(!tnurnr~tu
m~tnln!ltrul ilnut41y
Continuing
LEHaE UND WEHRE
MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETlK
THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLy-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY
VoL IV January, 1933 No.1
CONTENTS
XRETZKAllN, P. E.: Foreword .......................... .
FtlERBRDlGER, L.: Praesidialrede ... . ............ . .... .
SIHLER, E. G.: Studies in E usebius ....... . .............. .
XRETZMANN, P. E.: Luther und das Sub Utraque ...... . .
XRETZMAliN, P. E.: Die Hauptschriften Luthers in chro-
nolog~er Reihenfolge ................ . ...... . ....... .
LAETSCH, THEO.: Divorce and Kalicious Desertion ..... .
Dispositionen ueber die altkirchliche Epistelreibe ..... .. .
l'Itiscellanea ........................ , ...... . .......... . ..... .
Theological Observer. - Xirchlich-Zeitgeschichtliches .. ... .
Book Review. - Llteratur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ...... ...... . . .
Page
1
11
15
26
33
35
38
46
50
73
Ein P redlger mWII nicht allein 1DeWen,
also das1 er die Schafe unterweise, wie
sis rechte CbriBten IOllen llein, IOIldero
BUch daneben den WoeHen wehr ... , daas
sie die Schafe nicht angreifen und mit
falscher Lehre verfuehren und Irrtum ein-
fuehren. - Luther.
Es ist kein Ding, dll8 die Leute meh.
bel der Klrche behaelt denn dt. rute
Predlgt. - .4pow"u., Arl. ,...
If the t rumpet give an uncertain aound,
who shall prepare hlmseH to the hattle1
J 00r. 4. 8.
Published for the
Ev. Luth. Synod of lIIissonri, Ohio, and Other States
CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE, St. Louis,
50 Theological Observer.- .\'1:hd)ndh3eitgeicljid)mctc~.
Theological Observer. - Stitdjndj~3eitgefdjidJtridJe~.
I. 2lmeriktt.
The Difference between Lutherans and Fundamentalists. - In
L_ i,u.Leran of October 27, 1932, Dr. John A. VV. Haas, president of Muh-
lenberg College, contributes an editorial which is important enough to be
reproducccl here and to receive a few comments. Dr. Haas speaks of the
position of the Lutheran Church with respect to Modernism and Funda-
mentalism as these terms are commonly used to-day.
"In a group of people the question was raised as to where the Lu-
theran Church stood as over against the two prevalent tendencies of Mod-
ernism and Fundamentalism in present American Christianity. All were
agreed that almost without exception there was no Modernism in Lu-
theran pulpits and theological seminaries. But mallY thOllght that Amer-
ican Lutheranism was fundamentalistic. The latter idea is as wrong as
the conception of the attitude of the Lutheran Church toward Modernism
is correct. Perhaps it will be of value to some readers of the LuthCTan
to have the relation of sound Lutheranism toward these two tendencies
a!!Q posit,irms briefly stated.
"The God of the Modernists is conceived from the angle of the scien-
tists' infinite universe. Lutherans find God as the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
"Modernists have no real faith in God's direct providence; but Lu-
theranism still accepts the words of Christ that not a sparrow falleth to
the ground without the Father's will and that the hairs of our heads are
numbered.
"Modernism has no real divine Christ, but only a great human teacher,
while the Lutheran Church holds to the faith in the Son of God and in
the Son of Man, Savior and Redeemer.
"The Modernists do not believe in a real incarnation and therefore
deny thc Virgin Birth. Lutheranism accepts both as revealed truth.
"Modernism sidesteps the fact of sin and its inheritance in the human
race; but the Lutheran Church takes the fact and doctrine about sin as
an undeniable reality.
"The Modernists reject all belief in the actual, visible return of Christ,
while Lutheranism accepts it as a great hope.
"In short, Modernism is rationalistic and corrects the emaciated Bible
which it uses by modern scientific hypotheses and modern philosophic specu-
lations. In part it revamps old rationalism. The Lutheran Church rests
its faith simply and solely on the Word and then uses what is usable of
modern thought in its theology.
"In many doctrines the Lutheran Chnrch agrees with present-day
Fundamentalism, but it detects constantly that the orthodoxy of Funda-
mentalism has a Reformed Church tendency and character. Therefore,-
"Fundamentalism stresses the Bible too much as a written and printed
book, and it is very book-conscious. The Lutheran Church values the Bible
as the purveyor of the Word. For her the living Word makes the Bible,.
and the Bible is the revelation of the Word.
Theological Observer. - ~itd)lid)~,{leitgefd)id)tlid)d. 51
"The Fundamentn,lists have a mechanical, literalistic theory of inspira-
tion, after the manner of the early Reformed confessions. Lutheranism
believes in the inspiration of the Word and that holy men of God were
guided by the Spirit, so that the inspiration reaches the words of the Bible,
but not in a mechanical manner.
"]'undamcntalism not only accepts the infallibility of the Bible, but
it implies the infallibility of the Fundamentalist interpretation. Lutheran-
ism only claims that it has the pure doctrine, but it ascribes infallibility
to the Word alone.
"Like all group Christianity in the Church, Fundamentalism carries
with it the expressed or implied idea that its adherents are the really elect
of God. It possesses a tinge of old Calvinism. Lutheranism is opposed to
all kinds of conventicular Christianity of whatever form, and it glorifies
the living and invisible Church of Christ.
"]'nndamentalism, with all its claim of having the whole Bible, neg-
lects the clear confession of Baptism as bestowing forgiveness of sins and
of the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Communion.
It is Reformed in these articles of faith, which are so precious to the
Lutheran Church.
"Finally, the Fundamentalists believe that Christ will reign a thou-
sand years on earth before the end of time, and they have many pp~ulio.r
ih~0rl'!etaL.ions and wagrams to explain the revelation of St. John. From
the beginning of its history the Lutheran Church has rejected all such
doctrines as fantastic. 'While it accepts all prophecy, it conceives of the
kingdom of God in a spiritual manner. The Fundamentalists, who make
the people believe that they know all about the future, do not really
strengthen hope, and they do not leave to God's wisdom and counsel the
great hereafter."
Most of what Dr. Haas says receives our ready approval. In speaking
of the Modernists, he has not been inaccurate or uncharitable. What they
teach destroys the very foundations of Christianity. When we come to
his description of the Fundamentalists, however, we are constr~jned to ask
whether he has stated correctly the difference between Lutherans and
Fundamentalists as to the Bible. We are not sure that we understand
what he means when he states: "Fundamentalism stresses the Bible too
much as a written anci printed book, and it is very book-conscious." If he
has in mind that Fundamentalists coming from, or belonging to, the Re-
formed camp look upon the Scriptures as a legal codex, consisting of a given
number of paragraphs, which can be quoted and used in a mechanical man-
ner, we agree. Again, if he has in mind the Reformed tendency to over-
look the difference between Biblical books universally accepted in the an-
cient Church and such as were not universally accepted, we agree.
Furthermore, if be wishes to say that Fundamentalists ignore the dis-
tinction between the Old Testament and the New Testament and in this
respect differ from the Lutheran Church, he again has our endorsement.
But if his words are to imply that Lutherans teach not every part of the
Scriptures is divine, we have to disagree. We have to state as our con-
viction that, when Lutherans say certain sections of the Bible are not so
important as others, that is not the same as saying certain sections of the
Bible are not inspired in the same degree as others.
i
I,
52 Theological Observer. - ~itd)ncf)"8eitgefcf)icf)tlicf)e~.
In his criticism of the mechanical, literalistic theory of inspiration
held probably by some Fundamentalists we join Dr. Haas. When he says:
"Fundamentalism not only accepts the infallibility of the Bible, but it
implies the infallibility of the Fundamentalist interpretation," he is rais-
ing a charge which, we believe, it will be difficult for him to prove. We
are at a loss to see what Dr. Haas means when he says: "Like all group
Christianity in the Church, Fundamentalism carries with it the expressed
or implied idea that its adherents are the really elect of God." What
does the expression "group Christianity in the Church" refer to? Does
Dr. Ha3"s wish to deny that Christians of the same faith should join each
other in carrying on the work which Christ has given His believers to do?
Group Christianity certainly has the sanction of the New Testament.
Cf. Matt. 18, 15-20. When Dr. Haas is objecting to conventicular Chris-
tianity, we, of course, agree with him; but we holi! that not every form
of group Christianity belongs to the class of conventicular Christianity.
We wish that the editorial quoted above - good as it is - would have been
more explicit in the points alluded to. A.
Frightful Misrepresentation. - In discussing the question why
Protestant churches with Modernistic leanings are a failure, a writer in
the Oong1'eg(it'ion(ilist and Hemld of Gospel Liberty has tilis to say:
"A b'lS!rr8SS m'UJ oncp B'Dv" me his expla,nation of the loyalty of Roman
Catholics to their Church. He said: 'If our local physician should an-
nounce that on Monday morning at a given hour he would be in an ap-
pointed place to dispense a remedy that he would guarantee would put us
in perfect physical trim for the rest of the week, we would all be there
to get our little pilL' The application is obvious. In the Protestant wing
of Christianity there is still a group which draws a large following both
in city and country, and many of their preachers are men of no more than
average ability. These men preach a Gospel that promises to those who
subscribe to a form of words an eternal happiness in a fnture world ....
Our modern liberal Protestant churches preach a gospel of brotherhood,
a gospel of self-sacriflce and service for the uplift and welfare of the
human race. As a result our churches are deserted for the golf-course
on Sunday mornings." Evidently the writer is aiming a shaft at the
churches which still adhere to the Bible in all its teachings. But where
will you find a church which preaches a message promising to those who
subscribe to a form of words an eternal happiness in the future world?
Such churches are a figment of his own imagination. The writer seems
to proceed on the old, but iniquitous adage that everything is fair in love
and war. As to conditions in Modernistic churches, it is pathetic to hear
the writer's confession of bankruptcy. A.
The Race Problem in the Episcopal Church. - The Protestant.
Episcopal Church of the United States has a race problem on its hands.
In May, 1932, at a regular convention, Rev. Williamson of Little Rock was
elected Bishop of Arkansas. The ratification by the standing committees
of the diocese took place as prescribed in the canons of the Church. One
thing remains: confirmation by the House of Bishops. Before this ven-
erable body could act, a storm broke. It is alleged that at the convention
referred to the Negro members of the clergy were asked to hold a separate,
Theological Observer. - .Rird)lid)~3eitllefd)td)tlid)e~. 53
Communion service, which request deeply offended them and now has led
to protests against the confirmation of the election held at that convention.
Many other factors enter in, such as the prevailing depression, which would
seem to indicate that the number of bishops should not be augmented un-
necessarily. That a very delicate problem is here presenting itself to the
Episcopalian authorities for adjustment will be readily admitted by all
who have first-hand knowledge of racial feeling south of :Mason and Dixon's
line. 'iVe are alluding to it, not only to register anew our disapproval of
the yoke which Episcopalian (and Anglican) church polity is placing on
the necks of the Christians belonging to this communion, but chiefly to
draw the attention of the brethren to the difficulties connected with church-
work among the colored people in our cOllntry, difficulties which demand
prayerful and sympathetic study. A.
The Swing toward F,itupl~sm in the Congregational Church.-
In an article entitled "The Recovery of Power," written by Herbert J. Hin-
man and published in the Oongregational-ist, the writer strongly advocates
ritualistic services. The editor of the paper states that he does not agree
with the article, but that he was printing it "because of the sincerity and
significance of its challenge." vVe Lutherans may learn from this that
Luther and his coworkers, when they proceeded in conservative fashion as
they were reforming the Church, took a 'wise course in avoiding both the
extreme of nHral'itualism and that of the barren service, which lacks all
emotional DppeaL R~y. Hinman says ill palt: -
"Protestantism, and especially Congregationalism, began by exalting
the sermon and at first almost entirely neglected the appeal to the eye.
In consequence it has continually slumped into a dry and barren intel-
lectualism. From time to time it has been sayeel by the emotionalism of
the revival, but it has continually slipped back into its old ways. The
liturgical churches have not felt the necessity of periodic revivals because
they make a continuous appeal to human emotion through their ceremonies.
At the present time the revival is distinctly in the discard. Most denomi-
nations have given it up, and where it is still used, the results are less and
less conspicuous. But the need of emotion in religion is as great as ever.
We may lecture men on the necessity of personal and social righteousness
until we are exhausted. They will agree with everything we say - and
then go on in the samc old way. Few men have ever been converted by
an appeal to reason. The Church must stir their hearts in order to get
results. This truth is gradually penetrating the consciousness of our
pastors, and they are turning more and more to the emotional appeal of
beauty and liturgy. In place of the severely simple meeting-house of
Puritan days we have beautiful and impressive churches in all our cities.
In place of the two-hour sermon and the scanty service of that period we
have processionals, crosses, vestments, liturgies, and a sermon that lasts
about twenty-five minutes. The Chul"ch has learned at last the true source
of power, which is 'ceremony, appealing to the eye, and stirring the emo-
tions of men.' If all our churches adopt this method, they will in the
course of time recover the power of days gone by and will be able to speak
with authority on the great questions of our day. The attempt to lecture
men who will not listen is the height of folly. But when the Church has
gained their attention, it can again say, 'Thus saith the Lord.' "
54 Theological Observer. - ~ir41Ti41~Seitgeicf)icf)tli41es.
We, of course, entirely disagree with the writer when he speaks of
ceremony as the true sonrce of power, but his words may well remind us
of the preciousness of onr Lutheran liturgical heritage. A.
A Practical Application of the Papal Marriage Laws. - It may
be that some Protestants are not taking the pronouncements of the Pope,
when he declares marriages null and void if they are not performed accord-
ing to his rules, very seriously. Let them read this excerpt from the article
of a Scotch correspondent in the Ohristian Oenttwy for August 31: "It was
a case of a Protestant husband and a Roman Catholic wife, who had agreed
to be married by a Protestant minister and were so married in Lenwood
Parish Church. Their married felicity was unbroken till the arrival of
a son in December, 1927. Thereupon there descended upon the wife certain
relatives, who immediately raised thc question of the particular communion
into which this new being should be introduced. Lord J\1ackay (the judge)
regarded it as of the most serious importance that such an interference
should have been allowed to come between a happily married couple. One
day in February, when the family had been there, in the afternoon, the
husband kissed the defendant (in the divorce suit) good-by on going to
work. At tea time he found the house deserted, his wife and child gone,
and a note, saying, 'Dear Jim, I have gone for good.' The husband went
to her parents' house. The father came to the doorstep, the defendant
being somewhere behind, and the father (not the wife) said they were
required to be married in the Roman Catholic church. That was the first
suggestion of any so-called religious difficulty at all. The plaintiff's reply
was that they were already married and that he did not desire any priest
to govern his house." As indicated above, this led to a suit for divorce
on the ground of malicious desertion, and the judge granted the divorce,
with severe castigation of the Roman Catholic marriage laws wl1ich led to
this disruption of the family. A.
A Testimony against the Lodge. - We note with pleasure that the
Theological Forum, published by the Norwegian Lutheran Church of
America, in its July issue submits a sermon by R. A. Ofstedal, entitled
"The Lodge - a Call to ,Vorldliness." The sermon constitutes an able
pamphlet against the menace of lodgery. There are paragraphs of great
power in this discourse. Of the duty of the pastor to speak out on the
subject the author says: "Then, again, some may be led to think, 'How
is it that the pastor has such a dislike for us lodge-members since he so
often speaks about our fraternal affiliations?' And I will answer that
question by asking another, 'What do you expect of your watch-dog when
danger approaches?' You expect him to bark. If he does not warn you,
he is of no value to you. Now, you would surely expect as much of your
pastor as you do of your dog, as much of watchfulness, of loyalty, of
faithfulness. Do you know that your Bible speaks of pastors that see
danger approaching and neglect to warn as 'dumb dogs that cannot bark'?
By God's grace I would be the kind of pastor that warns, having that noble
example of the Apostle Paul to look to when he said to the elders at
Ephesus: 'Remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn
everyone night and day with tears.' In tlms caring for your souls, I feel
that I can best show my friendship for you lodge-members as well as for
others to whom I minister. And if any of those committed to my care
55
are lost, I do not want them to be saying in all eternity, 'If my pastor
had been faithful in warning me, I should not be here.'" The author
shows very clearly that Masonry and Ohristianity are incompatible. May
this testimony throughout the Lutheran Ohurch receive the attention which
it merits! A.
Subsidizing Our Colleges. - The Oatholic weekly AmeTicn recently
had the following editorial: -
"The financial depression of the last few years has brought some of
our colleges to the brink of ruin. A few, the most notable being St. Mary's
Oollege in Kansas, have closed their doors after a futile struggle. Others,
we are informed, will reach their crisis by the end of the present year.
It would be hard to exaggerate the gravity of the situation which confronts
Oatholic higher education in this country. - No Oatholic college in the
United States has an adequate endowment. Only a few have any endow-
ment whatever. Practically all must depend upon tuition-fees and the in-
come from chance gifts and bequests. Twenty-five years ago, when of
every ten teachers at least nine were religious, it was possible by the
exercise of severe economy to balance the budget. But since the beginning
of the century this proportion of one to ten has changed, so that to-day
it is Illore nearl"' four anel one half to five and one half. This change
meam" Llf COl,,8", it ~alary list which is greater by at least 450 per cent,
In all probability the disproportion is even larger. - In addition to this
burden the colleges must assume responsibilities unknown a generation
ago. Oatholic institutions have been compelled by various standardizing
agencies to add to their courses and equipment, not because they deemed
these additions in all cases an improvement, but because otherwise their
certificates and degrees would be useless to their graduates. A united
stanel by all Oatholic schools might have been effective as recently as
1900, but it is now too late to cry over spilled milk. At present, and
as far as can be foreseen, the rule of the standardizing agencies, private
and State, will control for many years, although in course of time it will
probably be exercised with better judgment. - The Oatholic college of to-
day, then, has reached the limits of its scanty financial resources. Unless
aid comes, and comes quickly, the only institutions of higher education in
this country which owe any allegiance whatever to God and His Law liay
be compelled to discontinue their work for Ohurch and State. - Prom what
source is this aid to be obtained? Up to the present practically all our
colleges and high schools have been administered by members of religious
orders. Within the last generation, however, the diocesan college and the
central high school, both direct charges upon the diocese, have made their
appearance. As a rule, tuition-fees have been charged, and the deficit has
been made up by the diocesan authorities. The religious orders, however,
have been left to their own resources, and generally they have managed
to hold their own. As these resources have now all but disappeared, it
has been suggested that the colleges controlled by the various religious
orders be also made tIle beneficiaries of diocesan funds. - In an interest-
ing paper read at the Oincinnati convention of the National Oatholic Edu-
cational Association, the Rev. J. W. R. Maguire, S. O. V., president of
St. Viator's Oollege, said that, while parish-schools, central and district
high schools, charities, and other works of the Ohurch have access to this
56 Theological Observer. - .Ritd)ncfH3eitgefd)id)tlid)e~.
revenue, 'the college alone stands apart, shackled and in want, yet striving
bravely to do the important and essential work of the church-teaching.'
For generations the dioceses have been engaged in other, more necessary
work. Much of it has been completed successfully. Can they now turn
their attention to the Catholic college? - Father Maguire writes that the
problem would be settled were every Catholic in the United States to make
an annual contribution of one dollar. Added to our present resources in
tuition-fees, 'twenty million dollars a year will adequately furnish college
education for 60,000 to 100,000 students' in the colleges on the accredited
list of the National Catholic Educational Association. These dollars would
be gathered under diocesan authority and prorated to the colleges. - The
acceptance or rejection of this plan lies wholly within the province of the
Hierarchy. It would ill become us to pronounce any judgment on Father
Maguire's suggestion, save to say that we believe it worthy of serious con-
sideration." P. E. K.
Will Lutherans UniteI' - In the Lutheran Oompanion of Septem-
ber 17 we find an ~ditorial with the heading "A United American Lutheran
Church," the last section of which we desire to reprint here. After some
remarks pertaining to the symposium which recently appeared in the
Augustana Quarterly on the question of the union of Lutherans in America,
the editor says: -
"If it werG possible for all Lutherans in America to form an external
union of their forces and work together as Lutherans, the thing can be
done. But is this possible? We are not able to free ourselves from the
suspicion that some of the advocates of union imagine that the component
parts of the American Lutheran Church must retain their entity and then
continue their separate work. The United Lutheran Church, the American
Lutheran Church, the Augustana Synod, the Norwegian Lutheran Church,
and the Synodical Conference shall flow side by side as separate streams
as before. Or is not this the thought of at least one of the writers in
the symposium? It was this idea that prevented the Augustana Synod
from joining with other synods in the formation of the United Lutheran
Church in America in 1917. If one synod should become an independent
part of the new body, the union would not be organic. In the reorganized
Lutheran Church in America there can be no room for American, German,
Norwegian, and Swedish. Lutheran must be the uniting word; all other
appellations are divisive. Are the Lutherans ready for such a move? Has
the American melting-pot done its work so completely? We are united in
faith and spirit, yes, but we are still human and have our own convictions
as to tIle proper methods to pursue the work of the Church. Probably as
far as we can get at present, is to hold conventions for discussing questions
of differences, as Dr. Maier suggests. All assertions to the contrary that
we are agreed on doctrine, there are still shades of difference as to what
constitutes true Lutheranism."
While the first part of the paragraph does not touch the real difficulty,
the last sentences should by all means be heeded. vVe hold these points
to be axiomatic: 1. Unity in doctrine, so that the divine Gospel and the
holy Sacraments will be kept and handed down unimpaired, must be the
chief aim. 2. While true unity is something everyone of us should de-
voutly pray for, the matter of outward union is relatively unimportant.
Theological Observer. - ~irclj1iclj~,seitgef d)id)tltcljes. 57
3. A practicable form of external union will easily suggest itself after in-
ward unity has been established and is manifesting itself. 4. Earnest,
prayerful study of the Holy Scriptures and the Confessions of the Church,
to be supplemented by the writings of Luther and the other great leaders
of our Church, together with mutual discussions carried on in the spirit
of Christian charity, will have to bring about the desired l·esult. A.
The Only Foundation. - Dr. Pfatteicher, president of the Minis-
terium of Pennsylvania, in his annual report to his church-body at Lan-
caster, Pennsylvania, last June, said among other things (we are quoting
from the Kirchliohe Zeitsch1'ift) : -
"Civilization arrayed in its modernistic garb is too often the god of
the man of to-day. The civilization of to-day has been built upon an / .x)
economic order which is contrary to the teaching of Christ and for that
very reason has come tumbling down on our heads. Let us listen to ".
familiar words found in the Sermon on the Mount [R. V.]: 'Lay not up
for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume and
where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves trea-
sures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume and where
thieves do not break through nor steal; for where thy treasure is, there
will thy heart be also. . . . No man can serve two masters; for either he
will hate the one and love the other, 01' e18e he will l1cld to the one and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.'
"On other occasions Jesus likewise stressed the barrier between rich
men and covetous men and the kingdom of God. We say rich men and
covetous men; for the lust of more than is needful for daily life has
gripped not only those who have been successful in laying up treasures on
earth, but also planners of all sorts of material programs, who look with
longing eyes upon the spoils of others. There have been covetous men and
women in our churches who waxed fat upon bubbles which they never ex-
pected to burst. Even some 'self-made' capitalists numbered among us
'went to their own place' as the bubble burst and they were unable to face
the world as poor, but honest men. We have even had covetous men in the
ministry who have spent their time in the service of mammon rather than
of God. Capitalism in the making has seldom recognized its moral and
social obligation to its employee or its neighbor, nor has it felt sufficient
responsibility in times of unemployment. It has more often established
foundations for peace and education upon the spoils of war and ignorance.
Then, again, the lure of salaried secretaryships in all sorts of foundations
has robbed us of potential volunteers in the furtherance of causes so ob-
viously right they have been harmed rather than helped by the introduction
of the puppets of dictators and dictatorial policies. The Christian Church
believes in consecrated wealth at work for God and our neighbor as a self-
evident stewardship and in a consecration on the part of those of us who
have no wealth which does not look with fixed and forbidding eye upon our
more successful neighbors. . . .
"Society is being molded to-day by certain sinister and certain other
superficial 'motivations,' which are pulling the crowd away from organized
religion and toward a developing atheism. We seem to have lost all sense
of sin. The word itself has been dropped from the vocabulary of the
average person. We are told that we are suffering to-day from crime waves
58
rather than from epidemics of sin. These crime waves have given birth to
the epics and biographies of our day and have provided society with thrills
and guns - guns for the criminals, guns for our homes, guns for motion-
picture actors, guns for officers of the law, guns for the nine- and ten-year-
olds, as the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' has been translated for our
modern Decalog into 'Thou shalt know how to kill.' As a matter of fact,
much of our modern social mechanism functions according to the following
revised Decalog: 1. There is no God, and thou shalt have none. 2. Curse
and prove God non-existent. 3. Forget the Sabbath and keep it joyfully.
4. Teach your parents the meaning of life. 5. Know how to kill if neces-
, sary. 6. Cultivate sex. 7. Get what you can while you can, howsoever I you can. 8. P erjury means nothing. 9. There are no property rights.
, 10. There is nothing sacred about the home and its relationships.
"In each case we have noted the direct opposite of the Mosaic com-
mandment, and we stand dumbfounded as we realize that we have penned
a code which finds acceptance in the hearts and lives of many citizens and
leaders in modern society. Does this not prove that we are standing on
the brink of a yawning abyss? Is it too late to turn back?
"In view of the pull of present-day civilization away from the Chris-
tian Church and because of our earnest conviction t hat the Christian
CllllTch is neeclecl to-da,y aR never before to keep humanity from its planned
plunge into the dark, it is essential that we chart the task of the Church.
"The primary job before us is to rebuild the Church upon the one
foundation which has outlasted the ravages of the ages and of countless
wars, and that foundation is Christ. 'For other foundation can no man
lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.' Unfortunately the Church
of the past decade or two has believed it to be its - primary- duty to add
b,iildings to a - compound rather than additional stories to the main
building. We have thought that by decentralizing an institution and by
humanizing it we were building a bigger and better Church, and we have
come to know that we have added liabilities, and not assets, to our
structure." J . H . C. F .
~, , fti:.ong regationalist-CathQ!ic. ::- Studying the Foundations of Faith
\ __ ,by Dr. W. E. Orchard, published some years ago, one wondered how this
, ~I/ noted Congregationalist theologian could pen the following: "The question
of whether Christ's righteousness is imputed or impa1'ted to us has been
a source of great dispute between Catholics and Protestants. It might
be thought there was Scriptural basis for the doctrine of imputed right-
eousness; but this is denied by Catholic exegetes; and whether it is
Scriptural or not, belief in it has now been almost entirely surrendered by
thoughtful Protestants." And by Orchard himself. "The blood of Christ
. . . brings about the remission of sins by destroying our very love for
sin and taking away any further taste for it." (II, pp. 181. 191.) That is
essentially the Catholic doctrine of justification by g1'atia infusa. Con-
gregationalists are supposed to teach justification by faith. One wonders
why Dr. Orchard was considered a Congregationalist. - An article pub-
lished in the Congregationalist and Hemld of Gospel Libm·ty of July 14,
entitled "Dr. Orchard goes to Rome," says: "The announcement that Dr. W_
E. Orchard, formerly of King's vVeigh House Chapel, London, England, has
left the Congregational fellowship to join the Roman Catholic Church,
Theological Observer. - .R:hcl)!idj'Seitgefcl)icl)tHcI)es. 59
while it may occasion surprise, will seem to many who have followed
Dr. Orchard's course in recent years to represent the logic of what has
been, and has become increasingly, the particular emphasis in his religious
thought and practise." One does not wonder that D. Orchard went to
Rome. He belonged there. One only wonders why not more of the modern
Protestants follow him. - The Oong1-egationalist's obituary goes on to say:
"For our own part we regret that Dr. Orchard has abandoned that witness
to catholicity in independency. We have had little sympathy with the
formal expression of Dr. Orchard's religious views and attitude, but we
have had the deepest sympathy with the conception of Congregational
freedom which made possible that expression within the Congregational
fellowship." Now we no longer wonder how the Catholic Dr. Orchard could
remain in the Congregationalist Church so long. He was welcome there.
According to the Congregationalist system "each candidate for member-
ship, each church or conference seeking recognition determines freely what
is accepted of faith. On the other hand, each organization decides for
itself whether the confession of an applicant is sufficient." (Schaff-Herzog
Eno1/ol.) That is called the freedom and responsibility of the individual
soul and the right of private judgment. And here we have the Oongrega-
tionalist explaining to us that "the conception of Congregational freedom,"
its "independency," made it possible to harbor Dr. Orchard in their midst .
They will not even draw the line at Liberals and Unitarians. They will
even do this: "In the last Year-book of the Congregational Christian
churches are listed the names of 571 men from otl1er denominations now
serving Congregational churches and still maintaining standing in their
own denomination." (Cong1'egationalist, Feb. 25, 1932.) E.
The Plight of ~fQrmed Protestantism. - Using the title "A Ques-
tion for Protestants," a pastor contributes an editorial to the Congrega-
tionalist and Herald of Gospel Liberty which throughout is in a minor
key and ends, his declaimer to the contrary nothwithstanding, in a note
of distinct pessimism. These are his thoughts briefly summarized: A trip
through New England on a Sunday morning last summer took him past
well-attended Roman Catholic and poorly attended Protestant churches.
"Even union services in the larger places showed little sign of an environing
interest." An old Protestant church which is far into its third century
of existence, a beautiful structure, well equipped with organ and chimes
and tastily decorated, a meeting-place which thirty years ago was regularly
attended by 150 worshipers, hardly can boast one-third of that number
to-day. "Church suppers are well attended, but mid-week services have been
abandoned." Dr. Fosdick, writing in a college paper, in analyzing the
actual state of affairs, says that merely a handful of students regularly
attend divine services and that there seems to be a general lack of interest
in the Church. And yet the particular students he has in mind are from
average American homes and among the best representatives of our youth.
One must remember of course that charitable relief, social service, art,
literature, education, are no longer so closely allied with the Church as
used to be the case. Education has been taken over by the State, relief
work by various public or private agencies. Exceptionally gifted preachers
still attract large congregations, but that does not furnish any comfort.
The Church in the future as in the past will have to be ministered to
60 Theological Observer. - .rettcI)ncI)~,()eitgefcI)icI)tlicI)e~.
chiefly by average men. Twenty years ago a much-discussed article was
written bearing the caption "vVhy Smith Does Not Go to Church." The
answer given was that Smith was repelled by sectarian divisions. nut our
author feels no assurance that "a single Protestant church where only one
is necessary would have crowded pews." Avowing that he is not "an
apostle of gloom," the writer quotes vVillard Sperry, who remarked that
"the Church is always in the throes of her dissolution, but her demise
is forever delayed." He concludes: "The Protestant Church is based on
a service of worship assumed to have power to nurture the soul of man.
Steadily in these days interest is declining in such services in the average
church. What will happen to the soul of man? Incidentally, but still
a matter of interest, what is to be the future of the Church, thus losing
its chief reason for existence "I" It is a dark picture which is here drawn,
and for once the colors are not deceiving. The causes of the disastrous
situation are mainly two. In the first place, in very many of the pulpits
of Reformed churches the "Vord of God is no longer proclaimed. In the
second place, the youth of the Church is not indoctrinated. Will Lutherans
read and heed the warning written on the wall of other Protestant
denominations? A.
~tesbyt~il1n Pelagianism. - Under this heading, Prof. Dr. Wm. C.
Robinson, professor of Church History in Columbia Theological Seminary,
Decatur, Georgia, in the mid-October issue of Ohristianity To-day, severely
reprimands such Pelagian Presbyterians as John Oman (G1-aoe and Per-
sonality) and others who disagree so profoundly with the doctrines of the
Westminster Oonfession "that one wonders by what liberality of interpre-
tation they can find any substance of their faith in these Presbyterian
standards." "Their Pelagianism out-Pclagianizes Pelagius"; it may be
stated in the lines of the Chinese classic: -
"Men, one and all, in infancy
Are virtuous at heart;
Their moral tendencies the same,
Their practises wide apart.
Without instruction's kindly aid
Men's nature grows less fair;
In teaching, thoroughness should be
A never-ceasing care." (Translated by Giles.)
:Uen of Omall's stamp are Kantians and agree with Kant's axiom
that man has the ability to do whatever the Moral Law demands. How-
ever, Pelagianism is nothing but naturalism, which "out of the caves of
the old man creeps upon every man and every minister." "Only eternal
vigilance and the continual illumination by the vVord and the Spirit can
keep any preacher from repeating its suave phrases." These are some of
the thoughts which the writer stresses, and very timely and necessary
thonghts they are. PelagianisIll is still the most insidious enemy of the
Christian faith, and theological professors must never cease exposing it
and testifying against it.
According to Dr. Robinson, Pelagianism accounts for the fact that
there are to-day so "many calls for church affiliation and union." His
indictment of the Federal Council is worth considel"ing. He writes:
"A Pelagian desire for a great ecclesiastical machine with sufficient num-
Theological Observer. - .Rircl)licl)~Seitgefcl)icl)mcl)es. 61
bers to dominate State politics is one' reason why there are so many calls
for church affiliation and union. This purpose may be unknown or un-
realized to many good men who push such schemes. The writer has the
highest regard for the doctrinal soundness of certain ones of his brother
ministers both in the North and in the South who have recently advocated
membership in the Federal Council. These particular brethren could never
be Pelagians themselves. They would never consciously tolerate a Pelagian
position for their churches. May the writer have the temerity to ask them
to consider whether in supporting the Federal Council they are not un-
consciously asking their respective churches to take a position which is
logically Pelagian? Does not the history of the Federal Council to date
show that Presbyterian churches have held membership in it only at the
cost at saorifioilng the Gospel to the sooial gospel? And is this not Pew-
gianism?" It is certainly quite profitable for Christians holding member-
ship in the Federal Council or seeking such membership to consider these
questions of the frank writer. J. T. M.
Religious Magazines Suspend Publication. - Under this heading l/
the Watohman-Examiner of October 6, 1932, writes: - "A quarterly maga-
zine of unusual clarity, fidelity to God's Word, and of general excellence
has been the Biblioal Review, published by the Biblical Seminary in New
York and edited by Robert 1vt Kurt~. .A note announces to us that because
of financial rea sons particularly the quar terly has been obliged to suspend
publication. The R eview has been a large expense to the seminary, and it
feels that in these circumstances even the excellency of the magazine does
not justify the expenditure of the money necessary to its maintenance. The
Oh,-istian Fundamentalist, a monthly published by the 'World's Christian
Fundamentals Association and edited by Dr_ W. B. Riley of Minneapolis,
has also suspended publication. Three reasons are given. First, Dr. Riley's
health will not permit him to continue the almost innumerable tasks to
which he has set his hand. Secondly, Dr. Riley has arranged to spend the
coming fall and winter in a continent-wide compaign of Bible-teaching and
evangelism. Thirdly, the financial load is too heavy to bear at this time.
Dr. Ridey expresses the purpose to supply the news of the IVorld's Chris-
stian Fundamentals Association through the Pilot, a magazine published in
the interest of the Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training-school, of
which he is the president. It is with regret that we announce the suspen-
sion of these two publications. It simply shows the way the wind is / '
blowing." J. T. M.
A Record Enrolment at Westminster Seminary. - Westminster ,
Theological Seminary in Philadelphia opened this fall with a record enrol-
ment. On October 12 the student-body numbered 76. This, as Ohristianity
To-day reports, includes 29 new students in the Junior Class, 23 students
in the Middle Class (of whom 3 are new), 10 students in the Senior Class,
7 students in the graduate division, 5 partial students, and 2 special
students. The opening address was delivered by Prof. Dr. J. Gresham
Machen, who welcomed the students to a fellowship of testimony, of prayer,
and of labor, interpreting their entering Westminster Seminary as a "pro-
test against the current in the Church and in favor of the great doctrines
of the Word." "The Seminary," he said, "has only one special task: to
l1elp men become real specialists in the Bible." J. T. M.
62 Theological Observer. - Sl:itd)1id)~,seitgefd)id)t1id)es.
Congregationalists Discuss Mission-Treasury Deficit. - Recently
at a meeting of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis-
sions, which is the title of the board of Foreign Missions of the Congrega-
tionalists, the deficit of the mission-treasury on which this board is relying
for its funds had to be spoken of, and means to remove it had to be con-
sidered. From the report of this meeting, as it appeared in the Clwistian
Century, we take over one paragraph: -
"Becau~e of declining income the American Board is in process of
either detaining in this conn try or recalling from abroad over sixty mis-
sionaries. This is the first time in nearly a century and a quarter of the
history of the board that acceptable missionaries in the prime of life have
been asked to find other employment for purely financial reasons. As
against the release of their colleagues the missionaries in attendance on
the meeting of the board offered a counter-proposition - that all take less
in order that all might remain at the tasks for which they have been
trained. The salaries of the missionaries of the board have already been
cut, on the average, 12 per cent., and it was estimated that such a move
as this would involve a further reduction of 8 per cent.; and yet the mis-
sionaries themselves argued for this move with much enthusiasm and with
apparently general unanimity. If a permanent reduction in personnel was
necessary, they argued, it could best be brough t about throu gh the in-
evitable retirements and resignations of a year or two. The matter was
argued first in a meeting of missionaries and secretaries and later in
a public meeting of the board, by which it was refel'l'ed to the Prudential
Committee, its directing body. But the spirit of the missionaries was
superb." A.
"Trained in the Classics." - The following is taken from the weekly
Ame1'iaa: "The young gentleman who was chosen class orator at Harvard
this year, Paul C. Reardon, is both clear-eyed and courageous. In his ad-
dress he suggested what some alumni still think is a hoary heresy, to wit,
that the Harvard of to·day is not quite the equal of the Harvard that was.
Mr. Reardon is convinced that something is lacking, 'an intangible some-
thing,' in the Harvard of 1932. Alma mater is not training her sons to go
out into the world equipped for leadership. She has her courses in sociology
and economics, as the old Harvard did not, but these do not seem to fit
students to take an active and intelligent interest in community life.
'Somewhere along this upward path something intangible has been lost.'
If you press him for details, Mr. Reardon will answer that the 'something'
is a training in the classics. And he points to the Harvard that sent
Charles Sumner, Wendell Phillips, and James Russell Lowell out into the
world to stir it with controversy and to delight it with beauty. 'They
had been trained in the classics.' Possibly Mr. Reardon might have made
a better selection among the alumni; all old Harvard men will have their
favorites to propose; but we can see what he means, and many will agree.
The classical training often resulted in a vision and an energy which the
newer modes of academic effort seem unable to arouse and foster. Its
students had a link with all that was best in the strength and beauty of
the past, even though they had never heard of a graph and still thought
that amber was the chief source of electricity. They were not men freighted
with facts, but they knew how to relate the facts they had encountered,
few or many, with the life they had lived. Palmer, himself a Harvard
Theological Observer. - Stitd)licl)'3eit\le\d)id)tlicl)e~. 63
teacher long to be remembered, once said that to be a good teacher, a good
blacksmith, or a good shopkeeper, one had to be 'human.' That was the
purpose of the old classical training. If it did not turn the young men
into walking encyclopedias, it did deepen the intellect, strengthen the will,
.and enlarge the emotions, and so strove to make them both human and
humane. - Educators of many creeds and divergent schools are looking
wistfully into the past. They are fairly certain that the college which
peddles courses, as a department store offers bargains in anything, from
axes to lanterns to xylophones, has not succeeded in giving us either leaders
,01' men. It has all the vices of a machine age and few of its virtues; its
past is something which educators recall with horror, and its future is
bleakness unrelieved. The once despised 'training in the classics' may yet
come into its own." P. E. K.
"Modernism Riding High, Wide, and Handsome." - That is
what Christianity To-day sees in the "Hall of Religions at the Chicago
World's Fair." The building will be erected on the lagoon, adjacent to
Lake Michigan, and house the exhibits for Protestant denominations.
Statistical data, such as have never before been placed before the public,
are being compiled with the avowed purpose of astounding those who
declare that "Christianity is on the wane" and that "the Church is losing
ground." Ref'Jtation of these assaults is the main object of the Committee
on Progress through Religion in the erection of this beautiful building.
" More impor tant yet is the program of many conferences that will be
directed to clarifying the objectives and methods for the solution of
present social problems. Emphasis will rest upon cooperation and not
upon propaganda for special religious affiliations. These conferences will
have for their subjects many phases of religious education, the attitude of
youth toward religion, changing forms of worship, the methodology of
charity and social service, the cooperation of religious bodies for peace, and
the organization of religious leaders for the reduction of poverty." Indeed,
"Modernism riding high, wide, and handsome" ! J. T. M.
What Do Episcopalians Believe Touching the Real Presence?-
The controversy originated in the Interdenominational Communion Service
at Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis (Episcopalian), has naturally in-
volved a study of what the official position of the Protestant Episcopal
Church is on the meaning of the Eucharist. The Living Church, spon-
soring the views of the ritualists among the Episcopalians, says in its issue
of August 13, 1932: -
"The full force of the tradition of the Anglican Church shows very
explicitly that the Holy Communion is much more than a commemoration
of the Lord's death by a company of believers in fellowship with one an- ..
other and with Him. It is that indeed, but it is also the means whereby
the Holy Spirit sanctifies the elements of bread and wine, so that 'we, re- '.
ceiving them according to ... our Savior Jesus Christ's holy institution
in remembrance of His death and Passion, may be partakers of His most
blessed body and blood.' (Praym··book, p. 81.) And again the inward part,
or 'spiritual grace,' of the blessed Sacrament 'is the body and blood of
Christ, which are spiritually taken and received by the faithful in the
Lord's Supper' (p. 293). In other words, the Anglican Church not only
agrees with the Protestant bodies that the Holy Communion is a perpetual
memorial of our Lord's death, but it goes farther and witnesses to the fact
v
64 Theological Observer. - ~itdjlid)'8eitgefd)id)t1id)e§.
that the blessed Sacrament is in truth His very body and blood. Most
Protestants, probably all of those who participated in the St. Louis service,.
have lost this witness. To them there is no Real Presence in the Holy
Communion, which is simply a memorial celebration and an expression of
fellowship. It is exactly because the Anglican Church has been faithful
to its witness to the Real Presence that it has maintained the need of
a divinely ordained sacrificing priesthood to celebrate the Holy Eucha-
rist," etc.
Reading these words superficially, one gets the impression that Episco-
palians teach what we Lutherans hold concerning the Lord's Supper, that.
is, that in, with, and under the bread and wine Christ's body and blood
are imparted to the communicants. Unfortunately the Prayer-book itself,
in the appendix containing the Thirty-nine Articles of the Anglican Church,.
puts a veto on such a favorable view. There very explicitly it is stated
that unbelievers do not receive Christ's body and blood, so that it becomes
quite apparent that the eating and drinking of Christ's body and blood
professed by Anglicans is one that is performed by faith, a spiritual eating
and drinking, and not that sacramental communion which is taught in the
Scriptures and confessed by the Lutheran Church. A.
"We Fair-Wea ther Modernists." - It is not often that Biblical
Christianity can assent to \-v-hat Dr. H. E. Fosdick broadcasts over the radio.
Now and then, however, he says things that are worth quoting. Recently,
in one of his addresses, he reproved the Modernists as follows: "We fair-
weather Modernists, with our too easy gospel of God as a sentimental
Lover, would better salute those old Christians. They did not blink the
facts; instead, they achieved a faith able to rise above the facts and carry
off a spiritual victory in the face of them, and at their best, in the darkest
hours that ever fell on human history, they stood like houses built on
rocks." But Dr. Fosdick has still more to say of his fair-weather fellow-
Modernists. Ohristianity To-day quotes him as having said, too: "Old-
fashioned religion often did produce an unconsenting and courageous in-
dividual conscience. At this point Modernism often fails. It has breadth
and easy-going complacency and general good will, but lacks moral grip to
lift men above the ordinary levels of daily life and give them courage, if
necessary, to defy the world." Again: "vVe Modernists pare down and
dim our faith by negative abstractions until we have left only the ghastly
remainder of what was once a great religion. Then seeing how few our
positive convictions are and how little they matter, we grow easy going
about everyone else's convictions and end in a mush of general con-
cessions." All this has been said before by Biblical Christians, but it is
well for us to learn how Modernists themselves r egard the idolatrous stuff
which they offer to the world in the name of religion. But if it is so
worthless, why do they continue to preach it? J. T. M.
Languages Used in Europe. - The International Linguistic Office
in Geneva recently released the information that of the 125 independent
languages which are spoken in Europe, German is used by eighty-one mil-
lion, occupying first place. According to the tabulation the Russian lan-
guage is second, with seventy million; English, forty-seven million;
Italian, forty·one million; French, thirty-nine million.
News Bulletin of N. L. O.
Theological Observer. - ~itcl)licl)<.8eitgejd)id)md)es. 65,
II. )(lLsitmb.
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