Presented here in English are three of Franz Pieper's writings about the atonement:
- The Doctrine of Christ's Work, capturing the lecture notes on the atonement used at Concordia Seminary.
- The Reconciliation of God with Man, a district convention address.
- The High Priestly Office of Christ fromChristian Dogmatics.
Pieper shows that the confessional Lutheran doctrine of vicarious satisfaction is the teaching of Scripture, the Lutheran confessions, and Lutheran Orthodoxy. It is the only doctrine that can give sin-stricken consciences assurance and peace. The scriptural doctrine is not a theory, and it stands over against speculative theories of atonement. Erroneous theories vogue today are not new. They had their forerunners before Pieper's time. In these three writings, Pieper's refutation of stock theoretical errors remains current. Pieper's work is for today and the future.
Jack D. Kilcrease says in the Foreword: "In the translations contained in this volume, Francis Pieper achieves two distinct goals. First, Pieper successfully critiques alternative contemporary rivals to his theological positions. Secondly, Pieper outlines an appropriate confessional Lutheran account of the doctrine of atonement. In the translations in this volume, Pieper is able to achieve these goals with impressive agility."
Included are two biographical sketches by Theodore Graebner and W. H. T. Dau.
Franz Pieper (1852 - 1931) was President of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, professor of systematic theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, president of the seminary, and editor of Lehre und Wehre, the faculty journal. He was the author of the three-volumeChristliche Dogmatik (1917-1924), translated by Theodore Mueller and published in English by the synodical publishing house asChristian Dogmatics (1950-1953). He was the principal author of A Brief Statement [of doctrine] of 1932 which was adopted by the synod in convention.Christian Dogmatics and A Brief Statement remain authoritative presentations of the synod's theology.