is good, but it feels more like a sermon on the healing of the paralytic than it does an essay answering the question “Why Individual Confession?” (there are also too many exclamation points for my taste. We are germans, afterall! Wait - am I supposed to capitalize German?)

Essays to which I will return in my preaching and teaching
- Kolb, Introduction & Annotations to the Prefaces
- Arand, Annotations on the Ten Commandments
- Johnston, "The Seventh Commandment: Martin Luther on Poverty"
- Eggers, "The Close of the Commandments"
- Bushur, "The Holy Trinity: The Genealogical Identity of the Church"
- Serina, "God as Creator"
- Elowsky, "Christ and the Ecumenical Councils"
- Schulz, "The Second Petition: Mission as the Expansion of the Kingdom of God"
- Ziegler, "The Third Petition: The Will of God"
- Senkbeil, "The Third Petition: The Holy Cross in Christian Life"
- Sánchez, "The Baptism of Jesus"
- Ziegler, Annotations on the Sacrament of the Altar
- Pless, “Introduction to Brief Exhortation to Confession” & Annotations

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Large Catechism is my favorite portion of the Lutheran Confessions, and I have long wished for a nice copy of it on it's own. I would still appreciate a smaller version with just the Large Catechism, but this volume is a gift to the church. It includes all the context, Biblical documentation, and explanation for Luther's words, as well as essays on each topic. In future readings, I will likely stick to the Large Catechism and use the essays as a resource.

There was a lot of controversy when this first came out, which I won't give voice to here, but on my reading, the concerns were unfounded.

[Olivia]

Well-written and meticulously researched, this comprehensive volume is a commitment in itself... It's... A lot. The annotations and essays are a masterclass in Protestant apologetics, and they offer an excellent explanation of Lutheran theology... That said, having read it as an exploring Roman Catholic, it only served to highlight our philosophical and ideological differences.

Informative, but not life changing. If anything, it affirmed my faith in the Catholic Church.