Full Text for CTM Book Review 1-6 (Text)

(!lnurnrbtu UJl1rnlngtrul :!Inut41y Continuing Lehre und Wehre (Vol. LXXVI) Magazin fuer Ev.-Luth. Homiletik (Vol. LIV) Theol. Quarterly (1897-1920) -Theol. Monthly (Vol. X) Vol. I June, 1930 No.6 CONTENTS Page PIEPER, F.: Thesen, die dem "theologischen Schluss- examen" dienen koennen... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 401 DALLMANN, W.: How Peter Became Pope .. . ............ 406 ENGELDER, TH.: Marburg: Der Sieg ueber den Unionis- mus. (Fortsetzung.)... . . ... ...... . . .. ...... . ........... 416 KRETZMANN, P. E.: The Place and the Time of the Cap- tivity Letters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 426 WISMAR, O. W.: Sermon Study 011 Eph. 2, 19-22 .... . ... 434 Dispositionen ueber die Eisenacher Evangelienreihe... .. .. . 440 Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitgeschichtliches .... " 450 Vermischtes und zeitgeschichtliche Notizen ................ 468 Book Review. - Literatur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 470 Ein Predlger muss nlcht all.in ","'den, also dass er die Schafe unterweise, wie ele rechte Ohr~en BOllen seln, sondem auch dllneben den Woelfen wehren, dan • • ie die Schaf. nlcht angreifen und mit falscher Lehre verfuehren und Irrtum eln· fuehren. - Luther. Es ist keln Ding, daB die Leute mehr bei der Kirche behaelt, denn die gute Predlgt. - Apo!ogt.., Art. Iij. If the trumpet give an uncertain Bound, who shall prepare himself to the battle t 100'.14,8. Published for the Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PU:BLISHING HOUSE, St. Louis, Mo. 470 Book Review. - \litetatut. Book Review. - £itCtlltUt. ;.i)ie Dffenlinrnng be~ ~o~anne~. mon D. ~. f;! abo t n. (::t1)eoiogifd)er f;!anbfommentat Bum sneuen steftament mit ste!:t unb !J1atapf)tafe.) XVIII. lSanb. ~. ~eid)ertfd)e medagsbud)f)anbiung (D.~etnet i6ef)oll). XIII unb 243 i6eiten 7XIO. !J1reis: @e!)eftet, M.15; gebunben, M. IS. ~s ift ein neues, bead)tensttJedes Sl:ommentatttJed 3um sneuen steftament, bon bem feit einiger Seit hiefe ~uslegung bes Ietten lSucf)es bes sneuen steftaments aIS etfter lSanb borIiegt. ~s foll ein f;! an b f 0 m men tat fein, befonbers filr i6tubierenbe unb ~rehiget, unb bas lSefiteben ber lSeatbeiter ge!)t ba!)in, ben reIigiiifen @e!)aIt jeber neuteftamentIid)en i6d)tift butd) e!:afie ~in3eIedliimng unb butd) 3ufammenfaffenbe @efamtbatftellung bat3Ubieten. ~ie lSeatbeiter - ttJit nennen beifpieIsttJeife bie ~rofeffoten ~It!)aus in ~t!angen, lSild)fe! in ffioftocf, ~eif3tter in @teifsttJalb, f;!abom in lSem, Sl:itteI in stilbingen, Sl:iigeI in Sl:ie! - finb betannte neuteftamentIid)e ~!:egeten ber @egenttJad, bie fid) fd)on aUf hie eine ober anbete ~eife !)crborgetan !)aben, ttJie Sl:iigeI, ber i6o!)n bes befannten lSet~ finer Dber!)ofprebigets, als bet fe!)r betbiente lSeatbeitet bet neuen ~usgabe bes lrremetfd)en "lSibIifd)d!)eologif cf)en ~iirtetfJUd)s bet neuteftamentIid)en @tiiBitiit", einer i6d)atfammet filr ieben mebfJabet neuteftamentIicf)er ~!:egefe, ber fie red)t au gebraud)en ttJei~. il'teUid) ift fottJof)I Sl:iige! ttJie aud) f;!abom bOt einigen SJJlonaten geftorben. ~ie t!)cofogifd,e ffiid)tung ber lSeatbeiter ift fonfetbatib, ttJomit alletbings nid)t gefagt ift, ba~ fie ted)t aUt i6d)tift aIS bem autotitatiben itttumslofen @ottesttJott fte!)en. ~as ift ttJoljI bei teinem ber SJJlUarbeitet ber il'all.~bet es ift bod) ein gana anbeter ston in bet ~usiegung aIS 3. IS. in bem gana lints getid)teten gto~en International Oritical Oommentary, getabe aud) ttJenn ttJit bie botliegenbe ~uslegung ber Dffenbatung bon f;!aborn unb bas ent~ fpted)enbe 3ttJeibiinhige ~ed The Revelation of St. John bon bem ~ngHinber lR. f;!. lrljades in bem ebengenannten Sl:ommentar betgIeid)en. ~ller unniitige !Sallaft foll in hiefem Sl:ommentarttJed betmieben ttJerben, ttJoau bie ~uf3iiljfung aller miigIid)en unb unmiigIid)en ftilljeren unb gegenttJiirtigen ~d!Umngen geljiirt. ~s foll aUf bet f;!ii!)e bet SeU fteljen, ben fptad)Iid)en unb ljiftotifd)en il'ragen feine bolle ~ufmerffamteit 3uttJenben, abet bod) bei allet reIigionsgefd)id)t!id)en mer~ gIeid)ung bas bem lrf)tiftentum ~igenartige etfaffen (f)offeutIicf)!). tim ben \lefer red)t bei bem ste!:t au f)aIten - hie gto~e f;!auptfad)e in aller e!:egetifd)en ~tbeit -, ttJitb bet gtied)ifcf)e ste!:t bollft1inbig abgebtucft unb baneben in einet 3ttJeiten Sl:oIumne eine ftberfetung mit etIiiutemben ~infd)aItungen obet einer ~arapljtafe. ~a~ man f 0 ben \lef et lieft1inbig lieim @mnbte!:t feftf)iiIt, ift eine bor3ilgIid)e ~in~ tid)tung, bie aud) in bem betannten engIifd)en ~ed Alford's Greek Testament unb bem bieIfad) an feine i6telle gettetenen Expositor's Greek Testament fief) tinbet. ~bet ba~ man bann bei bem botiiegenben Sl:ommentatttJed in bet aUf ben ste!:t fofgenben ~d!Utung nicf)t bie gfoffatotifcf)e, fonbem bie teptobuttibc SJJletf)obe anttJenbet, ttJie es fd)on feit !Ungeter Seit aud) mit ben sneuauffagen bes in bet gansen tljeologifcf)en ~eft betilf)mten SJJlel)erfd)en Sl:ommentars gefcf)ieljt, erttJecft unfet gto~es lSebenten. ~urd) biefe reptobu3ierenbe SJJletf)obe, wie wit liebet fagen, ttJerben 3U feicf)t bie @ebanten bes ~!:egeten f)ineingetragen (~iS egefe) ftatt aus ben ~otten f)etausgettagen (~!: egefe). - ~as nun hie botIiegenbc ~usregung bet Dffenbatung bettifft, 10 miicf)ten ttJit gem aUf ein paat ~utenil Book Review. -l3iteratur. 471 ~untte einge~en, h1enn es miiglic9 h1are. SDer ?nerfaffer ~aU fie h1idlic9 filr ein "biblifcges ~Uc9", bas "nirgenbs anbersh1o~in ~a~t aIS an bas ~nbe bet ~ibel"f unb ftimmt bon &'detaen ein in ben "lliuf bes @faubens unb ber l5e~nfud)t, itt ben mit biefem ~uc9 bie ~ibef ausUingt: ,,~omm/ &'d~tt ~~fu, fomm bafb!" (15. 4.) ~r h1eift batauf ~in, h1efc9 eine ~ebeutung bie Dffenbarung im l3eben ber ~ircge ~at, "h1ie 3a~freicf) in unfetn ~itcgenliebetn bie snnUange an bie Dffen~ barung finb" (15.3)/ unb h1ir btuUcgen nUt an ben "Stiinig bet GI:~otafe", ~~m~~ 91icofaiS ,,®acget auf, tuft uns bie I5timme", au erinnetn/ um Dies 3U beftatigen. SDet ?nctfaffet edennt fc9atf ben ~fanma~igen unb funftboUen snufbau ber Dffen~ barung unb teift, nac9 unfetet i'rbet3eugung mit boUftem lliec9t, h1enn h1ir auc9 eth1as anbets abgten3en, bas ~ud) in iieben gto~e ,{l~Uen bon ?nifionen: bie fieben l5enbfc9teibcn, 1/9-3/22; bie fieben l5iegef, 4/1-8/1; bie fieben ~ofaunen, 8/2-11/19; ben snntid)riften, 12/1-14/20; bie ficben ,{lotnfc9afen, 151-16/21; ben iJaU ~abefs, 17/1-19/10; bie &'docl)3ett bes l3ammes/ 19/11-22/5/ h10Su am snnfang cine i'rbetfc9tift lommt/ 1/ 1-8/ unb am ~nbe ein I5c9fu~h1ort, 22/ 6-21. Unb auc9 fonft finben h1it biele treffenbe ~inaefbemetfungen unb snb~ h1eifungen bede~rtet snusfegungen, bie mit 91u~en h1etben gelefen h1etben. snbet anbererfeits milffen h1it bie gunoc snuffaffung bes ?netfaffers bet sn~ofaf~Ne ab~ fe~nen. ~t bietet, h1ie bas faft in aUen neueren snusfegungen ber Dffenoarung me~t ober h1eniget bet fj'aU ift, eine ,,@efc9ic9te bet snusfegung" (15.14-19) unO befennt fic9 barin au bet 3ettgefcl)ic9t!id)~enbgefc9ic9t!icgen snuffaffung, inbem er aIS Die @runblage bes ?netftanbniffes bie ~e3ie~ung aUf bamafige ~etfonen unb ~teigniffe ~infteUt. ~t fagt 3.~.: "SDas ~ifb bon ber &'deifung bes tiibfid) bw h1unbeten ::tietes" "rann" aUf nic9ts anbetes ge~en afS aUf ,,91ero unb lliom" (15. 19). snber bie Dffenbarung f~tid)t auc9 "eh1ige ®a~t~eiten aus"/ "notigt" bamit aUt t~~ifc9en reic9sgefd)ic9t!icl)en unb enbgefc9id)tlid)en ~tfliirung (15. 19)/ unb "bet±titt ben GI:~Uiasmus" (15. 197). ,,~abel ift nid)t nut bas aUe ~abe1 am ~u~~tat unb nic9t nut bas ffiom bet ~aif eraeit, f onbetn im l3aufe ber ~a~t~ ~unbette iebe @to~ftabt unb jebe ®eltftabt, h1ie auc9 91eto feine ~nfatnationen gefunben ~at" (15. 176). ®a~tenb bie fut~erifcge ~ird)e ie unb ie mit lliec9t "Die fitc9engefc9ic9tlic9e SDeutung" bet±teten ~at/ fo fagt &'dabotn, ba~ bat aUf lImit boUem ~tnft beraic9tet h1erben mu~". ,,~s finb reine gefc9ic9tlic9en ~erfonen unb ~reigniff e in bet Dffenbarung geh1eisf agt, h1eber Stonftantin noc9 bet ~a~ft noc9 Wlo~ammeb noc9 bie llieformatoren noc9 91a~oleon, h1eber bie ?niiHerh1anbetung noc9 bie ~reU33ilge noc9 bie lliefotmation noc9 bie iJtanaiififcge lliebofution noc9 enbficl) bet ®eltfrieg" (15. 19). ?non ~inaef!)etten eth1a~nen h1ir, ba~ auc9 &'daborn bie ,{la!)l 666/ ~a~. 13/ 18/ auf ben ~aifer 91eto nac9 bem ,{la~lenh1ert bet ~ebtai~ lc9en ~uc9ftaben, i~P l\i~, lietec9net, freific9 mit snusfaffung bes bOc9 faft niitigen ~ in it?P = "alGae! (15. 146 ff.) l50Ute h1itffic9 gtiec9ifc9rebenben l3efetn cine fom~fiaiette ~erec9nung nad) ~ebtaifc9en ~uc9ftaben 3ugemutet h10rben fein? ®ir fagen: 666 ift Die ,{la~l bessnntic9riften, h1enn man auc9 bie ~erec9nung nic9t ficger angeben fann. Unb bie fj'ilnf, bie gefaUen finb, ~a~. 17/ 10/ finb filr ben ?net~ faffer bann gans natutgema~ snuguftus, ::tibetius, Gl:aligufa, ~laubius, 91eto, unb "bet fed)fte, bet ift enth1eber @afba ober einet bet anbetn ~ratenbenten obet ?nef~a~ fian" (15. 175). ®ir !)aften f)ingegen bafilt, bat Die altere snuslegung, bie Die I5teUe auf bie ®eUteicge (obet aUf bie ffiegierungsfotmen) beaie!)t, h10bei bann bas f ec9fte ffieic9 bas tomif cge unb bas fiebte bas antic9riftif cge llieic9 ift, gute @tilnbe filr fic9 ~at. l3. fj' it r b ri n g e r. 472 Book Review. - mteratut. The Real Jesus: What He Taught, What He Did, Who He Was. By Charles Fiske, Bishop of Central New York, and Burton Scott Easton, Professor of the Interpretation and Literature of the New Testament, General Theological Seminary. Harper & Brothers, New York and London. 261 pages, 6X8. Price, $2.50. It is getting to be the fa.shioll for New Testament scholars to write a life of Christ, and a greater subject no one could choose, to be sure. Alas, that most of these lives had better not be written! The book before us is the joint product of two Episcopalian clergymen, bo·th eminent in the world of letters and religion. Bishop Fiske frequently writes for magazines amI has published a. number of books, among them one that pa,rtly has been taken over into this work, The Christ We Know, a.nd· another one tha,t. ha,s been given wide publicity, The Confessions of a Puz- zled Parson. Dr. Easton's book The Gospel bef01-e the Gospels has given expression to the critical views which are at the basis of this life of Christ. He is probably best known as the author of a commenta.ry on the Gospel according t.o St,. Luke. The aim .of the autho.rs, as they say in the Preface, was "to give an account of the life, work, and teaching of Jesus as a read- able and interesting story, while yet basing the account .on the reasonably assured results of historical criticism" (p. VII). They have succeeded in giving us a readable book, that must be admitted. One here is not deterred by long and involved sentences and by very abstruse technical discussions. Tha,t the book is sufficiently scholarly may be granted, too. But what the devout Christian is chiefly interested in, namely, the Scripturalness of the life of Christ, has not been fully achieved. We have here an attempt to ra,tiona.lize the account of the New Testament concerning Christ. The writers ha,ve disca.rded the teaching that the Scripture records are in- fallible, and hence they now a,nd then without scruples set down conclusi.ons which are at variance with the doctrines of the Bible. It is but fair to submit a few samples: "Oonsequently even Jesus, humanly speaking, felt obliged to disclaim perfect and complete goodness that He might make the questioner think of the divine standa,rd in the only wa,y possible for Him to think of it" (the reference is to the conversation with the rich young ruler, p. 44) . "In the face of facts - bitter facts of experience for others as well as for ourselves - we know tha,t there are laws which no prayer will ever overcome" (p. 85). The man in the country of the Gerasenes is said to have cried out tha,t his name was Legion, "as if a grea.t regiment of spirits held him in possession" (p. 96). In speaking of demoniacal pos- session, the evangelists are said to be "using the terminology of their own day" (p. 100) . Wha,t an a.rrog·ant statement is not the following: "It should be sa.id explicitly tha,t not even dogmatic theologians nowadays hold that anyone is bound to accept and defend every story exa.ctly as written. Noone can doubt t.hat in the first century there existed a ten- dency to heighten ma.rvelous elements, nor can anyone doubt tha,t this tendency has aifected to some degree even our Gospel accounts" (p. 103) ! But why augment this list? The bias of the authors has become patent enough by this time, I trust. I must not forget to mention tha,t the work has some good points. Note the following: "Modern writers often speak of the Sermon on the Mount as the heart of Jesus' Gospel. They a,re mistaken. The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is a,n utterly vital Book Review. - 2itetntur. 473 part of Jesus' message; it is the rock [1] on which every spiritual house must be built. But the Sermon on the Mount is not Gospel" (p. 51). The authors defend the deity of Christ, His virgin birth, and His resurrection, offering some good apologetic observations. The a,ppendix on Palest.ine in Jesus' a.ay, though very brief, is valuable. W. ARNDT. The Virgin Birth of Christ. By J. Gresham llfaohen, D. D., Litt. D. 415 pages, 6X9¥2. Harper & Brothers. Price, $5.00. Order from Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. In the doctrinal controversies between the Liberalists and the Con- serva,tives, the Modernists and the Fundamentalists, during the la,st three decades or more, the doctrine of the virgin birth of Christ has occupied a very prominent position. Dr. William Adams Brown, in Beliefs That Matter (pp. 109. 116), clearly shows that he does not accept the Virgin Birth, particularly not as an essential part of the correct picture of Christ. Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, in The Modern Use of the Bwle, clearly in- cludes the Virgin Birth in the number of miracles which his lecture Miraole and Law could not acknowledge. And these two Modernists are evidently acting as spokesmen for a score or more enemies of the truth whose denials and vagaries are undermining the founda,t,ions of the truth per- taining to salva,tion. Opposing these two lea,ders of unbelief with their anay of formidable forces we have a number of men in various church-bodies who have been upholding the truth of Scriptures with an encouraging show of valiance. Haldeman (Baptist) showed the untenable na,ture of Fosdick's position in the light of the revealed truth. James Orr (United Free Church of Scot- land) published his The Virgin Birth of Ghrist in 1907. Bertrand L. Con- way (Catholic) published his The Virgin Birth in 1924, and Martin J. Scott, of the same denomina,tion, followed with a book of the same title in the next year. Both of these books are very decided in tone and correct in argumentation, although they make use of tradition. But among the very staunchest of defenders of the Biblical truth of the Virgin Birth is Dr. Machen, formerly of the Presbyterian Seminary at Princeton, now of the Westminster Theological Seminary of the conserva- tive branch of the Presbyterian Church, loca,ted a,t Philadelphia. The book which he has just issued is an outstanding monument of Biblical research and conservative scholarship. With inexorable frankness and determination he follows the exponents of unbelief, who have a,ttacked the Biblical doc- trine of the Virgin Birth, through all the devious and intricate paths of their specious arguments against the truth and with merciless thorough- ness exposes them in all their glaring inconsistencies, contradictions, and inadequate presenta,tions. Beginning with the sta,tus of the doctrine in the second century, when it was a1ready fully established, he next takes up the question whether the birth 'narrative is an original part of the third gospel, whereupon he discusses, in order: Characteristics of the Lucan narrative, the hymns of the first cha,pter of Luke, the origin and trans- mission of the Lucan narrative, the integrity of the Lucan narrative, the narra.tive in Matthew, the rela,tion between the narratives, the inherent credibility of the narra,tives, the birth narratives and secular history, the birth narratives and the rest of the New Testament, alterna,tive theories, 474 Book Review. - mteratur. the theory of Jewish deriva,tion, and the theory of pagan derivation. Every point is covered with the same thoroughness a,nd with constant reference to the many a,rt.icles and monographs which have discussed the question since it became an object, of controversy. The final chapter, entitled "Conclusions and Consequences," offers a very convenient summary of the arguments presentecl by the author throughout the book. He asks, "Wbat is the importance of the question of the Virgin Birth?" His answer is: "In the first pla,ce, the question is obviously important for the general question of the authority of the Bible. . .. If, therefore, the Virgin Birth be rejected, let us cease talking about the 'authority of the Bible' or the 'infallibility of Scripture,' or the like. Let us rather say plainly that that authority and that infal- libility are gone. . .. The Bible teaches the virgin birth of Christ; a man who accepts the Virgin Birth may continue to hold the full truthfulness of the Bible; a man who rejects it, cannot possibly do so. That much at least should be perfectly plain. - In the second place, the question of the Virgin Birth is important, as a, test for a, man to a,pply to himself or to othe'rs to determine whether one holds a naturalistic or a, supernaturalistic view regarding Christ. . .. Misguided a,pologetics, we know, may sometimes ha,ve obscured the issue; defenders of the Virgin Birth have sometimes talked a,bout 'parthenogenesis' and thus ha,ve sought to bring the conception by the Holy Spirit in Ma,ry's womb into some sort of ana,logy with what nature can produce,. But such apologetic expedients, fortunately, are ra,re; and certainly they a,re contrary to sound sense. It stHI remains true in general that the question of the Virgin Birth brings us sharply before the question of the supernatural and tha,t a man who accepts the Virgin Birth has taken his stand squarely upon supernaturalistic ground." - Dr. Ma- chen's book is the most comprehensive treatment of the question that has appeared till now, and every pastor will find himself strengthened in his own belief and better equipped to meet the attacks of the enemies if he studies this book. P. E. KRETZMANN. The Theology of Crisis. University of Zurich. 5X71/ 2 . Price, $1.75. By H. EmU Brunner, Professor of Theology, Charles Scribner's Sons. 1929. lIS pages, These addresses, delivered in 1929 at the semina,ry of the Reformed Church in the United States, a,t Lancaster, Pa", later at, Union Theological Seminary and fiVe other semina,ries, present, the Theology of Crisis put forth by Karl Barth, Brunner, and others, as the cure for present-day theology, which is sick unto dea,th with Modernism. "The Modernist teaches, under the label of Christianity, a, religion which has nothing in common with Christianity except a few words. . .. Liberalism, since the days of the Stoics, of Pelagius, of Erasmus, of the Enlightenment, has ever affirmed that the heart of man is not evil." The Theology of Crisis is right in demanding the absolute expulsion of Modernism. What is to take its place? "Just this constitutes the difference between the Gospel and aU other religions and philosophies. All [other] religions and philosophies - as Luther saw it clearly in his da,y- seek righteousness by works, by human, self-assertion. . .. This is what Paul means by justification by faith alone; Book Review. - S3itetatut. 475 this is the meaning of sola, fide. . .. Divine a.ction is always that of in- comprehensible grace. . .. The sola, gmtia, sola, fide, BOU, Deo gloria, of the Christian faith, that is, the Pauline view of faith, is the only solid foun- da,tion for ethics. . .. To quote again a word of Luther: 'It is not good werks tha.t make a good man, but a good man who does geed works.''' But in spite of these fine declara.tions the Theology of Crisis will not effect the cure. It is itself fundamentally wrong. It lacks the sola, Scriptum. Professor Brunner makes the fine state- ment: "The Christian Church can never forsake its ba.se, the Scriptures, and the Scriptures alone are God's Word." But in the very next sentence he proceeds to forsake this base: "The Word of God in the Scriptures is as little to be identified with the words of the Scriptures as the Christ according to the flesh is to be identified with the Christ according to the Spirit. The words of the Scriptures a.re human; tha,t is, God makes use of human and therefore frail and fallible words of men, who a.re liable to err. He who identifies the letters a.nd words of the Scriptures with the Word of God has neiVer truly understood the Word of God." He even quotes Luther in suppert of this view of the Bible, "who placed side by side these two statements: 'The Scriptures alone are God's Word' and: 'They are the cradle in which Christ is laid.' Need it be mentioned that he busied himself with Biblical criticism? . .. He who weuld knew what constitutes the Word of God in the Bible must devote himself to Biblical criticism, and. let it be understood, to searching, fearless, radical crit- icism. . .. I myself am an adherent of a rather radical school of Biblical criticism, which, for example, does not accept the Gospel of John a.s a his- torical source and which finds legends in many pads of the synoptic gospels." So, then, it is left to man himself to' select those portions of Scripture whkh a.re true and to reject the rest, and after the patient has cast out Modernism, he is given, to complete the cure, a dose of Modernism. We are sure that we have diagnosed the