Qtnurnr~ttt
m~tnln!lirttl :!InutlJly
Continuing
LEHRE UND WEHRE
MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK
THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLy-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY
Vol. V November, 1934 No. 11
CONTENTS
Die Theologie Karl Barths. w. Kemner ••••••••••••••••••
The Primitive Christians. E. G. Sibler •••••••••••••••••••
Die chronologische Reihenfolge der Weissagungen im Buche
Jeremias'. P. E. Kretzmann ••••••••..••••••••••••••••
Melanchthon and Luther's Translation of the New Testa-
Page
817
829
835
ment. H. O. Keinath. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 842
The Church Reform of Henry VITI a Product of the
Renaissance. Theo. Hoyer. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 847
Sermon Study on Reb. 10, 32-39. Th. Laetsch. • • • • • • • • • •• 854
Der Schriftgrund fuer die Lehre von der satisfactio vicaria .
• • • • • • • • • . . . • . . . . • . • • . . .. P. E. Kretzmann ••••••••••• 863
Sermons and Outlines ............................... 866
Miscellanea ........................................ 871
Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitgeschichtliches .... 879
Book Review. - Literatur ........................... 889
Ein Predlger mU98 nicht alleID welMla,
alao dass er die Schafe unterweise, wle
ole reebte OhrIaten BOllen eeln, BOndem
auch danehen den Woelfen 1D6hreA, dass
ole die 8chafe nicht angreUen und mit
faacher Lehre verfuehren und Irrtum eln-
fuehren. - LuIMr-.
Es 1st keln Ding, daB die Leute mehr
hel der Klrche behaelt dean die cute
Predigt. - ApolQgu, Arl.~.
If the trumpet give an uncertain BOund,
who shall prepare b1meelf to the battle f
1 Cor. ,lJ,8.
PubUshed for the
Ev. Luth. Synod of lItissouri, Ohio, and Other States
OOJ!l'OOBDIA PU'BLISBING HOUSE, St. Louis, Mo.
Theological Observer. - .Rird)fid)=Seitgefd)id)md)e~. 879
Theological Observer. - ~irdjndj.geitgefdjidjtridje~.
1. 2(mcriktl.
,,~ereini!lltn!l mit ber U. L. C.? SEon berfdjiebenen 6eUen ift an bie
6djriftreHung be£l ,.llirdjenblaite£l' bie %fufforberung gerommen, fidj einmar
iioer cine ethlaige SEereinigl1ng mit ber SEereinigten 2ut~erifdjen S'hrdje
au£laufpredjen. . .. Cf£l fiegt 1111£l perfonHdj gana fem, biefe£l 6e~nen 3U
berurieifen. [\Sir mocfj±en gerne feloer nod) ben ;itag erleoen, an bem ba£l
2ut~ertum Wmerifa£l geeint baf±e~± unb mit berein±en ~raften fetne gott=
gegeoene WUfgaoe in ber Shaft be£l SjeHigen ®cif±e£l erfilrr±. Woer bi.efe£l
2ufammenaroeiten barf nidjt aUf ~often ber [\Sa~r~eit aUftanbe fommen.
Cf£l mut aUf ber inneren ftoeraeugung ru~en, baf3 hlirfIidj Cfin~eit bor~
~anben if±. . .. 2roar ~at bie SEereinigte 2ut~erifdje .llirdje gute ®runb~
fa\3e ber ~irdjen= unb Wmt~audjt aufgefterr±, aoer bie :tJUt:djfii~t:Ung ber~
feIoen fiegt in ben &janben ber einaeInen 61:)noben, unb e£l ift untJermeiblidj,
bat fidj ba oehadj±ndje Unterfdjiebe oemerfoar madjen. [\Sir braudjen ia
nur baran au benfen, bat mandje 6!Jnoben e£l burben, baB l13aftoren ®lieber
ber ~reimaurerIoge finb ... , IDCan hlirb e£l un£l nidjt aI£l ffiedjt~alierei unb
l13~artfaerium au~regen, hlenn hlir un~ nidjt imftanbe fe~en, bie ~rage, 00
atuifdjen ber SEereinig±en 2u±~erifdjen Sfirdje unb unferer Wmerifanifdjen
2ut~ertfdjen SHrdje ®lauoen£leinigfeit oefte~t, runbhleg 3U oeia~en. [\Sir
roittem nidjt iioeraU unb for±tDi:i~rcnb IDCobemi~mu~; aoer hlir fOnnen
bodj nidjt iioerfe~en, bat inner~aro ber SEereinig±en 2ut~erifdjen SHrdje
t:lelDiffe Un±erfdjiebe in ber .2e~re tJor~anben finb, bie e~ fdjon inner~alli
ber SEereinig±en .2u±ljerifdjen ~irdje au 2ufammenf±oten fommen laffen unb
bie nodj bid uneriraglicljer hlerben lDiirben, roenn roir mit ber SEereinig±en
2utljertfdjen SHrdje berounben waren. ®ana atueifeHo£l tun toil: ben £on=
ferbatiberen Shetfen in ber ){;creinig±en 2u±~erifdjen llirdje dnen oefferen
:tJienft, inbem torir auf Mefen IDCangeI ~intueifen, aI£l toenn hlir i~n iioer=
fiiljen unb fo ±iiten, aI~ toiire er nidjt ba."
:tJa£l ift Me fefte Iu±ljerifdje 6±eflung. :tJie 6±elIung aoer, bie in for.
genben 6a\3en gefennaeidjnet ift, ift nidjt ~altliar: ,,()o toir aoer nidjt bodj
fdjon eine getoilfe ~oorbination - toir berfte~en barun±er eine aieHietuutte
Cfinfe\3ung ber Sh:afte unb SEermeiliung alIer :tJo),J),Jefaroeit unb ffieilJung -
auf oeftimm±en ®eoie±en firdjIicljer Wroeit eintre±en laffen fonnen, ba~ ift
unfer£l Cfradj±en~ nidjt bon born~erein au berneinen. [\So foldje£l 2ufammen~
fteljen oereU£l borljanben ift, a. gJ. in mandjen 2toeigen ber ~nneren IDCiHion,
ljat man bi£lljer nur giinftige ffiefuHa±e geljalit, fotoeit toit: unterrtdj±et ;tnb."
(llirdjenliIatt, 25. %fuguft 1934.) :tJer CfbUor be£l Lutheran toiirbe ljier3u
fagen, toa~ er fc~on am 2. %fuguf± gefagt ~at: "The phenomenon has at-
tracted the attention of the more thoughtful minority that associations
of editors, educators, mission boards, and so on articulate sub rosa, with
mutual benefits to all concerned. Not illogically such folk inquire why
the bodies stand aloof officially while their official agencies affiliate." Cf.
A Notable Testimony against Unionism. - The Lutheran Hemld
reports: "A very notable testimony against 'union meetings' has recently
come from a group of pastors within the United Lutheran Church of
America (U. L. C.). The New Jersey Conference (79 pastors) of that
880 Theological Observer. - ~itc!)liC!)~8eitoefc!)ic!)tIic!)es.
church-body, at a meeting held on April 10, passed the following resolu-
tion: 'Resolved, That the New Jersey Conference of the United Lutheran
Synod of New York memorialize synod to consider the advisability of in-
structing the Executive Committee to take all necessary steps to prevent
the participation of the pastors and congregations of synod in any re-
ligious service whatsoever (local, union, civic, social, etc.) which is not
positively, openly, definitely, and entirely Christian or which does not
present and testify, through both the worship and the speakers, to the
truth of the Gospel as perfectly revealed by Jesus Christ, recorded in the
canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and accepted by the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, as witnessed in her Confessions, which form
the Book of Ooncord.''' May we not welcome this as a first necessary step
in a sound Lutheran movement to throw off the impediments which in the
past have obstructed the union of Lutheran church-bodies in our country?
A true union is antiunionistic in every sense of the term; it demands
unity and uniformity both in confession of the truth and in practise of
the truth. More power to the spirit that moved this protest! J. T. M.
Remembering Martin Luther. - Under this heading a reader of
the Sunday·school Times writes the following, proving that our Lutheran
witness, clear, definite, and strong especially in the past decade, has not
been in vain. From Coral Gables, Fla., Elizabeth Williams Sudlow
suggests: -
"More and more Sunday-schools are observing Reformation Sunday.
It is chosen to commemorate the nailing of the Theses on the door of the
church at Wittenberg by Martin Luther, which was the birth of the
Reformation. This occurred on October 31, 1517, and as the birthday of
Luther is celebrated less than two weeks from this date, a Sunday in
between the two might be observed as Reformation Sunday. Martin
Luther was born November 10, 1483. While we usually associate him with
the Reformation of the Church, sometimes we overlook the other things
with which his name is linked. It was Luther who first translated the
Bible into German, completing the work in 1534. He was also a poet and
wrote many hymns. Two of these are frequently used to-day; one in
particular is known to every man, woman, and child who has ever attended
Sunday-school. This is the Christmas hymn 'Away in a Manger, No Crib
for His Bed.' A second one is 'A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.'
"A program built around the life and work of this great man is most
appropriate for a November Sunday. Use the two hymns referred to and
others if you can :find them in the church hymnal. Have some one who
is capable of giving a brief sketch of the period in which Luther lived tell
of the influence this man had on the world of his day and what it has
meant to us. Perhaps this subject might be divided into several sub-
topics, each person dwelling on one phase of the Reformation period.
"It seems as though something should be done to keep alive in the
minds of our boys and girls the work of this great man Martin Luther."
J. T. M.
An Encouraging Word about Parochial Schools. - Speaking of
the agencies that the Church employs in educating its children in the Word
of God, the Lutheran Standard of September 8 writes: "Which are these
agencies? We begin with the parochial school, the day-school. Even
Theological Observer. - Ritd)lidJ',8eitgefd)icl)tIid)e~. 881
though we can find no rubric 'parochial schools' in the statistics of our
Church that are published in the 1934 almanac, it remains a fact that
the parochial school is not entirely extinct in our church-body. The latest
statistical report shows 46 parochial schools, with 80 teachers and 2,471
pupils. All honor to this remnant of what was once a large host! Mere
tributes to the Christian day-school do not solve our problem of Christian
elemeutary education, but it will do no harm, and it may encomage those
parish-schools that remain, if we call attention to the incalculable contri-
bution that the parochial school has made to the development of the Lu-
theran Church in America. The Rev. Panl Koenig of St. Louis, a pastor
of the Missouri Synod, read a comprehensive paper on 'Elementary Chris-
tian Education in the Missouri Synod' before an Intersynodical Conference
on Christian Elementary Education. From that paper we note that the
parochial-school system is still holding its own in the Missouri Synod;
in fact, there was a gain of 19 schools from 1932 to 1933. This body has
at present 1,377 schools, with about 80,000 pupils. 'The large majority
of these schools,' writes Pastor Koenig, 'have eight grades, fifteen have
nine grades, and one has ten grades.' More important than the number
of such schools in the Missouri Synod is the results they have achieved.
'Graduates from our schools certainly are well-indoctrinated, interested
members of their Church, all things being equal; they remain true to
their confirmation promise to a much larger degree, according to statis-
tics, than the members won through other agencies, although the home
is frequently the deciding faetor, so far as faithfulness on the part of the
children is concerned.''' A.
Modernism in the Encyclopedia Britannica. - In the Sunday-
school Times Ernest Gordon, in his religious and missionary news depart-
ment "Survey of Religious Life and Thought," shows that Modernism has
invaded even the venerable Encyolopedia Britannica. He writes: "Atten-
tion is called in the Bible League Quarterly to a distinct turn to the left
in the theology of the Encyclopedia. The first edition, that of 1771, speaks
of Jesus Christ as, the 'Son of God and Savior of mankind, who descended
from hea,ven and took upon Himself the human nature in Judea,.' Tllis
statement comes from a time when Modernism, under the name of Deism,
was even more powerful in England than it is to-day. This early writer
adds: 'The systematic part of the Christian religion has three principles
from which all other dogmas a,re derived: 1. the existence of God in three
persons; 2. the necessity of a Mediator or Redeemer; 3. the rea.] appear-
ance of the Redeemer, or Messiah, on earth.' In edition after edition the
same position was taken, even to a da,te as late as 192(;, when the thirteentll
edition was published. With the fourteenth edition, however, a change
occurred. The author of the a.rticle 'Jesus Christ' is Dr. C. Anderson Scott,
Professor of the New Testament in Westminster College, Cambridge,
England, a Presbyterian institution. He goes so far as to say: 'There
is nothing in these three gospels (the synoptics) to suggest that their
writers thought of Jesus as other than human.' .And again: 'Jesus never
refers to Himself as the Son of God, and the title, when bestowed upon
Him by others, proba,bly involves no more than the aclmowlcdgment that
He was the, Messiah.' Of the miracles of Christ Dr. Scott sa\ys: "L'here
can be no doubt that the evangelists believed that those thingll happened
56
as they describe them. . .. But there is equally no doubt that many of
them would be differently described and differently accounted for by modern
()bservers, who a,re as eager to find out ~econdary causes as earlier ob-
servers were ready to do justice to the primary one.' It is a pity that
the great Encyclopedia, which for one hundred and sixty years hag, gone
through the successive waveR of unbelief, should in our own chy, when
the des,tructive criticism is cracking at so many points, at last succumb
to the old opinions." J. T. M.
The Plague of Modernism.-In The Second Gaming of Gh"ist Henry
W. Frost draws this appalling picture: "Second, the temptations of the
Church. As related to the professing Church of Christ a new thing has
happened to us. In the old days our temptations came from the world
and not the Church. In these present days they come from both the
world and the Church; for now it is not only true that the Church is in
the world, but also that the world is in the Church, and the beguilements
of the Church are more alluring and ensnaring than those of the world.
In former times, for instance, we were assured that the man in the pulpit
would point out to us the way of life and tell us how to walk in it. But
now it is not always so. On the contrary, it is often true that our foes
are those of our ecclesiastical household, and we frequently find that the
most dangerous man in the community is the clergyman who stands be-
hind an authoritative Bible, but occupies himself in denying its most
essential truths. Such a man, if listened to, may leave us with clean
lives, but will give us befouled spirits, wherein we have no right thoughts
of God, His holy Word, the way of salvation, and the true meaning of this
life and that which is to come. And the wreckage of such a life is greater
than that which the sordid world can ever produce. Personally I have
come to fear the Church more than the world. The world has to do with
outward things, the Church with inward; the world, largely, is related
to physical matters, the Church to spiritual; the world, generally, can
be recognized in its approach and assault, the Church is deceiving, having
a smiling face, an outstretched hand, and a siren voice, and seemingly is
friendly in all its bearings. It is therefore the gravest possible question
which may confront a man in these modern and modernistic days as to
where he shall worship and to what preacher he shall listen. The result
is with many of us that we are forced to be separatists at the very time
when we yearn most for large and generous fellowships. And the further
result is, being cut off from old-time intimacies, that we find ourselves
alone and lonely, with a heartache which is almost beyond enduring. Many
Christians in these times are anticipating the moan of the martyred ones
beneath the altar and crying out, 'How long, 0 Lord?' Rev. 6, 9-11. But
many more are not, because they do not understand the danger which
confronts them and the evil which has prevailed against them. Knowing
something of the state existing in the Church at large, I give it as my
deliberate opinion, as related to professing Christians, that where the
world is slaying its thousands, the Church is slaying its tens of thou-
sands. And the end is not yet!" (P. 248 f. ) "A friend of mine had a large
junior class in a prominent church of the city where she lived. She was
a Fundamentalist and was teaching her children to believe in the whole
883
Word of God, including the miracles of the Old Testament. As she at-
tended the services of the church and listened to the preaching of her
minister, she discovered that he had taken up with Modernism. For this
reason she felt that she ought to talk with him and offer to retire from
her position. She took this course, and the interview proved a frank one.
She told her pastor that she was teaching the Old Testament as well as
the New as absolutely true, including all of the old-time miracles and
then offered to withd.Taw from her class. The minister listenecl to her
with patience and was very courteous. vVhen she had finished, he said,
'Don't give up your class and go right on teaching the Old Testament
stories as true; for they will do your children good. Afterwards they
will come into the church, and there I will lighten their darkness by telling
them that these stories are nothing but legends.' This minister is now in
a high and influential position in the denomination to which he belongs ....
A well-known evangelist was asked by the minister of a large and wealthy
congregation to hold a Sunday evening service in his church. The evan-
gelist attended the morning service and heard the pastor preaeh on the
subject of divine orderliness, in which he pointed out the fact that God,
in things large and small, was always orderly. At the conclusion hc con-
firmed his remarks by citing the fact that Christ, on the morning of His
resurrectIon, paused before He came forth from the tomb and folded the
grave-clothes which had been about His body and the napkin which had
been about His face. After the service the evangelist told the minister
that he was delighted with his sermon and especially delighted with his
using the last illustration, this because he had understood that he did
not believe in Christ's physical resurrection. The minister answered, 'You
are quite right; I don't believe in Christ's resurrection.' The evangelist
was astonished and said, 'How, then, could you use the illustration about
the grave-clothes and napkins?' The minister, without a flicker of his
eyelids, answered, 'Oh, that illustration is a classical one, and I knew of
nothing better to suit my purpose.' And this minister holds a conspicuous
position in his denomination and is high in the councils of American Chris-
tendom." (P. 196 ff.)
All of this is delightful reading to Jewry. In OhiU,asm (antichiliastic)
Abraham Kuyper writes, p. 33: "Years ago a learned and presumptuous
chief Rabbi wrote to some one who had boasted of the conversion of a few
Jews: 'These bigoted and short-sighted Christians trouble themselves to
snatch from us a soul here and there and then rejoice most royally when
they have done so. They are not aware, however, of our missionary en-
deavor, on their own premises, better, more fitting, and more effective, as
far as results are concerned, than theirs. We take from them one salient
after another. The time is not far off when all those among the Chris-
tians who are truly civilized will no longer need the Christ and be able
to get along without Him as well as we can. The time is approaching
very rapidly when the great majority of Christians shall come to our
conception of God and return to our monotheism. The future is ours. We
convert en masse, and that unnoticed.' Does not this statement of that
chief Rabbi contain an appalling truth? We succeed at times in bringing
a few Jews into our churches; who shall count the thousands and the
884 Theological Observer. - .R'itd)1id.h8eitgefd)id)tIi~e!l.
tens of thousands in the various parts of the world who because of the
influence of the Jewish spirit of Liberalism as manifested in the daily
press have been led back to a life without the Messiah 1" "We convert
en masse" - with the help of our faithful allies, the Modernists. E.
Inspiration as Interpreted by Modernists. - When a reader of
the Ohristian Oenh.id"Y recently asked for a definition of inspiration, Prof.
Herbert L. Willett of the Divinity School of Chicago University, writing
in the Question Box of the paper mentioned, replied as follows: "There is
no satisfactory definition for inspiration in the Biblical sense of the term.
Other works have well merited the distinction as marked by some high
degree of beauty or power. But the inspiration of the Bible is just that
unique combination of qualities and effects which is not to be found iden-
tically elsewhere. It is a body of writings, consisting of narrative, preach-
ing, priestly instruction, wise reflection, poetic composition, tradition, myth
and legend, epistles, biographies, and apocalyptic hopes, all of which, of
varying character and value, were the external expression of an inward
spirit which found its most exalted interpretation in the life and teach-
ings of Jesus. Its claim to the term inspired lies chiefly in its power to
inspire those who expose their lives to its influence. Inspiration is that
quality in the Scriptures which causes an elevation and intensification of
human life, enabling it to experience and express something of the nature
of that larger life on which it is dependent. In these basic values one
knows of no body of literature which compares with the Bible, produced
either in ancient or modern days." This means that, according to the view
of Modernism, the poor sinner who is looking for a message directly from
God on the question "What must I do to be saved 1" will be looking in vain
if he goes to the Bible. What he finds there may be beautiful and stirring
and uplifting in a humanistic sense, but is not the very Word of God. A.
II. .2lu51an~.
~m !Bnnne bet: ltnilllt. IDCan In:o±eftiet± innet~aTh !}et: ffteidj~fitdje
ernftridj gegen ~ j)iij)ftifdje fftegiment bet .l'fitdjenobtigfeit, man liiflt audj
2!mgentfetung unb aUetlei j)oliBeiIidje IDCafltegelung ilbet fidj etgeqen, abet:
ba~ eigentlidje flbel - bie in bet ffteidj~fitdje geIten!}e Union - edennt
man nidjt, un!} bon @5ej)atation ift batum nidjt bie fftebe. IDCan j)toteftierl
gegen bie j8efdjIilffe bet: ~ationalf\Jno!}e bom 9. 2!uguft. "SDie ffteidj~~
fitdjenregierung qat bie ~ationalf\Jnobe bem @5inn unb lillorllau± bet met~
faffung Bulttibet umgebilbe± unb bon bet fo umgebUbeten ~ationalf\Jnobe
fidj bie®tmadjtigung geben Iaffen, offenrnnbige fftedjgbetfe\iungen tUrf"
hJiden!} filt recfJ±i3gilWg au erlIiiten." (®tfiiitung bon D. 2!lt~au~, D. Baible,
Banbe~bifdjof IDCaral)ten~, .\:lannObet, Banbe~bifdjof lillutm, lillilrltemberg,
un!} anbern.) IDCan ptoteftiett gegen ben bon bet :nationalflJnobe gefot~
betten SDienfteib. SDa~ ®efe\i laute±: "SDie ®eiftndjen ~aben foIgenben
SDienfteib au leiften: ~dj, :n. :n., fdjhJiite dnen ®i!} ou ®oti, !}em 2!11Jiffen~
ben unb .\:leifigen, bat idj aIS ein berufenet SDienet im 2!mt ber gJerliin"
hlgung ... bem lJil~ret be~ beutfdjen gJoIfe~ unb @5taa±e~ 2!bolf .\:litret treu
unb ge~otfam fein hJerbe ... ; hJeiter, bafl idj bie mit anberirauten ~fIidj~
ten be~ geiftIidjen 2!m±~ gemiifl ben Otbnungen bet SDeutfdjen ®bangeHfdjen
ollirdje unb ben in bieien Dt:bnungen an midj etgelj.enben lilleifungen ge"
Theological Observer. - .Rird)Ud).Sett(lefd)ic£)tnd)d. 885
toiffen~aft toa~rneljmen toerbe .... @So toa~r mir @ott ~effelu (W. (f. 2. Sl!'.,
24. Wuguft.) ~agegen proteftiert ber .2anbe£lliifdjof Meifer, g3ai:)ern: ,,~ie
mereibigung aUf ben {Jii~rer fteIlt bie @eiftlidjen unb g3eamien ber ~eut
fdjen (fbangeIifdjen S'Hrdjc unier WU£lna~nteredj± gegeniilier ben iilirigen
offentridjen g3eam±en .. " ~ie fe~r ernfien ±~eologifdjen (fintoiinbe gegen
ben borgefeljenen (fib lieljaUen toir unB bor gefonbert geItenb au madjen."
g3armer g3efenniniBjL]nobe: ,,)Die gefamHirdjIidjen unb gemeinbIidjen ~ffidj
ten finb im DrbinationBgeIiilibe erfdjopfenb geregeIt. @in neuer @ib, ber
fidj aUf biefe @eliieic licilielji, toiirbe ben @rnft beB Drbina±ion£lgelillibeB
aeritoren. ~n bief em fteljen juir unb liebiirfen feine£l neuen (fibeB." Mit
medjt toeigern fidj biefe unb bieIe anbern, i~r @etoiffen eibIidj "ben ~ei.
fungen" ber SHrdjenolirigfeit ;)U unter11lerfen. Man ift nodj nidjt fo toeit
gefommen toie jene Mecflenliurger ~farrer, bie in einem WUfruf neuIidj
erfIiirten: ,,)Darum beBeugen toir fret unb offen auB unferm an @:ljrif~
aUein gebunbenen @etoiffen, bat toir in bem {Jii~rer unferB moUeB wborf
~itfer ben un£l b.on @ott gefetten unb beboUmiidjtig±en ljodjften Dlierljerrn
aUf @rben anedennen unb bat toil: iljm barum o~ne jeben morlie~aIt ganaen
@e~orfam auf allen @eliieten biefe£l (frbenlelien£l - audj aUf bem f.oge-
nann±en firdjIidjen - fdjulben. ~ir liefunben, bat barum im Ie~±en er
allein medji unb Madjt ~at, haft gottIidjen WuftragB audj unferer Sl!irdje
medjt unb Drbnung au gelien nadj feinem (frmefjen." (W. @. 2. Sl!., 27. ~uIi.)
Man proteftiert gegen bie Bum ;iteH ge11laItfam lieirieliene ,,@ingIieberung"
ber .2anDe£lfirdje in bie meidj0firdje. )Der meidj£lliifdjof ljat am 25. ~uIi
bem meidj£lfan8Icr lieridjte±, bat "bon ben 28 aerfpIitterien .2anbe£llirdjen,
bie in ~eu±fdjranD our 3cit ber Wcac~tillierna~me bor~anben !Daren, biBljer
22 in bie (fbangeHf dje meidjBfirdje aufgegangen finD, bei brei toeiteren ~irdjen
bie @ingIieberung tm boUen @ange ift, jlliiljrenb ein meft bon brei SHrdjen
berbleibt". @B ~anDen lidj liei biefer@ingIieberung um bie "Un±erf±eUung
ber g3ifdjofe unter ben meidjBliifdjof" (@dIiirung ber tljeologifdjen {Jafurtiit
~aUe.~ittenberg). nm bie "ltlieriragnng ber firdjenregimentridjen nnb ge.
fetgelierifdjen g3efugniffe bon ben Drganen ber .2anbeBfirdjen anf bie ber
)D. @. ~.". (D. {Jleifdj, ~annober.) @rfIiirung ber ~annoberfdjen 2anbe£l.
firdje: ,,~n ber {Jrage ber @ingIieberung ber @b .• .2u±~ . .2anbe£lfirdje ~an.
noberB in bie befenntniBmiitig nidjt geliunllene )Deu±fdj.@bangeIifdje Sl!irdje
~a± unfer .2anbe£lliifdjof D. Maraljren£l ben ebangeIifdj.lu±ljerifdjen g3efenn±.
ni£lftanb unbediirat bertreten. )Dagegen ljat bieMeljr~eit beB seirdjen-
jenate£l ben befenn±niBmiitigen @Stanbpunft unferer .2anbeBfirdje nidjt ge"
!Daljri, fonbern ein (fingfieberung£lgefet liefdjloffen, ba£l ben g3efenn±ni£lf±anb
gefiiljrbet, todl cine fIare Wbgrenaung ber iilicrtragenen g3efugniffe nidjt
mogfidj ift." (W. @7 • .2. ~., 1. ~llni.) @ntfdjfietung ber liai:)rifdjen .2anbe£l.
fi:)nobe bom 23. I2fuguft: ,,)Die liaiJrifdje .2anbe£lfiJnobe liebauer±, bat bie
bollig unmilgfidje ~aHllng ber beraeitigen meidj£lfirdjenregierllng bie 11lirf.
fidje @inigung ber )Delltfdjcn @bangeIifcljen ~irdje ber~inber±, tot£lljalli Bur
3ci± eine (fingfiellerung nidjt in iSrage fomm±. . .. )Die .2anbe£lfi:)nobe ftem
fef±, bat iljr .2anbeBliifdjof, ber unerfdjil±±edidj aUf bem g30ben be£l )Se-
fenn±nifje£l f±e~t, bon I2fnfmlg an e~rfidj unb aufredjt bemii~t toar, an bern
)Sau einer toirfHdj einigen )Dellifdjen @bangeHfdjen ~irdje aUf bem )Soben
ber meidj£lfirdjenberfaffung in aUer 5treue unb ~ingalie mitauarlieiten." -
,,@£l gili± ~eU±e nur nodj brei .2anbe£lfirdjen, bie nodj nidj± eingegliebert
finb: g3ai)ern, ~iir±±emberg unb bie reformier±e .2anbe£lfirdje ~annober." -
886 Theological Observer. - .R'itcf){icf)~3eitgefcf)id)md)e~.
@;in fununarifc'fjer lSeric'fjt uoer Die ooig gefc'fjilberlen 8uftiinbe in eng ~
Ii f c'fj e r @5prac'fjc miire fjier mofjI am IfSlal;l: "A further step toward the
nazification of the German Church, which seems almost to exhaust the
possibilities in that direction, has been taken by merging into the national
Church the churches of the separate states by conferring on Reichsbishop
Mueller the synod's power to legislate for the Church and by cxacting
from all pastors an oath of allegiance and obedience to Hitler and to the
laws of the Church, which now means the orders of Mueller as directed
by Hitler. [?] It was not to be anticipated that such a complete destruc-
tion of the liberty of the Church would be accomplished without strong
resistance on the part of those ministers and congregations which have
hitherto consistently resisted the encroachments of the State. The pro-
tests were loud and clear, especially against the assumption of supreme
ecclesiastical authority by Bishop Mueller. 'l'hat there will he resistance,
subject to whatever penalties may be imposed, but quite certainly in-
cluding loss of pastorates, is imminently probable. Pastors protest that
as citizens they do not object to taking an oath of allegiance to the State,
or even to der J:i'ltehrer; but they object to taking such an oath as pas-
tors, and especially they object to swearing to obey the future as well as
the present laws of the Church when these are now to be decrees of the
Reichsbishop. 'While non-joining German pastors are reported by the As-
sociated Press to be going to jail in considerable numbers, the government
is said to have relaxed its repressive measures sufficiently to permit peti-
tions of protest against Reichsbishop Mueller's autocratic rule of the Church
to be circulated more freely than would have been allowed a few weeks
ago. The Bavarian Evangelical Lutheran Synod has voted unanimously
against allowing itself to be merged in a national German Church. And
as Paul appealed to Caesar, so the insurgent members of the pastors'
emergency league have appealed to Hitler, professing their willingness
to swear allegiance to him and to the State, but petitioning him to re-
lease them from the requirements of an oath to support a church organi-
zation dominated by Mueller." (The CMistian CentuTY, August 22; Sep-
tember 5.)
~iefe lmiinner proieftieren entfc'fjieben gegen ~ergemar±igung unb ge~
mifiewIJebriicrenbe @efete. Uber e§ mit:b taum e i n e @5tinnne laut gegen
bie gelnifjen§oebriicrenben Buftiinbe, bie hie Union mit fic'fj bring±. Unb
man benft nic'fjt baran, au§ ber unierten ffieic'fj§firc'fje au§autreicn. @;nt~
fc'fjieben ltleif± Eanbe§oifc'fjof IDCeifer bon lSa~ern einen folc'fjen @5c'fjri±i ab.
2fuf iener @5~nobe bom 23. 2fuguft crfliirle er, baB "eine@;ingficberung
nic'fjt in iJrage fomme, meiI fein 8uirauen aur beraeitigen ffieic'fj§firc'fjen~
IeHung mefJr ba fei. fillenn aile ~oilmac'fjt auf ben ffieic'fj§oifc'fjof iiber~
iragen fei, bel' gar nic'fjt in ber Eage fei, Me oa~rifc'fjen ~ergiiltniffe au
iioerfc'fjauen, fo fei ba§ lfSaparwmu§, ntc'fjt aoer UufOau ber @emeinben nac'fj
ebangelifc'fjen @runbfiiten. Uuc'fj miire biefe 9CeugeftaItung nUt: @;iaj.1pe aUf
bem filleg au neuen Bielen, nnb mo im Ietien @5tabium ba§ fuigerifc'fje lSe~
fennini§ OIeiIJen mabe, fonne man fic'fj au§malen". Ulfo Io§ bon ber
ffieic'fj§firc'fje, Die ba§ lSefennmi§ gefiifjrbet? 0 nein I ~er niic'fjfte @5at·
Iautet: "U1i§brucfIic'fj fei fefiaulegen, baB Me oaLJrifc'fje Sfirc'fjenleitung crud)
feine iJreifirc'fje anftrebe. ffiel:mer fei bieImegr ber ~offnnng, baB Die bat)"
Theological Observer. - .Ritc9lic9~8eitgefc9ic9mcges. 887
rifclje .2anbei3firclje mit gu±em @e11liffen in ber ffieiclji3firclje lileilien ronne."
(W.