Getting Down to Basics (Online course only)

Getting Down to Basics:

Augsburg Confessions and Small Catechism

Class orientation week of Sept. 5-12, 2024
Orientation Zoom call Monday Sept. 5 at 7 PM Central Time

Class Sessions Sept. 13 - Nov. 21, 2024

Textbook: Book of Concord, eds. Robert Kolb and Timothy Wengert, (2001) (click here to order)

Select online companion courses provide wonderful input and support. The lectures for this course are given by Dr. Timothy Wengert, Professor of Reformation History at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. The facilitator for this class is Dr. Eric Thompson. Erick  grew up in central Minnesota, attending Gustavus Adolphus for college. After college he received his MDiv and MTh at Luther Seminary in St Paul, and then earned a PhD in Systematic Theology from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He has been an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament since 2000, with over 20 years of parish experience. Erick has also been an adjunct professor, teaching over 25 classes at Thiel College, Augsburg University, and, most recently, Concordia College. He is married and has two daughters in middle school. His hobbies include reading, watching movies, writing, and cheering on the Twins and the Vikings. Access to the course website and orientation information will be available a few days before the orientation week of  the class.

For Lutherans, The Book of Concord provides the definitive collection of their confessions of faith, including the all-important Augsburg Confession (1530) and Small and Large Catechisms (1529).  This course provides an overview of the historical development of all the documents in The Book of Concord, as well as in-depth looks at their theology, focusing particularly on the Augsburg Confession and Luther's Catechisms.  Here participants will discover not only the basic doctrinal commitments of the Lutheran Confessions but also how they may apply in contemporary parish settings.  This course provides a lively, down-to-earth examination of such central Lutheran teachings as justification by grace through faith on account of Christ, the distinction between law and gospel, the theology of the cross, the church and public ministry, the sacraments, and Christian callings in daily life.  Here the students will gain new insight into the basics of Lutheran teaching and how it can strengthen their faith and witness today.

1. Become thoroughly familiar with the Augsburg Confession and Small Catechism

2. Understand the historical and theological context out of which they speak

3. Discover new ways to apply these teaching to life in today's parish

Sessions:

1. Confessing Justification (Augsburg Confessions Articles II, IV, XX)

2. Law and Gospel; Theology of the Cross (III, V, XII)

3. God's Two Hands (XVI, XVIII)

4. Good Works and Christian vocation (VI, XVI, XX, XXVI)

5. The Sacraments (IX-XIII; XXII, XXIV)

6. Church and Ministry (V, VII, XIV-XV, XXVIII)

7. Other Confessional Documents

8. The Small Catechism: 10 Commandments and Creed

9. The Small Catechism: The Lord's Prayer, Baptism, and Confession

10. The Small Catechism: The Lord's Supper with Luther's Preface, The Household Chart of Bible Passages, and Liturgies for the Christian Household

Textbook: Book of Concord, eds. Robert Kolb and Timothy Wengert, (2001) (click here to order)

CLICK HERE for the syllabus.