A key image Luther used to describe and teach how God is present and active in his creation is that of "God's masks."  Simply put, God works in and through creatures--inanimate objects, animals, and human beings (both Christians and non-Christians)--to accomplish his purposes in this world, including the preservation of fallen creation and the sharing of the salvation Christ won on the cross.

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I have chosen this important image as the title of a book-length discussion of Luther's distinction of the "two kingdoms," the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of the world. This distinction is often cited (by Lutherans and others) but is often not understood well. Either the kingdoms are collapsed into each other, or they are separated from each other, as if God were in charge only of the church but not the world.

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You can find this work here for free.

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It's my recommendation that those new to this subject matter (or Lutheran theology) start with the introduction, interspersed summaries, and conclusion and to work their way back from there into the more detailed (and citation-rich) discussions in the individual sections of the book.

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The blog posts and other materials published on this site are related to, and apply to today's challenges, the basic principles developed in this work, where they are supported by copious citations from the works of Luther and others.​

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The discussion in this book is comprehensive in that it stretches from creation to the resurrection of the dead on the Last Day. The discussion covers Luther as well as key Lutheran theologians of the 20th century, namely, Werner Elert, Paul Althaus, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, to shed light on how Luther's teachings were (mis-)understood and (mis-)applied during the politically difficult situations of life in Nazi Germany.

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I've given particular emphasis to discussing what leading a life of love according to God's law in a fallen world means concretely. Put differently, the book seeks to demonstrate how Luther should serve as a guide to go beyond enunciating general moral precepts from the pulpit. Luther taught that, while such precepts may not be wrong in general (and therefore seemingly "safe" for the preacher), they may become wrong in a concrete situation because they may cause the Christian to act against love, whom Luther understood as the queen of the law.​