Books on Luther and Walter A. Maier

Hains, Todd R. Foreword by Robert Kolb. Martin Luther and the Rule of Faith: Reading God's Word for God's People (New Explorations in Theology). Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022. 240 Pages. Paper. $40.00. https://www.ivpress.com/martin-luther-and-the-rule-of-faith

Farney, Kirk D. Foreword by Mark A. Noll. Ministers of a New Medium: Broadcasting Theology in the Radio Ministries of Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier.  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022. 368 Pages. Cloth with dustjacket. $40.00. https://www.ivpress.com/ministers-of-a-new-medium

Both titles here are from IVP Academic. Both involve teaching the faith. With regard to the book on Luther, the pattern he established in the 16th Century, and with regard to second book, learning how two religious radio broadcasters established patterns in the 20th Century.

Martin Luther considered the reading of God's word to be his primary task as a theologian, a pastor, and a Christian. Though he is often portrayed as reading the Bible with a bare approach of sola Scriptura—without any concern for previous generations’ interpretation—the truth is more complicated.

In this New Explorations in Theology (NET) volume, Reformation scholar Todd R. Hains shows that Luther read the Bible according to the rule of faith, which is contained in the church's ancient catechism of the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles' Creed. Hains carefully examines Luther's sermons to show how Luther taught the rule of faith as the guard and guide of Bible reading.

This study will helpfully complicate your view of Luther and bring clarity to your own reading of God's Word.

Featuring new monographs with cutting-edge research, New Explorations in Theology provides a platform for constructive, creative work in the areas of systematic, historical, philosophical, biblical, and practical theology.

(Publisher's website)

Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) author and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis (CSL) Emeritus Professor Robert Kolb writes the foreword for a very helpful volume on Luther and the Rule of Faith. What does this mean? I added bold to the back cover text (above) that defines the term:  "Luther read the Bible according to the rule of faith, which is contained in the church's ancient catechism of the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles' Creed. Hains carefully examines Luther's sermons to show how Luther taught the rule of faith as the guard and guide of Bible reading."

Footnotes are extensive. Author Todd Hains, an academic editor at Lexham Press, here gives readers a preview of the high level of scholarship, practical application, historical awareness, and Biblical faithfulness that they will find in the works he edits. 

This volume focuses on defining the concept of the title, the Rule of Faith, for the benefit of properly understanding the subtitle, Reading God's Word for God's People. Hains does this by showing from Luther's own sermons, how to properly interpret different genres within the Old Testament and New Testament, showing Luther as properly catholic (in the small-c sense) and noting Luther as a proponent of sola Scriptura, not solo Scriptura.

I commend this volume to you as worth reading and owning.

Ministers of a New Medium skips ahead to the 20th Century.

While the Catholic Hour ended its series of broadcasts long ago, its influence endures today. It's possible to watch/listen to old episodes online. Bishop Robert Barron appears to be one of the modern media successors to Fulton Sheen. 

The Lutheran Hour continues broadcasting. Its influence may not be as culturally strong in modern American culture as it was in the days of Walter A. Maier, the influence of The Lutheran Laymen's League in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is significant today, with $35 million in 2022 donations compared to a budget of its parent church body (the LCMS) of $63 million in 2022 and $81 million for FY2023. 

Ministers of a New Medium shows the origins of both programs in an interesting parallel biography of Maier and Sheen.

During the anxiety-laden period from the Great Depression through World War II to the Cold War, Americans found a welcome escape in the new medium of radio. Throughout radio's "Golden Age," religious broadcasting in particular contributed significantly to American culture. Yet its historic role often has been overlooked.

In Ministers of a New Medium, Kirk D. Farney explores the work of two groundbreaking leaders in religious broadcasting: Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier. These clergymen and professors—one a Catholic priest, the other a Lutheran minister—each led the way in combining substantive theology and emerging technology to spread the gospel over the airwaves. Through weekly nationwide broadcasts, Maier's The Lutheran Hour and Sheen's Catholic Hour attracted listeners across a spectrum of denominational and religious affiliations, establishing their hosts—and Christian radio itself—as cultural and religious forces to be reckoned with.

Farney examines how Sheen and Maier used their exceptional erudition, their sensitivity to the times, their powerful communication skills, and their unwavering Christian conviction, all for the purpose of calling the souls of listeners and the soul of a nation to repentance and godliness. Their combination of talents also brought their respective denominations, Roman Catholicism and Missouri Synod Lutheranism, from the periphery of the American religious landscape to a much greater level of recognition and acceptance. With careful attention to both the theological content and the cultural influence of these masters of a new medium, Farney's study sheds new light on the history of media and Christianity in the United States.

(Publisher's website)

Several things caught my attention upon my first reading. 

The microphone on the cover is a replica of microphones from this era in early radio. I recognize it because it is the same radio I have in my childhood bedroom back home. The radio didn't work well, but looked great!

Vestments and daily dress of LCMS pastors has changed over time. The pastor who ordained me 23 years regularly donned a black geneva gown at the time. He now wears an alb. Many pastors trained with me and at our sister seminary regularly and daily wear a clerical collar, not unlike Sheen on the cover. A white shirt and tie is still part of my wardrobe, but largely when I teach at our church school or attend a wedding or funeral elsewhere. 

The parallel biography idea is an ancient one that deserves a resurgence. Classical educators know of Plutarch's lives. Fatal Discord attempted a parallel biography of Martin Luther and Erasmus, but was weighed down by a Tom Clancy novel length, scholarship that was interesting but could have been presented much more clearly, and a conclusion that left Roman Catholics and Lutherans disappointed. Ministers succeeds where Fatal Discord stumbled because it is more concise, clear, and is so well-researched that one of the sons of Maier admitted he learned new things about his father from the volume!

The Lutheran Hour organization disappointed many of us in the LCMS just over two decades ago with the suspension of Rev. Dr. Wallace Schulz as Speaker after he rightly suspended an LCMS District President after a controversial unionistic/syncretistic service at Yankee Stadium in the aftermath of 9/11. That wound has yet to heal. 

However, The Lutheran Hour was very influential to me growing up, hearing Oswald Hoffman's " Jesus loves you" on the air and in-person at the Nebraska State Fair. I've personally met most of the Speakers, with the exception of the last three. It was a dream high school job to be on the air at an AM/FM station in a nearby town. What I learned in those years helped me better mic congregations over the years, especially during livestreaming during the pandemic and its response. At this very moment, my keyboard and mouse sit between a Shure mic and a Soundcraft soundboard that give me great audio for Zoom meetings and for a devotional podcast I record.

Ministers of a New Medium is an excellent parallel biography of Fulton Sheen and Walter Maier, an entertaining read on par with good fiction, and an account that can inspire readers to serve the Lord of the Church and hearers/readers as we attempt to navigate and use new media to spread the Good News of Christ.

Rev. Paul J Cain is Senior Pastor of Immanuel, Sheridan, Wyoming, Headmaster Emeritus and Instructor of Liberal Arts at Martin Luther Grammar School and Immanuel Academy, a member of the Board of Directors of the Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education, First Vice-President of the Wyoming District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and Chairman of its Board of Directors, Rhetoric Teacher for Wittenberg Academy, a regent for Luther Classical College, a Director for Steadfast Lutherans and Associate Editor of Curriculum for Steadfast Press, and Editor of Lutheran Book Review.   He has served as an LCMS Circuit Visitor, District Worship Chairman, District Evangelism Chairman, District Education Chairman/NLSA Commissioner, and District Secretary. A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Rev. Cain is a contributor to Lutheran Service Book, Lutheranism 101, the LSB Hymnal Companion hymn and liturgy volumes, and is the author of 5 Things You Can Do to Make Our Congregation a Caring Church. He is an occasional guest on KFUO radio. He has previously served Emmanuel, Green River, WY and Trinity, Morrill, NE. Rev. Cain is married to Ann and loves reading and listening to, composing, and making music.