Before Martin Luther called upon the Church to return "ad fontes" to Holy Scripture, Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) endeavored to call the Church to a far different 'font'-the writings of the "prisci theologi" (ancient theologians) of pagan antiquity. Zoroaster and Hermes Trismegistus were interpreted as inspired teachers whom men such as Ficino and Pico believed could provide guidance for the Church in their time. Their students included future popes (most notably Pope Leo X) and leaders of the Renaissance, such as Johannes Reuchlin (1455-1522). Their influence liners to this day in the "Traditionalist" movement and in the "postmodern" belief that all religions ultimately lead to the truth. James D. Heiser is Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA) and Pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Malone, Texas. He also serves as Dean of Missions of the Augustana Ministerium. He earned his M.Div. and S.T.M. at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

"Any future culture must witness a restoration of the role of the sacred within the lives of its people, or it will share the spiritual ills of our present culture. A renewed culture, rooted in the love of neighbor and a zeal for the truth-especially zeal for the One who is Truth-will be truly ready for the new frontier." The Rt. Rev. James D. Heiser is a founding member of the Mars Society, and a member of the society's Board of Directors and Steering Committee. He is the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA).

Begun the same year he started work on his renowned dogmatics, the Loci Theologici, Gerhard's A Comprehensive Explanation... is a masterpiece in its own right. In 67 chapters (31 for Baptism, 36 for the Lord's Supper), Gerhard examines issues which are of vital importance today: Who may officiate at a Baptism, or celebrate the Lord's Supper? May substances other than bread and wine be used in the Lord's Supper? What is the proper preparation for receiving holy communion? May Baptism be repeated? Is immersion necessary for a valid Baptism? All these questions (and many more) are answered by Gerhard on the basis of Holy Scripture. Gerhard's profound knowledge of the Scriptures makes this volume a wonderful resource.

In the second volume of this great devotional work, Gerhard builds on the foundation established int he first volume: "In the first volume of this treatise I have related in an orderly way the main, important, and motivational reasons which should generally encourage and awaken every person toward godliness. Now, additionally, follows that we provide a sure form and good directions from the Word of God as to how and in what manner a person should and can practice godliness. It is necessary for us to know both, for God has prescribed both for us in His Word." Rev. Dr. Elmer Hohle's translation of the Schola Pietatis (1623) is his latest contribution to the Repristination Press collection of Gerhard's works.

What is history? For many post-modern men-maltreated and miseducated by substandard pseudo-educators in the holding pens which society calls "public schools"-history is just a string of disassociated events which reduces to a catalog of 'one blasted thing after another.' Taught to avoid any awareness of a transcendent significance associated with any event and to simply become immersed in fleeting concerns, the cultivated ignorance of history has partially blinded its victims to the reality which surrounds them from before the moment of birth. In an age when the value of life is measured only by the perception of personal material affluence, the most fundamental needs of human beings have been woefully neglected. Ours is a dark age, in the proper sense of the concept. It is an age in which those who claim to know are often the most ignorant-ignorant of the sacred history which undergirds the history of the race-and thus men are ignorant of who they are, when they are, and where they are. An awareness of the darkness of the present age offers the possibility of repentance, and a return to a civilization worthy of the term.