Upon the centennial of his birth, we offer these resources by and about Gerhard Forde.
“Radical Lutheranism – Lutheran Identity in America”
His manifesto, “Radical Lutheranism” in LQ 1 (1987): 5-18, remains our theological North Pole.
Bibliographies
Foundational to these resources are two comprehensive bibliographies. The first, posted since January 2026 and now updated, is a chronological account of all of Forde’s published works, including reprints and translations. The second, newly posted here, is a bibliography of books and essays about Forde and his theology. Updates will be posted periodically.
Timothy Wengert's Lecture on Gerhard Forde
Anticipating the centennial year in 2027, the Lutheran Quarterly Lecture on April 17, 2026, was an overview presentation on Forde as a “practical theologian” by Timothy Wengert. Bud Thompson gave the introduction at Luther Memorial Church, Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa. The lecture will appear in LQ’s autumn 2027 issue.
More Information
Open Access to Forde’s essays
Of Forde’s many essays in various journals, we here supply open access to the full texts
of all those that appeared in Lutheran Quarterly, Word and World, Lutheran Forum, and Interpretation (limited access)..
His many essays in dialog: a Journal of Theology will appear in a special digital issue of that journal on its own website:
This bibliography lists the collected works of Gerhard Forde (1927-2005) published in Lutheran Quarterly. Please note – you may view the items below by clicking on their title.
1987-1989
1990-1999
———. “The Word on Quotas.” Lutheran Quarterly 6 (1992): 119–26.
———. “Law and Sexual Behavior.” Lutheran Quarterly 9 (1995): 3-22.
Schwarz, Reinhard. “The Last Supper: The Testament of Jesus.” Translated by Gerhard O.Forde. Lutheran Quarterly 9 (1995): 391–403.
Forde, Gerhard. “Martens on the Condemnations.” Lutheran Quarterly 10 (1996): 67–69.
———. “What Finally to Do about the (Counter-)Reformation Condemnations.” Lutheran Quarterly 11 (1997): 3–16.
2000-2009
Forde, Gerhard O. “Lutheran Ecumenism: With Whom and How Much?” Lutheran Quarterly 17 (2003): 436–55.
2010-2019
———. “Text, For the Record: The Freedom to Reform (Reformation 1967).” Lutheran
Quarterly 25 (2011): 167-75.
———. “Satis Est? What do we do when other churches don’t agree?” Lutheran Quarterly 26 (2012): 322-24.
———. “Luther and the Jews.” Lutheran Quarterly 27 (2013): 125–42.
———. “Sacraments as Eschatological Gift and Promise.” Lutheran Quarterly 31 (2017): 310–
19.———. “Lutheran Faith and American Freedom.” Lutheran Quarterly 31 (2017): 424–35.
2020-Present
———. “Text, For the Record: [Final chapel homily of Gerhard Forde before his retirement in 1998, on Genesis 3:1-5 and Colossians 3:3].” Lutheran Quarterly 38 (2024): 336-337.
Bolded titles are links to the article.
This bibliography lists the collected works of Gerhard Forde (1927-2005) published in Word and
World.
1984-1989
Forde, Gerhard. “Caught in the Act: Reflections on the Work of Christ.” Word and World 3(1984): 22–31.
———. “The Viability of Luther Today: A North American Perspective.” Word and World 7(1987): 22–31.
———. “What’s in a Name? Eucharist or Lord’s Supper.” Word and World 9 (1989): 52–55
1990-Present
———. “Confessional Subscription: What Does It Mean for Lutherans Today?” Word and World 11 (1991): 316–20.
———. “The Newness of the New Testament.” In All Things New: Essays in Honor of Roy A.Harrisville. Edited by Arland J. Hultgren, Donald H. Juel, and Jack D. Kingsbury. St. Paul: Word and World Supplement, 1992, 175–80.
———. “Does the Gospel Have a Future? Barth’s Romans Revisited.” Word and World 14 (1994): 67–77.
———. “The Normative Character of Scripture for Matters of Faith and Life: Human Sexuality in Light of Romans 1:16–32.” Word and World 14 (1994): 305–14.
———. “Is Forgiveness Enough? Reflections on an Odd Question.” Word and World 16 (1996): 302-08.
———. “The Lord’s Supper as the Testament of Jesus.” Word and World 17 (1997): 5–9.
Bolded text have a link to the article for viewing.
This bibliography lists the collected works of Gerhard Forde (1927-2005) published in Lutheran
Forum.
1992-Present
Forde, Gerhard. “The Meaning of satis est.” Lutheran Forum 26 (1992): 14–18
This bibliography lists the collected works of Gerhard Forde (1927-2005) published in dialog: a
Journal of Theology.
Note: We anticipate a special issue from Dialog about Gerhrd Forde’s works they have published. They are listed here for your reference. Please check the Dialog website for viewing access by clicking the bolded link above..
1962-1969
Forde, Gerhard O. Review of Dogmatics, by Hermann Diem. Dialog 1 (1962): 69–70.
1970-1979
———. “Lex semper accusat? Nineteenth-Century Roots of Our Current Dilemma.” Dialog 9 (1970): 265–74.
———. “Sense and Nonsense about Luther.” Dialog 10 (1971): 65–67.
———. “Once More into the Breach? Some Questions about Key 73.” Dialog 12 (1973): 7–14.
———. “Zwickau Redivivus.” Dialog 12 (1973): 250-51.
———. “The Formula of Concord Article V: End or New Beginning?” Dialog 15 (1976): 184– 91.
———. “Bultmann: Where Did He Take Us?” Dialog 17 (1978): 27–30.
———. “Outside the Gate: Atonement as Actual Event.” Dialog 18 (1979): 247–54.
1980-1989
———. “A Short Word.” Dialog 20 (1981): 88–92.
———. “Unity without Concord.” Dialog 20 (1981): 166–73.
———. “Theology as modus operandi.” Dialog 21 (1982): 175–79.
———. “The Place of Theology in the Church.” Dialog 22 (1983): 121–30.
———. “Fake Theology: Reflections on Antinomianism Past and Present.” Dialog 22 (1983):246–51.
———. “The Power of Negative Thinking: On the Principle of Negation in Luther and Hegelianism.” Dialog 23 (1984): 250-56.
———. “Some Remarks on Peters’ Review of Christian Dogmatics.” Dialog 24 (1985): 297–99.
———. “Lutherans, For the Time Being…” Dialog 27 (1988): 164-65.
———. “Justification by Faith Alone: The Article by Which the Church Stands or Falls?” Dialog 27 (1988): 260–67.
———. “Full Communion?” Dialog 28 (1989): 85–86.
1990-1999
———. “Proclamation: The Present Tense of the Gospel.” Dialog 29 (1990): 167–73.
———. “A Movement without a Move?” Dialog 30 (1991): 83–84.
———. “Public Ministry and Its Limits.” Dialog 30 (1991): 102–10.
———. “Response to James Nestingen’s Article.” Dialog 31 (1992): 34–35.
———. “Luther and the Usus Pauli.” Dialog 32 (1993): 275–82.
———. “The One Acted Upon.” Dialog 36 (1997): 54–61.Forde, Gerhard O., et al. “A Call for Discussion of the ‘Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.’” Dialog 36 (1997): 224–29.
Forde, Gerhard O. “What Next?” Dialog 37 (1998): 163.
———. “The Critical Response of German Theological Professors to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.” Dialog 38 (1999): 71–72.
———. “Fault! A Response to Michael Root.” Dialog 38 (1999): 163-166.
2000-Present
Forde, Gerhard O., and James Arne Nestingen. “Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts.” Dialog 39 (2000): 291–92.
This bibliography lists the collected works of Gerhard Forde (1927-2005) published in Interpretation.
1980-1989
———. “The Exodus from Virtue to Grace: Justification by Faith Today.” Interpretation 34 (1980): 32–44.
———. “Law and Gospel in Luther’s Hermeneutic.” Interpretation 37 (1983): 240–52.
———. “Romans 8:18–27.” Interpretation 38 (1984): 281–85.
———. Review of Luther in Mid-Career, 1521–1530, by Heinrich Bornkamm. Interpretation 39 (1985): 436.
1990-Present
———. “Something to Believe: A Theological Perspective on Infant Baptism.” Interpretation 47 (1993): 229–41.
Photo Gallery
Enjoy these few images of Gerhard Forde
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- Gerhard Forde
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- Gerhard Forde
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- In 1984, before publication began, the original officers of Lutheran Quarterly, Inc., were, from left to right: Walter Sundberg, Jr., Vice President; Oliver K. Olson, President; Cynthia C. Ramseyer, Secretary; Earl Ensberg, Treasurer; Gerhard Forde, 2nd Vice President.
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- Some of the directors of Lutheran Quarterly, Inc., are pictured here in 1998. From the left, standing, are Joseph Burgess, David Hardy, Gerhard Forde, and Ronald Feuerhahn. Seated, from the left, are James Kittelson and Oliver K. Olson. Not pictured are Directors Roald Kindem and Walter Sundberg, Jr.
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- Theology is for Proclamation
More to Come!
Yet to come in this space are his many books, whether in print and free for the asking
or as e-Books to be linked here, full text and open access, as supplied by the publishers and paid for by LQ.