WHO WE ARE

The Weidner Institute is the academic division of Just & Sinner. Through the work of our fellows, and guest lecturers, we offer courses and seminars on theological, philosophical, and cultural topics to enrich the church. These courses are offered live, where participants are able to interact directly with the instructor, and they are also available for purchase in video format. The Institute also publishes theological texts from modern Lutheran scholars that engage with current scholarship and cultural challenges from a classical Lutheran lens. 

You can enroll as a student with the Weidner Institute here and get access to all of our past courses immediately. You can also purchase individual courses here.

FEATURED PUBLICATION

The Doctrine of Justification: Theological Essays From the Weidner Institute
Editors: Jordan B. Cooper and Matthew Fenn

The doctrine of justification through faith alone is in some ways the definitive doctrine of the Lutheran Reformation. It is this teaching which Martin Luther famously referred to as the "doctrine upon which the church stands or falls." Despite agreement on the centrality of this teaching, however, there have been no shortage of disagreements on justification from within the Lutheran tradition. From the controversies which followed Luther's death into the beginning of the twenty-first century, debates have continued surrounding various aspects of this crucial doctrine.
    In this volume, eight contemporary voices shed light on these controversies, detailing theological and practical issues involved. Topics discussed here include: the idea of objective justification, the active obedience of Christ, the relationship between the Roman Catholic and Lutheran teachings, the place of speech-act theory in modern expositions, the nature of "the righteousness of God" in Paul's thought, and the church fathers' approach to the subject.

FEATURED VIDEOS

The Lutheran Doctrine of Sanctification
by Rev. Matthew Fenn

This talk, delivered at the 2023 AALC Pastors's Conference, was on the subject of sanctification as taught in the Lutheran Confessions, and the early theologians of Lutheran Orthodoxy. Fenn answers some modern objections to the older view, and demonstrates that Lutherans are not "weak on sanctification" as is sometimes claimed.
Philosophy and Theology in Luther's Disputational Theses on John 1:14
by Dr. Eric Phillips
In this presentation, Dr. Eric Phillips presents a paper on Luther's Disputational Theses on John 1:14. The talk is centered on the relationship between theology and philosophy in Martin Luther's thought, as evidenced in this writing.
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FEATURED COURSES

The Natural Knowledge of God in St. Thomas Aquinas and Johann Gerhard
Instructor: Dr. Nathan Greeley, Fellow of Apologetics and Philosophical Theology

​In this seminar, Nathan Greeley explains the thought of two monumental figures—the medieval theologian St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) and the Lutheran theologian Johann Gerhard (1582-1637). He then examines and compares what they teach about the natural knowledge of God.
The Distinction Between Law and Gospel
Instructor: Rev. Lewis Polzin, Fellow of Practical Theology

This course explores the distinction between the Law and the Gospel in Lutheran doctrine and practice. The content is based on C.F.W. Walther's classic work The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel. Throughout the class, Rev. Polzin introduces each of Walther's twenty-five theses, explains their meaning, and applies them to the Christian life. 
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​The Weidner Institute is named after the nineteenth-century American Lutheran Theologian Revere Franklin Weidner. Weidner wrote numerous books on systematic theology, Biblical theology, and ethics. Within the age of revivalism, he was a proponent of Confessional Lutheran theology and identity, and he communicated this through teaching and writing. At the Weidner Institute, we honor his legacy through a similar promotion of Confessionalism in an age of confusion in the church.