Concordia Seminary PhD Dissertation Synopses, 2021 Michael Fieberkorn (Adviser: Rev. Dr. Joel Biermann) Rev. Fieberkorn’s dissertation is entitled, From Vice to Virtue: Contours of Idolatry and New Obedience. This dissertation examines Martin Luther’s retention of the medieval vice and virtue tradition and observes how he reframes this tradition in light of his own emphasis on salvation by grace alone. Luther recognizes the vices as specific instances of idolatry in the human heart, and sees the cultivation of opposing virtues as necessary to move from unbelief to trust in Jesus. Luther situates vice and virtue in the larger context of the Ten Commandments which he employs to define the specific contours of sanctified, obedient Christian living. Brian Gauthier (Adviser: Rev. Dr. Leopoldo Sánchez) Rev. Gauthier’s dissertation is entitled, Jesus In, With, and Under the Spirit: The Spirit’s Presence and Activity in Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar. In dialogue with the Spirit Christology of Leopoldo Sánchez and others, this dissertation shows how the Holy Spirit is present and active in the Lord’s Supper. The Holy Spirit is working through Jesus’ words (“this is my body”) and is present with Jesus as he gives us his body and blood in the Sacrament, in order to strengthen us in faith and love. The dissertation offers the first pneumatology of the Lord’s Supper from a Lutheran perspective. Kevin Gingrich (Adviser: Rev. Dr. James Voelz) Mr. Gingrich’s dissertation is entitled, Parechesis in the Undisputed Pauline Epistles: Definition, Identification, and Discovery. This dissertation investigates in depth in the major Pauline epistles the use of the literary device known as parechesis, a figure of speech in which words are used in proximity to one another that sound similar but are from different roots with different meanings—an example is ἔμαθεν, “he learned,” and ἔπαθεν, “he suffered.” This work contributes substantially to the ongoing study of St. Paul’s mastery of rhetorical forms common in the Greco-Roman world. Editor’s note
These scholars received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Concordia Seminary’s Commencement exercises on May 21, 2021. Fuller descriptions of their dissertations are available at https://concordiatheology.org/2021/06/phd-dissertations-2021/.
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Concordia Journal Summer 2021
