A Lutheran Voice in the Public Square

Christian ideas, emerging out of a Biblical World View, can challenge the weaknesses of secularism and offer constructive alternatives grounded in the truth of God’s Word. Most Christian contributions to current debates are coming from a Catholic or Reformed theological perspective.

While these may often be helpful, the Lutheran tradition – with its doctrine of Two Kingdoms, its distinction between Law and Gospel, and its high view of Word and Sacrament – often approaches these issues differently.

In debates about medical ethics, political activism, educational practices, and the like, the Lutheran voice needs to be heard. The Cranach Institute seeks to be a resource and a catalyst so that Lutherans can participate in their community conversations and vocational roles to the best of their ability as assisted by the Church.

May our Lord and Savior bless us with His Word, His Wisdom, and His gifts as we live the days He has prepared before us. Amen.

About Us

The Cranach Institute affiliated with Concordia Theological Seminary (CTSFW) and is committed to the full authority of the Word of God and to the exposition of that Word found in The Book of Concord, the collection of Lutheran confessions from which CTSFW draws its name. The Cranach Institute is devoted to continuing the Reformation tradition, which had such a powerful impact on Western Civilization, and applying its insights today.

Emphases

Culture

The Reformation doctrine of Two Kingdoms teaches that God is King, not only in His church through the transforming power of the Gospel, but in the secular realm, even among those who do not know Him. God rules His earthly Kingdom through His power, through natural laws, human vocations, and His righteous Law. Christians are to be citizens of both kingdoms. The Cranach Institute exists to help Christians understand their cultures in a secularist age, so that they can resist the temptations of worldliness, more effectively evangelized the lost, and be equipped for faithful service in the secular arena.

Vocation

The Lutheran Reformation taught that all vocations – not only the pastoral office but parenthood, citizenship, the workplace, and the exercise of all God-given talents – are callings from God, means by which God works in His earthly kingdom. Cranach Institute seeks to apply the principles of Christian vocation in both of God’s Kingdoms.

All Creation

In the words of Luther’s Small Catechism, “I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them” (Explanation of the First Article of the Creed). Seeking to find precisely how God takes care of us and acts in and through creation is part of science.

The Holy Scriptures are perfectly clear that our Lord God is Creator and Lord over all Creation. Because of this, science can be an expression of pious delight and growing wisdom about many details in creation that are not addressed by Scripture.

The Bible holds authority due its Author and Purposes, but it is not antagonistic or inhibiting in our exploration of God’s gifts in creation, including the traditional branches of science: formal, natural, or social.

The Christian mind is not to be neglected. Therefore, the Cranach Institute is also gathering and compiling resources on the Two Kingdoms, science and vocations of science, ethics, apologetics, Christianity and philosophy, and biblical worldview.

Leadership

Dr. Gene Edward Veith, C0-Director

Retired from serving as an English professor and college Provost, Gene Edward Veith is a prolific blogger, speaker, and writer. He has served as Professor of English at Concordia University Wisconsin, Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, Cultural Editor of WORLD MAGAZINE, and both Provost and acting president of Patrick Henry College.

He has won numerous awards, including Concordia University Wisconsin Adult Learning Teacher of the Year in 1993; Faculty Laureate Award as outstanding faculty member in 1994; Salvatori Fellow with the Heritage Foundation in 1994-1995; Senior Fellow with the Capital Research Center; and honorary doctorates from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne (2005), Concordia University California, Irvine (2014), and Patrick Henry College (2016). He was also given the layman’s Robert D. Preus Award by the Association of Confessional Lutherans as “Confessional Lutheran of the Year” in 2002. In 1994, Postmodern Times received a Christianity Today Book Award as one of the top 25 religious books of 1994

Dr. Veith was born in Oklahoma in 1951. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1973 and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas in 1979. He and his wife Jackquelyn have three grown children and live in Blackwell, Oklahoma, where they remain actively involved with the Consortium of Classical Lutheran Education (CCLE) and nearby grandchildren.

See books published here.

Dr. Angus Menuge, Co-Director

Angus Menuge is professor of philosophy at Concordia University Wisconsin and is the president of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. His research interests include philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, apologetics, and C. S. Lewis.

Dr. Angus Menuge was born in England and became a US citizen in February 2005. He holds a BA in philosophy from Warwick University, a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a Diploma in Christian Apologetics, Evangelism and Humans Rights from the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism and Human Rights, Strasbourg, France.

Some of his more recent work focuses on libertarian free will and the creative powers of agents.

Go here for a partial list of his articles and lectures available online, and here for his books.

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