Full Text for CTM Miscellanea 5-5 (Text)

Q!nutnr~ttt ml1tnlngttttl .nut~ly Coutiuuiug LEHRE UND WEHRE MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY. THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. V May, 1934 No.5 CONTENTS Page Die rechte Mitte in del' Liturgie und Ordnung des Gottes- dienstes. L. Fuerbringer . . . • . . . . . . • • . • . • • . • • • • • • • . • .• 337 The Story of the German Bible. P. E. Kretzmann. • • • • . . • • •• 344 ZUl' Lehre von del' Reue. Th. E n(elder • • . • • • • . . . . • . • • • . .. 369 Sermons and Outlines. .. . . .. .. .. .. . . . . .. . . .. .. .. . .... 382 Miscellanea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 388 Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitgeschichtliches .... 394 Book Review. - Literatur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 409 Ein P rtdfgel' musa nicht alleln w..wu.., al80 W3 er die Schafe untenreise, wie sie rechte Christen aollen &ein, aondem auch daneben den Woelfen weAren, dass 'rie die Bchaf n1cht angreifen und mit fa1t,cber Lebre yerluebren nnd Irrtum eln· fuebren. - L ulhe·. Es at keln Ding, das die Leute mehr bei der Kirche bebaelt denn die gute Predigt. - Apologia, ..trl. ~ If the trumpet give an uncertain Bound, who sba U prepare himself to the battle f J Cor. If, 8. Published for the Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE, St. Louis, Ko. ARCHIV 388 Miscellanea. upon it as punishment. It is the correction which a loving Father applies. It is His way of keeping you on the road to your heavenly home. Think of your glorious hope. That will enable you to be patient. 3. "Continuing instant in prayer." As Christians you have prayed before. A Christian must pray. A child has much to say to his father. But continue in such prayer. Through prayer you lay your head on the Father's heart. Tell Him everything. If He has given you joy, thank Him. Does He send tribulation, ask Him for comfort and strength to bear it. Submit all your plans to Him. Do nothing without asking His blessing. In order to lead such a prayer-life, you must erect the family altar. Begin at once, the very first day of your married life, with having your daily prayer service at your home. Surely God wants you to be happy. Therefore his kind admonition: Rejoice in hope; be patient in tribulation; continue in prayer. H.J.B. Miscellanea. The Communicatio Idiomatum in Dogmatics. Occasionally a young seminary graduate will state that, though he was constrained to study the communicatio idiomatum and related subjects in the natural course of dogmatics, he has, after fully pondering the matter, concluded that it is best not to bother his people with these con- cepts. Now, of course, nobody ever asked him to make use of the term genus maiestaticum in the pulpit. But he was told that he must fully instruct his people, old and young, on the matter underlying these terms. This young graduate will be strengthened in his refusal to go deeply into the weighty matter of the unio personalis by what the Luthemn Church Qua1·terly of October, 1933, published: "In the dogmaticians there is much medieval philosophy. In order really to understand Schmid, one must gain a knowledge of the meaning and value of philosophic terms long outmoded. Some of the terminology, especially in the communicatio idiomatum, is Greek and harks back to John Damascenus and beyond him. . .. Our Lutheran theological students were not given a dogmatic stated in the language of modern thought, and many of them had no sufficient training in the old philosophies actually to value the thought-forms in which they were taught their dogmatic. When they adhered to dogmatic forms and did not free themselves from it in the pulpit, they spoke in an unintelligible tongue to their people." So, concludes our young seminary graduate, it was a waste of time when I had to study the article which states that personal union means, among other things, that all divine attributes, all power, all majesty, was communicated to the human nature of Christ (genus maiestaticum) . Perhaps our young friend lately uttered his grievances to Dr. Leander S. Keyser. At any rate, Dr. Keyser concludes an article en- titled "Revealed, Confessed, Declared - the Doctrine of Atonement as It Miscellanea. 389 is Based on Holy Scripture and Stated in Our Lutheran Confessions," the article being published in the Lutheran of February 8, 1934, with these paragraphs: "Thus we see that our grand old Formula of Concord is not shy of the doctrine of 'satifaction' nor of the doctrine of the 'two natures of Christ, as so many }fodernists of our day are. Our confessors could plainly discern two vital facts, even if many people to·day cannot see them, namely, 1) that, unless the eternal principle of justice was upheld, the moral government of the world would crash to ruin; 2) that the divine and human natures in the person of Christ can be neither separated in a Nestorian way nor consubstantiated in a pantheistic way. Great doc· trines are these set forth by the framers of the Formula! "It would be a good idea for some of our Lutherans who are confused as to the doctrine of the person and natures of our Lord to read, ponder, and digest what this great confessional document teaches in its chapters on 'The Person of Christ' in both the 'Epitome' and the 'Solid Declaration.' In comparison with the modernistic ambiguity these pronouncements are clarity itself. It would be well for theologians to study even the commu· nicatio idiomatum and see what a precious and refreshing doctrine it is. Because Christ is both divine and human, and the two natures are joined in the unity of His person, He was adequate to make expiation for the sins of the whole world; therefore He is 'mighty to save,' - yes, 'able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.' This is cause faT peTfect confidence, complete assurance, and gTeat rejoicing." - Our young graduate need not fear that his people will not know what to make of it when Scripture tells them that the human nature of Christ shared in the attributes of the divine nature (genus maiestaticum) and that the blood which was shed on the cross was the blood of the Son of God (genus apotelesmaticum) . The veteran Keyser is not troubled with such fears. E. The Thomas Christians of India. Rev. Alex J. D. D'Orsey, B. D. (Cantab.), late professor in the King's College, London, writing in his Portuguese Discoveries, Dependencies, and Missions in A8ia and Africa, 1893 (W. H. Allen & Co., Ltd., London), pp. 63-65, has the following to say on the subject: - "The traditions of an ancient and barbarous people are always con· fused and often mixed with fable. Amidst the clouds which cover the traditions of the Christians of St. Thomas, the following account seems to possess the greatest amount of probability and [to be] the nearest ap· proach to truth.· After having established Christianity in Arabia Felix and in the island of Dioscorides (now called Socotra), the holy apostle landed at Cranganor, at that time the residence of the most powerful king on the Malabar Coast. We know from the historians of the Christian people, from Josephus, and from the Sacred Books themselves, in the ac· count of the miracle of Pentecost, that before the birth of Jesus Christ there went forth from Judea a great number of its inhabitants and that they were scattered throughout Egypt, Greece, and several countries of Asia. St. Thomas learned that one of these little colonies had settled in a country adjacent to Cranganor. Love for his nation inflamed his zeal, and faithful to the command of Jesus Christ, who had enjoined his apostles 390 Miscellanea. to proclaim the faith to the Jews before turning to the Gentiles, he re- paiTed to the country which his compatriots had chosen for their asylum; he preached to them the Gospel, converted them, and changed their syn- agog into a Christian church. This was the oradle of Ohristianity in India. Very soon this precious seed, cultivated by the holy apostle, bore fruit a hundredfold, the faith was carried to Cranganor, to Coulan, a celebrated city of the same coast, and to several kingdoms of Southern India. The converted Gentiles were united to the Jews; churches were multiplied, and the Syriac language was adopted in divine services. St. Thomas, after having given a constitution to these infant churches, proceeded to new conquests; and directing his steps to the coast of Coromandel, reached Meliapour. The fame of his miracles and of his wonderful success had preceded him. The rajah's eyes were opened to the light of the faith, he received Baptism; and by his example a part of his subjects embraced the Gospel. These numerous conversions excited the jealousy and the hatred of the Brahmins, two of whom urged the populace to stone the holy apostle. One of these priests, observing some sign of life in the saint, pierced him with his lance, and St. Thomas thus received the reward of his love and devotion as a mis~ionary, the crown of martyrdom. The Church of Meliapour, thus founded in the apostle's blood, flourished for centuries; it had its bishops, priests, and faithful congregations. But a time came when the Gentile kings took possession of the city and its dependent provinces, and the Christians suffered the most violent persecutions from the destroying pagans. To escape from their cuelty, the greater part fled towards Cape Comorin, and passing thence, they took refuge in the moun- tains of Malabar, amongst the other Ohristians whom St. Thomas had taught. They spread into Cranganor, Coulan, and Travancore, i. e., into the district called the empire of the Zamorin in the sixteenth century." * E. H. MEINZEN. Radio vs. Printing. The following is taken from America of November 11, 1933:- "Those who speak often on the radio tell us, and they are confirmed by radio executives, that the larges,t pa.rt of the 'fan mail' received from those who listen in consists of requests to send them a. copy of the speech which they have just heard. If this is true, it is a, fact that contributes largely to the solution of the old deba,te between the spoken and the written word. These good people have no doubt listened intently to an inspiring speech, but they are obviously not content with that. They want to see it in print, so that they can read it over and ponder it in the quiet of their homes. (The secular press does not seem to have caught on to this yet, but our Ca,tholic press has. That is why they so often reprint the speeclles tha.t ha.ve been given in the Catholic Hour and other Catholic periods on the air, including the Church of the Air of the Columbia, system.) They print these speeches, not for those who did not listen in, but for those who did and now want to read them. All of this must prove something or other, we are not quite sure what. But it ought to quiet the fears of the newspapers that the radio is * Italics by the author. - Meliapour above is Mylapore, now a suburb of Madras. Miscellanea. 391 a serious competitor. The fact seems to be that nobody who hea,rs a speech on the radio is altogether sa,Hsfied with merely hea,ring it, and that ought to mean that he did not altogether hear it or, if he did, that he did not altogether understand it. Only reading it will sa,tisfy him on that point. Which lea,ves the press just where it was before the radio came along. It also points out a deficiency of the radio that it will never be able to overcome. People do not ask for a, copy of the speech that they have seen somebody deliver as well as hea,rd." P. E. K. $a.\J~rlt§fltnbe nnb ber ncnteftamentridje ~e~t. ~ie fdjon in einem ftii~eren ;sa~rgang lJiefer 2eitfdjrifj: mitgeteirt hmrlJe, ~aben bie llSap~rn£lfunbe in !ii:g~p±en beredjtig±e£l Wuffe~en erregt, unb hie tyorfdjer, hie ~ier befonber£l lieieiIig± finb, niimIidj @5ir tyrehric Sl!en~on unb ~ad @5djmibt. medin, ~aben ba£l borIiegenbe material nadj allen @5euen dner genauen llSriifung unterilogen. 2etterer beridjtet mieber in Sjefj: 4 (1933) ber ,,2eitfdjrifj: fUr hie neutef±amentridje ~iffenfdjaft" bon ben jett erilielten @irgebniffen. ;sntereffant iff babei ba£l tyailit, ba£l er aUf &tunb ieiner @5tubien ilie~t: "tyaffen mir ba~ iRefurtai aufammen, fo bringt ba£l neue llSap~ru£lbudj feine fenfationelle Ummiililung in her mibel. forfdjung. ~ie @irmartung, bor allem ftofflidjen 2umadj~ au er~alten, ift nidjt in @irfUlIung gegangen. Wu£lIaffungen ober 2ufate, bie statfadjen ober iRebeftiide betreffen, finben fidj nirgenM. ~ erst e 6 t be r n e U • tef±amentIidjen @5djrif±en - lJd ift eine @irfenntni£l bon epDdjemadjenber mebeu±ung - mar in jeber Sjin. fi dj t b ere i t§ in f r ii ~ e ft e r 2 ei t f e ft g el e g ±. 2Bir braudjen ba~er nidj! au befiirdj±en, baf3 fiinfj:ige tyunbe hiefe statfadje umf±of3en merben. 2Benn @5onberIe£larten auf±audjen, mirb e£l fidj beim mergleidj mit ben un~ liefann±en Sjanbfdjrifj:en nur um 2Bortftellungen, Wu£lIaffungen, unbebeu±enbe 2ufate ober gramma±ifdje maricrn±en ~anbeln, mie e§ bei unferm llSap~ru£l ber g:alI ift. ~cn Sjauptgeminn triigt ber ste6±fritifer babon. @ir mitb bei ber iReaenfion biefen iiItef±en 2eugen im ~pparat berbudjen unb babei iibedegen, ob biefc ober jene 2e£lart in ftbereinftim. mung mit anbern 2eugen Wufna~me in ben ste6± berbien±." (@5. 231.) 1lS. @i. Sl!. Reading or Reciting from Memory? The question has been proposed by a few brethren whether a pastor ought to memorize any part of the public service, including that of the occasional acts (baptism, marriage, funeral, etc.) and then dispense with the Agenda while officiating in public. The answer may well be divided, -':::- ~\..~~d 0,.., ohvious advantages connected with the ability to repeat the exact words of a minor service or of a ceremony, e. g., when no service- book is available for some cause or other. But as for officiating without a book, this has always been condemned by the liturgical practise of the Lutheran Church. This is based upon several liturgical reasons, namely, first, because such acts are performed' in the name of the whole congre- gation, which therefore expects every word to agree exactly with the forms in use. To attempt to recite these forms from memory makes the act subjective in appearance, whereas its objective character must by all means be retained. In the second place, the absence of the Agenda makes 392 Miscellanea. the ceremony or service look like a performance, and the audience is bound to admire the performance, wondering perhaps meanwhile whether the pastor will be successful in reaching the end of the spoken piece or not. The Church has always given the service-books into the hands of its ser- vants and expected them to adhere strictly to their text, a condition which is guaranteed in a reasonable measure only when pastors use the printed formulas contained in the service-books. It is quite self-evident that such reading must not be ID,onotonous, but be done with the proper enunciation and expression, although not in a dramatic manner. The pa,stor is at no time an actor, but always the chosen representative of the congregation in the public services of the congregation. P. E. K. The Christian Chapel at Dura. Dura was a Macedonian colony on the Euphra,tes, which in the course of time became a fortress and a center of Parthian commerce. Excavations ha,ve been ca,rried on here for a few yea,rSJ, especiaUy by Prof. E. L. Sukenik, who published a book on the ancient synagog of Beth Alpha of Dura,. He found the building to have been one of the Galilean type, with the usual three-door fa(;ade, the na,ve sepa,rated into three parts by two rows of columns supporting a balcony, and an enclosed courtyard at the side of the edifice. The last number of the American Journal of Archeology (No.3, 1933) discusses another building of special interest to the Christian archeologist, namely, a Christian chapel, dedicated in 245 A. D., which was located just south of the west gate of the city. Prof. P. V. C. Bam offers the following brief description of the main points, of interest: "Extending into the chapel from itB west wall, there is an aedicula over a, rectangular depression in the floor. This cavity ma,y have been the tomb of a martyr. On the west wall behind the aedicula, visible only through its barrel vanl ting, a,re two scenes, the lower one depicting Adam and Eve, the upper one the Good Shepherd, in other words, the terrestrial and the celestial pa,radise. The Fall of Man differs from the rendering of the subject in the West in tha,t flanking pilasters indica,te tlle limits of paradise. . .. The scene of the Good Shepherd is unique. With a, huge ram on His shoulders, He is approaching a, fiock of seventeen rams. In the WeBtern method of presentation we find a, well-balanced, symmetrical composition; the shepherd stands between his sheep, with one or two at either side of him. There we do not get the impression that the shepherd is bringing the lost sheep back to the fold as we do at Dura, .... On the upper part of the north wall of our chapel there axe two scenes, the one depicting the Miracle of the Lake, the other the Paralytic. The latter scene is a, good example of the continuous style; for we have not only the sick man lying on his bed, over which stands Christ in the act of performing the miraculous cure, but aIso the cured paralytic walking away with the bed on his back. .He holds the bed upside down." The article describes also the other wall-paintings which have been uncovered, such as one of the apostles sailing the stormy sea" the holy women at the tomb of Christ, David and Goliath, and the Samaritan woman. The early date of this house chapel enhances the interest of the excavations. P.E.K. Miscellanea. 393 )llinttn ~ijti eitt fdjlllndjer (tljrift nnf, ein "Sdjhlndjer" 51t f ein? mie 6djrift rebd bon 6djmadjen; ja fie binbd un§ gemiffc 6djmadje befonber§ aUf bie 6ede, bat roit: un§ i~rer anne~men, i~nen mit befon. berer ,Siebe unb 3art~eit enigegenfommen unll i~nen gem mit aIler nur niligHdjen freunbIidjen laeTeljrung Menen. ~gr. Wl'oft. 20, 35; !Rom. 14, 1. 2; 15,1; 1 S"i'or. 8,9.11; 9,22; 11,30; 15tljeff. 5, 14. miefen 6djriftfieIlen gemat reljr± audj unfer laefennini§ in ber Wl'ologie, Wrl. III, § 122. (Cone. Trigl., 188.) - fmann aber ljort bie !Rucffidjt aUf ,,6djmadje" aun mic Wnimorl ift: fmenn ber (ober bie) 6djmadje fUr feine (ober i~re) irrige 6ieIlung in Ee~re nub ~ra6i§ @6ifiena. unb Ee~rberedjtigung lieanfl'rudjt. @§ ift namIidj ein ming bie 6djmadjen ±ragen, unb ein gana anber ming eine falfdje Eeljre ober eine fdjtiftlDibrige Wnfidjt burben unb in ber Sfirdje regieren raffen. ma~ )'trag en ber 6djmadjen Dar f n i e aUf W n • e rf e n nun g b c ~ ~ r rt u m § ~ ina u § I aUf c n; c§ barf unter fei. nett Umfianben mit ~erIeugnung ber fma~r~eit gefdje~en. .manger an (§denntni§ unb 6djmadjljeit an merf±iinbni§ fann unD mut man unier Umftanben enifdjuIMgen; aoer bie 6djmadj~eit barf nie our 9Corm merben, barf nidjt ~rnedennung beanfprudjen. Um nur einige laeifl'iele au nennen. @§ fann bodommen, bat fidj cin @:~rift in cine Eoge, ba§ ~eitt, cine mirffidj miberdjriftIidje @efeIlfdjaft, berIauft. fmenn e~ fidj nun ~erau§f±err±, bat er bie§ roiLfridj in Unmiffen. ~eit ge±an ljai, fa mirb man iljm laefeljrung auidl merben Iaffcn. @r mirb arfo nidjt a ~ n e m e i ± ere § aU§ ber @emeinbe au§gefdjloffen, fonbem man ljanbeIt mit i~m, um i~n bon bem ~rrtum feine§ m5ege§ au uber. aeugen. (§§ mag gana leidjt fein, baj3 er ma~renb biefer laeIe~rung nidjt aum Stifdj be§ Sj@rm augeIaffen \nerben fann, ba bie§ in ben meiften unferer @emeinben fofort urgerni~ geben ltliirbe. 60me aoer ein foldjer lmann, mii~renb llSaitor unb @emeinbe nodj mit i~m in Un±er~anbIung fieljen, lidj unterfte~en, fUr f eine WOirrung, ia fUr Me ganae Eogenmirl. fdjaft ~tol'aganba au madjen, fa aeigi er fidJ nidji me~r aI§ ein 6djmadJer, fonbern aI!3 ein lao§~aftiger, ber bie lacIe~rung bon fidJ metf± ober fidJ i~r entaie~t. SDa~fellie gUt bon einer ~erfon, bie im Unioni§mu§ ober 6t:)n~ rreti§mu§ fiecH. 60lange biefe ber laere~rung ilugangIidj ift, folange fie fidJ nodj bemut§boIl unier @oite§ fmorl beugt unb bie @rma~nungen ber 6dJrift annimm±, fa lange fann man, menn Me 6unbe fonft nidjt oftentIidj getrieoen roirb, @elntID uoen. 60balb aoer cine foldJe ~erfon fUr i~re falfdje 6ieITung laeredjtigung oeanfprudji, fobalb fie ito~ ber m5arnungen au§ @otie§ fmort iatfadjIidJ in anbere SfirdJen lauti unb biefc unterftii~t, fo oalb ~ort bie 9CadjfidJi auf, eine Stugenb au fein, unb e§ ift unbebingt geboiett, anbere 6aiten aufauaie~en. Sjiiren mir ~ier nur e i n 3cugni§ bon Eu±~cr. @r fdjreibt an bie mom~erren unb ba§ SfapiteI au )ffii±ienoerg (19. Wuguft 1523): ,,(§§ ift e±ma§ anbere§, bie 6dJltJadjen in IDli±±efbingen (lleutralibus) au ±ragen; aber in often6ar gottIofen SDingen ift e§ go±±ro§, muIlntng au uoen (tole- rare), unb e§ ift gelUif5, bat audJ roir bon biefem go±±lofen fmefen oefIecU murben, menn mir e§ langer fdJmeigenb ±ragen murben, mie roir lii§~er gefdjroiegen ~aben." (XIX, 1186.) mgL ljieri\u audJ ~iepcr, Cl:~riftIidJe mogmatif I, 99-102; mer~anbfungen ber 6t:)nobalfonferena 1930,6.21 ft. ~. @:. Sf.