QTnurnr~tu ml1rningtrul !lnutIJly Continuing LEHRE UND WEHRE MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. VII December, 1936 No. 12 CONTENTS Page The Tr~ing of Ministers. J. H. C. Fritz. . . . . . • . . . . • • • • • •• 881 Einige roemische Gesetze im ersten Drittel des vierten Jahr- huriderts. R. W. Heintze ....•.•.••.......•...........• 885 The Study of the Apocrypha by the Preacher. H. H. Kunmick 899 Are We Using Our Septuagint 1 P. E. Kretzmann. • . . . . . . . .. 906 Der Schriftgrund fuer die Lehre von der satisfactio vicana. P. E. Kretzmann . • . . . . • . .. 912 Outlines on the Eisenach Epistle Selections. . . . . . . . . . . .. 916 :Miscellanea ........................................ 928 Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitgeschichtliches . . . .. 933 Book Review. - Literatur .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 951 Ein Predlger mus. nicht allein weiden. also dasa er die Scbale unterwel8e, wie aie recbte Obrlsten soil en seln, sondem auch daneben den Woe1len wehren. dass ole die Schafe nlcht angreUen und mit ialacher Lebre verfuehren und Irrtum ein· fuehren. - Luther. Eo ist kein Ding, das die Leute mehr bei der Kircbe bebaelt denn die gnte Predlgt. - Apologie. A rI. lj. If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? 1 Cor. LJ. 8. Published for the Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE, St. Louis, Mo. -l ~ ARCHIV 928 Miscellanea. Miscellanea. Is the Virgin Birth Important? Prof. W. W. Adams, Th. D., writei!J as follows in answer to the above question (Watahrnan-l!Jmarnine1', May 14, 19'36):- "The question of the importance of the inca,rnation may be answered in brief. "Modern science in its va.rious fields should make us chary of final conclusions regarding matters, in debate. I'Ve ha,ve boon startled so fre- quently that we live in an a,tmosphere of high expectancy. In the realms of both natural and historical science we are becoming accustomed to revising former pronouncements of scholarship. If any difference, this. situa,tion has proved emba.rrassing to the doubter more than to the believer. The total result is the enrichment of life" the broadening and deepening and s.tabilizing of the founda,tions of faith. This is pa,rticularly true for t11(~ man of faith in the grea,t basic facts nf the Chris,tian rt'ligion. "The truly scientific spirit to-day is humble in the presence of God and the universe:. IVe are finite, earth-bound. 'We a,re ponr judges of wha,t ma,y or may not be involved in so< transcendent a fact as the inca,r- nation; and if, according to' the evidence we have, this was actuaIIy the way in which God brought His Son into the world, it would be wise,r for us to assume that there is a, doctrinal connection, whether we can see it or not, than hastily to conclude tha,t the Virgin Birth is of indifference to faith.' "An, Irnpo1'tamt Fact. - If the' Virgin Birth is a fact, it is impm'tant; no fact can be Imimportant. Moreove,r, it must be important for fol- lowers of Christ to 'know' facts which a,re imbedded in Holy ·Writ. 'If Jesus Christ was really bO'l'n without human fa,ther, if that wa,s really G()(l's way for our Sa,viol' to enter intO' the wO'rld, then it may certainly be assumed that it was the best way. . .. We are not concerned now to assert anything so self-evident as that. But what we do assert now is not only that the Virgin Birth was important as an event, but that it is important for us to know, that we eoul(l not have remained ignorant of it without loss.' '.1'his is profoundly true. "Yet there are those who deny the importance, of tlle Virgin Birth. This discussion takes. va,riou8 forms. One is tha,t,. since the Virgin Birth is not a, 'saving' doctrine, it is nO't essentiaL The; answer to this is that Christ purpose's, to do more fO'r His followers, than merely introduce them to God. Another form is that, since the Virgin Birth is an open question or a,t lea,st is difficult to comprehend and ha,rmonize' with present-day philosophicaJ theories, we had better dispense, with thel doctrine altogether. The answer to this charge, is that no answer is needed for so unscientific an a,ttitude toward history. Again, it is said tha,t the only important thing about the Incarnation is its 'mO'tive'; the' 'method' matters little. The answer is tha,t 'the method ought to be commensurate, with the motive. Unless it is proportionate to the motive, its insufficiency may be so great the motive becomes abortiye.' Miscellanea. 929 "Scholars have frequently pointed out the inconsistency of many who charge that the Virgin Birth is unimportant. The' very vehemence and persistency with which the Virgin Birth is assailed and denounced rises up and smites to the ground the' idea, tha,t that which is so assailed is lacking in importance. "Results of Denial. - Once aga,in, the deep meaning of Christ's inca,r- nalion can be measured from the' pnint of view of the results among those who deny the Virgin Birth. Despite frequent claims to the contrary, it is sadly true tha,t as a general rule those who deny the miraculous birth of Cl1rist tend to deny an tIle miraculous, in Him. And when the miraculous, supernatural Christ is gone, essential Christianity is gone. "De,soignating the Virgin Birth as the 'vestibule' doctrine of Chris- tianity, Dr. J. B. Champion warns us· 'nf beHttling the seriousness of the situa,tion which to-day confronts the Church of God. Graut a man. tha,t it does not matter to you tha,t he is battering down the vestibule of your plaet) of worship; when he has finished that, he' will be in a, mood to rus- regard what further you may graut or think. Your indifference has giveon him a, foothold for further work of destruction; and he is more than likely to make use of his oppnrtunity, for his advantage is your disadvantage.' " P.E.K. The Series on the satisfactio vicaria. With the present issue, the series on the vicarious a,tonement of Christ is be,ing concluded. A few readers of this monthly have, e.x:pressed a slight sm'prise that the matter of the substitutionary sacrifice of the Savior was treated along the' lines of Biblical thevlogy oon the bILsis of practically all proof-texts of the New Testament. B,ut there is a, definite reason for presenting this doctrine in such detail. For, in the first place', it is the correlate, of the doctrine of justi- fica,tion, according to' which the merits of th6 Redeemer are imputed to men. In the' second plaee', recent events in the world of theological thinking have definitely shown that even men who a,re .classed as conservatives are hopelessly in e'1'rO'r with regard to' the' vica,rious a,tonement and men's relation to' it. Thus the recent book by Moore, The; Nature of Religion, was favorably revie,wed by a, number of theological journals,. while we pointed out some of its glaring mistakes and deficiencies. (See the present volume, p. 797.) Just how serious the aberra,tions' nf this leader of theo- logical thought in the East a,rel a,ppears from the' following e.x:cerpt taken from theo section "The Transcendent," under the' subhead "Of the Rela,tion of Jesus tOo God." There we a,re' told: "Our whole conception of salvation is altered. Therewith are altered nul' conceptions both of the Savior and the saved. We do not now think of salva,tion in terms which once pre- va,iled in tIle Greek Church, a, sense which is quite ohvious in some o,f tIle most famous of the Fathers. This was the sense of some' sort nf union. in essence - tha,t was the phras6 - of the redeemed man with Goo, which union in essence was to be fulfilled when lif8' iSi ovm". 'Man's becoming God,' the ancient phrase ran. This phrase some O'f the Fathers used, I suppose, in some mystical sense; 'God beeame' man jn order that man might become God.' Or, again, we do not think of salvation, as often in the, medieval Church, as a conferment, a, benefit, a.Jmost e,xternally bestowed, 59 930 Miscellanea. a reward, o.r, with others, a. co.nsequence o.f electio.n in. the inscruta.ble· goodness o.f God. It was the alteratio.n o.f our relatio.n to God or, at all events, the change of God's dispositio.n toward UBI in view of the· merit and satisfaction o.f our Redeemer Jesus Christ. It was like an acquittal- o.nly no.t like an acquitta.l, in that it was co.nferred upon those who. had been guilty, but who.se guilt God in mercy passed o.ver. It wa-s imputing to us, even nO'w, o.f Christ's righteo.usness- a phra.se which so.mEl Prot- estants almost do.wn to. our o.wn timel ha;ve glo.ried in using. .And then,. by co.nsequence, it wa.s alSo. o.ur entrance into. a. hea;ven o.f bliss by and by. We np lDnger think of salvatiDn as sDmething simply wrDught Dut Dn Dur' behalf. It is nDt a favDr granted to. us in view Df sDmething whi(}h SDme one else has dDne.* And, frankly, we are simply unable to. think o.f right- eo.usness a-s imputed to. anybody. Whatever else might be imputed, it could no.t be righteo.usness in o.urselves. We feel that this is a, contra- dictio.n in terms. We cannot think o.f blessedness as simply prepared fO'r us. We ha.ve to think O'f O'urselve's a,s prepa.red fc'r blessedness, and this by a, measure 0.1' blessedness which we nc'w actually share. We canno.t think of our being supremely and eternally blessed, unless we are in o.urselves prepared in scme slight measure, 0.1' a,t least prepa,ring, to. be blessed. When we put it in these wO'rds, we see hO'w far an interpretaticn inherited frcm the medieval Church and descending to us fro.m classical Pro.testantism no. lo.nger avails. . .. In all o.f these respects it [religio.us life·] has been, is, and it will be, nO't a mere ccnferment. It must be, and mo.re and mo.re it ha,s been, my life. It is I who. live' it, physically, men- tally, spiritually. . .. But I am a,ble to. think o.f no. reward, and least o.f all cf a, rewa.rd fro.m the' all-kno.wing God, fDr what I have not tried to. be and do. In fact, I do not like to. think cf it as a, rewa,rd a,t all. It is just living reccgnitio.n o.f a. life which is my life. . .. It needs no. sa,ying tha,t there is something transacticnal, unreal, a.bout the very suppO'sitio.n that man's real guilt co.uld be ascribed by the .AlI-HO'ly to. anO'ther and the righteousness of the o.ther a-vail for man himself." (Pp. 250'-2:53. 303.) We leave it to. o.ur readers to' judge whether there is need o.f ~Ul' co.n- stantly emphasizing the vica;rio.us a-tonement and the imputa.tion o.f the righteousness o.f Christ by gra.ce. P. E. K. Educating the Minister for To-Morrow. This was the topic O'f an addre'ss before the Southern Baptist Co.nven- ticn by Pro.f. J. B. Weatherspoon,. the fo.llo.wing paragra.ph o.f which is no.t o.nly informatio.nal, but is full o.f suggestio.ns rega;rding the situaticn in O'ur own Synod. "There a·re also enlargement needs. The membership O'f o.ur churches gro.ws a-t the ra,te o.f 100,000 annually, new churcheE! are organized a.t the ra-te of 80 to 100' annua-lly, missio.nary and denominational tasks call for an increasing number o.f our best-trained men, and multiplied millicns wait. to be evangelized at home and a-broa.d. Thel unemplo.yed preachers to-day cannot be a,ttributed to. the limita,tion o.f the need fo.r either replacement 0.1' expansion. Churches and tasks are calling fo.r men, but they a,re calling fo.r moo who. in personaUty and training are capable o.f adjustment and • Italics ours. Miscellanea. 931 leadership. The task of impro;vement is quite as pressing as that of re- placement and enlargement. This is not meant to disparage in the least the work of the noble men who ha,ve labored without the a,dvantage of ,college 01' semina,ry training. Among them ha:ve been some of our g.reat~st preachers and leaders, both of yesterday and to-day. .And they would be the first to urge a, better provision for, and insistence upon, a, fully trained ministry. Not many years, ago I heard one of them in a, public address to a group of theological students urging them to use their opportunity fully, reminding them that they could ga,in in a, few yea,rs under guidance what he had imperfectly gained only through many years' of unguided struggle. Here our need is staggering. But for one of the larger denomi- nations in the South we shall ha,ve a 'bad preeminence,' in an uneducated ministry. The following figures are' ten years old, but they fairly represent our situa,tion. In 192,6 only 14.4 per cent. of our preachers (15,OO() had both, college and seminary training, 14.9' per cent. had a, college education only, 5.8 pel' cent. had seminary training only, while 64.9' per cent. had neither college' nor seminary training. These figures do, not include the situation in the colored ministry. One' has heard of cold facts and cold figures; but these a,re hot, they burn our cheeks. Wben less than 15 per cent. of our Southern Ba,ptist preachers ha,ve a, full academic and theolog- ical educa,tion, the denomination as a whole must bear the responsibility and l'a.ise the question of our place in the, world and whether or not we shall bestir ourselves to meet the demands of to-da,y and to-morrow." P.E.K. .8wei 3'-tagen licttcff§ )Betnfjatb§ bon (trattban~. SDie ~aujJterctgniffe in lJem 2eben lJiefe§ belJeutenben 2eqrer§ be§ Mitter~ alters Iiegen in jclJem einigermaj3en bo[[ftiinlJigen ®efcljicljt§liuclj fotDie in jeber griij3eren @nai)fiojJiilJie bor, lJaj3 er niimIiclj bon 1090 lii§ 1153 felite, baj3 er ®riinber unb 2llit lJe§ SHof±er§ au Q":fairbau~ lDurbe unlJ 1mB er af§ einer ber qerborragenlJf±en Manner feiner Beit girt. Bluet tl'ragen alier finb e§, bie immer lDieber auftaucljen. SDie erfte betrifft feine 2eqr~ unb ®faulien§ftelIung olJer, nne man e§ fcljon au§ge~ briim qat: ~ar ?8ernqarb ein 2utqeraner tl0r 2u±qer? SDarauf ift aunacljft .au fagen, baj3 fcljlJn fein erfter ?8iograjJq bon iqm rebet af§ magnanimus in fide, longanimis in spe, profusus in charitate, Bummus in humilitate, praecipuus in pietate, rooau etn anberer noclj qinaufiigt: humanissimus in afi'ectione, magis tam forte in fide.") SDaliei lDar alier ?8ernqarb ein raliiaier WCiinclj, lDie lDir au§ ber @jJifobe feine ®cljlDef±er lietreffenb feqen, hie er naclj jaqrefangem Bureben lieluog, ficlj bon iqrem WCann au irennen unlJ iqre :;rage in eimm ~rof±er au bcfcljfiej3en. ?8efanni ift auclj ?8ernqarb§ @ifer fUr bie Sheuaaiige, nameniliclj lJen alDeiten, ilU bem er mit feij)en~ fcljaftlicljer merelJfamrei± allfgeforlJerl qaite. ?8ei alIebem alier qaite ?8ern~ qarb eine tiefe @inficljt in bie ~aqrqeit be§ giiitlicljen ~orle§, liefonlJer§ auclj in bie @dofung§ta± Q":fjriftL unlJ af§ e§ mit iqm aum ®terlien fam, ba ±roftete er ficlj, lt1te 2utfjer 1D0lj! an tie aeqnmaf erinnerl, £lana unD gar ber 5t'atfaclje, baj3 er Q":ljrifti ~erbienft ergreifen ronne. ~n feinen )jh:elJig±en iilier bas @bangeHulll ~oljanni§ fcljrcibt 2u±lJer: ,,)fiie ®t. ?8ernlJartl auclj .) QlgI. @5c1jaff, V, 343, nota. 932 Miscellanea. tat; 00 er h1or,I feinen Drben fitenge ger,arten r,at±e, nodj, ba er fterlien fome, ba 1}at er bor allen anbern £e1}rern ben Iieoen ~~rrn a:1}riftum fon~ berridj aui3geftridjen unb feine ,I3.uf± unb tsreube an i1}m ge1}ao± unb gefagt: ~er ~®rr a:1}rif±lti3 ift mein ~®rr unb 1}at aUf atoeierlei jilleife bai3 ~im~ mdreidj unb mit: bai3felliige errooroen; baburdj rom idj audj felig h1erben." (VII, 1841 ff.; bgr. SfoL 1950.) ~ie Btoeiie tsrage lieitiw bie geiftridjen @efange }Bernljarbi3; benn man ljat fril1}er aUe meber, bie e±toa au 2'Cnfang bci3 12. ;saljrljunberii3 entftanben finb, oljne roeiterei3 }Bern1}arb augefdjrieoen. E5ellift 5trendj 1}at biefe 2'Cn~ fidjt nodj im aUgemeinen geteiIt unb too me nur Our mundus militat unb o miranda vanitas aui3genommen 1}aoen. ;Sulian (Dictionary of Hym- nology) ift liebw±enb borfidj±iger. ®r mnn! nUt: bie foIgenben meber aIi3 bon }Bem!jarb berfaBt: lesu dulcis memoria ("D ;s®fu filB, roer betn ge~ benft"; "0 Jesus, King most wonderful"), Laetabundus, exultet fidelis chorus, Oum sit omnis homo foenum. llHdjt fo gut oeglauliigt finb Ut iu- cundas cervus undas unb Eheu, eheu, mundi vitas. frlier bie @?erie ber fielien @ebidj±e an bie @Iieber bei3 gemarierien ~ei~ Ianbei3 finb bie tsorfdjer fidj nodj nidjt einig. ®i3 finb biei3 Salve, mundi salutare (an bie tsUBe), Salve, lesu, Rex sanctorum (an bie Sfnie), Salve, lesu, Pastor bone (an bie ~iinbe), Salve, lesu, summe bonus (an bie @?eite), Salve, salus mea, Deus (an bie }Bruft), Salve, Regis cor aveto (an ~ ~era) unb Salve, caput cruentatum (an bai3 2'Cngefidj± bei3 Ieibenben ~ei~ Ianbei3). ~ie erften bier biefer @ebidjte f±ammen toaljrfdjeinIidj bon }Bern~ ljarb fellier. IDIom fdjretDt (Hymni Lat'ini, l, 167): ,,~ie borfteljenben bier meber ljaoen gleidjen llmfang. . .. ~ai3 @ebidj± ljat audj in anbern ~anbfdjriften bide !Beranberungen erfaljren, h10riilier in ben 2'Cui3gafJen ber 1!Berfe }Bernljarbi3 nidj±i3 gefagi Wirb. Sl)ie madjfor;djung nlier ben !Ber~ faffer roirb baburdj erfdjroeri; ei3 ift nur toa1}rfdjeinfidj, baB bie meber bon einem franaofifdjen ~idjter 1}erruljren, toeU audj ber ffieim reconde: profunde auf bief en llrfprung ljinroeij't." inodj atoeifeIljafter iff bie lBerfafferfdjaft ber re~±en brei @ebidjte, bon Denen foh1oljI Wlone roie Sl)anid urieiIt, baB fie ciner lPiiteren Beit ange~ ljoren. ;sulian liemerft basu: "If their conclusions be correct, then the finest part of all, the Salve, capl.l.t oruentatum, must be by some one other than St. Bernhard." Sl)orfdj (~ai3 beu±fdje ebangeIifdje S'firdjenIieh, @? 20) fdjeint aUe fieoen ~affioni3faIben bem @ldjiller }Bern1}arM, 2'Ctnulf bon 2oroen. (1200-1250), aU5ufdjrciben. Sl)a bie Ie~±e ber fielien @?aIben nidjt bot bem 15. ;saljr1}unbert bdannt getoorben if±, mag fogar Die neuere 5tljeorie, baB bie lBerfafferfdjaft dner frommen monne augefdjrieoen roerben barf,· nodj eine @?~e finben. ~. ®. Sf.