<1tnurnrbtu UJ4rn1ngual 6tutltly Continuing LEARE UNO WEARE MAGAZIN FUER E v.-L uTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. XU August, 1941 No. 8 CONTENTS Pqe Verbal Inspiration-a Stumbling-Block to the Jews and Foolish ness to the Greeks. Th. Engelder _ ___ ___ _______ __________ 561 A Suggestion for a Lutheran Compline Service. P. E. Kretzmann _ 589 Outlines on the Wuerttemberg Gospel Selections __ ________________ ______ 595 Miscellanea ---_______________________________________________ _______________ ____ ___________________ 606 Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitgeschichtliches ___________________ 616 Book Review. - Literatur _______________________ _______ _____ _________________ ____ _____________633 J:In Pre4Ipr mWIII nleht Blleln tDef ..... alao d_ er die Sehafe Wller welIIe. w1e lI1e recbte ChrIsten l ollen lela, ~dem .ucb daneben den Woel fen _Meta, daa lI1e die Sehafe nlcht IIIIINIfeD ODd mit fallcher Lehre ver fIIebnrn ODd Irrtum eInfuehren. Luther Ell l8t keln Ding. du die Laute mehr bel der Klrcbe bebaeIt deDn die gute Predigt. - ApoZogle, An. 24 If the trumpet live an WlcertaIn IOWld. who IhaU prepare blm8eJf to the battle? - 1 Cor. 14:8 Publ1shed for the BY. Lath. 8ynod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCOBDIA PUBUSBING HOUSE, St. Louis, Mo. Jr'~'{ Book Review - Xliteratut 633 Book Review - 2iter«tnr All books reviewed in this periodical may be procured from or through Con- cordia Publishing House, 3558 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, Mo. Light from Bible Prophecy, as Related to the Present Crisis. By Louis S. Bauman, D. D. Fleming H. Revell Company. 169 pages, 5lj4X7lt'2. Price, $1.00. The only reason why we review this chiliastic writing in our MONTHLY is because it brings out so clearly the pernicious nature of millelmialism. The harm of chiliasm is that it turns the Christian hope away from the heaveI1ly heritage to earthly expectations and changes the spiritual glory of the Church into a glory of this world. For in- stance, when "the Prince of Peace shall mount His throne in David's royal city, 'nations shall learn war no more'" (p. l02) . The spiritual peace Jesus gained for us is changed into an earthly peace. And in line with this the "battle of Armageddon" is not the onslaught of the powers of darkness against the Gospel but an earthly warfare, in which "the nations of the earth will go forward to carry out a program which is even now the program of the German Fuehrer - the extermination of the Jews. . .. On they will roll and fly and march - tanks and planes and men - to the walls of Jerusalem" (pp. 164, 166) . "Look up and lift up your heads" (Luke 21: 25-31) means that "Christ, on His great white charger, shall ride forth" to restore Palestine to Israel and rule in glory for a thousand years (pp. 95, 107, 119). Our book distinguishes between the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of grace. "The 'Gospel of the Kingdom' has not to do with the testimony as to the grace of God, ... but it has to do with the 'return' of Christ to 'build again the Taber- nacle of David.''' (P.126.) It is subversive of Christianity to set another gospel beside the Gospel of grace. Our book closes with this paragraph: "When the smoke of that battle" (Armageddon) "rolls off the field, then 'shall the Sun of Righteousness arise' over the earth" (our italics) "'with healing in His wings'; 'and the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads.' Hallelujah! Amen!" Not one word here - or in the entire book - about the hope and bliss of heaven . What the Chiliasts are concerned with is the glory of the Millennium. A Lutheran theologian of Germany has said: "Wei! ihre (del' Chiliasten) Christenhoffnung sich im tausendjaehrigen Reich befriedigt, schweigen sie des 1'egnum glo-riae, weil sie keinen Inhalt fuel' denselben behalten." Who is the Antichrist? "Adolf Hitler is not the Antichrist. When the Anti-Christ comes, the Jews will hail him as their Messiah. Can anyone conceive of the Jews receiving Adolf Hitler as their Messiah?" It might be Mussolini. But "prior to the rapture of the saints to meet the Lord in the air no man can be pointed out as the Antichrist with any degree of certainty." But "it will be the last of the Roman Caesars." (Pp. 18, 47, 67, 112.) 634 Book Review - £litetatut Some more chiliastic monstrosities: "Gog" (Ezek. 38: 2) is Russia. "All thine army, horses, and horsemen," v.4. "And 'Gog' (Russia) has far more horse flesh at his command than any other nation in the world." (P. 44 f.) "The seventh-day Sabbath is a 'perpetual covenant' between Jehovah and the sons of Jacob. Count 'a thousand years as one day,' says Peter. . . . Now, if Israel's rest day is the seventh day and is a day of one thousand years, then the six days that must precede the seventh day logically must be days of equal duration - therefore, six thousand years. . .. Six thousand years man has been given on this earth to accomplish his work. The seventh is the Lord's rest - the millennium." (P. 98.) " 'Deutschland ueber alles' - a dream. A satanic kingdom is to arise within the permissive will of God that will be for 'one hour' (Rev. 17:12) 'ueber alles' (Rev. 13: 7) ." (P.65.) Who is "the king of the South" (Dan. 11: 40), who will win the battle of Armageddon, the last world war? "Only Great Britain, in these last days, can fit into the picture. . .. And, of course, in the Biblical picture we must include the allies of Britain." (P. 149 f .) After the Jewish mass m igra- tion to Palestine "instead of the Yiddish the ancient Hebrew was prattled by the little children on the streets. It was written: 'Then will I turn to the people a pure language' (Zeph. 3: 9) . With J ehovah there is only one earthly language that is pure-the Hebrew. Verily, the fig-tree is budding." (P.I06.) "'The chariots shall rage in the streets; they shall justle one against another in the broad ways' (Nahum 2: 3, 4) . The simplest child, reading these words, would have but one vision - the automobile. And these 'chariots of flaming torches' are converted into implements of war . . .. 'They shall justle one against another.' Go look at your fenders!" (P.128.) - We cannot understand why a journal like the Sunday-School Times would publish the series of articles which make up this book. And why its editor, C. G. Trumbull, would, in the Introduction, call this delirium chiliasticum "invaluable contributions." TH. ENCELDER Hurlbut's Story of the Bible. The Complete Bible Story, Running from Genesis to Revelation, Told in the Simple Language of Today for Young and Old. By Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, D. D. 731 pages, 6X8%. John C. Winston Co., Philadelphia, Pa. Most of our readers are familiar with the Egermeier BibLe Story Book, which has found such favorable reception in our circles, being used in particular for children of the junior age. The present book ad- dresses itself to somewhat older children, of the pre confirmation age. It contains 168 stories, taken from the entire Bible and chosen with skill for this particular age level, and even for older children and adults. Generally speaking, the book may be recommended, especially for use in summer-schools and Saturday-schools. The trained teacher may want to omit certain stories which have little doctrinal content. The present printing represents a very decided step forward in this particular book, and the publishers and the editors have promised to change a n umber of inaccuracies, such as that pertaining to -::he daily service of the chil- dren of Israel (Lesson 28) and the alleged drunkenness of the sons of Book Review - 13iteratur 635 Aaron (Lesson 29). We have also pointed out to the publishers the weakness of the sections on the Messianic prophecies and have received the assurance that this feature will be corrected in keeping with the requirements of the text and the New Testament fulfilment. P. E. KRETZMANN When God Gave Easter. By Gerhard E. Lenski. Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1941. 134 pages, 51fzx 7ljz. Price, $1.00. Windows that Let In the Light. By Dallas C.''saer. Zondervan Pub- lishing House, Grand Rapids. 132 pages, 51fzX7ljz. Price, $1.00. The Rev. G. E. Lenski is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church at Wash- ington, D. C. He states that the Easter sermons contained in this volume were prepared in haste but well received, and he presents them to brother pastors as an aid in the rigors of the Easter season. The ser- monic method is modern, charged with quotation, setting forth an idea rather than expounding a text. There is much concession to the presence of such in the audience to whom the Church must take its first approach; doubtless the day and the place foster such expedients. But witness is borne to the cardinal truths of Easter in every instance. A more homogeneous congregation, doctrinally speaking, would, however, expect this testimony to appear more explicitly. Pastor Dallas C. Baer of Trinity Lutheran Church of Selinsgrove, Pa., offers a collection of twelve sermons on the parables. "The writer has felt no obligation to explain every detail of each parable but has confined his interpretations to the things about which he feels reasonably sure in his own mind, always, of course, seeking the enlightenment and help of the Holy Spirit." To this sensible hermeneutical principle the author has, we believe, been quite true, and his sermons are well done. They are particularly good in setting forth a strong feeling of authentic life background, in keeping with the origin of the parables, and in em- phasizing the central purpose of each parable. While we should differ in some details from these central interpretations, we find the approach as stimulating as the conclusions. - Not all of the poetical quotations seem felicitously chosen, and they are rather abundant. RICHARD R. CAEMMERER Three Centuries of American Hymnody. By Henry Wilder Foote. Har- vard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 418 pages. Price, $4.00. Henry Wilder Foote, Unitarian minister in Belmont, Massachusetts, chairman of the Unitarian Commission on Hymns and Services and secretary of the editorial committee for the Unitarian New Hymn and Tune Book, 1941, in this volume presents the most comprehensive study of American hymnody that has yet been published, at least to our knowledge. As everyone else must do who works in this field, he acknowledges his indebtedness to Julian's great Dictionary of Hymnology and Louis F. Benson's masterly work The English Hymn. The chapter heads are: 1. The Heritage of English Psalmody; II. The Reign of the Bay Psalm Book; III. The revival of Singing in Eighteenth-Century New England; IV. The Early Hymns and Tunes of the German Settlers in Pennsylvania ; . The Translation from Psalmody to Hymnody; VI. The 636 Book Review - Biteratut Opening of a New Era, 100-1830; VII. The Mid-Century Flood Tide, 1831-1865; VIII. Hymns of the Last Third of the Nineteenth Century, 1866---1900; IX. Hymns of the Twentieth Century; X. Retrospect and Prospect; Appendix A: The Controversy over the Practice of "Lining- Out" the Psalms; Appendix B: The Controversy at South Braintree over "Regular Singing." The author deals ably with his subject, but for some reason which this reviewer has been unable to understand he pays little or no atten- tion to the influence of Lutheran hymnody on the churches of our land. Except for the chapter on early hymns and tunes of the Gennan settlers in Pennsylvania he mentions the Lutheran hymn and a few of the great Lutheran hymnists only incidentally, and unless we have over- looked some minor reference, he does not refer to a single English Lutheran hymnal, except Paul Henkel's Chu'rch Hymn-Book. This is a serious deficiency in the volume. Let readers consider the fact that the Lutheran Church is the third-largest Protestant body in our lar"': that it has been here since early Colonial times; that it has made and is making very definite contributions to our American hymnody through translations from the Gennan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Slovak, Bohemian, and other languages as well as an increasing number of original hymns in the language of our country; that the American Lu- theran hymnals for church and Sunday-school have been distributed in our country in millions of copies during the last century in particular,- all these factors camwt well be ignored. Had Dr. Foote chosen to include an evaluation of the Lutheran contribution to American hymnody in his book, we can assure him that it would have been very welcome to many students of American hymnody. That Dr. Foote did not pass over the Lutheran contribution because much of it is in the field of translation is evident from the fact that he himself takes D. R. Breed (History and Use of Hymns and Hymn T1mes) to task for calling the large preponderance of translations during the nineteenth century a sign of decadence and states pointedly: "And this from a teacher of hymnody, writing about a half-century notably marked by a 'fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit' in song, and which saw the introduction of the hymns of Whittier, Longfellow, Hosmer, Phillips Brooks, Washington Gladden, and a host of others of whose very existence he was apparently ignorant! And most lovers of hymnody would regard the translations of Gennan, Latin, and other hymns as an enrichment of our hymn-books rather than as a mark of decadence. They are one aspect of the immensely wider range of hymnody available today as compared with the very narrow limits of the field a century and a half ago. This enlarging inclusiveness, with a steady winnow;Tld- out of outworn and anachronistic religious verse, has gone steadily in the twentieth century, until it becomes increasingly t~ue that 'in hymn-book is the true key to the doctrine of the communion of saints, for here the saintly ones of all ages meet in their saintliest moods.''' In spite of this unfortunate passing over of the Lutheran contribu- tion to American hymnody we warmly recommend this volume to .all who are interested in the hymnody of our country. W. G. POLAC'" Eo(" Review - 2itetatu! 637 T_e Lutheran Chill'cn in Colonial America. By Lars P. Qualben. Thomas Nelson and Sons, New York. 320 pages. Price, $2.00. Dr. Lars P. Qualben, whose History of the Christian Church has be- come a widely used text-book in church history in our country, has now also given us an excellent history of the early Lutheran Church in our country. It happens to be a timely volume. The war in Europe and our nation's relation to it seems to have moved some people to question the loyalty of the Lutherans, as so many are of German ancestry, and L1}is volume will help to show the uninformed that the Lutheran Church, which is the third largest Protestant body in America, is no foreign Church, that it has its roots deep in the Colonial period, and that Lutherans played a not unimportant part in laying the four.dations of our COUll.try, even as they have ever since helped to build our nation and to foster its highest ideals. Dr. Qualben presents his material in three parts, as follows: 1. The American .L.uwt:J.· .... Ancestry II. Lutherans in Colonial Days, 1492-1763 III. Lutherans and the Establishment of the American Nation, 1763-89 In the first chapter the eminent author very ably summarizes the European. background of Lutheranism, which is so' sential to a proper understanding of the transplantation and the development of Luther- anism on American soil. In the second chapter we have a detailed ac- count of the early Lutheran settlements in South and North America, together with an account of the settlements of other Protestant groups, so that the readers obtain a comprehensive view of the Colonial Church scene. The story is carried through to the American Revolution and in- cludes such phases of interest as the training of a native clergy, early Lutheran education, Lutherans in Canada, the founding of the first Lutheran synods, etc. This is by far the best presentation of this material that we have yet found in anyone volume. In the third chapter the author shows the Church during the establishment of the American nation, the Revolutiollary period, and t.."'1e years immediately following, in which he again presents the story of the Lutheran Church, not as an isolated development, but with the background of the other re- ligious groups and the economic and political conditions. Besides a fine index there are the following appendices: I. The Constitution of the First Lutheran Synod in America (this is the synod founded by Berkenmeyer and his associates in 1735). It is the translation of the Dutch version by Dr. Karl Kretzmann of Orange, N. J., and first appeared in the Concordia HistOTical Institute Quarterly, VoL IX, Nos. 1 and 3. II. Zinzendorf versus Muhlenberg. This is a translation of Muhlen- berg's account of the historic meeting between these two men, taken from Mann's Life and Times of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. Ill. The Liturgy of 1748. IV. Constitution of St. Michael's Church Philadelphia, 1762. 638 Book Review - mte!!ltur V, Constitution of the lVlinisterium (Pennsylvania) of the Evangel- ical Lutheran Church of North America in Force in 1781. We n&eu tlud nothing concerning the value and importance of having these documents included in . this volume, Among the many other interesting items in the volume we would direct attention to only one more. In his discussion of the general support which the Lutherans gave to George Washington in the stnJ.ggle for liberty he presents the position taken by Henry Melchior Muhlen- berg in support of the Revolution, on the basis of Martin Luther's view on armed resistance as it had been shaped when Luther gave his con- sent to the formation of the Smalcald League. Luther argued thus: "The princes and the free cities constituted the government to which the Christians concerned owed their allegiance. The emperor was elected by the princes, not by God; and the princes had a right to depose the emperor if he violated their rights. The relation between the princes and the emperor was a political question, which the jurists, i:ivt tli. .. theologians, should decide. The Christians were in duty bound to take up arms in defense of their princes when these were unlawfully as- saulted." Muhlenberg argued "that the relation between England and the Colonial governments was a relation similar to that of the emperor and the princes and the free cities in the time of Luther. Hence, when these governments found it necessary to declare their independence, it was the duty of C-.lstiau colonists to suppu~ i; these Colonial govern- ments even to the point of war." W. G. POLACK Russellism Exposed. By Paul Edward Hewitt. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Mich. 60 pages, 7%X5lJ4. Paper cover, Price, 35 ctso The most pernicious heresies of Jehovah's Witnesses are set forth in short, pithy sentences, and every statement is supported by documen- tary evidence. There are over 600 references, in this little brochure, to the writings of Russell and Rutherford. The author's refutation is con- vincing and Scriptural, excepting where his presentation is colored by his premillennialism. F. E. MAYER The Incomparable Book. By Newman Watts. American Tract Society, New York. 250 pages, 7%X5lJ4. Price, $1.500 The author, a well-known journalist of London, discusses the Bible as a book of human interest, literary grandeur, sublime influence, perfect unity, amazing accuracy, and remarkable experience. Scientists, arche- ologists, historians, educators, are brought in. as witnesses against the unbeliever's objections to the divine chara c of the Bible. The author makes an earnest plea to our generation t 'ead the Bible as God's in- spired Word and the inerrant record of ('ne revelation. The pastor will find much material for apologetics. What makes the Bible the "in- comparable" book is the revelation of God's plan of salvation through Christ Jesus, This theme does not receive the emphasis which we ex- pected on the basis of the title. F. E. MAYER Book Review - s.;Uet'atur 639 CllllviHi~lD. An Interpretation of Its Basic Ideals. Vol. 1. By H. Henry ='"Ieeter. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Mich. 235 pages, 5112><8. Price, $2.00. Ph. Schaff' says of John Calvin: "He belongs to the small number of men who have exerted a molding influence not only upon their own age and country, but also upon future generations in various parts of the world!; and not only upon the Church, but., indirectly also upon the political, nwral, a."ld social life." (Creeds of Christendom, I, 445.) Dr. Meeter, professor of Bible and Calvinism at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, 1 aces the theological and political implications of Calvin's mate- rial prin lple. The book, very interestingly written, clearly shows that Calvinism is still a potent factor in the theological thinking of the modem Protestant and that many present-day political, economic, moral, and social ideologies are predicated on Calvin's Weltanschauung. Dr. Meeter, an ardent and consistent Calvinist, remains fairly objective in his presen- tation (f the manifold implications of Calvinism and their effect on the social thinking of the nations where Calvinism has been the predominant theology. He retains the judgment of historians that Calvin's basic premise is "the absolute sovereignty of God in the natural and moral spheres." (P.31.) He had defended this thesis in an earlier volume, The Fundamental PTinciple of Calvinism. In the opening chapter '( the present volume he shows clearly that the Neo-Calvinists of Conti. ~ntal Europe are engaged in a hopeless undertaking when iliey try to prove that Calvin's material principle is the doctrine of justification. The Calvinist l',Jr'?eter cannot accept the Lutheran articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae; for in his opinion a theology which concerns itself first and foremost with answering the question, What must I do to be saved? is essentially anthropocentric, since it concerns itself wiili ilie needs of man. (P.67.) Unfortunately the Calvinist forgets that the Luilieran answer to man's most important question is definitely Christocentric. Meeter must also rule the doctrine of predestination out as the basic principle of theology, for this doctrine concerns itself with what will become of man, more specifically with fallen man, and leaves out of consideration God's dealing with the entire universe. (P.34.) He finds in Calvin's theocentric principle the only way in which life can be viewed as an integrated unit, in which every action, whether it is intellectual, moral, spiritual, or social, economic, industrial, political, is brought into a ha.r- monious whole for the glory of God. "The whole of nature and all of life becomes a sacred court wherein the Calvinist honors God." (P. 40.) We agree that it is impossible for the Christian to compartmentalize his activitie; ks, or to fix a relat andard of l: . .viol' for various and vaTying life situations. The basic difference betwccu the Lutheran and the Calvinistic Weltanschauung, however, lies in the motive for the Christian's action, ilie former vi ring sanctL."ication as an expression of gratitude for God's infinite 10> in Christ, the latter emphasizing the submission of all creation to the lVe,eign ,ill of God, The one-sided emphasis of God's sovereignty L.Jtrols ilie Calvinist's thinking in every area of human activity, whether it is the individual's Telation to God or ilie relation of one nation to the other. The Cal- 640 Book Review - .\litetntUt vinist's view concerning the Bible, faith, morals, is dominated by his basic principle. According to Meeter, Calvin holds that God has given direction not only for our moral conduct, but that He also controls our thinking in the fields of science, art, home-making, business, society, government. All such direction is found in the Bible. God's attributes and man's duty toward God could have been learned from nature if sin had not distorted nature. Since man can no longer read God's thoughts in nature, therefore God gave the Bible "as a corrective of the false impressions made by nature in its present distorted form." (P.4l.) The Bible now has become "the absolute rule before which man must bow unfailingly" (p. (3) in every sphere of human activity, inc1uc1iI).g, for example, also the affairs of our political life (p. 96). On the basis of the Biblical account of Israel's theocracy Calvinism holds that it is "the duty cf the government to enact such regulations as will bring about better conditions for all men." (P. 130.) Meeter believes that the constitutional form of government is God's will. He proves this on this basis, that the Presbyterian form of church government (the teaching and the ruling elders represent God and the laity, respectively) is iure divino and therefore the model which the state must follow. (P. 120 f.) In our opinion two basic errors underlie the Calvinistic system as interpreted by Meeter. Assigning to the Bible such an authoritarian position in legislating every detail of our life reduces the Bible to a ''paper pope." The legalistic character of Calvinism becomes evident throughout Meeter's book. The second basic error of Calvinism is enthusiasm. Calvin makes such a distinction between the sovereign God and finite man that any good can be done in man only through God's irresistible power (p. 64) , "coming directly to the soul, so that he cannot refuse to believe the Bible" (p. 54). Whatever man does in any sphere of activity is the direct result of God's grace. The Calvinist is therefore compelled to distinguish between "special" grace, which brings man to faith and which is restricted to the elect, and "common" grace, which is God's love to man as a creature (p. 75) and according to which "God's Holy Spirit leads men to higher levels in science, art, and culture" (p. 77). Meeter devotes about 50 pages to the problems of internationalism, war, con- scientious objectors, and similar questions interpreted in the light of Calvin. We heartily recommend the entire volume as a very enlighten- ing interpretation of Calvinism. F. E. MAYER BOOKS RECEIVED From the Westminster Press, Philadelphia: 101 Prayers for Peace. Compiled by G. A. Cleveland Schrigley, Ex- ecutive Chairman, The World League of Endless Prayer for Peace and Justice. 144 pages, 5X7%. Price, $1.00. From AugsbuTg Publishing House, Minneapils, Minn.: Lan Ta- Te Landabl of China. By Andrew S. Burgess. 116 pages, 51f4 x73,.{t. From the Zondervan Publishing House, Gra:l,d Rapids, Mich.: Christ in the Marvelous Book. By Eldrige B. Hatcher. 125 pages, 5%X7%. Price, $1.00.