It will help equip Concordia faculty to participate in these debates, involve students in issues beyond the classroom, and sponsor scholarship and activities for the service of the church and the culture as a whole. The Cranach Institute is committed to the full authority of the Word of God and to the exposition of that Word found in The Book of Concord, the collection of Lutheran confessions from which Concordia University draws its name. The Cranach Institute is devoted to continuing the Reformation tradition, which had such a powerful impact on Western Civilization, and applying its insights today. The Reformation doctrine of Two Kingdoms teaches that God is King, not only in His church through the transforming power of the Gospel, but in the secular realm, even among those who do not know Him. God rules His earthly Kingdom through His power, through natural laws, human vocations, and His righteous Law.
Christians are to be citizens of both kingdoms.
The Cranach Institute exists to help Christians understand their cultures in a secularist age, so that they can resist the temptations of worldliness, more effectively evangelized the lost, and be equipped for faithful service in the secular arena. Just as Concordia University prepares not only church workers but also professionals in the fields of medicine, business, law, education, and the liberal arts, the Cranach Institute seeks to apply the principles of Christian vocation in both of God's Kingdoms.