CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Volume XXXI October 1960 Number 10 Published by THE LUTHERAN CHURCH-MISSOURI SYNOD Edited by THE FACULTY OF CONCORDIA SEMINARY SAINT LOUIS, MISSOURI CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE SAINT LOUIS. MISSOURI CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY is published monthly by Concordia Publishing House, 3558 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis 18, Mo., to which all business correspondence is to be addressed. $3.50 per annum, anywhere in the world, payable in advance. Second-class postage paid at St. Louis, Mo. PRINTED IN U. 9. A. THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER I RELIGION AND THE PRESIDENCY the misgivings of many voters both fairly Under this heading Dr. E. G. Homrighau- and lscusses sen in Theology Today (July 1960) d' JOHN THEODORE MUELLER some of the problems suggested by the title. SYNCRETISM AND MONOTHEISTIC FAITH He believes that "the possibility of a Roman The Anglican Theological Review Catholic in the White House must be faced 1960) presents a historical oveNiew of this sooner or later. The presidency cannot be subject arguing that syncretism has always barred forever to a Roman Catholic or a Jew, existed and that at least certain forms of it lest they be regarded as second-class citizens." need not be condemned, e. g., joint But there is "popular o~~osition to a Roman on special occasions. ~h~~ when a stone seat Catholic president," and that is "based upon on the Bethlehem Road was dedicated in ( ) a fear the growing power the memory of Holman Hunt and his Palestinian Roman Church in the United States; (2) its landscapes, prayer was in Hebrew, traditional opinion that it OCCUPY a preferred Arabic, English, and Armenian -Christian, ~osition in a nation where its constituency is jeW, ~~~li~ co-operating. However, the numerically Stronger than other religious impropriety and dangers of such devotional groups; and (3) its policy of denying liberty syncretism appear already from the different to religious minorities." He writes: "A Cath- exp,ssions which in religious history syn- olic president would give that Church great cretism has had: ( 1 ) current prestige; it might also impose the Church's already in pagan thought as when Venus was ethical positions upon the presidential oflice. identified Aphrodite; (2) daptdtjon, While some liberal churchmen of the Roman when pagan customs were woven into Chris- Catholic faith tend t~ accept the principle of tian celebrations; (3 ) adoption, e. g., the religious liberty for all religious groups, the choice of December for Christmas Day, fol- vast preponderance of traditional opinion lowing the pagan Yuletide; (4) accommo- still favors the limitation of liberty for mi- dation, as this is exemplified especially by the norities among which the Roman Church is cultus of the Roman Church, enabling pagans the preferred religion. The manifest glori- to adopt Christianity without giving up their fication of Roman Catholic officials before own gods and religious practices; (5) ab- whom the laity bow in respect is something sorption, as when Islam absorbed into its quite offensive to non-Catholics. Regardless religious system the patriarchs and even as to how this act of homage may be inter- Jesus; (6) amalgamation, which has no preted, it is a symbol of power [that is1 reason or excuse for its existence. It reaches concentrated in a manifestly sovereign order its ne plus ultra in such literary endeavors centered in Rome and which claims for itself as "The Bible of the World." The writer secular dominion over the state." Dr. Hom- obviously senses the perils of syncretism righausen closes his article with these words: when, for example, he writes: "Syncretism "They [many people1 are especially con- may often spell 'tragedy.' Where there is cerned about the separation of church and little change of values, there is no change state when traditional Catholic doctrine has of heart"; or: "This [amalgation] needs the regarded the state as the servant of the ability to distinguish the things that differ, church." The article, we believe, describes and . . . obviate the more insidious and 644 OBSERVER 64 5 unforeseen dangers lurking in syncretism. Perhaps the main religious problem syner- gistically for the monotheistic religions today is their own interrelation as in the matter of united praying." JOHN THEODORE MUELLER BRIEF ITEMS FROM NATIONAL LUTHERAN COUNCIL Philadelphia, Pa. -The Lutheran, official weekly newsmagazine of the United Lutheran Church in America, observed its 100th birth- day on July 6. With more than 200,000 subscribers, the periodical has the second largest circulation of any Protestant weekly in America. Highest is that of the Baptirt Standard, published by the Baptist General Convention of Texas, with over 350,000. Largest circulation of a Roman Catholic weekly is believed to be that of our Sunday Visi$or, with nearly a million. Four times The Lutheran has started with Vol. 1, No. 1 -in 1860 as The Lutheran, Luthwan and Home Joural; in 1861, when it was The Lutheran and Mirsionasy (after 1881 just The Lutheran); in 1896, when it became "the official organ of the General Council"; and in 1919, when it became the periodical of the United Lutheran Church in America, organized through merger of the General Council, the General Synod, and the United Synod of the South. The next new beginning-and a new Vol. 1, No. 1 -is scheduled for 1963. The name The Lutheran has been chosen by The Joint Commission on Lutheran Unity for the authorized publication of the new 3,100,000- member Lutheran Church in America, ex- pected to result from merger of the United Lutheran Church, Augustana Lutheran Church, American Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Suomi Synod. Dr. G. Elson Ruff has been editor of The Lutheran for 15 years and is also editor in chief of the United Lutheran Publishing House here. A pastor for 14 years before he assumed his present post, he is former president of the Associated Church Press and author of The Dilemma of Church and State. In connection with the 100th anniversary of The Lutheran Dr. Ruff has written a his- torical survey of Lutheran journalism in America, with the first of three articles ap- pearing in the magazine's issue of July 6. Chicago. -Top leaders of the National Lutheran Council and The Lutheran Church -Missouri Synod met in an historic session here to explore the theological implications of inter-Lutheran co-operative relationships. Extending over three days, July 7-9, the closed meeting marked the first time that representatives of the Council and the Mis- souri Synod have engaged in a positive ap- praisal of roadblocks to co-operation among Lutherans in America. At its conclusion the two groups issued a joint statement which expressed the unanimous opinion of those present that "the meeting was profitable and would lead to better understanding and closer relationships between the two groups." The precedent-setting conference at the Lake Shore Club began Thursday night, July 7, with a dinner, followed by approval of a proposed agenda, an exchange of greet- ings, introductions, and a fellowship hour. Presiding was Dr. Norman A. Menter of Berkeley, Mich., president of the NLC. Formal discussion of Lutheran relations took place all day and evening Friday and Saturday morning and ended at noon after plans were made for further conversations on the subject. The two groups agreed to hold a second meeting in St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 18-19. To accommodate this arrangement, the NLC's executive committee voted to change the site of its semiannual session from Chicago to St.Louis and will meet there on Nov. 17 and 18, with the joint consultation to begin the afternoon of the latter day. Thirty persons participated in the de- 646 OBSERVER liberations, 21 from the Council and 9 from the Missouri Synod. The NLC's delegation included 14 members of its executive com- mittee, 5 theologians as consultants, and 2 staff o6cers; that of the Missouri Synod consisted of 4 members of its Prae~idium, 4 from its Committee on Doctrinal Unity, and a staff officer. Dr. Menter and Dr. Behn- ken served as co-chairmen of the meeting and alternated as the presiding officers. Focal point of the talks centered in posi- tion papers prepared by the Council and the Missouri Synod to expound their respec- tive views on the doctrinal and practical issues involved in co-operative activities in American Lutheranism. The papers were read by Dr.Bergendoff for the NLC and Dr. Franzmann for the Missouri Synod. The NLC paper stressed: The proposition of complete unity or none at all cannot be defended on scriptural grounds, nor is it the description of the relations be- tween Christians in church history. Rather the Scriptures teach a unity between the be- liever and the Redeemer which issues in a unity between believers that varies accord- ing to circumstances. It is the continuing task of the Church to identify that unity that exists and bear witness to it that the world may believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The paper of the Missouri Synod pointed out: A conversation on co-operation has, by com- mon consent, become a consideration of Ar- ticle 7 of the Augsburg Confession. We have gone deeper and cut wider then any of us perhaps really intended at the outset. We should thank God for that. And we should go on, take the time and do the work that history, that is, the Lord of history is asking of us, aware of the decisions, of the serious- ness of whatever decisions we make. The im- perative that is over us in our uncertainty and dividedness would seem to be the imperative of 2 Cor. 13 : 11 : and that is a present impera- tive, a durative one: "Be a-mending!" And it is hardly a usurpation of the prophet's office to say that our chances of attaining Lutheran unity in America depend on how seriously we are ready to take the imperative. Both documents had their origin in a study outline which had been mutually agreed to beforehand by subcommittees of the two groups and which was based on Article VII of the Augsburg Confession. Dealing with church unity, the article declares, in part, that: "And to the true unity of the church, it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments." The study outline included a series of questions raised by the creedal statement and a list of Scripture passages held germane to the subject. These areas of concern were amplified and interpreted in the position papers which were read and discussed by the two groups. Contained in the study outline were the following questions: How are we to understand "the doctrine of the Gospel"? What teachings are to be included in said "doctrine," on which agree- ment is necessary? What interpretations may be left to individual judgment? Scripture passages listed were: Matt. 28:20; 1 Cor. 3:11; 15:3-5; 2 Cor. 5:16ff.; 11:4; Gal. 1:6-9; 2 Tim. 1:l. Are there injunctions in "the doctrine of the Gospel" which imply growth in sanctiti- cation, wherefor a distinction is to be made between "the standard of doctrine" and the varying degrees of obedience to the standard? Scripture passages listed were: Rom. 6: 17-19; 2 Cor. 9: 13; Phil. 1 :27 ff.; 3: 12-16; 2 Tim. 3 :14-17. How shall we define "the true unity of the church?" The nature of this unity- John 17:11,20; Rom. 14~4-7; 1 Cor. 12:12 ff. and 1:9,10; and Eph. 2:11-20 and 4:l-16. Are there stages in its attainment? - Acts 1 : 12-14; 2:42; 4:24ff.; 12:5; 15:5,6 and 15: 22-29; Phil. 3: 15 and 2 Peter 3: 15. Variety of Manifestations - Rom. 15; 1 Cot. 3:9; 4:1 ff. In the light of "the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments," OBSERVER 647 and of our understanding of "the true unity of the church," we can make a statement re- garding the "it is enough," wherein we re- quire neither too much nor too little, but what is "enough for the true uniq of the church"? - 2 Cor. 13:ll; Phil. 1:27; 2:l-3; 1 Peter 3 : 8. Representatives of the two groups met in Chicago last Nov. 19 to plan the date and agenda for the conference held here. Minneapolis. - The Lutheran Standard, official periodical of the American Lutheran Church, organized this year by a three-way merger, will begin publication here in Jan- uary as a 32-page biweekly with a circulation of more than 250,000. The new magazine will replace the Lutheran Standard of the present American Lutheran Church, the Lu- theran He*& of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the Ansgar Tidings of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church. All three are weeklies. Dr. Edward W. Schramm. editor of both the present and the new Standard, moved from Columbus, Ohio, to Minneapolis late in June and will edit both magazines until the end of this year at his ofKces in the Augs- burg Publishing House. The present Stand- ard will continue to be published in, and mailed from, Columbus until the new pe- riodical is issued. New York. -A son of the church leader who directed the National Lutheran Council for 18 years has been named executive secre- tary of its Division of American Missions. He is Dr. Robert W. Long, 50, for the past ten years pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio, a congregation of the American Lutheran Church. His father, the late Dr. Ralph H. Long, served as executive director of the Council from 1930 until his death in 1948. His two brothers are also pastors in the ALC, Edward at Austin, Tex., and James at Massillon, Ohio. Elected by the Executive Committee of the NLC, Dr. Long will assume his new post in Chicago on Sept. 1 as successor to Dr. H. Conrad Hoyer, now associate execrutive secre- tary of the Division of Home Missions of the National Council of Churches. Dr. Hoyer headed the NLC's missions program for 17 years before joining the interdenominational agency on July 1. New Ywk. -More than a million dollars worth of government-donated surplus com- modities were shipped to four countries dur- ing June by Lutheran World Relief, material aid agency for the National Lutheran Council and The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Total shipments during the month amounted to 15,854,Y 14 pounds of supplies valued at $1,815,073, it was reported here by Carl F. Lorey, administrative secretary of LWR, and went forward to nine countries. Food shipped abroad totaled 15,168,407 pounds valued at $1,109,408. Jordan re- ceived 12,000 bags of flour; Korea 649 drums of powdered milk, 840 bags of corn- meal, and 2,000 bags of flour; Taiwan or Formosa, 1,830 bags of cornmeal and 8,580 bags of flour; and Yugoslavia, 81,238 bags of flour and 16,570 drums of powdered milk. Large amounu of used clothing and bedding were also sent to Jordan, Korea, Yugoslavia, Austria, Germany, and Hong Kong, while Jordan, India, and Taiwan also received sub- stantial supplies of medicines. Chile, now facing a gigantic task of re- construction after the devastating earth- and seaquakes that struck the country late in May and early June, continued to receive aid from LWR. June shipments there included used clothing, bedding and shoes, kiddies' kits, and 1,500 gallons of paint. Clothing and food valued at $338,366 has been shipped by LWR to Chile this year, and a large share of these supplies has been diverted from its regular relief program in that country to help the thousands of victims of the Chilean disaster.