On this episode of The Concordia Publishing House Podcast, Pastor Mike Fieberkorn speaks with host Elizabeth Pittman about his new book, Battle of the Soul: Luther Reforms Vice and Virtue.
Battle of the Soul will be available on October 31, 2023. Pre-order your copy by visiting cph.org/battle-of-the-soul-luther-reforms-vice-and-virtue.
Show Notes
Envy, greed, gluttony, lust, anger, sloth, and pride are all vices and manifestations of our unbelief. Pastor Fieberkorn joins Elizabeth Pittman to explain how our daily living of the Ten Commandments helps kill our unbelief.
Listen as Pastor Fieberkorn reflects on how he came to write about the ideas of vice and virtue, what he defines as believers’ daily battle, how Martin Luther reformed thinking about these everyday struggles, and more.
Questions Covered
· What is the battle of the soul?
· How did you first notice the ideas of vice and virtue in Luther? Were you surprised to see how often Luther used these ideas?
· How does repeated engagement in sinful thinking turn into a habitual vice that becomes our way of looking at the world? How might it affect our neighbors?
· How can naming our vices help us diagnose something that might be becoming an idol in our lives?
· What does Christian virtue look like according to Luther?
· Luther matches up vices and virtues with the 10 Commandments. Give a couple examples of this.
· Why must we actively work to kill our vices/slay the old man?
· Why is it’s so important to remember our Baptism each day and the comfort that gives?
· At the back of the book, there are prayers for the reader to use in their daily lives. Can you talk about how readers might use those and why they’re helpful? How do these types of prayers help us grow in our prayer life and strengthen us for battle?
About the Guest
Rev. Dr. Michael Todd Fieberkornhas served as a Lutheran pastor at Zion in St. Charles, Missouri, since 2019. He is a second-career pastor who served active duty in the Air Force for six years and currently serves in the Air Force Reserves. Pastor Fieberkorn and his wife, Angela, have three children.