God’s Word is Our Great Heritage

A Collection of Essays on Scripture and the Reformation

Book Cover: God’s Word is Our Great Heritage
Editions:Paperback (Norwegian): kr 249.00 NOK
ISBN: 9788252004397

Book available only in Norwegian.

Guds Ord det Er Vårt Arvegods – en artikkelsamling om skriftsynet og reformasjonen (God’s Word is Our Great Heritage: A Collection of Essays on Scripture and the Reformation) aims to answer some of the challenges that people of faith can face. The book's article writers come from various evangelical-Lutheran environments in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and the United States. Their common desire is to build trust in the Bible as God's immutable and infallible words, given to humans at all times. The themes touch on various aspects of the Bible as revealed words of God and illustrate how the Bible is a true and credible guide in all matters related to faith and the Christian life.

Contributed essay titled in English: “Contemporary Issues in the Doctrine of Scriptural Inerrancy”

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Publisher: Lunde Forlag
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Reviews:Knut Alfsvåg, Faculty of Theology, Diakonia and Leadership Studies, VID Specialized University on For Biblel Og Bekjennelse wrote:

"Med dette nærmer vi oss ufeilbarlighetsproblemet, som fire av bokens forfattere uttrykkelig tar opp (Bergene Holm, Olsen, Vigilius og Kilcrease). Best og mest nyansert gjøres det etter min oppfatning i artikkelen til Kilcrease. Han kritiserer (s. 152) Pieper som hevder at den bibelske språkbruk tvinger oss til å anta et geosentrisk verdensbilde, og mener at formuleringer som at «solen går ned» må tolkes metaforisk. Spørsmålet er imidlertid om han ikke dermed i realiteten underlegger ufeilbarlighetsbegrepet en kritikk som innebærer at vi er mer tjent med å uttrykke det vi her er ute etter, med andre begreper (Skriftens klarhet, troverdighet og tilstrekkelighet). Det spørsmålet drøfter imidlertid ikke Kilcrease."


Aquinas Among the Protestants

Book Cover: Aquinas Among the Protestants
Editions:Paperback: $ 42.75
ISBN: 9781119265948
Pages: 328
Kindle: $ 34.00
ISBN: B074CJZWHR
Pages: 310
Hardcover: $ 76.01
ISBN: 1119265894
Pages: 328

This major new book provides an introduction to Thomas Aquinas’s influence on Protestantism. The editors, both noted commentators on Aquinas, bring together a group of influential scholars to demonstrate the ways that Anglican, Lutheran, and Reformed thinkers have analyzed and used Thomas through the centuries. Later chapters also explore how today’s Protestants might appropriate the work of Aquinas to address a number of contemporary theological and philosophical issues.

The authors set the record straight and disavow the widespread impression that Aquinas is an irrelevant figure for the history of Protestant thought. This assumption has dominated not only Protestant historiography but also Roman Catholic accounts of the Reformation and Protestant intellectual life. The book opens the possibility for contemporary reception, engagement, and critique and even intra-Protestant relations and includes:

  • Information on the fruitful appropriation of Aquinas in Anglican, Lutheran, and Reformed theologians over the centuries
  • Important essays from leading scholars on the teachings of Aquinas
  • New perspectives on Thomas Aquinas’s position as a towering figure in the history of Christian thought

Aquinas Among the Protestant is a ground-breaking and interdenominational work for students and scholars of Thomas Aquinas and theology more generally.

Contributed essay titled: “Johann Gerhard’s Reception of Thomas Aquinas’ Analogia Entis”

Reviews:Carl Trueman, Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies at Grove City College on Public Discourse wrote:

"A new collection of essays, Aquinas Among the Protestants, demonstrates the impact that Thomas Aquinas has had on Anglican, Lutheran, and Reformed thinkers and explores the ways in which contemporary Protestant Christianity could benefit from Aquinas’s insights, particularly regarding natural law and virtue ethics....

It is time for the fruits of recent historical and theological scholarship to be harvested in the churches of the Reformation and helpfully applied to the many challenges, internal and external, theological and ethical, that we all now face. This book is a fine start to precisely such a needed recovery."

Denis R. Janz, Provost Distinguished Professor of the History of Christianity Emeritus at Loyola University, New Orleans on Church History wrote:

"Most of the contributors to this book are experts on Reformed Orthodoxy. And most agree: '. . . serious and accurate wrestling with the texts and legacy of Thomas Aquinas can only benefit Protestant [read Reformed] intellectual life' (17). The book's first seven essays are concerned with “The Protestant Reception of Aquinas,” that is, setting the historical record straight.... Jack Kilcrease gives us a lucid account of the Lutheran Johann Gerhard's embrace and critique of Aquinas's analogia entis" (Church History 87, no. 3 [Sep 2018]: 882-883).

Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt, Professor of Theology at Loyola University Maryland and a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese of Baltimore on The Thomist: A Speculative Quarterly Review wrote:

"This collection of essays testifies to the revival of constructive engagement with the thought of Thomas Aquinas among Protestant theologians in recent years... This collection goes some way toward showing that Protestant theologians in the centuries following the Reformation made constructive use of Thomas as well as showcasing contemporary Protestant engagements with Thomas" (The Thomist 84, no. 3 [July 2020]: 501).


Martin Luther in His Own Words

Essential Writings of the Reformation

Book Cover: Martin Luther in His Own Words
Editions:Paperback: $ 18.00
ISBN: 080101932
Pages: 176
Kindle: $ 11.99
ISBN: B01LX9T6S9
Pages: 161

Though most of the Protestant world can trace its roots back to the Reformation, many people today have only a vague knowledge of Martin Luther's writings. "Didn't he write the Ninety-Five Theses?" Jack Kilcrease and Erwin Lutzer step into this vacuum with a carefully selected collection of Luther's works.

Centered around the five solas of the Reformation (sola Scripturasola fidesola gratiasola Christussoli Deo gloria), the selections offer readers an accessible primer on works that are foundational to the theology of Protestantism in all its forms. Introductions to each writing include an explanation of the historical context and the theological significance of the piece. Students of the Bible, pastors, teachers, and seminary students will find this collection an enlightening introduction to Luther in his own words and a useful addition to their libraries.

Though most Protestants—approximately 900 million believers worldwide—trace their spiritual roots back to the Reformation, many people today have only a vague knowledge of Martin Luther's extensive writings. Jack Kilcrease and Erwin Lutzer step into this vacuum with Martin Luther in His Own Words, a carefully selected collection of Luther's works.

Organized around the five solas of the Reformation (sola Scripturasola fidesola gratiasola Christussoli Deo gloria), the selections offer readers an accessible primer on works that are foundational to the theology of Protestantism in all its forms. An introduction to each writing includes an explanation of its historical context and theological significance.

Students of the Bible, pastors, teachers, and seminary students will find this collection an enlightening introduction to Luther in his own words and a useful addition to their libraries.

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Publisher: Baker Books
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Reviews:Chris Woznicki, founding board member of Equipping the Church International and Ph.D. candidate on CWoznicki Think Out Loud wrote:

"If you don’t have time to sift through all of Luther’s works but want a good introduction you don’t need to look further than this book. If you are intimidated about picking up theological literature that was written 500 years ago, again look no further! The editors have included concise but extremely helpful introductions to each of the sections.

If you are a pastor who is looking for one place where you can get the best of Luther’s works – look here. If you are a Bible college student who has always been interested in Luther but doesn’t know where to start. Look here! Finally, if you would like to do some sort of small group discussion on the Reformation, this would be a great place to start. So look here!"

M.L. Codman-Wi, Ph.D. on Mary Lou's Reviews - Reviewing One Book Per Week wrote:

"Luther was a prolific writer, but [Kilcrease and Lutzer] focus theologically on Luther’s arguments with Catholic church doctrines and practices in his day....

Choosing a limited number of texts from Luther’s writings, along with their timing in Luther’s debate within his Catholic commitment, helps the lay reader understand Luther’s contribution and make sense of that contribution in its historical context. The subtitle of the book, therefore, Essential Writings of the Reformation, is an accurate description of the book’s focus and message. The struggle for “right” doctrine, the role of Scripture, and Biblical ecclesiology has enveloped the Christian church since its inception in Christ. Kilcrease and Lutzer’s book sheds significant light on one key phase of that struggle in the 1500’s."


The Doctrine of Atonement

From Luther to Forde

Book Cover: The Doctrine of Atonement
Editions:Paperback: $ 24.00
ISBN: 153263904X
Pages: 192

Post-Enlightenment theology has frequently rejected the historic Christian doctrine of substitutionary atonement. For theologians standing in the tradition of the Lutheran Confessions, rejection of substitutionary atonement is particularly problematic because it endangers the unconditional nature of the justification through faith. If one rejects vicarious satisfaction, then the only alternative is to make redemption dependent on what sinners do for themselves. In this study, Jack Kilcrease argues for substitutionary atonement within the perspective of what he calls the "Confessional Lutheran Paradigm." The author also critiques a wide variety of modern Lutheran theologians' understandings of atonement: Werner Elert, Gustaf Aulen, Gustaf Wingren, Robert Jenson, Eberhard Jungel, Wolfhart Pannenberg, and Gerhard Forde. As Kilcrease demonstrates, although these authors often give many fine theological insights, their distortion or misrepresentation of the doctrine of atonement carriers over to a problematic understanding of law, gospel, and justification through faith.

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Publisher: Wipf & Stock
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Reviews:David P. Scaer, Chairman of the Department of Systematic Theology, Concordia Theological Seminary wrote:

"Jack D. Kilcrease lays out the Lutheran teaching of the atonement beginning with the Reformer and discusses how his views on Christ’s death have been adjusted by leading theologians, most recently Gerhard Forde. Those aware of the current controversy will want to give careful attention to Kilcrease’s The Doctrine of Atonement. Hardly a peripheral issue, this is a ‘must’ read, especially for those who are new to the issue.”

Wade Johnston, Associate Professor of Theology, Wisconsin Lutheran College wrote:

"Kilcrease offers a helpful survey, succinct yet insightful, of historic Lutheran positions on the atonement as well as a walk through later revisions and challenges. Accessibly written, this is a good introduction for the uninitiated as well as a springboard for further study for those well-versed in theology."


The Self-Donation of God

A Contemporary Lutheran approach to Christ and His Benefits

Book Cover: The Self-Donation of God
Editions:Paperback: $ 30.48
ISBN: 978-1620326053
Pages: 330
Hardcover: $ 58.67
ISBN: 1498265545
Pages: 330
Kindle: $ 9.99
ISBN: B00CLCU7DK
Pages: 330

In The Self-Donation of God, Jack Kilcrease argues that the speech-act of promise is always an act of self-donation. A person who unilaterally promises to another is bound to take a particular series of actions to fulfill that promise. Being that creation is grounded in God’s promising speech, the divine-human relationship is fundamentally one of divine self-donation and human receptivity. Sin disrupts this relationship and therefore redemption is constituted by a reassertion of divine promise of salvation in the face of the condemnation of the law (Gen 3:15). As a new and effective word of grace, the promise of a savior begins the process of redemption within which God speaks forth a new narrative of creation. In this new narrative, God gives himself in an even deeper manner to humanity. By donating himself through a promise, first to the protological humanity and then to Israel, he binds himself to them. At the end of this history of self-binding, God in Christ enters into the condemnation of the law, neutralizes it in the cross, and brings about a new creation through his omnipotent word of promise actualized in the resurrection.

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Publisher: Wipf & Stock
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Reviews:Mark Mattes, Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Grand View University wrote:

“In this study, Jack Kilcrease offers a masterful, panoramic approach to Christology, thoroughly grounded in the Scriptures and in constant debate with the christological reflection of fellow Lutherans, the wider Catholic tradition, and modern and contemporary voices. All in all, this book testifies to the gospel as God’s triumph of grace in the world.”

John T. Pless, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions, Concordia Theological Seminary wrote:

“Jack Kilcrease writes with clarity and precision; he is clearly at home in the classical primary sources (patristic writers, creedal and confessional documents, Luther, and the fathers of Lutheran orthodoxy). His methodology is marked by careful exegetical work and analysis, systematic exposition, and apologetic engagement. . . . Kilcrease writes as a classical and confessional Lutheran but with ecumenical awareness. The Self-Donation of God is comprehensive in scope and substance, dealing with all the loci associated with traditional christological discussions.”