Letters to Lutheran Pastors: 1949-1951

Book excerpt: In this remarkable collection of letters ... we meet... a historian with a breadth of learning, a theologian of thorough biblical knowledge, a churchman of wisdom, and a pastor of caring words. Hermann Sasse (1895-1976) was trained at the University of Berlin under such well-known theologians as Harnack and Deissmann. During a study year in the United States, Sasse discovered the writings of Wilhelm Lb he and returned to Europe a convinced confessional Lutheran. In this faith he persisted, despite great difficulties, as a professor of theology at the University of Erlangen and at Immanuel Seminary (later renamed Luther Seminary), North Adelaide, Australia. "The following lines and the letters, which, God willing, are to follow this one are addressed to Lutheran pastors ... whose hearts bleed whenever they see the condition in which the Lutheran Church of our day and of our world finds itself.... Thus Hermann Sasse begins nearly thirty years of correspondence with Lutheran pastors in Australia, the United States, and around the world on topics as varied as the nature of the Sacraments or of the Church, as well as ecumenical issues. Each letter reflects Sasse's passionate commitment to the building up of the Church of Christ on earth and to the Lutheran Confessions. Book jacket.