Full Text for CTM Book Review 6-5 (Text)

(ttnurnrbta lUqrnlngtrnl anutqly Continuing LEHRE UND WEHRE MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. VI May, 1935 No.5 CONTENTS Page Notes on Chiliasm. Th. En&,e1der ••••••••••••••••••••••• 321 Der Zeitgeist und die zeitgemaesse Predigt. J. H. C. Fritz •• 335 Das Verhaeltnis der Apokalypse zu den prophetischen Schriften des Alten Testaments. P. E. KretzmaDD • • • • • •• 340 Der Schriftgrnnd fuer die Lehre von der satisfactio vicaria. P. E. Kretzmann • • • • • • • • •• 347 An Anniversary We Forgot. Theo. Hoyer • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 349 Sermon Study on 1 Tim. 2, 1--6. Theo. Laetach • • • • • • • • • •• 356 Dispositionen ueber die altkirchliche Evangelienreihe ..... 365 Miscellanea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 376 Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitgeschichtliches. . . .. 379 Book Review. - Literatur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 391 EID Predlger muss nlcht aIleID tociden, also daaa er die Scbafe unterweise, wle .Ie rechte Obrl~ lOlleD aelD, 80ndem auch daDeben den Woellen toehr,"" daaa ale die Scbafe nloot angreifen und mit blocher Lehre veduebren und Jrrtum eln· fuebren. - wIlier. E. 1st kelD Ding, daa die Leate mehr bel der Klrche bebaelt denn die &'Ute Prediljt. - Apologie, Arl. 4 Ii the trumpet give an UDcertaln sound, who shaU prepare hlmaelf to the battle ' 10or • .q,8. Published for the Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE, St. Louis, Mo. Book Review. - 53iteratur. 391 Book Review. - 2iteflltuf. Is the' Bible True'? By Basil F. O. Atkinson, M. A., Ph. D. Under- librarian, University LibraJ'y, Cambridge. With a, Foreword by H. J. Orr-Ewing, M.O., M. D., F. R. O. P. Fleming H. Revell Gom- pany, New York, London, and Edinburgh. 209' pages, 7%X5. Price, $1.25. On the publishers' cover the title of this book is given, "Is the Bible T1'ue?" and t.he remark added: "If you doubt it, read this book." This book, then, is to furnish proof for the t.ruth of the Bible.. Taken thus, the t.itle is a misnomer. It. does not prove that the Bible is true; but. it does show tha,t all the a,rguments which have been advanced to prove the Bible false are fallacies. So' it will never convince an unbeliever of the truth of the Bible, much less of its divine cha.racter; but it ma,y help to strengthen a Ohristian in his conviction that here he has the 'V-ord of Truth. It. is altogether worth reading; written, as the foreword declares, especially to' help young Christians "who are fa.ced every day in the course of their studies and inve,stigations with the assumption, not only tha,t the Bible is not relia,ble, but tha,t everyone possessed of any intelligence or education knows that it is not relia-ble." The author states his convictiO'n that the Bible is free from error, therefore perfectly reliable, God-inspired in every word. There are only a. few concessioni' to the critic of the Bible,-- a Christian is puzzled why a man who evidently takes so positive a stand for the Bible should feel the· need of making any concessions, - e. g., tha,t the Deluge may have been a local flood, p.52; that the crea,tion day need not mean a, day of twenty-four hours, p.50; that the da,rkiless in Egypt was caused by a, sand-storm and the Red Sea wa.s parted by the east wind, p. 81, the Jordan by a, landslide, p.62" Some of the a;rguments a;re so well put that I must quote: "The importance of the Bible can be proved by the amount of time spent by those who do not believe these, things in trying to prove that the, Bible; is not true and in ridiculing it and trying to persuade others not to read or believe it." - "Fa,r moore dangerous [than the attempt to discredit the Bible, on the ground that it disagrees with recognized scientific facts, and therefore cannot be a. revela.tion from God] is a, very wide-spread attitude towa,rels tile Bible on the pa,rt of religious leaders and theological teachers to--da,y. This. view is that the Bible, is unscientific, but that it doesn't matter that it iSI unscientific. It is often said that the Bible is intended to teach us spiritual things, not science, and tha,t therefore we need not expect its scientific sta.tements to be true. This is the view held by people classed as libera,l, higher critical, or modernistic. It does the work of atheism under the cloak of religion, a fact recognized and a,pprO'ved by the atheist associa,tions." "The truth is tha,t no one disbelie,ves the B-ible because of the miracles recorded in it, They aJ'e made the excuse for unbelief." The only pO'sitive proof tha,t the Bible is God's o·wn truth is the Spirit's witness in the Bible, which the author also acknowledges in the last chapter, - Books of this character will not convince the unbeliever; but they serve' to make us mO're joyful 392 Book Review. - Xlitetatut. in our confession; and they should help to convince· even the unbeliever tha.t the Bible is an extraordinary Book, which he should study; and that is all that is neoessary; if he gives the Bible an opportunity, it will convince him. TREO. HoYER. stiie fcliicn stiinge. ?non D. ~ a u I III {t f) au s, ~rofe(for an ber Unibetfitat CS'r!angen. ?nierte, lteuoearoeitete Illuflage. ?netIag bon ~. ~erte{§mann, @iiterslof). 1933. XII unD 353 6eiten 6% X 9%. ~reis, gebunDen: RM.12. ~ie( es llleitberuteitete ?metf, bas 1922 in erfter Illuflage erfdjicn, bietd reicf)es bO\Jmen\Jc(cf)icf)t!id)es mlatniaf, bas aud) bestDegen tDertboU ift, tDeH es uns Hun: bcn 6tanb bcr ~inge in ber mobetnen :tf)eologie untenid)tet. IllIs ~anb'fmdj lutf)e" ti(djer ~M}atologie f)at tS tDenig !illert. .{ltDar ftc!)t D. IllUf)aus in f)of)cm Illn~ fef)cn in mandjen ~reifen ber lutf)etifdjcn ~itdje. "tibetaus tDitfungsboU bcttritt Die lutf)etifdje @tunDanfdjauung ber ietige :;'Snf)aber bes \Ytanrfdjen 2cf)rftuf)lell ~aul Illltf)aulV' (Xlutf)arbb:;'Selfe, .!'fompcnbium ber ~ogmatif, 6. 56.) Unb tDo in bicfem ~udje bie lutf)ertfdje ®tunban(djauung fidj burd)gefett f)at, f)at bet 2efet teidjen @etDinn. "Illuf aUem ·?menfdjentum laitet bet .{lom @ottes. ~et @ebanfe cinet 6Uf)ne butdj ,?miebergutmadjcn' f)alt cmflet ~titif nidjt (tanb. \'Yotbed @ottes @etedjtigfeit nidjt eine tDirflidje 6 U f) n e? . .. \yUt bief e ?mtlt ~tDigen :tobes if! bas ~ ban g c r i u m gegeben tDorben." (V . .!'fap.: ~as @etidjt.) "IllUen tDltb bas cine unb felbe eluige 53eben als @efd)enf bet @nahe @ottes (ffiom. 6, 23) 3uteH. ~as ift Die grofle @(eid)ljeit aUct, bie in bas etDige 2eben eingeljen bUrfen." (VIII. ,ftap.: ~as :Reie!).) Illber bie!etorts (ett fidj bie lutf)erifdje ®tUnDan(djauung nidjt burdj. 6ie fann es nidjf, tDeHIllHf)aus' ?metf)obe bes fljeologi( djcn ~tfennens hurdjaus nid)t bie Iutl)erifd)c ift. ~ladj bet neulutf)erifd)en ?metl)obe, bic ~llt()aus antDenbet, beelt fidj bie t!)eologifef)e such a, statement and who gives anyone the right to prcss an e,xpression to its e'Xtreme, unless the author himself doeE that. The author continues: "The result to the common man is the same as if he accepted the fatalism of Calvin's view, a notion which easily becomes tlw reason for spiritual indifference or spiritual inadivity. This conclusion may in its way be just. The view set forth by Dr. Pieper is clea.r and sound. But sound principle sta.ted in extreme form lllay le·ad to wrong inferences." (Agajn we ask: Where is the extreme form in Dr. Pieper's statements?) "And he're we are close upon the second criticism, that the Synodical Conference treatment, however essentially cor- rect, is in danger of setting aside human na.ture." Before taking up this point, the author rejects the "intuitu fidei formula" in no uncertain terms. Continuing on page 54, he says: "The principle of salvation by grace alone can readily be carried too far. It may be so stressed as to make grace effective irrespective of human participation." Question: Just to what extent was there human paxticipation on the, paxt of Lazarus when his dead body wa.s brought back to life by the gracious, effective, mighty word of J esUB ? On page 65 we are given the informa,tion tha,t "the pre- destination controversy in the American Church has developed a more definite apprehension of spiritual death." We a.gree, but we do not agree with the "a,pprehension" outlined by the author. He writes: "Spiritual death is a blight and a, perversion affecting all human faculties and the phYEical man as welL Its deadly na,ture in spite of all the susceptibilities of the human person is made distinct in the fact that the 'possibility' of conversion lies in the fact tha,t conversion is 'a, change of man's mind, heart, and will, wrought by the Holy Spirit, so tha,t man is able through such operation of the Holy Spirit to accept proffered grace.' Thus the Lord Jesus says: 'Behold, I stand at the door and knoek.' The opening 396 Book Review. - S3iteratur. of the door would mean simply a, cea,sing of opposition. Only by the a,ctive entrance of Jesus, of divine grace, can any change be brought a,bout in the na,ture of man." (P.65.) The author correctly teaches that man. is spiritually dead. Yet the conversion of this spiritually dead man is made possible by a change enabling him to accept proffered grace,. to open the door, to cease opposition. That, however, is not yet conversion, but makes conversion only possible. The Lord Jesus still stands without and still knocks. A man not yet converted therefore has, already received the' a,bility to cease opposition, to open the door to Jesus. Is this man, then, no longer spiritually dead? Yes, says the author. No, says the author. No, for man spiritually dead is now "able to accept proffered gra,ce." That surely presupposes spiritua,l life, a,t least a, change from spiritual dea,th to a, sta,te in which one has the spiritual a,bility, power, to open a, door, hence tha,t man must be a.live, changed. Is he, then, no longer spiritually dead? Yes, sa,ys the author; for "only by the a,ctive entrance of Jesus, of divine, grace, can any change be brought a,bout in the nature of man." We a,re truly sorry to see the author floundering about in the quicksands of Latermannianism. He does not want to be a, synergist, he abhors synergism, and s,till he teaches plain, unvarnished synergism in order to "avoid the danger of setting aside human nature" (p. 43). Would Jesus ha,ve found it necessa,ry to give life to Laza,rus if Laa;a,rus had bren able to open the door for Him? Right here is one of the points which should be carefully and prayerfully considered and studied by all con- cerned in the interest of the unity of the Lutheran Church. If right here an a,greement can be reached on the basis of Scripture, the chief obstacle to unity and an outwa,rd coopera,tion o,f all the Lutheran bodies will have been removed. For this we long and pray. THEo. LAETscH. Charles W. Abel of Kwato. Forty Years in Dark Papua. By his son Russell W. Abel, M. A. Introduction by Ohas. R. Erdman, D. D. Fleming H. Revell Co., New York. 255 pages, 5% X 81.4, with index. Price, $2.00. Order through Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. Unkulunkulu in Zululand. By Andr·ew Burgess. Dedicated to the Torch-bearers in Dark South Africa. The Board of Foreign Mis- sions, Minneapolis, Minn. 263 pages, 5%, X 8, with map, statistics, bibliography. Price, $1.00. Order through Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. These are two timely, instructive, and interesting books on missions, which deserve recommendation especially to pastors and teachers as source books for missionary studies and addresses. The first is an excellent biography of Missionary Charles W. Abel, who for forty years labored among the primitive people of New Guinea (Papua). Students of missions know how hard it was for the first Christian missionaries to gain a foot- hold on these islands. With the last of the great missionary pioneers on New Guinea, James Chalmers, who finally was slain and eaten by the cannibals thirty years ago, Charles Abel was associated for eleven years. But the work of the undaunted Lawes, MacFarlane, Chalmers, Abel, and others proved that even cannibals can be transformed into intelligent and useful Christians by the preaching of the Gospel. The dangers and dif- Book Review. - 2tteratut. 397 ficulties which Abel encountered in his work make up the bulk of this absorbing narrative, which gives an account also of the heroism and for- titude of the missionary's young bride, who by her faith and co=on sense was of great assistance in many instances in winning the good will of the natives. The story is told by his son, who was born in New Guinea thirty years ago, was educated by his mother amid primitive surroundings, and finally graduated from Cambridge University. Mrs. Abel with her two sons and two daughters are now engaged in mission-work in Eastern Papua. The volume is attractively illustrated from photographs and drawings and thus gives a most realistic picture of the hard pioneering days in "dark Papua." As reports show, it has already gained for itself a large circle of friends, and certainly on account of the valuable in- formation which it supplies and the deep interest which it creates every- where in Foreign Mission work it deserves the great appreciation with which it has been received.- Unk1llunklllu in Zlll1~lamd, by Andrew Burgess, brings the important cause of Foreign Missions very near to the hearts of Lutheran readers; for here we meet with the first Lutheran missionaries in Zululand, or Natal, in Eastern South Africa. Before the author wrote the book, he visited with the missionaries, inspected their fields, learned from them the story of the founding of Lutheran missions in Natal, and finally had his manuscript examined and corrected by men in the African mission area. The result of this painstaking labor is a mission-story which is as fascinating as it is instructive. The religion of the Zulus (Unkulunkulu is the "Great Great," who after creation left the world with its inhabitants; but who created the "Great Great" the Zulus do not know), their age-old tradi- tions, their strange customs and conventions, their superstitions and vices, and finally also their acceptance of the Gospel in eYer larger numbers, the self-sacrificing work of Schreuder, a true missionary hero, of Nils and Hans Astrup and their devoted followers, - all these things are vividly described in this handsome volume. Scores of pictures and illustrations, including a map of Natal, statistics of Lutheran missions among the Zulus, a roster of Norwegian missionaries now laboring in the field, and last, but not least, a very helpful bibliography on mission-work in Africa and, in particular, in Natal, ellhance the value of the book. The reviewer read the book from cover to cover and with unabating interest perused it for a second time. Volumes like the two just named will go far in making Christian people mission-minded, if they have access to them. There is no reason whatever why our people should not be made acquainted with good mission literature, especially with the fine jlfen and Missions Series which our Publishing House has provided under the editorship of Dr. L. Fuer- bringer. J. T. MUELLER. Under His Wings. By O. Hallesby, Ph. D., professor in the Independent Theological Seminary, Oslo, Norway. Augsbm-g Publishing House, Minneapolis, Minn. 177 pages. Price, $1.00. Order through Con- cordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. The author says in his preface: "There are some Christians who are never troubled by difficulties of any kind. There is an atmosphere of matter-of-courseness, I might even say cock-sureness, about their Chris- 398 Book Review. - ~iteratur. tian life. This book has perhaps very little to offer them. It has been written for the many believing Christians who from time to time are filled with dismay at the Word of the Lord and who almost continually feel weary and discouraged in their struggle against sin. And it is my prayer to God that some of these fainting souls will find a bit of sur- cease, a brief period of respite, in the reading of this book. If it will also help some one here and there to ~bide under His wings, my purpose in writing this book will have been accomplished." There is no doubt that the author's hopes will be abundantly fulfilled. It is a book for the quiet hour; and a quarter hour spent on one of the meditations offered will do every Christian good, particularly if he spends the other three quarters of the quiet hour in reading the Word itself. The definite state- ment that this is what the author means when he speaks of "seeking still- ness before the face of the Lord" comes rather late in the book, in the rarely fine chapter on Mary and Martha (p.135 ff.). The author's ex- planations are sometimes strange (e. g., of faith, p.U7) and had better been cast in Biblical form. At times the desirable clarity is lacking, a mystic communion with God without the Word seems to be suggested, a turning of the soul to God before conversion, etc. Bible quotations are taken from a revised version, for no apparent reason. It is a beautiful book, bound in blue cloth, with silver imprint and picture of Jesus and Nicodemus. THEo. HOYER. Bible History References. Vol. 1. Old Test~ment. By F. Ruppreoht. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 460 pages, 5% X 7%. Price, $2.50. We gladly welcome this new and enlarged edition of the Bible History Referenoes and urge all our readers to procure a copy at their earliest opportunity. We have used the second edition for a number of years, have turned to it times innumerable, and have invariably found it a reliable book of information. Time and again we have found trustworthy informa- tion on questions that are not even touched upon in similar books of ref- erence and satisfying solutions of vexing problems which other books simply ignore. To those readers who have used the book we need only to say that 104 pages have been added and many paragraphs rewritten; hence it would pay to buy this edition even if one has the older edition. To those who are not acquainted with Pastor Rupprecht's book we can give no better advice than to order a copy at once and make diligent use of it in their preparation of the Bible histories. We know that they will be thankful to the author for his painstaking work. THEO. LAETSCH. Eighth Convention of the Southern Nebraska District. 1934. 24 pages,7%XIO%. Price, 15 cts. Order from Mr. Karl Ehlers, Gar- land, Nebr. This report is issued as No.9, Vol. 21, of the Southern Nebraska Dis- triot Messenger, fifteen pages being devoted to the English report and nine to the German. Besides a very timely address by President H. E. Meyer on 1 Cor. 16, 13 and the usual committee reports, which are given in both languages, the report offers a very instructive essay in the German lan- guage by Dr. P. E. Kretzmann on the Fifth Petition. THEo. LAETSCH. Book Review. - Sliteratut. 399 :Proceedings of the Seventeenth Convention of the Southern Illilnois District of the Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 93 pages, 6 X 8%. Price, 13 cts. This pamphlet, printed with the customary care of our Publishing House, in self·cover and therefore offered at a low price, contains two ex- cellent doctrinal essays. The first, "Missionary Forward Endeavor in the Light of the Book of Acts," was delivered by Prof. Thea. Hoyer of the St. Louis Seminary. It offers a comprehensive and practical discussion of the (loctrinal basis, the object, the means, the workers, and many other factors which are essential for the proper conducting of Lutheran mis- siolls. - The second essay, "Gideon, der E,.rette,.," was delivered by the Rev. Ernst Berthold. It presents the history of that great judge of the children of Israel, with constant practical applications to present-day con- ditions. Every pastor who is keeping up his files of synodical reports will want to have this number. P. E. KRETzMANN. Proceedings of the Eighteenth Convention of the Central Illinois District of the Ev. Luth. Synod of :Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. 1934. 87 pages, 6X9. Price, 15 cts. Order from the Secretary, Pastor E. C. \Vegehaupt, ll20 E. Orchard St., Decatur, Ill. This report, printed as a number of the Oentral Illinois Distriot Bul- letin, contains in full, besides the customary business transactions, the doctrinal essay delivered by Prof. Walter Albrecht of the Springfield Seminary. His subject was "Modernism and the Doctrine of the Person and Office of Christ." Naturally he did not handle the false teachers with kid gloves, but revealed thcir denial of the truth in the most unequivocal and uncompromising way. The author offers copious quotations from the writers on the modernistic side as well as from those who oppose these soul-destroying errors. It might be well to present some of this material in the voters' meeting or before the men's club. P. E. KRETZ MANN. Thirty-Third Annual Convention of the Associated Lutheran Char- ities, July 10-13, 1934, at Chicago, Ill. 78 pages, 5X9. Bound in heavy paper. Price, 50 ets., postpaid. Order from the Rev. J. H. Witte, 304 Tuscola Road, Bay City, 1fich. The spirit of this report is indicated by the leading statements in the president's address on "Duty" and in the paper by the Rev. H. F. 'iVind on "Practical Christianity at Work in the Social Order." The latter speaker stated: ''It is the one great task of Christianity, particularly Christianity in its organized form, to broadcast the good news of man's salvation from sin, that men everywhere might be transformed into children of God." The topics of other papers were: "Problems of the Modern Family," "Volunteers in Church-work," "Social Pathology," "Principles of Social Case Work." It is necessary for the Lutheran pastor to be acquainted with at least the fundamental principles of Christian sociology, and this pamphlet will be of great value in guiding his thinking. P. E. KRETZMANN. 400 Book Review. - ~itetlltUt. Clip. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 1934. 32 pages, 6X9. Price, 15 cts. This little publication, bound in flexible paper covers, is unpreten- tious, but helpful. It is issued in response to numerous requests to fur- nish busy pastors "filler" material for their parish·paper and the Sunday bulletin and striking sentences for the church's bulletin-board. The pam- phlet contains short, pithy sentences, little meaty paragraphs, and brief poems, carefully selected and well adapted for the purpose indicated. From the foreword we take over the last two sentences: "The book closes with some items of more direct reference to synodical work. Most of the ma- terial we offer is original." VV. ARNDT. BOOKS RECEIVED. ll'1-om the Rodeheaver Company, Chicago and Philadelphia:- Triumphant Service Songs. .An all-purpose book, prepared to meet the requirements of every department of church-work. Compiled by Homer A. Rodeheaver, George W. Sanville, Yl,('mbert P. Rodeheaver, and Joseph N. Rodeheaver. 288 pages, 6 X 8%. Price, 50 cts., postpaid. From Fleming H. Revell Company, New York, London, and Edinburgh:- The Venture of Belief. A letter from N. S. D. to T. H. S. With in- troduction by Samuel M. Shoemaker. 54 pages, 5X7%. Price, $1.00. Speaking Boldly. Essay-Sermons. By Ray Freeman Jenney. With a foreword by John McDowell. 128 pages, 5X7%. Price, $1.25. The Commandments of Christ. By Frank L. Gosnell. With a fore- word by Cleland B. MoAtee. 61 pages, 5X7%. Price, 75 cts. From Augsburg Publishing House, ltIinnea,polis, Minn.:- The Stories Jesus Told. Thirty of the parables Jesus told. 31 pages, 4 X 6. Price, 25 cts. From Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Mich.:- Romance of Fire. By Paul Hutchens. 254 pages, 514X7%. Price, $1.00. Concordia Collection of Sacred Choruses and Anthems for More Ambitious Choral Organizations. No. 44. The Beatitudes. For mixed voices. By Matthew N. Lundqu·ist. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 18 pages, 7 X 10. Price, 70 cts. NOTICE TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS. 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