The Way of Concord: From Historic Text to Contemporary Witness by Robert Kolb and Charles P. Arand (review)

Collections often include the perspectives of several scholars on a single topic. In contrast, this book contains articles by one author, with all but one chapter previously published between 2006 and 2015. The chapters focus on various aspects of the Book of Concord and reflect the careful scholarship of the author, an editor of the 2000 American edition. The introduction notes, "The essays in this volume were written for several different situations or occasions: therefore, certain themes are repeated. All are intended to give readers a glimpse into the world of the Lutheran confessions and also to whet appetites for deeper study" (11).

The first and only unpublished chapter introduces readers to the context and content of all seven sections of the Book of Concord. This is the longest and, in my opinion, the most valuable chapter. It begins with a summary of the thought and teachings of Martin Luther and his fellow scholars in Wittenberg which led to the 1530 Diet of Augsburg. "The theology taught in Wittenberg by Luther and his colleagues, chief among them Philip Melanchthon, had redefined what it means to be a Christian, as Luther led the circle around him to read the scriptures from a new point of view" (13–14). An overview of the importance of the creeds for the reformers follows. Next is a longer section with details on the context and content of the Augsburg Confession. Kolb notes, "[Melanchthon] decided not to call this statement a 'defense' (apologia) but rather a 'confession' (confessio). He was not only defending certain measures relating to the life of the church, but he was also proclaiming the gospel of the forgiveness of sins" (17–18). Summaries of context and content on the Apology, Smalcald Articles, Treatise on the Power and Primary of the Pope, and Luther's Catechisms follow. The chapter includes a long section on the disputes leading to the Formula of Concord and summarizes the arduous work of those who resolved these disputes. A final section examines the formation and use of the book itself.

The second chapter, on the Formula of Concord, "describes how its authors actually worked to achieve harmony by recapitulating the biblical teaching confessed at Augsburg in such a way that that teaching would be clarified in regard to the issues that divided Lutheran theologians in their time" (48). The author lifts up the importance of Gabriel Biel and William of Ockham for Luther's theology of the cross, which "permitted him to 'call a thing what it really is,' and so he could acknowledge the primary reality determined by God's word, that God's chosen people are fully righteous, and … at the same time also fully infected by sin" (52). An overview of the Formula follows, with much material echoing chapter one.

The third chapter reveals how the Augsburg Confession, Apology, and Smalcald Articles shift focus away from church rituals and practices to proclamation of the gospel itself. "The proper confession of how God has restored this relationship [of God to God's creatures] through Christ's death and resurrection determines the entire shape of the church's teachings" (78). Once again, some material echoes the first chapter.

The fourth chapter, "The relationship between Scripture and the Confession of the Faith in Luther's Thought," is significantly shorter than earlier chapters. Kolb points to the work of Gerhard Forde in revealing Luther's exegetical work in lectures, "from explanation of the text in [to] the direction of its proclamation" (99).

The fifth and sixth chapters—the shortest—were co-authored by Kolb and Charles P. Arand. The fifth chapter digs into research on sixteenth-century publishing and the slight variations in editions of the 1580 Book of Concord. The authors conclude, "For Europeans of the late sixteenth century … the authority of the texts was established by their content, not by the precision of their reproduction...