CONCORDIA SEMINARY TO OFFER SUMMER WORKSHOP IN IOWA EAST DISTRICT Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is pleased to announce its summer 2008 series of workshops for pastors, professional church workers and interested lay persons. Eleven workshops, covering a wide variety of subjects, are offered nationwide, and all are taught by members of the Concordia Seminary faculty.
“Why Some and Not Others? The Canon of the New Testament in Historical and Theological Perspective” will be offered by Prof. Jeffrey Kloha, June 10-12, at St. John Lutheran Church, Waverly. Kloha is assistant professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Seminary. This offering explores recent history of American Christianity and the issue of which books should be included in the New Testament. The issue has been considered closed—every confirmation class student memorizes the sequence of 27 books. However, popular books like The DaVinci Code and Beyond Belief have raised the issue of whether certain writings were wrongly excluded from the canon. In addition, books that historically have been less important in the church’s life, such as Revelation, have become the source of bestsellers and major films. This class looks at the issue as it was dealt with by early Christians and the Reformation period, before the canon became “settled” in the modern period, in order to find a way to help Lutheran’s be confident in the Scriptures.
The cost for the workshop is $125. Housing and meal information is available by contacting Rev. Matthew Versemann, at (319) 352-2314; pastorversemann@msn.com. To register or for more information, contact the Office of Continuing Education and Parish Services, Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105; (314) 505-7486; ce@csl.edu.
