wfn.org | Augsburg Fortress Publishes New Edition of 'Book of Concord'

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

August 29, 2000

AUGSBURG FORTRESS PUBLISHES NEW EDITION OF 'BOOK OF CONCORD'
00-202-GA*

     MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- Augsburg Fortress Publishers announced this
month the publication of a new edition of "The Book of Concord: The
Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church." Augsburg Fortress is
the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA).
     Edited by the Rev. Robert A. Kolb and the Rev. Timothy J. Wengert,
the new edition was commissioned in 1993.  It succeeds an earlier
version edited by Theodore Tappert and published in 1959 by Muhlenburg
Press.  Kolb and Wengert worked with an editorial team of Reformation
historians and more than 100 other scholars and teachers who use The
Book of Concord regularly.  Two other teams of scholars also reviewed
the new translations.
     "The Tappert edition of The Book of Concord served the church and
its pastors, teachers, and students well during the past 40 years," said
the Rev. Harold W. Rast, acting vice president for Augsburg Fortress'
academic and professional business group. "However, in light of new
scholarship and changes in translation and usage of the English
language, it is time for a new edition that will be more accurate and
useful for today's users."
     The new edition of The Book of Concord features expanded
introductions and annotations offering richer historical context, and a
new translation intended to be readable and accurate. It uses the New
Revised Standard Version of the Bible where possible and contains
references to the English translations of works by Martin Luther, Philip
Melanchthon and others. Based on the latest scholarly research, it
provides one of the first English translations of the standard 16th
century edition of the Apology of the Augsburg Confession and the
complete text the Small Catechism.
     Luther, a German monk, authored the Small Catechism.  Melanchthon,
a German scholar, authored The Augsburg Confession.  Both were key
figures in the Protestant Reformation, and both documents are
foundational documents of the Lutheran church.
     Kolb is mission professor of systematic theology and director of
the Institute for Mission Studies at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, a
seminary of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In addition to numerous
articles, his books on the Reformation include "Martin Luther as
Prophet, Teacher and Hero: Images of the Reformer, 1520-1620;" "Luther's
Heirs Define His Legacy: Studies on Lutheran Confessionalization;" and
"The Christian Faith: a Lutheran Exposition."
     Wengert is a professor of Reformation history at the Lutheran
Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, an ELCA seminary. Some of his most
recent writings include "Human Freedom, Christian Righteousness;" "Law
and Gospel;" and "Philip Melanchthon ... and the Commentary."  Wengert
has also published notes on two of Martin Luther's sermons.

[*Gayle Aldrich is publicist for Augsburg Fortress Publishers,
Minneapolis.]

EDITORS: The Book of Concord is available through both Augsburg Fortress
catalogs and through the company's Web site at www.augsburgfortress.org.
The book will also be available in Augsburg Fortress stores.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html