Full Text for CTM Miscellanea 4-6 (Text)

er die Scbafe ull terweise. wi. 5ie rfcbte Cbri,ten sollen soin. sondern auch dnnebcn den Woollen w.hr .... dass ie die Scbafo nicbt angrelfen und mit fnIscher Lohre verfuehren und Irrtum ein· fllehren. - Luther. Es i,t kein Ding. das die Leute mebr bei der Kirche behaelt denn die gute Predigt. - Apo/Ollie. Art. 2.+. II the trumpet give an uncertain Bound. who 'hall prepare himself to tbe battle! 1 Cor. L+. 8. Published for the E v. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PU:BLISHI NG HOUSE, St. Louis, Mo. 452 yIiscellanea. ~n bief em Untcr] el]icb 111uif el]cn ber lffieIt unb ben [~rif±en ~at ber &jaB ber lfficIt fcinen ®runb, ~o~. 15, 19.. ~as mofe fiimpf± immer (1c(1cn bas (Sht±e; aoer auel] ull1gefe~rt. [~riftcn muHen ber lffieIt bie :ma~r~ci± fagen, ~. 14; fie rii~ll1en fiel] i~res @nabenf±anbes ®o±t au ,\,looe; fie 1Jrcbigen bas @7bangeHull1 bOl11 Strc1l3; bcnni± bcrball1men fie ber lfficrt @ltolo unb IScHif±gereel]±igfei±; batml1 iScinbfel]af±. ~as um 10 mellI, aIs illt cigcnes ®eroiflen ben [~riiren rcel]± gib±. lffieil bOll fo ift, fo foU es uns sum ~rof± biencn, 1"uenn roir ber lfficl± &jail crfa~rl'l1 muHcn; es iff ein 2eic~l'11, baB mir niel]± bon ber )ficrt finb, fonbern bem ange~jjren, bcn bie )fieU oLlerit gc~att ~at, ~o~. 15, 18; IDCatt~. 10, 24. ~riifen roir uns1 ,\,luI. 6, 26. 2. &jat ift bie @7igenart ber lfficl±; i~r &jers ift faIt unb 1ieblos; unb neoios f ein ift in ®oHes 21ugen &jato lffier barum Iiebios ift gegen f eincn 91iiel]1ten, ber ge~jjrt noel] Bur lffieIt; er fte~t niel]t tm ®Iauoen, fonbern ift geiftriel] tot. IDIag cr auel] eintltCtI bom ;:robe in0 ,\,lebcn bure£)gebrungcll fe1n, cr ift luieber in ben :itob suriicfgefunfen. ~a gift auel] oUes fromme 5tun unb fromme Weben niel]±£;, 1~D~. 2, 9; m.18. ~riifen iuir unsl IDCattfj. 24, 12. lffide£) fel]recfliel]cs UrteH fiint ber &j@7rr iiber bie meolofenl m. 15. 17. :Datum: 1 :it~eff. 3, 12. :mefel] fjcrrliel]es morbtIb1 m.16. (meb 244, 8.) :it. &j. Miscellanea. Mission-Work in Rural Districts. "I fear our seminaries are partly to blame for the city-mindedness of our preachers." That is one of the challenging statements of Henry W. McLaughlin in his recent book Religiou8 Hduoation in the RuraL Ohm"oh, page 28. What is more, his whole book is a very strong argument for more whole-hearted and consistent efforts to do more intensive mission-work in the rural districts of our country. The author is not guessing, but he presents sufficient and convincing data concerning the "fallow fields" of rural and scmirural districts. His travels as Director of the Country Church ,York for the Presbyterian Church in the United States have taken him into hundreds of the 100,000 rural communities in America. He speaks emphatically of "challenging opportunities," as when he points to the fact revealed by the 1926 Federal Census of Religious Bodies: "Outside of the cities of 25,000 or more population 1/'1 ad'ults out of eve1-Y humdrcd a,j'C not members of ANY CHURCH - Jewish, 11:ormon, Christian Science, Roman Catholic, or Protestant." In another chapter Dr, McLaugh- lin writes at length on the "fertile field" which is awaiting intensive work in the rural districts. The statistics of his own Church show that the accessions in rural districts were 10.7 per cent. higher than those in the Miscellanea. 453 urban centers. He gives names of men and places; he tells precisely how many people were gaincd in individual parishes. One reads page after page, and one is amazed at the mass of Hluminating information, of posi- tive suggestions that are offered. All of which ought to be very instructive also for us, especially since some of the statistics apply for the whole country, for all the rural dis- tricts. There are people living almost everywhere in this great country of ours, IJot only in the cities, but in the COW1tl'Y as well. And forty- seven out of every hundred of these people are without any church con- nection whatsoever. The question is: Ha.ve iCe been dOin,(! cLll we oan to gain these unchu1-ohed 1JCople tor the Lord and His SalV(Ltion? Or have we in J1mny instances confined ourselves to the fiock whieh had been gath- ered before we got to some particular section, possibly a flock with only Lutheran antecedents? Have we continued the policy which was quite general hardly more than twenty years ago: Sind denn da auch deutsche Lutherane1-? That policy has cost us hundreds, if not thousands, of par- ishes and possibly souls that will run into five figures and more. IVe may just as well face the issue squarely, especially at this time, when the Lord's blessing in the number of available candidates is a chal- lenge to us to enter upon a missionary campaign such as our Church has never before witnessed. Rej'e are actual cases. In one county in the Mid- West we have a number of congregations, but the neighborhood is not nearly covered, Members of a fairly large congregation live twelve to :fifteen miles from the church, in another community, in a town which contains scores of unchurched people. Yet nothing has been done to begin work aiming at the organization of a mission-station and an eventual church in that town and community. The children are either not coming at all to the parish-school or at best only during the year preceding con- nrmation. No further canvassing is being done, no attempt is being made to win the unchurched for Christ. The weak excuse is frequently offered in such cases: The community is lodge-ridden; there are poor prospects for the Lutheran Church. What of it? If the Word of God is not a power to win men and women out of the lodge, then there is something wrong somewhere; for the Bible says: "Is not ~fy Word like as a fire? saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" J er_ 23, 29. In another community work was begun a quarter of a century ago, not only among the Lutherans of German descent, but also among English- speaking people. There was a fine beginning. The town, the community, should have been ours; for if we could not have gotten the first genera- tion, we should most likely have gotten the second. Yet the work has been neglected; our Church has withdrawn from the field. Boys and girls, confirmed twenty and thirty years ago, now heads and mothers of families, have drifted into sectarian churches or have been lost entirely, all because we did not hold what we had gained. On the other hand, con- sider the work of a young pastor who went into a town which had prac- tically no Lutherans of any kind, but the average percentage of unchurched. He went out and canvassed, he placed the unchurched on his visiting and on his mailing list. In just a few years he gathered far more than a hun- dred souls, with more than four-score adults. His Sunday-school is doing fine, his services arc well attended, he has a large class of adult catechu- 454 Miscellanea. mens two and three times a year, simply because he had a mlsslOnary policy with a plan. There cannot be the slightest doubt that there are at this moment at least a thousand rural awl semirural communities in our country in which we could have a congregation within a few years if we would just go out and compel them to come in. The unchurched are there, the workers are there, and the WOTd is theTe! There remaineth yet lllueh land to be possessed. Let us go out and possess it! P. E. K. £ntfjcr iilicr GHeidifiirmigfeit in fitcf)Hcf)cn 8cl"Cntonicn. Wu§ riner ganaen Dteilje bon 3ufdjriften iit eriidjtriclj, baf3 augen~ bIicniclj ba§ ®ebie± ber firdjIidjen 3eremonien unb bet lu±ljeriidjen mturgif ein gtof3e§ :,sntereffe beani1Jmdj±. :Biefem :,sntereffe ift ilum ~eil fdjon Dtedjnung geitagen tuorben, ioenn audj nur in einem lJerljiiItni§miif3ig ge~ ringen Wlafle, unb e?5 foil iljnt aud) femer &ufmedfamfeit getuibme± toet~ ben, aber nut in bem metljiiltni§, tore e?5 bie toefentIidje )illidjtigfeit be§ @egenf±anbe?5 ilU etljeifdjen fdjein±.") :Ba man um ben genauen ~ottraut ber &u?5fiiljrungen Eutljer?5 liber ®Ieidjformigfeit aUf bem ®eOie± ber m±urgif geoeten ljat, fo geben toit ljier einige feiner ffaren :Barf±eilungen toieber. :,sn feiner "mermaljnung mt bie Q:ljrif±en in mlJIant> bom iiuf3edidjen ®otte?5bienft unb Q;intradjt" fdjreibt Eutljer: ,,:06 nun luoljI bie iiu13erHdjen :Odmungen in ®oite§bienften, aI?5 ,\JJMfen. @)ingen .. Eefen, :il:'aufen, nidjt?5 tlln :;"r rz::efi~!eit, 10 ift bodj ba?5 1i n dj r i it r i dj, v a 13 man v a r ii b e run e i n i g i it unb ba?5 arme mon bantU irremadjt unb nidjt lJieImeljr adjtet bie )Beii erung ber Eeu±e venn unfern eigenen @linn unb @u±biinfen. @lo bit±e idj nun eudj aile, nteine Ileben &)erren, I a f fee i n j e g r i dj e r f e i n e n @l inn f a lj r e n ltnb fommt freunblidj ilufammen unb toerbet iern ein§, luie iljr biefe iiu13et~ Iidjen @l±licre lDO let ljaIten, ba13 e§ oei eudj in euum Siricfj g rei dj u n b c i n err e i [ e i u n b n i dj ± fOil e t t li t t e t, anber0 ljie, anber?5 ba geljarten tuetbe unb bamit b a ?5 m 0 If lJ e t tu i t t± u n bun r It ft i g gem a dj t. :Benn, tuie gefagt ift, ob1uoljf bie iiu13etIicfjen )illeifen 11nb :Orb~ nungen frei finb unb, bem ®rauben nacfj ilU tedjnen, mit gutem @etoiffen mogen an ailen :Orten, au ailet @l±unbe, butdj aile ~etfonen mogen ge~ iinbert tuetben, f 0 f ei b i lj t b 0 cfj, bet E i e ben a dj il 11 t e dj n en, *) i}oIgenbe !!frtifel unb fiil'3el'e 9laclil'icliten liller mturgif unb bertlJanbte \l)ifai, prinen finb in ben [etten :;5aljl'en in unfern 3eitfclitij'ten erfcliienen: "Decorum of the Pastor", Theo!. Quart., XXI (1917), 218 ff.; "The Symbolism of the Lutheran Cultus", XXII (1918), July; "The Influence of the Prayers in Early Liturgies on the Doctrine of Purgatory", XXIII (1919), October; "The Sacrificial Concept in til .. liJucharist of the Early Church", XXIV (1920), October; ,,\l)ail Iitul'gifclie (huleiI bel' Dreformation", &;lam. ~mag" 9lob.<>lea. 1917; "Aphoristic Hints for Litur- gists," Hom. Mag., Jan. 1920; ,,2utljeril reformatorifclje ~!r6eit anf bern ®etiiete bet 12itmgil", 12eljre lillb Qlleljre, ;nob. fl. 1917; "Principiis obsta", 1929, 327 fi'.; "Some Historical Facts Concerning Church Polity", Theol. Monthly. October, 1926; im CONCORDIA THmoL. lIIoNTHLY: "The Spirit of the Lutheran Chorn/e", I, 508 fi'. ; "Clerical Vestments. in the Lutheran Church", I, 838 ff.; "Luther's Lse of Medieval Hymns:'. II, 260 ff.; ,,\l)ie @iafmmente in iljreJ: iBeaieljnllg aut (!lemeinbeorganifation", IT, 818 n.; "The Pastor as Liturgist", III, 296 f.; ,,~le ISpenbeformeI im ljeifigen !!flienbmal)l", III, 745 fl.; "Elevation-Adoration of the Elements", III, 766 ff.; "Some Principles of Lutheran Liturgics", III, 940 f.; "Our Formula for Infant Baptism", IV, 120 ff.; "The Lutheran Pulpit Garmeut", IV, 217; "Conceruing Late-comers in Church Services", IV, 300. lI1iscellanea. 455 11 i dJ t f rei, foldJe trreifjeit au boUaicljc11, fonbern fdJulbig, adJt barauf au fjaben, tuie ei3 bem mmen ~oIf IeibIidJ unb befferIidJ fei; tuie @?t. ~aUrllS lpridJt 1 Sfot. 14, 40: ,l2aHd aHes efjrHdJ llnb orbentridJ oltgeljcn' unb 1 Sfor. 6, 12: ,i5dJ ljalie cs aUetl ~Wnc9t, es frommet aber nidJt aIfes' llnb 1 Sfot. 8,1: ,~as ~iffen bliiljct auf, aber bie mebe beffert.' Unb luie er baieIbft rebet bon benen, bie bie Grfenn±nis bes ®Iaubens unb ber 1Snifjeit fjaben unb bodJ nodJ nidJ± tuifien, tuie lie bie ®denntnis fjaben ioHen, hleiI fie ber- feThen nidJt aut Q3efjcntng bes ~olfs, lonbern aum lRllIJm ifjres ~erftanbes braudJen." (X, 260 f.)';3n feinem "stuxaen Q3efenntnitl llOl11 ljeHigen ~rbenb" mafjl" fdJreibt l2utljer: ,,~enn tu 0 e s f 0 n ft 0 fj n c S ii n b e un b ® e f a fj rob e r J) Ipte >if r 9 ern 10 9 e f dJ e fj en fan n, ift's gar fein, bai3 fidJ bie stirdJen, audJ in iiui3erlidJen Stiicfen, bie bodJ frei finb, ber" gIeidJen, tufe fie fidJ im ®eif±. ®Iauben, ~ort. ®aframent uftu. bergleidJen. ~enn foldJes fteljet fein unb gefiiHt jcbermann tuolj!." (XX, 1790.) ~aoei tuar fidJ 2utfjer tuofjl oetuui3t, bai3 aUe iiuf3erlidJen trormen unb 8ere" monicn bie ®inigfeit bes ®eiftes nidJ± erfe~en fonnen. ~n feiner ~u5- Iegung 3U ~f. 82, 4 fdJreiot er: ,,~enn luatl bie ®dJrift nidJt fjat, ba foUen Die ~rcbiger nidJt um aanlen bor bem ~offe, fonbern foUen bie ®dJrift iuuner trcioen. ~enn 2 i e 0 e u n b tr r i e beg e fj t tu e i t fro era I 1 e :8 ere m 0 n i en, lUTe @?t. ~aulus audJ fagt, baf3 ber trriebe foU iiver aUes ben ~organg ljaben, 1mb ift undJriftridJ, baB trriebe unb ®inigrcit lOU ben 8eremonien !11cidJen. smm bas nidJt fjeIfen, fo gebie±e man bem au fdJtuei- gen, ber ofjnc bie ®dJrift auf bie 8eremonien, aI5 notig aur ®efigfeit, bringt unb bie ®eluifien berftricfen tum." (V, 720.) ~enn aber foldJe Beremonien unb llceuerungen baau angctan finb, bie 2efjre au berbunfefn unb bie ®e" tuiflen au oeuntuljigen, tuoute l2utfjer fie nidJt dngefii~r± hlil1en. ~n feinem "UnterridJt ber ~ifi±a±oren an bie ~farrfjerren" bon 1528 unb 1538 fdJreiot er: ,,~odJ foUen bie .2eutc bennodJ unterridJtet tuerben, befdJeibentridJ bon foldJen stirdJenorbnungen au reben. ~enn etridJe SHrdJenorbnungen finb gemadJ± u m gut e r () r b nun gun b tr r i e ben £l tu i rr en, tuie ®t. ~aulus fpridJt 1 stor. 14, 40: ,®s foU aUes efjrfidJ unb orbentridJ au- gefjen.'" (X, 1662.) ~enn man 2utfjers berniinftige unb niidJterne ®runb" f~e aUf bem ®eoiete ber 2iiurgif ettuas mefjr fiubieren unb oefolgen tuiirbe, fame man laum auf ®infiiUe, bie bie nturgifdJe ®efdJidJte ber beutfdJ" IutfjerifdJen stirdJe ignorieren, fidJ aus ®efienfreifen aUerId ~euerungen aneignen unb bielfadJ nturgifdJeWconftrofitiiten autage forbern. ~. ®. st. ,,)Biele ... lllerbcn aUflllaO)Cn li, '!lan. 12, 2. SIliefe ®tene, betrerrs beren ~usIegung eine ~nfrage cingeIaufen ift, gefjort au ben cruces interpretum be£l ~rten Steftaments, hlenn audJ ni# au ben fdJluierigften. SIlie flberfe~ung ber ~orte an unb fiir lidJ bidet ldne ®dJtuierigfeiten. ~ic mciften ~usleger iioerfe~cn: n~iere berer, bie in ber ~taubeserbe fdJlafen, hlerben ertuadJen, bie dnen 3um etuigen .2ebcn, bie anbern ant ®dJmadJ unb ctuigen lnerbammnis." ~n ber engfifdJen ~rUS" gaoe be£l 2angefdJen stommentars tuirb bie @?teUe fo ttJiebergegeven: "Many of the sleepers of the dust-land shall awake, some to everiasting life, some to reproaches and to everlasting contempt." ~ie @?dJtuierigfeit negt einaig unb aUein in bem ~usbrucf \~~I1;l 1:l1.:;1"}, biele berer, bie fdJlafen. ()fjne baf3 tuir tueiter aUf ben stonte~t' eingefjen, ber tuenig nber gar nidJts our 456 Miscellanea. Ei.ifung beo stnoten§; ueitrugt, meifen tuir ~in aUf atnei ::Deu±llngen, bie fdjrif±gemun finb. steH mein±, ban e§; fidj ~ier llm fo!dje ~anbele, bie oci ber CSteigerung bet ~rangfar in ber @nb5ei± Ielien merben. "s\)iefem liurig< gebrielienen morfe mitb ffiettung ber~einen ... ; nidjt arIe bann nodj Eelien< Den, fonbern nur bie im )8udje beB EelienB meraeidjneten merben ber ffiet< tung, baB ift, be§; meffianifdjen ~eiIe§;, tdI~aftig merben. 'llaau tnirb aber eine IDCenge bon @ntfdjlafenen, in ber ;itrfrOfaIBaeit ®ef±orbenen, fom< men, meIdje auferf±efjen merDen, teig Bum etl.1igen Eeben, teiI§; illl emiger CSdjmadj. . .. ::DaB O'.~l!. ift benmadj mit ffilidfidj± aUf !lie Heine 2al)1 ber bann nodj EelienDen geliraudj± unb liefagt meber bie ~[gemeinl)ei± !ler ;ito±en< aUferftel)ung, nodj mm eB bieieIbe nur aUf dnen ;iteH ber alef±oroenen ein< fdjranren, fon!lern tlur au ber Heinen 2alj! berer, meldje !len angemnbig±en ~1t0gang ber ::Dinge im {"SIeifdje erIelien, bie IDCenge b e r 5to±m ljinau~ fligen, meIdje am Eofe !ler aI§;!lann nodj Eelienben teiIljaben merben." - ~iefer ~uffaffung gegenliber, bie erma§; geamungen erfdjeint, l)alien fid) !lie meiften anbern WUBleger (~ofmann, 20rHer, IDCein~or!l, ~uoerIen, stIie< fot~ u. a.) filr bie ~uBregung entfdjieben, bie baB "biele" in aofoIu±em CSinn berf±e~±, gleidj "bie miden, bie Wlal1e, bie IDCenge". llJCan benft babei fon< berHdj an CSteUen mie IDCattl). 20, 28 ("geue fein Eelien au einer @rlofung flir bide") unb IDCattl). 26, 28 ("bergoffcn mirb flir bide BUt mcrgebung ber CSlinben"). lIalbin fdjreibt fe~r befiimm±: "Mu/tos hie ponit pro om- nibus, ut certum est." IDCein~oI!l: "miele, namHdj aile, meldje fdjIafen." 20cfler