Gerhard Forde

"The ancient church knows of no hyper-independent solitary existence of the local congregation for its own sake, no matter how often it is asserted. All its congregations understand their membership in the body of Christ, which means membership in the entire church." Elert

"To save the theory one must claim that the ambiguity is the fault of Scripture, not the fault of the interpreter. Interpreters of an Erasmian type are driven to take refuge in Scriptures' supposed lack of clarity." Forde, The Argument about Scripture

Oswald Bayer receiving his copy of Promissio in English – his own groundbreaking work available to a new audience as Lutheran Quarterly’s thirtieth book in our series.

Jesus defeated death so you can live.

"The history of the interpretation of sanctorum communio is the history of the Western interpretation of the church." Elert, Eucharist and Church Fellowship