Full Text for CTM Book Review 3-11 (Text)

Book Review. -52itcriltur. 873 Book Review. -£iteratUt. Gnomon. Illuslegung be!; 91cucn 5teftamentes in fortlaufenDen Illnmertungen. man :;'5 0 ~ (l n n III [ 0 t e dJ t l!.l eng e L Sl)eutfdJ bon tr. i\'. ® e t net, mit ciner moneoe bon !j:ltlHat ~ a p f f. medag bon !ill. Sjeinjius 9ladJ~ folget, '\)ciNig. 1932. ~tftet l!.lanb: ~bangeHen unDlllpofte1gefdJidJte. VI uno 748 6eiten 5%XS, in ,\)eintoanb mit ®olotitel gell1tnoen. 3toeHer l!.lanD: l!.ldefe unb Dffenoatung. 9586eiten. !j:lrds fUt bas ganae ®etf: $5.50. (~in3eIne l!.lanoe luetben nidJt aogegeben.) 3u vC3ie!)en bom Con­cordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. \l:lenge1s Gnornon, bon bem !)iet cine uberfetung ins Sl)euti die botHegt, gilt mit ffiedJt alS cine bet bot5iiglidJften ltnD inljaltteid.Jften ~uslegungen bes 9leuen 5tej"tamentil in ciner ~Ut3e bes ~usbtuds, Die getabe5u unnadJa!)mfidJ ift. ®tt ne!;men Mefe ®clegcnljeit roa!;t, ein paut Udeile Ubet biefes ®ed aus ncuetet 3dt an3ufiiljten. (;£remet, Der befannte l!.letfaffet bes "l!.liblifclJ dljeologifdJen 'Uliitteruuef)s oum lJ1euen 5teftament", feIbft ein lJerbOtragcnDcr ~6eget, nannte l!.lcngei cinmal ben "griiaten G:~cgcten ber clJriftlidJcn mref)e".l) ®ucricfe, bet befannie ,Ihrtf) cnlJift 0 tifet, tebet bon 'oem Gnomon a!s einem ®erte, "bull l1ief)t betartet unb ... nid)t oft gcnug ben 5tlJeologiebefliifenen Bum ernften 6tubium batgeboten toerben tann; fo ein3ig aUf e6egetifd)em ®ebiete fte!)t jic ba, biefe Detenb getoiffenl)aftc, grammatifdJ~lJljHologifdJ gUlbentteue unb bod) nid)til toeniger als nut gloffatutifef)e ober budJftabifdJe ~uslcgung bes gefamten 9leuen 5tefta~ ment§, in toddler ber tiefe, flute unb fdJarfe ®cift cines ber griiflten etlangelifdJ; !ut~eriief)en 5tl)eologen jidJ glin31icl) uniet bas ®ort @ottes licngt, um es in allen feinen ,~iil)en unb 5tiefen unb i\'aften BU erforfdJen unb mit ben IJJlitteln Ilriinb~ nd)fter CSlelalJrtlJeit gan3 cinfad), icl)licl)t unb fut3 311 Deuten".2) !j:ll)iliplJi, Det lidnnnte 'VugmatHer unb ~us(eger bes ffiiimer~ unb ®aiatcrbriefs, [agt: ,,){\enge!s Gnomon Novi Testamenti ift ein m:letf nemunbemstoUrbigen 6clJatfjinnes unb i\'einjinnes nad) :;5nl)alt unb i\'orm .. ,. Sl)as 6tubium bietet im gansen feljt reidJe Illusbeute nnb bleilienben ®etoinn." 3) ~alJniS, bet feineqeit bielgenannte Sl)ogmatifer unD Sjiftorifer, fagt: ,,®as l!.lengel \pdd)t, es fei in ®iffenfdJaft, eil fei im 52c6en, ift fo tcif, fo geluogen, fo gefa(3en, fo gelDd!)t toie toeniges, l1:>as fein luurtreicl)es ,{leitalter gefugt flat ... , (Ir gibt fidJ mit pl)ilologifdJer Unliefangen~ lJeit betn 5tq:tc I)in, ljild mit bctounbemstoiitDiger jJeinl)dt nid)t nut ben ®runb~ tOll; jonbcrn auef) bie 6eitcntiine lJerans unD rei3t mit feiner inljaltreidJen ~r(i~ 3ijion 3um 'Uleitcrbenfen." 4) 6elbft rin tf)eo!ogifdJ unb refigios gan3 anbers fteljenber ®ele~ttet toie ber beriil)mte Crientalift !j:lau( be £lag at De fagte: ,,:;'5dJ lucia nief)t, burd) roe1d)etl i\'elJ!er mciner fonft je!)r tuiberftrebenben ~latut es lommt, baa id) ben :;'501)ann IlllbredJt l!.lengel tiiglidj me!)r als ben fdJarffinnigjtcn ~rflater beil 9lcuCll 5teftaments betollnDne, ben bie dJtiftlief)e ®elt gefel)en I)at." 5) Unb nUl nod) rin UricH c11l3ufUlJren: '{lOll Drelli, bet im ganscn pojitib geridJtete alb tej"tamentlicf)e (\;1;cget ber 9lcuacit, ocllterft in einem l!.lrkfe aus feiner 6iubenten~ 1) .8eitfd)rift fur bie gefamte [utljerifdje 5rf)eologie unb Stitclje, ljeruuilgegelien bon llhtbeUiacf) unb @uerici'e, 1862, @S. 520. 2) V"lube[liadj<@uerici'eil .8eitfdjtift, 1858, 6.322. 3) @ulater6rief, 6. 14. 4) ~er inn ere @ang bell benifd)en mroteftantillmull, @5. 77. 5) !nolte, "Q:lengel", @S.140. 874 Book Review. -~itcratttr. 3eit: .Se~t letne id) IBengel fd)iiten. ~r ift fo fd)lagenb in feiner RUtae unb ift Itlo~l am meiften geeignet; einen aUf bie fiiftIid)en !13eden, bie ba!l einfad)e SdJttft< Itlort bttgt, ~inautueifen.· 6) 'IUfe biefe Utteile be3ie~en ;td) aUf ba!l lateinifd)e Otiginaltuetf, bas tuiebet~o1t in iiltete1: unb neumt ,sei! ~uflagen etlebt unb tueHe merbteitung gefunben ~at. ®erabe bie lateinifd)e EijJtadJe eignet ;tdJ eben tuie feine anbm SjJtad)e bet m.\elt au Iutaer, gebtangter, in~altteid)er ~usbtucfstueife, in bet IBengel ein fold)er !meifter ift. ~ie neueten Rommentate bieten immet aud) IBelege bafUt in ,sHaten aus bem Gnomon. m.\ir tuoUen nut atuei anfU~ten, um biefen !13unft au et~arten. ,su 1 :tim. 2, 14: ,,~as m.\eib abet tuatb betfU~tet unb ~at bie iibetttetung ein< gefU~ret" bemetft IBengei untet anbetm: "Facilius decepta, facilius decipit." ~iefe bier fut3en, jJtagnanten m.\orte gib! bie botliegenbe beutfdJe iibetfetung fo tuieber: ,,~a;te leid)tet ;td) ~at betrUgen Iaffen, fo fommt ;te aud) IeidJter ba3u, IBetrug au fjJielen." (II,460.) ®etabe bietmal fo bid beutfd)e m.\iirter aI§ lateh nifd)e. ,8u 1 :tim. 3, 1: "So iemanb ein IBifd)ofsamt bege~tet, bet bege~tet ein filfttidJ m.\etf" bemedt IBengel au bem m.\otte nm.\ed": "Est opus, negotium, non otium." ~as gib! unfete iibetfetung fo tuiebet: H~S gib! alfo au tun unb ift feine !Ru~ebanf, bas geifttid)e ~mt.H (II,461.) rrUnf m.\iitter im ~ateinifd)en unb 3tuiilf im ~eutfd)en. ~atum emjJfe~len tuit auetft unb bot aUen ~ingen bas lateinifdJe Otiginal, unb me~t ag e i n Stubent, bet unferm !Rat gefoIgt ift, IBengel§ Gnomon ;td) an3ufd)affen unb au ftubieren, tueili aus eigenet ~tfa~run!l, Itlarum tuir biefen !Rat geben. m.\er iebod} bes £ateinifdJen nid)t fe~t obet Uber< ~aujJt nidJt mad)tig ift, bet greife au bet beutfd)en obet au ber englifd)en iibet< fetung, bie audJ bot~anben ift unb bie aUf :;So~n m.\eslelJ, ben Eitifter bet !met~o< biftenfirdje, 3urUcfge~t, bet in bet mortebe au feinen '~nmetfungen aum 9ieuen :teftament belennt, er ~atte feinen ~ntfd)Iuli, nur eigene ~nmerfungen au geben, feit feiner !Belanntfdjaft mit bem Gnomon ganalid) geanbett in ber iiberaeugung, bali et bet !Religion biet belfer bienen tuerbe, Itlenn et bloli ba!l m.\ed IBengeIS, ben er ein gtolies ~tdJt bet d)tiftlicI)en m.\eIt nennt, libetfete, aIS tuenn er biele !Banbe libet bas 9ieue :teftament berfalite. ~ttua~nt mag aud) tuerben, bali !m. !R. mincent, feineqeit altgefe~enet !13tofelfot bet ~!egefe am Union Seminary in 9ieltl ~orf, feine in unfetm ~anbe aiemlid) tutitbetbteiteten, bier IBanbe umfalfen< ben Word Studies in the New Testament get abe nad) IBengels Gnomon ein< geridJtet ~at. ~t bemetft in ber morrebe: "The indebtedness of all workers in this field to John Albert Bengel is not easy to overstate. . .. His well­known Gnomon, which still maintains a high and honorable rank among commentaries after the lapse of nearly a century and a half, was the pio­neer in this method of treating Scripture. . .. His work retains its value for the preacher. He must always stand preeminent for his keen and deep spiritual insight and for that marvelously terse and pithy diction with which as with a master-key he so often throws open, by a single turn, the secret chambers of the Word." 7) ~ie beutfd)e iiberfetung ~at feineraeH ~. rr. m.\erner beforgt, unb bet befannte tulirttembergifdJe !13ralat RajJff ~at bie morrebe baau gefdJrieben. Unb bon biefer iiberfetung ift nun ~ier ein guter jJ~otograjl~i< fd)et ~bbtucf ~etgefteUt tuorben. rrreilidJ ;tnb in biefer iibetfetung bie rein Itlilfen< fdJaftIid)en, gtammatifd)en, ltitifdJen unb flJnojJtifd)en ~tiittetungen obet IBe< medungen bes Iateinifdjen OtiginalS Itleggdaffenj anbetetfeits ift iebodJ bieles auiJ ben ebenfaUiJ ttefflid)en, etbaulid)en unb jJrnftifdJen IBettad)tungen IBengel!! 6) sea):l):leler, "OreUi", $. 156. 7) Vol. 1, p. XIL Book Review. -mtctatur. 875 in feinet "ijarmonie bet bier ~bClngeniten· unb in feinen ~nmetfungen 3U feinet beutfelJen .itoer[etung be~ IRcuen :teftameng· eingerei~t morhen. \leiber mUffen lIlit iebod) 'i)in3ufUgen, bafl !Bengel in 'oer (;S;rWirull\J bet Dffenoarung 15t. ~o~allng fein 3uberHif~Qer il'U1)rer iit, mie allen, bie lRiif}eres bon il)m millen, lietannt ift. ~in ausfUl)tlid)es lftegiitet auf 64 l5eiten ift cine mertbolle 5tlelgabe. ~ie ~us' ftattung bes ~edes ift gut, bet !l!teis f £1)1:' anne1)mbar, unb bet metfegct teilt uns mit, 'oafl er ben l!loqugll1:>teis bon M. 10 fUr ben einselnen !Banb ober 1£. 20 flit ball llan3e ~etf, menn es biS 3um 1. ~uli hefteUt mUrbe, fUt I!tmerifa aull, gcbel)nt 'i)abe biS Bum 1. ~anuar 1933. Wit fell lieflcn biefe ~n3eige mit Q:.\enge1§ (lothem! lliege1 fUr aile!; !Bilielflu'oium, fUr aile !Bibe!bctrad)tung: "l!lertiefe bid} gan, in ben :tc/:t, unb ben :tc);tin1)aH IDcttiefe gana in bid)." "Te totum applica ad text-urn, textum totum applica. ad te." \! .. \3' li b tin g e r. The Gospels. A Synoptic Presentation of the Text in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, with Explanatory Notes, by John Ylvisaker, Professor of Exegetical Theology, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Published originally in the Norwegian language 1905 and 1907. AUgBhul'g Publishing House, Minneapolis, Minn. 1932. 790 pagep, 9,!z X 6. Price, $5.00. Order from Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. A grand work! is our unqualified comment. 'liTe wish a copy of it could be placed on the dpsk of every pastor of our Synod. Our teachers, and educated laymen, too, could use it with much profit, for though the work rests on the most painstaking study of innumerable exegetical ques­tions, as is attested by references to commentaries and other pertinent works, it is not overladen with technical details that would make perusal difficult for everyone except the trained theologian. The minister, how­ever, who enjoys reading his New Testament in Greek will find, especially in footnotes, ample references to the Greek text and linguistic niceties to satisfy his scholarly bent. Professor Ylvisaker, it will be recalled, died in 1917. It was in 1904 when his alma mater, Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Since he at the time when the work was first issued had been the incumbent of the chair of New Testament Interpretation at Luther Seminary for about twenty-six years, it will be granted that he, in an eminent degree, had the teaching expe­rience desirable for the writing of a work like the present one. To characterize the book, we can say that it is a harmony of the four gospels, presenting appropriate comments on all the points of harmonization which require detailed study. But it is by no means confined to such questions. On [ne contrary, we may term it a commentary on the four gospels, since the author is not satisfied with merely answering questions asked by critics as to the agreement of the four accounts, but leads tIle n~ader into a deeper understanding of the inspired records of the life of our Lord and Savior. While the harmonistic element is amply provided ror, one finds other extensive exegetical and doctrinal discussions of the highest value. Besides, there is a depth and warmth of Christian feeling pervading the volume which is very appealing. Many a time in reading the pages of this beau­tiful book we were reminded of the style and method of our sainted Dr .. Stoeckhardt in his Biblischc Gcschichte de8 Neuen Testament8, although 876 Book Review. -\JiterutllL there is this difference, of course, tllat the comments of Dr. Ylvisaker arc far more extensive and deal with exegetical questions far more compre­hensively than does the work of Dr. Stoeckhardt, which is altogether of a. popular nature. If anybody should complain that the price is rather high, he must bear in mind that we are here dealing with a large book, t.he publication of which, on account of its size and, in addition, of the many words given in Greek and Hebrew type, must have been an expensive undertaking. The name of the translator is not given. The publishers' note says that the English version is the result of colla.boration between the Board of Publication of the Norwegian Lutheran Church and Augsburg Pub­lishing House. In conclusion let us say once more that we consider hardly any words of praise too strong in recommending this book to our clergy. W. ARNDT. John: Disciple, Evangelist, Apostle. By the Rev. ·Wm. Du,llmann, D. D. 378 pages, 7% X 10. Concordia Publishing House. St. Louis, Mo., 1932. Price, $4.50, postpaid. This is the fourth of a series of gift-hooks for devotional purposes. It is written in the author's well-known terse, crisp, almost snappy style. The book is divided into tJll·ee sections: "John the Disciple, His Life," in which the author makes use of every shred of information, including some apocryphal material, together with other embellishments; "JOM the Evan­gelist, His Gospel," offering a summary of its twenty-one chapters; "John the Apostle," which discusses his epistles, The author did not. include the Apocalypse, An appendix offers a summary of some outstanding statements in praise of John's writings, The book itself is a work of art, bound in pebble-grained brown leatherette covers, with tlw title embossed in gold. There are seven colored plates in the book, the first. one being a reproduction of the Duerer panel of St. John. In addition there are one hundred and nine one-color half-tone engravings, many of them of unusual beauty and interest. It is a pity, however, that the publisher did not in every case indicate the source or the artist, since this would ha.ve a.dded much to the value of the book. Many of the poet.ical quotations in t.he book are of considcI3_ble merit. P. E. KRETZ'vIANN. The Christian Faith. A System of Christian Dogmatics. By Joseph Stump, D. D" LL. D" L. H. D., President of Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary, 463 pages, 6 X 8Y2. The Macmillan Co., New York. 1932. Price, $4.00. The Lutheran Church in America can well use a complete doctrinal theology in Bnglish such as we have in the work of Pieper and that of Hoenecke in German. The books of Voigt, Gerberding, and Mellenbruch did not meet this demand to any extent, and that issued after the death of Hove was not fully adequate. Here we have another effort, by a man who has been in the Lutheran minist.ry since 1887, professor of theology since 1915, and professor of dogmatics, ethics, and apologetics in North­western Lutheran Theological Seminary since 1921. -The reviewer counts it a pleasure to have read this book carefully, for in many sections the presentation has a, truly Lutheran ring, a fact which would make it of Book Review. -£itrratur. 877 course ecumenically Christian. The following statements from the book will bear out this estimate: "The fact is that, while some doctrines arc more necessary to salvation than others, no doctrines taught in God's Word dare be regarded as of no real consequence; and, furthermore, many doctrines which seem at first glance to be non-fundamental are' found, when earried to their logical conclusions, to bear largely on doctrines which are unm1stakably fundamental." (P. 18.) "Evolution is purely an hypothesis, vastly fascinating to many persons, but utterly unproved and, we are persuaded, unprovable." (P.69.) "Those who reject the Virgin Birth are confronted with a greater difficulty than that which belief in the Virgin Birth involves; for they are left without any way by which to account for the appeamnce of one human being, and only one, who is without sin and who towers high above the rest of the race like a mountain peak above the surrounding plain." (P. 143.) "Faith is not to be regarded as a· cause of justification. And the statement that we are justified by faith means that we are justified by the merit and righteousness of Christ, which faith apprehends and appropriates." (P. 223 f.) "Since conversion begins with a. sinner who is both unwilling and unable to believe and ends with the same sinner both willing and able to believe and actually doing so, it is clear that the transformation is one which must be ascribed ent.j,·ely to the working of the Holy Spirit and not to any natural powers of man." (P. 257.) "Prayer is not a means of grace in the sense in which the Lutheran Church employs the latter term. Prayer is not a vehicle which God employs to make known and convey His grace to men. It is an activity on ma.n's part by which he seeks grace from God." (P. 289 f.) "The failure rightly to divide the Word of Truth undoubtedly results in many instances in the 108s of souls. On the other hand, the saving effect of the 'Word and Sacraments is not dependent on the wisdom, learning, or skill of the minister, but Oll the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit. Without His work in the heart the most able preacher of the Gospel would not succeed in converting a single soul." (P. 297.) There is also a fine note on premillennialism on page 399. -But in spite of these and other excellencies which we find in the book, it cannot be considered adequate for onr requirements. For a Lutheran doctrinal theology must, above all, be clear, definite, ullequivocal, in all its parts. Moreoyer, every statement. must be amply supported by clear Scriptural exposit.ion a.nd secondarily by the confessional writings of our Church. In this book there is too much uncertainty, haziness, equivocation. The true is often offered, but the false is not sufficiently distinguished from the. true. The antithesis is not cleal'ly marked. The trumpet, too, often gives an uncertain sound. There is too little of the spirit: "This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the left," Is. 30, 21. Besides, there are quite a few gra.ve errors in the book, such as should not be found in a Lutheran compendium of dogmatics. A very weak section is that on the Bible as the 'Word of God, where the author most ca.refully maintains the thesis that. the "Scriptures contain the revelation of God to men." (P. 22 f.) The same ideas arc set. forth p. :314 ff., and the weakness of the author's position is evident from such remarks as: "Paul was eminently human; but he was nevertheless an inspired man. His inspiration, how­ever, was an inspiration in rnatters of religion. . .. On scientific matters 878 Book Review. -£itetCltUt. they [the holy writers] neither knew, nor professed to know, more than other men of their day." With regard to predestination (p. 134 if.) the author asserts that this expresses a special benevolent will of God "in view of faith. . .. In the last analysis predestination is simply the eternal justification of the sinner for Christ's sake." That is bringing confusion into the matter with a vengeance, as is shown elsewhere in this number. Concerning the Trinity in the Old Testament the author says: "The at­tempt actually to find the doctrine explicitly stated in the Old Testament is futile. The Jews never found it there. And if we had no revelation but that contained in the Old Testament, we should be in ignorance of the doctrine." (P. 48.) In discussing the Biblical account of the creation, the author states: "The writer of Genesis lacked of course such a knowledge of the vastness of the universe and of the nature of chemical and geological processes as the modern man possesses." (P. 66. ) There are other false and misleading statements in this section, especially on the length of a creation day, etc. The statement on Christ's descent into hell (p. 173) is not adequate iu view of the plain statement of the Bible. A false view of the doctrine of the Church appears on p.372, where the synod is given too much power in church discipline, and on p. 380, where the approval of synod is required as essential for ordination. Concerning the observance of Sunday the author says (p. 308): "The obligation to observe Sunday, tJw day set apart by the Christian Church for the preaching and hearing of the Word of God, remains." In the section on the last things the author maintains tlle conversion of the Jews as a whole (p. 396), and he is not definite in identifying the Antichrist of 2 Thess. 2, 1-11 with the Pope of Rome a8 the representative of the Papacy. It is a matter of distinct regret that a book which is so interestingly written should fall short of the goal which every Lutheran theologian should set himself. P. E. KRETZMANN. 2utIjerB ~Ijir. :;)n i~ten ®ntn1l3ligen bCltgefteUt bon Dr. 0 t tom Cl r s:> it t ti ~. i)'eIi!; =l))1einer dBetiag, £eillaig. 125 5eHen ~e~t unll 50 5eiten ~nmedungcn, Duelfen unll Utegiftet lJ!teill: M. 6.80; (le= bunben: M.8.50. Dr. S:>ittti~ ift lJ!rofeffor ber lJ!TJUofollgie Cln bet £etllaiger UniberjWit. l!.lon feinet ,,®ef~i~te bet ~tTJH .. , bom I1l1tertum big 3Ut ®egentoart" toaren brei 18nnbe erfdjienen, ege ba§ borHegenbc Wed betBffentHdjt tourbe. s:>iefes felbft ift als l!.lotlnufer unb ®runi>!egung iDes vietten 18anbes gebadjt (bon ber lRefor= mation bis aUt engfifcl)m ::toleNfl3aHe, 1869). ~s tft bas etfte 1))1(l1 feU 13uto l)arDt (1867), bUB iemanb toieber getoagt ~C\t, 13utlJers ~tlJH in ilJrcn ®runb= 3iigen baquj'teUerL ~in WngeftUd ift'§ ongejidjtil bes gegentoartigen 5tanbe~ bet 13ut~erfotfel)unG nnb nngejidjt§ beffen, bull bet merfaffet aUf bie ~nt!egung iles innmn (!,;nt)1Jicf!ungsgnnges 13ut~erll bCt3idJtet lJut. Dr. SDitttidj gliebert ,fine :3)atlegunq bet 13ut~etfdjen ~t~if mit !Reel)t in ,toci ~cile; bet etfte ent~ii(t 13utf}crs ~ietl)et bC3itgHdje ~~eo{ogie ug (!lrunblage bet ~tf)if, bcr atoeite £ut~erll \H~it lelbft aUf ®runb reiner ~~eologie. ~cbCt ::tei! bcl)anbeH erft bag lJ!rtn3ip, llann bie :3)utel)fU~tung bes lJ!rinaill§!. fiber ncunl)unbcrt lBe!ege, bnrunter nus 116 6 el) rif ten 13utl)crs, finb im ~n~ung gclummeIi. l5ci bet S:>adegung bell lJ!rinaillg bet £utlJerfdjen ~f)eologie unb bon beten s:>utdjfUlJrung Iommt bet metfClffer (5. 6) ClUe£) aUf bes Utefotmntors £egte libet bn§! l!.ler~iiltng ®ottes aUt 5Unbe. Unb gtrt mUfl idj bagcgen ~inflltudj et~eben, bClfl ~itttid) \0 }tad Book Review. -!\literatUt. 879 ~utlJets ffiilmeroriefborfefung bon 1515/16 benutt. 9iid)t be~\tlegen in erftcr mnie, luei! bet fettige But!jer Immet nod) bom .jungen" But!jet ou untetfd)eiben ift, fonbem lueil et fid} in ben lBotlefungen Ubet ben lRiimerbtief Ubet ,,®ott unb bas lBiife" auterft fna~~et, ben gewB!jnlid}en But!jedefet Ubmafd}enbet !illeno lnmgen bebient, wii!jrenb bie \1!usfU!jrungen Uber biefel6e @:sad)e in De 81"'1)0 Arbitrio weiter ausl;o{en, einge!jenbet babon teben unb 10 lJJ1itbetftanimiITen bo,beugen. \1!ud} ~itttid} f etbft ift mituntet auterft fna~p. ,8. lB. @:s. 9 fU!jd et (lUS But!jets De 8ervo Arbitrio nut an: 1/ ••• :;Sa, ba er [®ott] aUes in aUen l1Jidt uno oljne il;n nid)fg gefd)ielJt Doer widfam ift, widt et cs [ba~ lBole) logar in getnijfem @:slnm." ButlJer abet id}reibt (De SC'rvo Arbitrio, Weimaret ~usgabe, XVIII, 204): ba ®ott, bet felber nid}g fUnblg (male) tue, bie ®eo fl(}iipfe, bie aUe fUnbig finb, nil(}t mUti\! fein {aITe unb fie nut @:sUnbiges (mala) tun filnntw, ba al[o, tlJenn er burl(} lJJ1enfdjen ettlJas tuc, bies ilurd} @:sUnber ge< fl(}e!je, fo tlJide er in bem @:slnm lBliles, tlJie bet ZJimmermann, bet nur eine !djat< tille @:sage befitc, fdjledjt fd)neibt. *) lRed}t ausfU!jrlid) tlJit'b But~er!l @:sittenle~re "IS ein~eitnd)es, in bet i!jm eigentUmIidjen @laubensauffajfung vegrUnbetef; (}lan3es unb bann in if}tet Illustvirfung aUf ben berfdjiebenen BebenstlJegen bar" gelegt: ®ottesbienft unb 9iiidJftenbienftl ~ird)e, I(}tiftlid)er @:staatl il'amHie unb ~!je, ®efet unb il'rei~eit, ~inf(ut bes lRed)tfettigungsgebanrens unb bet .i;)offnung bes el1ligen Beoens. \1!uf 3tlJei ~lltlegungen, bie micf) auterft oefdebigt TJaDen, fei nod) ljingetlJiefen, ~ie eine bettifft (@:s, 52-54) ButlJcrs md!t falfdj berjtan' benen @:sat im lBtief an lJJ1eland)t!jon (lBdefel ~nbet!l I, 29): ,,@:sei @:sUnllet unb fUnbige ta~fet", bet rein gegen ®etlJiffen!lfltupe[ getil(}tet ift, benen 3ufolge cin ~lJtift meint, eine aud) in gutern ®lauben begangene :robfUnbe tonne nid)t \Jet~ geben tlJerOen, '!lie anbm !jebt in feine! Welfe ben Unterfd)ieb 3t1Jiidjen romifdjct nnb bibIifd)et Hlllf3efe" lJerbor (@:s. 59-69). ~as lBud) ift auterft anregenb unb tlJitb befonbers bann @:segen bringen, tlJenn ber 53efer nadjprUft, ftutig tlJirb unb baburd) 3U genauetem, umfajfenberem Befen !\3ut~ers lJeranlatt luitb. -@:seite 14 foUte l1lol]l anftatt 1I~!iiteu ,,!Beutel! fte!jen. -~er lBet!cget ift berfeTbc, bet ilie lefenstlJetie @:samm(ung "lRe!igionstlJiITenfdJaft bet @egentlJart" ~eraUsllel1eben !jat. lR i d) at b !ill, ~ ei n \) t, Luther's Break with Rome. By G'ltstav Carlberg, Professor of New Testament Studies and Pedagogy at the Lutheran Theological Sem­inary, Shekow, Hupeh, China. Lutheran Board of Publication, Han­kow, China, 119 pages, 5X7%. Price, $1.00. The author staws that his book has grown out of the needs of the present situation on the mission-field in China, because to a Chinese Chris­tian the divisions in the Church of Christ are more of a problem and " puzzle than they appear to an Occidental Christian. He undertakes to explain in his book for the Chinese reader the difference between the Lutheran Church and the Roman Catholic, answering especially two ques­tions: i~rhy did Luther break with Rmne? And why do we stand aloof from the Church of Rome? The first part, iu nine chapters, gives a, historical summary of the Reformation up to and including the Augsburg Confession. The second part, in four chapters, shows the contrast between the Lutheran and the Roman Catholic dochine and practise since the days of Luther. The book is well and carefully written and seems to be admirably suited to carry out its intended purpose. W. G. POLACK. *) ,z;gL Me gan3c ~lus;fii~run!l lJutl)e1:s;, 01, 2. '2lu>3g. 18, 1835. 880 Book Review. -£itetatut. A History of Christian Thought. By Arthur Cushman MoGiffe1