Where God Meets Man, 50th Anniversary Edition

“Forde’s Where God Meets Man introduced a generation of students to Martin Luther’s radical idea that God in Jesus Christ invades our lives to kill us, raise us up, and put us squarely on earth. This 50th Anniversary Edition, complete with an engaging study guide by Bradley Jensen, continues to have an unsettling power to renew faith and life.” –Mark Tranvik, professor of Reformation history and theology, Luther Seminary

“Forde’s writings rest on the conviction that the Lutheran Reformation conveyed the quintessence of Christianity with a theological precision and pastoral relevance that are unique and lasting. This book addresses the question: What is it to be Lutheran? But really: What is it to be Christian?” –Dorothea Wendebourg, chair, modern church and Reformation history, Humboldt University, Berlin

“Why has this book remained in print for fifty years? Because it clearly outlines a Lutheran theological perspective that is both illuminating and penetrating. Once you have read this book, you will, like me, want to read it again and again.” –Joseph Burgess, former executive director, Division of Theological Studies, Lutheran Council in the USA

Gerhard O. Forde, Lutheran theologian and pastor, taught at St. Olaf College, Luther College, and Luther Seminary. In addition to his teaching, he served as a member of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogues for twenty years. He authored several books, including Justification by Faith: A Matter of Death and Life (1982), Theology Is for Proclamation (1990), and On Being a Theologian of the Cross: Reflections on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation, 1518 (1997). Three published collections of Forde’s essays and sermons have been edited by Mark Mattes and Steven Paulson: A More Radical Gospel: Essays on Eschatology, Authority, Atonement, and Ecumenism (2004), The Preached God: Proclamation in Word and Sacrament (2007), and The Essential Forde (2019). Another collection of sermons, We Preach Christ Crucified: Sermons by Gerhard O. Forde (2016), was edited by his wife, Marianna. Gerhard Forde died on August 9, 2005.

Bradley C. Jenson is a graduate of St. Olaf College and Luther Seminary, where he was a student of Gerhard Forde. Jenson served congregations in the American Lutheran Church and the ELCA prior to retiring from pastoral ministry in 2002 and accepting a position in financial services.