My colleague, Rev. Dr. Benjamin Mayes is diligent to share with me everything he discovers by way of orthodox Lutheran theological resources online. He has done it again by providing me a link to an on-line digital edition of the work by Leonard Hutter titled Concordia Concors. What, you might wonder, is Concordia Concors? It is a response to an attack against Lutheranism launched by the Calvinist Hospinian, with his work Concordia discors, or, Unharmonious Harmony.

Leonard Hütter, (1563–1616) was born in Nellingen, near Ulm, educated in Strasbourg, Leipzig, Heidelberg, and Jena; professor in Wittenberg 1596; champion of Lutheran orthodoxy; called redonatus Lutherus (Latin for “Luther given back”), by anagrammatic rearrangement of the letters in Leonardus Hutterus. His works include Compendium locorum theologicorum and Concordia concors.

In his book The Theology of Post-Reformation Lutheranism, Volume 1, Dr. Robert Preus has this to say about Concordia concors and Leonard Hutter. (By the way, Dr. Preus’ book is truly a sine qua non on the subject of orthodox Lutheran theologians and their theology. A truly brilliant work of erudition, and, as always, written in a clear, easy to understand manner.

“After the final overthrow of the Philippists he was called to Wittenberg as professor of theology. Together with Giles Hunnius he was most effective in establishing confessional Lutheran orthodoxy. His activity centered primarily in dogmatics and symbolics. His most important work in symbolics was his Concordia Concors, written in 1614,in which he defended the Formula of Concord, in reply to the Calvinist Rudolf Hospinian.”