Fortress Press

This edition of the Augsburg Confession is an ideal starting point for anyone wanting to know more about the historical background and foundational teachings of the Lutheran Church. Kolb and Wengert do a superb job of helping modern readers understand this key document from the Reformation era and highlighting its relevance for today. Suitable for either group discussion or individual study, this edition is an outstanding resource for pastors, congregation members, students, and all who want to know more about Lutheranism.

As the quincentennial of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession draws near, Robert Kolb and Timothy Wengert have collaborated to provide an invaluable resource for our reflection. With intimacy of insight drawn from decades-long interaction with the Reformers and their Reformation, the authors guide us via lively narrative through the controverted theological issues addressed in the Confession. There is a compelling context from which the text of the Augustana emerges. This study also makes clear that the same five-hundred-year-old text, rooted in the central article of justification by faith still pulses with fresh application for readers in the context of our own time and place.

The Augsburg Confession: With Introduction, Commentary, and Study Guide is a timely and excellent pedagogical resource for congregations. As we recall and celebrate the five-hundredth anniversaries of the germinal events and documents of our Lutheran tradition, this book illuminates the complex political, religious, and theological circumstances surrounding the Reformation and this particular document. Kolb and Wengert also remind us of its uses as a memorial of the act of confessing, as our normative document and confession of faith, and as a clear summary of what we believe. Especially useful, in addition to the historical, political, and theological frameworks provided, are the marginal notes and the appendixes.

Basic, clear, and handy--this marvelous book introduces its readers to the fundamentals of Lutheran belief. Accompanying the established translation are helpful annotations, written by two of the foremost experts in the field. This volume belongs in the hands of church members who seek an explanation of what their faith is based on. They will find it here.

Kolb and Wengert's new study edition of the Augsburg Confession will help readers rediscover this classic document. Their extensive introduction to the Confession, the introduction and marginal notes which accompany each article, and the wonderful appendixes all make this a rich resource for individual or group study and reflection.

Once again, Kolb and Wengert have given a marvelous gift to the church. This edition of the Augsburg Confession provides everything the student of this text--whether at a Sunday morning adult class or a university seminar--could ask for. With clear introductions to each article and detailed commentary at every turn, this is truly a text in which (to paraphrase Gregory the Great) lambs can wade and elephants can swim.

The appearance of this volume could not be more timely, given that the five-hundredth anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession is on the near horizon (June 25, 2030). Kolb and Wengert provide an annotated text of the Confession that clarifies points and unfolds meaning for both serious and more casual students. Ideal for both personal and corporate study, this book could be profitably used in pastors' gatherings, congregational study sessions, and seminary and university courses. This will be an invaluable resource for the church as it prepares for the quincentenary of the public delivery of Lutheranism's Grundbekenntnis.

Kolb and Wengert's book is a welcome addition to the body of commentaries on the Augsburg Confession, in the tradition of those written by George Forell, Leif Grane, and Wilhelm Maurer, among others. It provides a needed update to the historical and theological reading of this central confessional document of the Lutheran witness and identity. With introductions and notes to each of the Confession's articles, relying on a clear and accurate translation of the text, we have access to reliable accounts, explanations, and insights that are better than any I have seen in a long time. This book promises to become a standard reference for students, pastors, and lay people alike.

Kolb and Wengert ground the Augsburg Confession in its social context, framing it, as we are all framed, by the larger story of Jesus, each called to confess him to our contemporaries. They offer the Confession as a compass and a catalyst for the ongoing conversation about what it means to be Christian.