Full Text for CTM Theological Observer 6-3 (Text)

as entitled to serious conside-ra,tion unless unity of doctrine precedes it. We- a,re not a,t one with the Council in its demand for Theological Observer. - .Rit.d)lid).,seitgefd)id)t1id)es. 221 legislative enactments, to bring about Bocial changes which nave not first been a,dopted by the individuals of the na,tion. While Lutherans dread war for the same rea,sons and with the same fervor tha,t grip, the minds and hea,rts of all citizens, we a.re not prepard to demand the weakening of defensive a,rmament by our Government, the interruption of cha-pla-incies, nor the substitution by us of an a,ppeal of interna,tionalism for the tradi- tiona.! na,tiona.Iism of the United Sta,tes. We' can only receive respectfully the C'ouncil's declarations in this' field." What is more serious than the ma,tters the Lutheran points to is the indifference in doctrine which chara,c· terizes the Council and positive errors which at times are a,dvoca,ted by it, for instance, in its "Address to the Churches," drawn up at the last conven- tion by a- committee of which a professor of the U. L. C. was a, member, an a,ddress, by the way, which is commended both by the reporter of the Lutheran and by its editor. This paragraph from it is submitted by the reporter: "Our deepest resources, a,fter all, are in a, vital co=union with God as Christ has revealed Him to UB'. Only as we dwell deep in the spiritual verities of life, shall we ha,ve the poise, or lay hold of the reserves of strength, we need to stand unshaken in difficult days. We fa,ce a- crisis in character as well as in economics, - indeed, a deeper crisis. Is not this the real hea;rt of our age's need and trouble? Too many people are trying to get along without any vital, sustaining sense of God. In the first cen- tury St. Paul, by definite moral and spiritual counsels, su=oned Chris- tians to endure' a great moral and spiritual crisis. In the world of the twentieth century the Church must continue this a,postolic task. We must call people through prayer, through worship, through medita,tion on the Scriptures, through the Sacraments, through confession and humility, and a sincere seeking of the inner light, to be reconciled to God. Then shall the peace of God enter into lives now frantically seeking superficial plea,- aures and excitement or beset by sin and fea;r and inner conflicts." Tha,t may be stirring language, but wha,t of its theology? "We must call people through praye'r, through worship, tmough meditation on the S'criptures, through the Samaments, through confession and humility and a, sincere seeking of the inner light, to be reconciled to God.'" Is it possible that a, Lutheran theologian ga,ve his endorsement to !>uch a sentence? He mus,t know that there is only one way of being reconciled to God, and here six of them a;re enumera,ted.. Wha,t i!> left of the sola· fide principle of the Scriptures? If being reconciled to God means tha,t one experience!> a sort of emotional thrill and resolves to become a, better man, we have nothing to salV. But if it means that a poor sinner a,ccepts the forgiveness of sins ea;rned for him by a divine Savior, the sentence quoted involves a, woeful depa;rture from wha,t is most vital in Christianity. A. Thel President of the A. L. C. on Union with Missouri. - For the information 0.£ our clergy we reprint the following paragra,phs from the "President's Report," submitted by Dr. C. C. Hein, president of the A. L. C., a,t its recent m~eting in Wa.verly,. Iowa: - ' "Will we ever come to an a,greement with the Missouri Synod? The Chicago Theses,. which weTe adopted by representa,tives of the Missouri Synod, the Wisconsin Synod, and the synods of Buffalo, Iowa, and Ohio, after most thorough delibera,tions of more than a decade" were> re>j~cted by the Missouri Synod in 192,9'. The committee advised to reject them 'since 222 Theological Observer. - SHrd)1id)~Seitgefd)td)tlid)eil. all chapters and a number of paragraphs are inadequate; a.t times the~ do no·t touch upon the points of controvers~; a,t times the~ are so phrased tha,t both parties can find in them their own opinion; at times they incline, more to the position of our opponents than to our own. Your committee considers it a hopeless undertaking to make these theses un- objectionable from the view of pure doctrine. It would be better to discard them as a failure." The results of ten years, of work were de- cla,red nil. "In the Janua,ry, 1933,. is·sue of the CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY a series of doctrinal statements is submitted upon whose adoption the recognition of other Lutheran bodies on the part of the Missouri S~od is made dependent. In conclusdon the editor states : 'A few other questions which will ha,ve to be discussed and settled according to the Word of 1 years and was known a,s the oldest minister in the United States. For a while he served the American Church in Paris. The establishment of schools and colleges for the Negroes wa.s, given much atten- tion by him. Being a Congl"egationalist, he served fol' years as. correspond- ing secretary of thH American Missiona.ry Associa.tion of that Church.- The Bishop of Copenhagen, Rt. Re,v. Ostenfeld, Prima.te of the, Danish Lu- theran Sta.te Church, died on October 24, 1934. His successor is Bishop Hans F'ulsag-Damgaarcl. The deceased IHaclel' was an author of note, his books dealing chiefly with practical issues. - At the head of the Lutheran Church in Russ.ia" as, the successor of Bishop Theodore MHyer, wlm died April 28, 1934, Dr. C. Arthur Malmgren is serving as bishop. It is interest- ing to read in Dr. Morehead's rema.rks a,bout him in thH News Bulletin of the Na.tional Lutheran Council that after he had been called to the pasto- ra,te of St. AIm's Evangelica,1 Lutheran Church in St. PHtersburg in 1891, he" during the fin~t twenty· five years of service in tha.t position, taught religion in the upper grades of St. Ann's Pa,roohial School and cooperated 230 Theological Observer. - .Ritd)Iid):8eitgefd)id}tIid)e~. in many institutions of mercy of the St. Petersburg congregations and the Church in Russda in general. - December 18, 1934, Dr. Frederick Lynch died, who from 1914 to 1926 was secretary of the Church Peace Union and for twenty years served as editor of Ohristian Work. A. A Correction. - We are reliably informed that the editorial from the Living Ohuroh describing a service conducted by the St. James Society in St. Luke's Church, New York, and reprinted in our January issue (p. 69) , contains several wrong statements. The service was not held on a Sunday, but on a Thursday. We might add, to avoid misunderstanding, that the consent of the congregation for the holding of the service had been obtained. The statement that an Anglo-Catholic would have "recognized with amaze- ment a service surprisingly like the solemn Mass that he would have ex- pected at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin," is described as not correct by brethren who participated in this service. Fairness demands that we should not withhold this information from our readers. A. II. ,l,u5111Ull. 'l)ie t~etlrtlgifdje .\1t1djfdjule in ~etfin<.8e~renbtlrf. noer me tljeologifdje .\)odjfdjule unferer Qjriiber in ~eu±fdjlanb, in§oefonbere iioer bie ~roeit be§ lffiin±erfemef±er§, f djreio± melior lffiillfomm in ber ,,{yreiftrdje": "lffiir ljalien, lnie im borigen ®emef±er, aeljn ®±uben±en, Mn benen einer ficlj auniidjft auf bie ~iifung in ber fjeoriiifcljen ®lJraclje boroereitet unb ein anberer, ber nidj± unferer {yreifirclje angefjort, an ben !l5orIefungen teiI~ nimm±, um unfere £efjre unb fircljJiclje ®teUung fennenaulernen. ~er !l5or~ Iefung§plan iff nicljt toefentriclj beriinber±. ~n ber ®Iauoen§Iefjre toirb in Nefem ®emef±er bie £efjre bon ®oU, bom IDeenfdjen unb feinem {YaU unb bon ber llSerfon unfer§ .\)®un ~®fu @:fjrifH oefjanbeIt, in ber Sfirdjen~ gefcljidj±e bie meformation§aeit. Wu§ bem WIten 5tef±amen± toerben au§~ getoiifjIte llSfalmen gelefen unb erHiirt, au§ bem ~euen 5teftament ber Q3rief llSauIi an bie ®pfjefer, ber ia gana oefonber§ bon ber .\)errIicljfeit unb bem meiclj±um ber Sfirclje @:fjrifti fjanbeIt. ~ie®inlei±ung in ba§ meue 5tef±a~ men± toirb for±gefet±, in ber iioer bie ®ntf±efjung ber einaelnen Qjiicljer be§ ~euen 5tef±amen±§, ifjre merfaffer, ifjren .\)aup±htfjart ufto. gefjanbeH lnirb. ~en iirteren ®±uben±en inirb in ber Si'a±ecljeiH unb in ber llSaftoraItfjeologie Wnfeitung aur {yiifjrung be§ praftifcljen Wm±e§ gegeoen, unb ber £efjrgang fUr fircljIiclje ~ugenbpj1ege bien± eoenfa@ bief em ,Broecf. ~m £efjrgang fiir engIif clje ®praclje toerben bie ®±uben±en eingefUfjr± in ba§ redj±e £ef en ber engIifcljl~fircljIicljen £itera±ur, toie fie namen±riclj in ben Si'reifen unferer amerifanifcljen ®Iauoen§oriiber erfcljein±, unb bie morIefungen iioer bie ®efcljicljie ber neueren llSfjtIofojJIjie, bie P. Dr. Sfodj fjiift, bienen baau, bie ®tuben±en oefann± au madjen mit ben geiftigen ®±romungen ber neueren ,Bei±, bon benen ia auclj bie neuere 5tfjeologie f±ad oeeinj1uf3± iff. ®o fjalien unfere ®±uben±en ein grof3e§ unb mannigfaclje§ Wroeit§geoie±, aUf bem fie ficlj oe±ii±igen fonnen unb foUen, bamit ba§, toa§ ifjnen in ben !l5orlefungen geoo±en I1JIirb, audj lnirfliclj bon ofeilienbem muten fUr fie unb Ne ganae Sfirclje fei. {yiir ifjr IeioIiclje§ lffioljlergefjen ift audj geforg±. ®ie feIof± bertoaIten im ®intJerf±iinbni§ mit ber {YafuItiit unb bem !l5ertoaI±ung§rat ba§ Q3efoftigung§toefen. Qji§ aUf e in en toofjnen lnieber aUe ljier in ber Wnf±an. " ~. 5t. IDe. Theological Observer. - oRitd)1id)'3eitgefd)id)tIid)es. 231 ~eteinigung£l6eftre6ungen lutijerifdjer iJreifirdjen in 'l)eutfdjlanb. &~ bem ~ericljt iiber ben ~farrfonbent ber ~annoberfcljen @bA3utlj. i}reifirclje, beriiffentHclj± in bem ~Iat± "Un±er bem Sfreua", bringt menor jilliIIfomm in ber "i}reifirclje" bie folgenbe IDCit±eiIung: ,,~efanntriclj tuaren bon ber @5~nobe in ~lecfmar @5uperintenbent ~ii±tcljer unb P. @erljolb beauftragt morben, aUl ~ertreter unferer Sfirclje an ben fommenben ~erljanbIungen teifauneljmen. ~eibe ljaben nun am 4. ~uIi [1934] dner :ltagung in ~affeI Iieigetuoljnt, an ber auf3erbem bie @b.~Butlj. Sfirclje &npreuf3en~, bie @5eIIi~ ftiinbige @b.~Butlj. .I1irclje in ~effen unb bie ~ermann~burg~~amburger @b.~Butlj. i}rcifirclje beteiIigt lnaren. SDort ift e~ au einem greifIiaren @v gebni~ nicljt gefommen; ein folclje~ lnar auclj nicljt au ertuarten unl> fann flir bie niicljfte 8ufllnfJ: nicljt erljofft tuerben. jilloljI finb bereit~ bon atuet @5eiten ~orfcljliige 3u einem 8ufammenfcljluf3 ber lutljerifcljen Sfircljen ge" macljt morben, bie im ~onbent naclj dnem meferat bon P. @erljolb Iiefprocljen tuurben. SDoclj elje e~ au einer tuirUicljen ~ercinigung fommen fann, miiffen naclj unferer cinmiitigen &nficljt bie berfcljiebenen i}reifircljen cine einljeit" Iiclje @5tellung 3U ben ficlj rutljerifclj nennenben Banbe~fircljen unb ber biefe umfaffenben meiclj~firclje getuinnen. SDie~ ift aber lllieber nicljt miigficlj, folange nicljt bie ie~igen fircljIicljen jillirten 3u einem enbgiirtigen \?l:bfcljluf) gelangt finb. i}iir un~ in ~annober ift am micljiigften bie ~eiIung be~ miffe~, ber leiber innetljaIIi ber i}teifitclje eingetreten unb bi~ljer nut ±eiI~ mcife befeitigt ift. ~ierbei tuirb e~ mefentIiclj fein, iDie e~ ficlj mit ber ~ermann~burget IDCiffion meitergeftaItet. @~ ift nicljt au~gefcljloffen, baf3 bie fcljmietige IDCiffion~frage burclj' bic gefamtfircljIiclje @n±lllicflung iljre Biifung finbet. II ~ier3u fcljrei6± ffieftor jilliIIfomm: ,,\?l:uclj mir finb ber IDCeinung, baf3 cine lllirfIiclje ~ereinigung ber ht±ljerifcljen i}reifircljen in SDeu±fcljlanb nur miigIiclj ift, menn bie berf cljiebenen 1Sreifircljen 3Ubor aUf @runb be~ jillorte~ @ot±e~ 3U ciner einljcitricljen ~eurteiIung ber ficlj lutljerifclj nennenben Banbe~fircljen unb ber ffieiclj£iIirclje, au bet biefe ia aIle geljiiren mollen, gefommen finb. SDaf3 bie~ bi~ljer nicljt bet i}aIl lnat, ift ia ein ~auptgtllnb bafiit, baf3 bie bon un~ fcljon feU ~aljten etftrebte @inigung atuifcljen ben anbern 1Steifitcljen unb un~ bi~ljet nicljt iluftanbe gefommen ift. )ffienn man aber bamit marl en mill, biS bie ie~igen fircljIicljen jillirren in ben ~on~fircljen au einem enbgiirtigen &bfcljfuf3 gefommen fein tuerben, bann fann e~ noclj lange bauern. @erabe bie gegen11liirtigen .I1amNe um bie SDeutfclje @bangeIifclje Sfirclj'e ljaben boclj beutriclj genug geaeigt unb aeigen e£l. immer noclj auf~ neue, baf3 auclj bie Iieften unter ben beutfcljen ebangeIifcljen moH~fircljen midIiclje ~efenn±ni£ifh:cljen im @5inne be£i Iutljerifcljen ~efenn±" niffe~ m'C1:ler flnb noclj fein 111oIlen. SDenn ba~, ma~ ba~ \?l:ug~burger )5e~ fenntni~ aUl uncrIiif3Iiclj filr bie 11laljre @inigfeit bet SHrclje forbert, bai3 namIiclj ,eintriicljiigIiclj naclj rcinem Q3erftanb ba~ @bangeIium geprebigi unb bie ljeiIigen ®aframen±e Iaut be~ @bangeIii gereiclj± merben', mollen fie aile n i clj ±. SDa~ milrbe ia bebeu±en, baf3 recljte ebangeHfclje Beljr" unb ~ircljenauclj± eingefilljrt unb geilb± miirbe. SDabon tum man aber auclj in ben fogenann±en ruHJetifcljen 2anbe£ifircljen niclji§ miffen, fonbern auclj bort ljan man feft an ber ,Beljrfreiljei±' unb an ben IDCaffenfommunionen. SDarum tuare e~ bieImeljr ba~ ricljtige, baf3 an ber @inigung ber Iu±ljerif cljen i}rei~ fircljen 3unacljft Dljne miic!ficljt aUf bie ~erljaItniff e in ben Banbe~fircljen: mit ailem @rnft gearIieitet tuiirbe. @ine in ber jillaljrljeit fef±gegriinbete 232 Theological Observer. - ~itd)Hd)~3eitgefd)id)md)ell. mereinigung ber ebangeIifdHut~erifdjen iYreifirdjen, fUr !.lie roir fteti$ ein~ getrcten finb unl> nadj ber roir uni$ ~ersndj fe~nen, l1.1iirbe gerabe iett ein groj3er liSegen f ein uni:> i:>enen, Me mit @:rnft eine ~efenn±ni!;lIirdje itlOIlen, eine :Buffudjt liieten in ben jffiirten unferet :itage." :;So :it. IDe. ~aglt1tg bei\l ~rbeiti\llllti\lfdjltffe~ lIe~ 21ttijerifdien !fieItfllntJeng. '!ler ~rlieiti\laUi3fdjufJ bei3 2u±~erifdjen jffiertfonbenti$ iagie bom 13. liii3 sum 20. mobemlier ll .. :;s. in IDeiindjen. @egenroarlig roaren aIle merlre±er: I{5tiifei3 D. IDeore~eaD, 9(etu g)orf; meftor D. ~oe, IDeinnefoia; '!lomprojJft D.l{5e~rffon, @oienliurg; D. :;Siirgenfen, SfojJenljagen; 2anbei3liifdjof D. IDeara~ren!;l, ,l2an~ nOber; 2anbei3liifdjof D. IDeeifer. '!let Wrliei±i;laU!;lfdjuj3 iritt jiiljrfidj aufam~ men, ll)ii~renb ber 2uiljerifdje jffieIifonbeni, "ber olierfte mat bei3 2u±ljer~ tumi3, in bem Wligeorbnete ber lutljetifdjen srirdje ber ganacn !fieri berlreien finh" (fo !.lie ,,~. @:. 2. sr. "), aIle fedji3 :;Saljre iagi. '!ler 2uiljerifdje jffieIt~ fonbent Mrb feine niidjf±e IiSltung, l11ie in IDeiindj;en liefdjloffen IDUrbe, in biefem :;Saljr in l{5arg abljaIten. Unb l1lai3 tuill er? ~ie ,,~. @:. 2. S'e.", bie l10n i~m ur±eif±: ,,@:i$ fteljen im gansen adj±aig IDeilIionen lutljerifdje