C!tnurnrbtu lUqrnlngtrul flnut~l!J Continuing LEHRE UND WERRE MAGAZIN PUER EV.-LUTH. HOMlLETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERL y-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. V March, 1934 No.3 CONTENTS W idmung ....•....................•........•...•.. Page 161 162 164 172 Sldzze und Schriften Dr. L. E. Fuerbringers .....•.•..•• Predestination and Human Responsibility. T heo. Graebner •• Die Heilsgewissheit nach der Xonkordienformel. ] . T. Mueller The Thorough Exegetical Study of the Sermon Text the Conditio sine qua Non for Good Serrw>nizing. J. H. C. Fritz 178 The Argument of St. Augustine's "Confessions." J(. S. Sommer 185 Die Lehre von der Inspiration nach 1 Petro 1 , 10-12. W.Arndt 192 Hebrew Prophecy a Unique Divine Bestowal. W . A. Maier.. 199 Lut hers eigene Verbesserungen an seiner Bibeluebersetzung. P. E. Kretzmann li!06 Ottomar Fuerbringer. W. G. Polack ••••••••••••••••••••• Zur Lehre von der Beue. Theo. E nge\der ••••••••••••••••• Die gemaessigte Linke im sozialen Reformprogramm der B eformationszeit. R. W. H eintze .••••••••••••••••••••• The Ca techism in Public Worship. Theo. Lact.ch •••••••••• Indulgences. Theo. Hoyer •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• The Practical AppUcation in the Sermon. E . ] . Friedrich. ••• 211 218 227 234 242 249 Ein Preclfcer muza IIJcht aJlein wridtft. aIIo cIaI or die 8chafe unterwei8l, wle ale reehte Ohrilltell IOlJm .In, IIODdem anch daneben dell Woelten toel'lreft • .s- lie die 8chafe DJclit aqr8Ifen und mit talacher Lehre 'feIfoIhND 1IJId Irrtmn e1n. fuehreR. - Lulher. Ea tat bin Dine. daa die Leute IIIIhr bel der JUrcbe behaelt denn cUe pta Predlgt. - Apolot1W. "'rI. II. If the trumpet lift an 1IIIcertafD 1IOIIDd. who &ball prepare hlmaelf to the battle r 1 0.,..4.& Published for the Bv. Luth. Synod of lIrtlssourl, Ohio, and Other stat. CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE, at. Louis, ][0. ottomar FUel·bringer. 211 ~er. 2, 32: !8ergiflet bodj cine ~ungfrau i~re?J ~ranae?J nidjt nodj cine 'mraut i~re?J ®djIeier?J. - !8ergiffet bod) eine ~ungfrau i~re?J 5dimucfe?J nid)t nod) cine ~raU± i~re?J 6difeier?J . .mad. 14, 33: Unb fing an au eraitiern unb au iingltigen. - Unb fing an au 5ittern unb ilu 5agen. ;tliefc ~eifpiere lieBen fidj um ba?J 2efjnfadje bermefjren. .wcan nefjme nur f eine EutfjerbfDeI unb ftreidje fidj bie 2Uriterationcn in ben l13falmen an. @§ iff tDafjrlidj ber .wWfje tDert, in biefem :JubeIjafjr audj ben Eutfjerie6± ber ~ibeI tuieber griinbIidj au ftubieren, audj bon ber lpradjIidjen (Setfe au!3. @!3 iff getDiB nidjt au bieI befjauptet, baB in biefer lBeiliefjung fetne mob erne uberf ej?ung bie Eu±fjerbibel iibertriff±. 113. @. Shej?mann. 4 • • Ottomar Fuerbringer. 1810-1892. The sainted Dr. Joseph Schmidt, a former pTesident of our Fort Wayne Ooncordia and successor of Ottomar }<'uerbringer as president of the Michigan District, in his sermon at the latter's burial accorded him this significant tribute: "God, the I~ord, calls His servants and places them all on the same footing in this respect, that they are His ministers, servants of the Most High. In other respects, such as gifts, position, and sphere of activity, however, there is a great difference among them. Noone will deny that our Fuerbringer was a prominent servant of God, outstanding in his endowments and in his fidelity. Not commonplace, but extraordinary talents had been vouchsafed unto him. . .. A humble servant of the Lord was all he wished to be. . .. As a true theologian he accepted the Word of God as the rule of his theology as well as of his faith and life. 'It is written' was the deciding factor for him, and he knew no compromise and no yielding, and this gave him an unshakable steadfastness." This fine testimonial from one who was personaIly acquainted with Ottomar Fuerbringer characterizes him splendidly and may well serve as an introduction for the brief sketch of his life which is here offered. In his interesting biography of Ottomal' Fuerbringer, published in Volumes 49 and 50 of Der Lutheraner, the sainted Rev. F. Lochner wrote: "In Fuerbringer passed away the last of the theologians of the Saxon immigration, 1839, which was so important for the recon- struction of the true Lutheran Ohurch in America." Dr. A. L. Graebner called him "the profoundest thinker among the fathers of the Missouri Synod." The more one studies the early history of our Synod, the more one is impressed with the greatness of the leaders and founders. 212 Ottomar Fuerbringer. Familiarity breeds increasing admiration. These men, whom the Lord had gathered together in strange ways and led to our American soil, were cast in a heroic mold, and Ottomar Fuerbringer was by no means the least of them. There are many things in his life that are exemplary and should inspire the generation of pastors that is to-day carrying on the work of the fathers. Ottomar Fuerbringer was born at Gera, Reuss, Germany, June 30, 1810, the son of William Fuerbringer and Ohristine Ernestine, nee Graef. It was an ancient family, which could trace its lineage back to the fourteenth century. His parents were well-to-do and socially prominent, but infected spiritually by the prevalent rationalism. He was a highly gifted boy, and in spite of the early death of his father and the consequent straitened circumstances of his mother it was arranged that he could attend the Rutheneum, the famous Gera Gymnasium, where he progressed so rapidly that he had to spend two years in Prir{~a because he was too young to enter the university. He was not yet fully eighteen when he matriculated at the University of Leipzig and took up the study of theology. His religious training from childhood had been rationalistic. At Leipzig all but two of his professors, August Hahn and F. W. Lindner, Sr., were out-and-out rationalists, and the teaching of Ohristian doctrine done by these two was, as Professor Guenther says, schwaechlich. Although he had enrolled for the study of theology and attended lectures in that department, Fuerbringer was particularly interested in history, German literature, and philosophy. He did not take part in the wild life of some of the students, but lived decently and honor- ably and, being athletically inclined, exercised himself in turning, riding, and swimming. It was aftcr his first year at Leipzig that he experienced the religious awakening which was to influence his career and shape his future life. A group of students, prompted by the testimony of several believing laymen and by a candidate named Kuehn, formed a club, which met regularly to read old German literature and the Bible. Theo. Brohm, J. F. Buenger, Otto Herman and Oarl Fer- dinand William Walther, and Franz Delitzsch, the later famous theologian, were some of the other members besides Ottomar Fuer- bringer. For a time Professor Lindner conducted a weekly collegium, philo-biblicum, for them, expounding the Scriptures and giving the students practical directions in homiletics. Fuerbringer became in- terested enoug'h to engage in the study of the Greek New Testament privately. He also made the acquaintance of a pious cobbler named Goetsching, who advised the study of the Lutheran Oonfessions. As a result he was the first to reach a conviction of the truth of orthodox Lutheranism. Through Goetsching the club-members found a little church where Magister Haensel preached the pure Gospel. Oontact Ottomar Fuerbringel'. 213 was also made with Pastor Martin Stephan of the Bohemian church in Dresden through one of his followers, named -Wetzel. Although this circle of truth-seeking young men was hated by the other stu- dents and ridiculed as bigots, pietists, obscurantists, and the like, they continued their devotional studies, and the ties thus formed and strengthened continued for the most part thl'oughout life. When Fuerbringer's student days came to a close in the spI'ing of 1831, he was fortunate in obtaining through a friend, the merchant Schwabe, tIle appointment of tutOl' at a private boys' school in Eichenberg, conducted by Pastor G. H. Loeber. He was to spend the next seven years of his life with this pious, God-fearing, and con- secrated man, - a privilege and a blessing for which he was grateful ever afterwards. After a year at Eichenberg, Ottomal' Fuerbringel' presented him- self at Gera for the examination pro mini-sterio. The examiners were of course rationalists, who found him well prepared, but passed him very unwillingly on account of his strictly orthodox views and gave him no hope for an appointment. He was by no means downcast on this account, but returned to Eichenberg joyfully, continued to teach his pupils, studied theology, and preached occasionally for Loeber, especially on festival days. It was during his Eichenberg sojourn that he met Mal'tin Stephan personally; he went to him on one occasion for counse1. He was, like the others of the circle, strongly attracted to the man by his earnest Lutheranism, his evangelical preaching, and his pastoral expel'ience. It was also during this time that negotiations were begun by Graf Dethlefl' von Einsiedel to obtain Ottomar Fuerbl'inger for the direc- torate of the new missionary seminary planned by the Missionary Society of Dresden (later the famous Leipzig Mission Society). Martin Stephan, on consultation, suggested a course of procedure that caused the Graf to change his plans. Afterwards the renowned Karl Graul occupied the office intended for Fuerbringer. It is evident that the Lord wanted Fuerbringer for another :field. The story of the Saxon emigration of 1838-39 need not be rehearsed in this connection. It will suffice to state bl'iefiy Fuel'- bringer's part in it. He left Bremerhaven, together with G. H. Loeber, on the Republic, in October, 1838. From New Orleans they traveled to St. Louis on the river steamer KnickeTbocker, arriving on J an- uary 30, 1839. Together with O. F. W. Walther, G. H. Loeber, and others, he remained in St. L-ouis for a time, but in the late spring he also went to Perry Oounty, Missouri, where the majority of the immigrants had settled. In the midst of the distress and turmoil of the colony there he and Brohm and Buenger undertook the task for which these three must ever receive the gratitude of posterity, - the erection of a little log-cabin college and seminary. They obtained the 214 Ottomar Fuerbringer. support of the pastors, G. H. Loeber (Altenburg), E. G. Keyl (Frohna), and O. F. W. "Yalther (Dresden), for the project. There will always be something heart-stirring in the picture of these men felling trees, sawing logs, and digging a well in order that an in- stitution might be established for the teaching and perpetuation of the faith which they held so dear and for which they had sacrificed and endured so much. Their example, their trust, their vision of the future, puts us to shame in our day. Our opportunities are vast, and yet we are slow and timid in meeting them as joyously and aggres- sively as we ought. When the building was dedicated in October and opened in De- cember, 1839, and instruction was begun, Ottomar Fucrbringer taught ancient languages and history. After O. F. W. Walther and J. F. Buenger were called to St. Louis, he and Brohm carried on alone. However, it was not to be for long. By the following summer he was at work in a congregation of his own. Very likely at the sug- gestion of Theo. Buenger, later known as "Kantor Buenger," Fuer- bringer was called to serve a group of Hanoverians and Hessians who had settled at Elkhorn Prairie (now Venedy), Ininois. Here Fuer- bringer experienced a full share of the hardships and privations of pioneer life. The story of his journey to Elkhorn Prairie from St. Louis and his reception there is worth repeating. The distance between these places is about 40 miles. There were no transportation facilities. Otto Herman Walther, pastor of Old Trinity in St. Louis, accompanied Fuerbringer on foot as far as Belleville. They were met at the tavern there by a reception committee of one, in the person of W. Huellskoetter. The three partook of a frugal breakfast of bread, cheese, and beer, and Fuerbringer took leave of Walther, who trudged back to St. Louis alone. Huellskoetter had brought a horse, on which he expected the new pastor to ride, while he himself would walk the twenty-two miles to Elkhorn Prairie at his side. As saddles were rare among the poverty-stricken settlers, Huellskoetter had simply strapped a blanket across the horse's back. "Fuerbringer had no desire to ride at first. When he finally took his turn, he found that riding without stirrups made his legs as tired as walking did. The two men changed off, now walking, now riding, and finally arrived at their destination late at night, weary and dusty. Rev. Mangelsdorf, a successor of Fucrbringer's at Venedy, wrote: "This tiresome journey was, so to say, a slight foretaste of the many inconveniences, tribulations, priva- tions, and heavy crosses under which he was to labor here." Elkhorn Prairie was a typical pioneer community. The people dwelt in cabins built of rude logs. N ails were scarce and too ex- pensive, so that the shingles on the roofs were simply weighted down with logs placed over them, and the flooring, loosely laid, was un- even, warped, and if one inadvertently stepped on one end, the strip Ottomar Fuerbringer. 215 would fly up and hit one in the face. '1'here were fireplaces, but no stoves. The parsonage was no better than the other cabins. On winter mornings the neighbors would look over to the parsonage to see whether smoke was issuing from its chimney or whether the pastor had frozen to death during the night. To Fuerbringer's church at Venedy we may apply the words written of a similar edifice else- where:- Crude the pew and crude the pulpit, 81m pIe every outwa Tel fOTm, HOURh the timber, bare the ceiling; So it speaks of stress and storm, Speaks of pilgrim, speaks of stranger, Speaks of tea,rs and victories won, 8peaks of hardships and of danger And of duty nobly done. In the fall of 1842, Fuerbringer brought a wife to his parsonage, the widow of Otto Herman Walther, Agnes Ernestine, nee Buenger, with her small son, John Walther, and her adopted daughter, who later married Prof.!JI. Guenther. There were not only external hardships, but also internal troubles, to try the pastor. His personal courage, his fidelity to orthodox Lutheranism, and his pastoral wisdom are very evident during the strife that arose among his people on account of his insistence that the use of the rationalistic catechism and hymn-book which had been brought over from Germany be discontinued. His enemies threatened him with bodily harm, uven employed rowdies to waylay and club him, but to no avail. A split in the congregation came in 1845. Fuer- bringer and his loyal adherents were forced to give up the church property (although some restitution was made for the loss) and to build a new church; but the controversy had the effect of strengthen- ing the faith of those who remained true to the Lutheran principles. The congregation HOUl'ished and grew by immigration. FUel'bringer preached and taught school regularly. A preaching-station was founded at Grand Prairie, which became a FilialgernB'inde in 1850. A soundly Lutheran congregational constitution was adopted in 1849. All in all it was a blessed ministry, and Fuerbringer and his family lived happily on the little which his people were able to contribute. In 1849 his salary, including Schulgeld, was only $130.50. Riches unsearchable he preached And drew this pittance for his household needs, And yet he seemed to think it was enough. I do not know that ever he complahled. There are two things that occurred during the time of Fuer- bringer's pastorate at Venedy that deserve mention. One is his par- ticipation in the deliberations that led to the establishment of our Synodical Oonstitution and the founding of Synod. He was present 216 Ottomar FUel'bringer. at the historic conference between the Saxons and the Loehe men in St. Louis, 1846. Lochner, who was also in attendance, says: "I had occasion to see what an important part Ottomar FueTbringer had in this wOTk and in general in the organization of Synod." He also attended the OTganization meeting in Ohicago, 184'7, although his congregation did not join till the following year. It is evident that his opinion and counsel weTe eageTly sought and appTeciated. The otheT matter is indicative of the esteem in which he was held for his deep theological leaming. When in 1848 aTrangements weTe undeT way to Temove the college and seminaTY fTom AltenbuTg to St. Louis and a new theological pTofessoT was to be chosen, many had FueTbTingeT in mind, and it was paTticulaTly O. F. W. WaltheT who UTged his election. HoweveT, WaltheT himself was elected in Oc- tobeT, 1849, and FueTbTingeT was destined to Temain in the active ministTY. At this time the young Synod was in the midst of its histol'ic contToveTsy with GTabau and the Buffalo Synod. Some of the con- gTegations that had been associated with Grabau tUTned to MissoUTi and sought pastoTs fTom this body. A congregation in Buffalo ex- tended a call to Ottomar FueTbTinger several times. Upon his Te- peated declination the congregation finally asked the fOUTth synodical convention (1850, in St. Louis) to UTge him to accept. He begged to be excused, howeveT. A group of Lutherans who had settled at FTeistadt and KiTchhayn, neal' Milwaukee, having had their attention favoTably directed to him in this connection, sent him a vocation, which he did accept. The TemaindeT of FueTbTingeT's life was spent in the North. He served the congTegation at FTeistadt from 1851 to 1858 and then fol- lowed a call to St. LawTence's Ohurch at Frankenmuth, Michigan, wheTe he Temained until his death in 1892. N otewOTthy in TegaTd to his pastoTate at Freistadt is the fact that he was there thrown into the midst of the Grabau controversy. His series of articles on the subject, which appeared in Volume 9 of Der Lutheraner (uGeschichtlich-theoZogische.r Beitrag zu voZlstaen- diger BeurteiZung der Streitigkeiten zwischen den Grabauianern und den sogenannten Missouriern") , Lochner says, was so histoTically exact and truthful and so theologically sound that Grabau in his Informatorium did not even attempt a refutation, but referred to them as Fuerbringers Fuerbringerei. It might also be mentioned that Fuerbringer contributed the initial aTticle in Lehre und Weh1'e, uZur Lehre vom heiZigen Predigtamt," January, 1855, Vol. I, No. 1. His outstanding gifts of leadeTship, objective judgment, his theological depth and soundness, his method of clarifying the prin- ciples and then applying them to the problems at hand, not only en- deaTed him to his people, but also to his fellow-pastoTs far and near. Ottomar FUel·bringer. 217 Of his work as shepherd of the flocks at Freistadt and Frankenmuth we are unable to give a finer description than the following, originally paid to another:- He had his· work to do, And did it faithfully, as unto God; And where he la.bored, hungry heads were' blest, Sinners became good men. The village smiled Where Fuerbringer abode. A& God blest Obed-Edom and his hou&c The while the a,rk was there, so did He bless The towns and fields and hamlets, where this man Dwelt, with God's glory in his humble soul. He was at Frankenmuth when the Oivil War broke out. Upon receipt of the notice from the Government that the town should make up its quota of men for military service, Fuerbringer called together his people and advocated that the unmarried men volunteer, so that the married men would not be forced to leave their families. His words had the result that then and later the single men furnished the quota voluntarily, and the Government did not have to resort to the draft in Frankenmuth at all. During the time of his pastorate at Freistadt the first division of Synod into Districts was made, and Fuerbringer received the election to the presidency of the Northern District, which then com- prised the States of Wisconsin and Michigan. He served in this capacity for eighteen years, until 1872, when he asked to be relieved. However, when in 1874 a new division of the District took place and Wisconsin and Minnesota became the Northwestern District and Michigan, with Ontario added, remained the Northern District, he was elected President again. Though somewhat reluctantly, he ac- cepted and officiated until 1882. He continued to serve his congregation in spite of his advancing age and growing physical weakness. In 1884 his son Ludwig, then a student at our Seminary in St. Louis, took over the work for three months while he was taking treatments for his eyes, and in 1885 the son was called to serve as his father's assistant. Father and son labored together until finally death called Ottomar Fuerbringer to the Ohurch Triumphant, on July 12, 1892. With his passing the last of the fathers and founders of our Synod was laid to rest. He was a staunch Ohristian, a loyal Lu- theran, a true theologian, a consecrated pastor, a devoted husband and father, and a sterling example of posterity. o God, let not that rare of giants die! Give us more men like them, old-fashioned, brave, True to the truth, men that have made the Church Mighty and glad and songful in the past! W. G. POLAOK.