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Biography
Johann Michael Reu (November 16, 1869 – October 14, 1943) was a German born, American Lutheran theologian, author and educator.
Johann Michael Reu was born at Diebach, in Bavaria, Germany. He was the youngest of ten children. His father died when Reu was only two years old. Reu studied from 1887-1889 at the nearby Neuendettelsau Mission Institute (Neuendettelsauer Missionsgesellschaft) which had been founded by Wilhelm Loehe in 1841.
He was ordained a Lutheran minister at age 20 and emigrated to the United States where he first served as an assistant pastor in Mendota, Illinois. He subsequently was called to serve as pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Rock Falls, Illinois. In 1899, he joined the faculty of Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, where he taught until his death in 1943.
In 1902, Reu became an American citizen. Reu was awarded a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in 1910. Reu also received an honorary Doctorate of Literature from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio in 1926,. Reu was a prolific author of 66 books, covering nearly all topics in Christian life, as well as more than 3000 published book reviews.
The archives of Wartburg Theological Seminary contain the papers, correspondence, sermons, and writings of J. Michael Reu, professor of Wartburg Seminary, 1899-1943.
Selected bibliography
- Christliche ethik in kurzer skizzierung (1914) (translated and published as Christian Ethics in 1934)
- Thirty-five Years of Luther Research (1917) [1]
- How I Tell the Bible Stories to My Sunday School (1918)
- Catechetics: or, Theory and practise of religious instruction (1918)
- Homiletics: A Manual of the Theory and Practice of Preaching (1922) [2]
- The Augsburg Confession: A Collection of Sources with an Historical Introduction (1930)
- The Lutheran Symbols in Particular (1933)
- An Explanation of Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism (1959)