The German Lutheran Literary Board

“Note how often faith is mentioned in the epistles. Two of Paul’s epistles – Romans and Galatians – were expressly written to prove that men are justified by faith… The letter to the Hebrews devotes a whole chapter – the 11th – to a panegyric on the heroes of faith… faith is the outstanding doctrine of the New Testament, and therefore should take precedence of a doctrine like election, which is treated more incidentally.

“The first book of Moses, called Genesis, tells us whence we come; the last book of the Bible, the Revelation of St. John, shows us whither we go. It is true, men who have considered themselves wise above that which is written, have tried in every way to gainsay this divine answer; and a false reasoning at the present day proclaims from the housetops that science has done away with the former belief concerning the origin of man, and that we are not created by God, but descended from the monkey.

“The ‘Brief History of the Lutheran Church in America,’ …has been kindly admitted as a textbook in almost all theological seminaries of the Lutheran Church in this country… As in the previous edition, so in this one, it has been our aim to furnish a textbook that would serve as a guide for instruction in theological seminaries.