Lutheran Book Review

Quick Summaries are pithy paragraph-long reviews of releases that cross our QBR desk.  These are reviews for when you don't have all day    to decide whether a resource is worth your time, money, storage space, or trouble. Schroeder, Joel Allen, Director. Dear Mr. Watterson. (Documentary about the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes and its enduring cultural legacy) Pre-release online screener. http://buy.dearmrwatterson.com/ (LHPN) Swanson, Kevin. Apostate: The Men Who Destroyed the Christian West. Parker, CO: Generations with Vision, 2013. Paper. 312 Pages. $26.95. www.apostatebook.com (LHPN) The Project. Martyrs Prayers. Indianapolis: Saints and Survivors, 2012. (Audio CD, $12.99.) mp3 audio download, $9.99. www.themartyrsproject.com (HN)  Zac Hicks + Cherry Creek Worship. The Glad Sound. Fort Lauderdale, FL: Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church, 2009. Audio CD. www.cherrycreekpres.org (LH) Zac Hicks + Cherry Creek Worship.  Without Our...

Schuchard, Bruce G. 1-3 John (Concordia Commentary). St. Louis: Concordia, 2012. 756 Pages. Cloth. $49.99. https://www.cph.org/p-21567-john-1-2-and-3-concordia-commentary.aspx (LHP) Middendorf, Michael P. Romans 1-8 (Concordia Commentary). St. Louis: Concordia, 2013. 802 Pages. Cloth. $49.99. https://www.cph.org/p-7380-romans-1-8-volume-1-concordia-commentary.aspx (P) Bollhagen, James. Ecclesiastes (Concordia Commentary). St. Louis, Concordia, 2011. 475 Pages. Cloth. $49.99.  http://www.cph.org/p-7386-ecclesiastes-concordia-commentary.aspx (P) Voelz, James. W. Mark 1:1-8:26 (Concordia Commentary). St. Louis, Concordia, 2013. 737 Pages. Cloth. $49.99.  http://www.cph.org/p-7378-mark-11-826-concordia-commentary.aspx (P) With great joy, we present to you four volumes of Concordia Commentary. These epistles represent the singular voice of an extraordinary theologian. John, the last living apostle,writes to his “children.” For decades he has served as t...

Luther, Martin. Edited by Benjamin T. G. Mayes and James L. Langebartels. Church Postil I (Luther's Works 75). St. Louis: Concordia, 2013. 460 Pages. Cloth. $49.99. https://www.cph.org/p-22560-luthers-works-volume-75-church-postil-i.aspx (LHP) Luther, Martin. Translated by Holger Sonntag. Edited and arranged by Paul Strawn. What is Marriage, Really? From Two Marriage Sermons On Hebrews 13:4 and Ephesians 5:22-33. Minneapolis: Lutheran Press, 2013. 116 Pages. Paper. $.6.00. www.lutheranpress.com (LHP) Springer, Carl P. E. Luther's Aesop. Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 2011. 249 Pages. Paper with flaps. $39.95. http://tsup.truman.edu (LHP) Countdown Commemorative Medallions to the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation (Dr. Martin Luther; Luther Caught in a Lightning Storm; Luther Becomes a Monk; Luther Travels to Rome; Luther Receives Doctor of Theology Degree; Luther's Tower Experience). Delhi, NY; American Lutheran Publicity Bureau 2011-201...

Gerhard, Johann. Translated by Richard J. Dinda. Edited by Benjamin T. G. Mayes and Joshua J. Hayes. On Creation and Predestination (Theological Commonplaces: XIII-XI). St. Louis: Concordia, 2013. 390 Pages. Cloth. $54.99. https://www.cph.org/p-12928-on-creation-and-predestination-theological-commonplaces.aspx (LHP) Gerhard, Johann. Translated by Elmer M. Hohle. Edited by Heidi D. Sias. Postille: Sunday and Main Festival Gospels, Parts III and IV. Fort Wayne: Lutheran Legacy, 2012. 388 Pages. Paper. $19.95. www.lutheranlegacy.org (P) After too long of a wait for English-reading Lutherans, Johann Gerhard is finally getting his due. Two recent Gerhard releases are before us in this review. The cover subtitle mentions creation and predestination. The title page goes into much more detail of what is in store for a reader of Theological Commonplaces VIII-XI: In this volume, Gerhard addresses creation, anthropology, angels, divine providence, eternal election, and the i...

Walther, C. F. W. Gospel Sermons, Volume 1 (Walther's Works) . St. Louis: Concordia, 2013. 306 Pages. Cloth. $49.99 http://www.cph.org/p-22200-gospel-sermons-volume-1.aspx (P) Walther, C. F. W. Gospel Sermons, Volume 2 (Walther's Works) . St. Louis: Concordia, 2014. 284 Pages. Cloth. $49.99 http://www.cph.org/p-22960-gospel-sermons-volume-2.aspx (P) When I was on vicarage, I read this: And it was one of the highlights of my entire "internship" year.  No, I'm not THAT old! I was blessed with three boxes of "old German books" including and 1861 Latin all-in-one-volume Examination of the Council of Trent. Yet, I kept coming back to the Walther sermons on the Gospel readings of the Historic lectionary. Back then, my German was better than my Greek. It still meant slow going in Fraktur letters, but it was well worth my efforts (because I definitely needed some joyful, yet solvable distractions in those days). I remember thinking aloud, ...