Fathers of Lutheran Orthodoxy: Theologia Didactico-Polemica, Sive Systema Theologicum - Pars I

"John Andrew Quenstedt (1617-88) spent his entire active ministry as professor at the University of Wittenberg...His rather uneventful life culminated in his one great literary work, Theologia Didactico-Polemica sive Systema Theologiae, which was printed just 3 years before his death. There is no question that after the Loci Theologici of Chemnitz and Gerhard (who was his uncle) the Systema of Quenstedt ranks as the greatest dogmatics book ever written by a Lutheran...One might say that Quenstedt's Systema killed systematic theology in the period of Lutheran orthodoxy as Michaelangelo killed Renaissance art by the unexcelled quality of his work. Quenstedt's lifework is so big, so complete, so concise and systematic, and so excellent that no later Lutheran ever came close to equalling it." - Robert Preus in "The Theology of Post-Reformation Lutheranism," Volume I, p. 62. (Notes for Readers: This book is in Latin and was prepared from a scan. If there are any unreadable parts of the text, such as with blurry Greek script, please consult with photocopies from the Post-Reformation Digital Library. If you desire English translations of Quenstedt, you may search Amazon for the translated chapters on The Church, Creation, the Office of Christ, and the Nature and Character of Theology [out of print].) This volume is part of a greater series entitled 'Fathers of Lutheran Orthodoxy.' The purpose of this series is to present great works of Lutheranism with a focus on the era of Lutheran Orthodoxy, although it also includes prominent works of the 19th and 20th centuries as well. For too long, the rich theology of Lutheranism's past has been limited to libraries' rare book rooms and cumbersome online PDFs. Therefore, this series endeavors to take public domain books of the Lutheran confession and to make them available for anyone who desires these works in the form of a physical print. This series is meant to include mostly original Latin works, but some works may be in German and even in English. The final goal is to create both accessibility and interest for studying and reading the works of Lutheran Orthodoxy, with the hope of creating renewed interest in scholars one day translating the rich theology of Lutheranism. For updates or questions, please reach out to the 'Fathers of Lutheran Orthodoxy' Facebook page.