arnurnrbta
UJqrnlngtral lInutqly
Continuing
LEHRE UNO VVEHRE
MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK
THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY
Vol. vm May, 1937 No.5
CONTENTS
Paie
The Pastor and Religious Education. Paul Koenlg- ___ _ ____ ._ ...... _. 3%1
Kleine Hesekielstudien. L. Fuerbringer--... -. ___ .... ___ .. ___ .. __ ..... .. _ .. _ .. _ 331
What the Liberal Theologian Thinks of Verbal Inspiration.
Th. Engelder .. _ ... _ ... __ ..... _ .. _ ... 343
Preliminary Report of the Synodical Conference Catechism Com-
mittee ... ........ ._ .................................. _ ... __ ..... _ ..... _ ... _ ..... __ .. __ ._ .. __ . 361
Outlines on the Eisenach Epistle Selections __ .. _ .. _ _ ...... _ ... _ .. _ .. __ . 370
Miscellanea . _ ..___ . . ..... __ ._ 386
Theological Observer - Kirchlich-Zeitgeschichtliches . __ .. .. __ ... ___ 393
Book "Renew - Literatur. . .... _ ............. __ ............ 0 •• • • •• _ _ .. 401
Em Predieer muss nlcht allein toei-
den. also dass er die Schafe unter-
weise. wie sle reehte Christen sollen
scln. sondem auch daneben den Woel-
ten weh1'en, dass sie die Schate n1cht
angreiten und mit talscher Lehre ver-
Iuehren und Irrtum elntuehren.
LuthC1'
Es 1st keln Ding. das die Leute
mehr bel der KJrche behaelt denn
die gute Predigt. - Apologte. An. 24
If the trumpet give an uncertain
sound who shell prepare himself to
the battle? - 1 COT. 14, 8
Published for the
Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States
CONCORDIA PUBLISHING BOUSE, St. Louis, Mo.
ARCHIVE
Theological Observer - .Rird.JIicl)'3eitgef d.Jid.Jtltd.Je5 393
Theological Observer - StifdjIidj~ BeHgef djidjtUdje£i
I. 2tml'rilm
Is the Episcopalian Complimenting or Censuring the Lutherans?-
Reviewing the New Testament C01nmentary, edited by Dr. H. C. Alleman,
the Living Church of February 6, 1937, writes: "It is a Lutheran principle
-largely realized in practise - that all preaching and teaching should
rest directly on the Bible as the sole rule of faith, and the result is an ex-
traordinary dexterity in the handling of Biblical passages; Lutherans are
trained to make the text immediately available for practical ends. This
training is likewise manifest in the present volume, where the comment
is not presented in detached notes, but in continuous exposition that
weaves the exegesis into the problems of present-day life. American
Lutheranism may well pride itself in assembling twenty-eight scholars
capable of sustaining throughout the high level of this volume; could
any other denomination do the same? Since American Lutheranism also
prides itself on its conservatism in Biblical matters, a markedly conser-
vative note is only to be expected." That is high praise for Lutheranism.
Lutheranism is indeed committed to the sola Scriptura. When the
Episcopalian writer recognizes that, we feel highly complimented. And
we shall take this statement, too, as a compliment that "American Lu-
theranism prides itself on its conservatism in Biblical matters." The
prominent groups in European Lutheranism stand for liberalism in Bib-
lical matters. We do not. Weare glad, too, to note that this reviewer
finds "a markedly conservative note" in this commentary.
But the reviewer feels himself compelled to add something to this.
And we do not know whether what he adds is meant as praise or censure.
The L'iving Church is none too conservative itself, and we do not know
whether the reviewer is in sympathy with the men responsible for the
New Testmnent Commentary or is reprimanding them - perhaps repri-
manding them for being out of harmony with the old Lutheran spirit-
when he proceeds: "Yet it is not vigorously maintained. Dr. Berke-
meyer, for instance, who edits the Pastoral Epistles, states frankly that
these letters are sub-Pauline; they display 'the intuition of authority
rather than the authority of intuition.' Dr. Stamm, in an extremely able
treatment of St. Mark, recognizes explicitly the difference between the
evangelist's material and the purpose for which it is used. Dr. Flack in
his comments on Revelation writes entirely from the standpoint of histor-
ical apocalyptic. And while Dr. Alleman's introduction is conservative
in its conclusions, the selection of material in the commentary is such as
to avoid the more burning critical problems .... " The reviewer points
out that the markedly conservative note "is not rigorously maintained:'
He means to say that some decidedly liberal notes are sounded. And
he is right. On pages 581 and 582 Prof. "IN. C. Berkemeyer presents "the
most decisive argument against the Pauline authorship" of the Pastoral
Epistles. "We must conclude that behind them and in them there is
a genuine Pauline tradition. . .. They are sub-Pauline, but based on
genuine Pauline notes." Most likely Luke wrote these letters and simply
894 Theological Observer - .Rird)1idJ<8eitgefdJid)Uid}t§
substituted Paul's name for his own. "It seemed legitimate in that age
to put words on the lips of a man whose mind was being interpreted."
And the letters were not addressed to the historical Timothy and Titus.
And so "we shall do well to enter into the spirit of the writer and
therefore regard them generally as if they came from the hand and
brain of Paul and were addressed to his two fellow-workers Timothy
and Titus." Now we understand why these men abhor the article of
the verbal inspiration of Scripture. You cannot expect Professor Berke-
meyer to make the Holy Spirit the author of this fra'Us pia. We sub-
mit in this connection some of Professor Berkemeyer's remarks on 2 Tim.
3,16. "Note that the only true inspiration and the only true authority
which is claimed for the Scriptures is spiritual; and it is the spirit of
man alone which can discern God's Spirit and thereby recognize this in-
spiration. In his work Timothy can use any writing which is thus recog-
nized as inspired of God and therefore authoritative with regard to the
things of the Spirit. 'The best test of the inspiration of any writing is its
serviceableness for the moral and spiritual needs of men' (White)."-
In Conc. Theol. Month., 1936, p.610, the shocking story of the editing of
Mark's gospel by a contributor to the Lutheran Church Quarterly (April,
1936) is told. This editor finds that some of the incidents related by
Mark concerning the cursing of the fig-tree (chap.11) never really hap-
pened. Mark's story originated when "some day some brother with the
gift of insight, as he would probably put it, and with singular zeal for the
authority of the Christ" added certain features to the story as originally,
truthfully, told. "Perhaps it was Mark himself. . .. He failed to edit
out the incongruities." One is naturally curious about what the New
Testament Commentary thinks of Mark's story. Prof. R. T. Stamm writes:
"All of these explanations spring from a mistaken literalism which fails
to see that what was originally a parable of judgment as in Luke 13,
6--9 has here undergone a process of dramatization. They shatter on the
simple observation that green figs are inedible and that figs in Palestine
do not ripen before June. It is therefore better to take the story of the
cursing of the fig-tree as having been a parable of judgment." (P.282.)
Take also the story of the man with an unclean spirit, Mark 1, 23-26.
"Judging from the symptoms described, it may have been what we call
hysteria. But that was not Mark's explanation nor that of Jesus and the
people of His day. For them it was a living, personal spirit, or demon,
having a rarefied physical organism which could penetrate into a man's
body by way of his mouth or his nose or other openings and so take
possession of him that he became its slave."
Yes, there are very pronounced and distinct liberal notes in this
commentary. Much conservative theology, too. But the Living Church
reviewer felt that, to be fair, he would have to take note of the liberal
elements. What we do not know is whether he thinks these liberal
elements mar the book or enhance its value. His review bears the cap-
tion "A New Testament Commentary of Great Value." E.
Either Verbal Inspiration or No Reliable Principium Cognoscendi.-
Last year we quoted several times from Professor Loraine Boettner's
fine articles on the Christian doctrine concerning the Bible which were
395
published in Christianity Today. From the "conclusion" of this excellent
series of articles (in which, of course, we do not subscribe to every
expression and statement), entitled "The Plenary Inspiration of the
Bible: Conclusion" (December, 1936), we offer a few more excerpts be-
cause they set forth certain vital truths which merit special considera-
tion today also in our own Lutheran circles. We read: "Sometimes
those who hold a low view of inspiration attempt to evade the issue by
merely saying that the Bible contains the Word of God. This loose
formula, however, means practically nothing. A river in India 'rolling
down its golden sands' certainly contains gold. But just what the rela-
tive proportion is between the sand and the gold may be very hard to
determine. If the Bible only contains the Word of God, as even the
Modernist is willing to admit, then certainly it may lack a great deal of
being infallible, and we are then left to the mercies of 'higher criticism'
or to our own individual opinions as to just which elements are the words
of God and which are only the words of man. As Dr. Clarence E.
Macartney has recently said, 'Those who have departed from faith in
an infallible Bible have made desperate, but utterly vain efforts to
secure a suitable substitute and other standing-ground. But as time
goes by, the pathetic hopelessness of this effort is more and more mani-
fest. Such catchwords as 'progressive revelation,' 'personal experience,'
'devotion to truth,' etc., are one by one being cast into the discard.
Modernism and Liberalism, by the confession of their own adherents,
are terribly bankrupt; nothing but 'cracked cisterns,' into which men
lower in vain their vessels for the Water of Life. There is no possible
substitt~te for an inspired Bible [italics our own]. No one can preach
with the power and influence of him who draws a sword bathed in
heaven and who goes into the pulpit with a 'Thus saith the Lord' back
of him. When man faces the overwhelming facts of sin, passion, pain,
sorrow, death, and the beyond-death, the glib and easy phrases of
current Modernism and flippant Liberalism are found to be nothing but
a broken reed. Therefore he who preaches historic Christianity and
takes his sland upon a divine revelation has, amid the storms and con-
fusions and darkness of our present day, an incomparable position.
There are not wanting signs today that men will return to the Holy
Scripture, to drink again of the Water of Life and strengthen their souls
with the Bread of Life, and that a prodigal Church, sick of the husks of
the far country, will return to its Father's house. Those who reject the
church doctrine of inspiration in favor of some lowered form have never
been able to agree among themselves as to which parts of the Bible are
inspired and which are not, or to what extent any part is inspired. If
this high doctrine of verbal inspiration is rejected, there is no consistent
stopping-place short of saying that the Scripture writers were inspired
only as was Shakespeare or Milton or Tennyson; and in fact some of the
critics have consistently followed out their premises and have reached
that conclusion. VVe submit, however, that, if the other miracles recorded
in Scripture be accepted, there is no logical reason for rejecting the
miracle of inspiration, for inspiration is simply a miracle in the realm of
speaking or writing. Most of the objections which are brought against
the doctrine [of verbal inspiration] today can be traced more or less
396 Theological Observer - i'~itcl)ficf)<'leitgcici)ic:)md)C!l
clearly to the assumption that the supernatural is impossible." When
we compare these fine Biblical statements on the doctrine of inspiration
with the downright modernistic teachings which in recent years have
appeared again and again in periodicals of the United Lutheran Church,
we can understand the criticism made not so very long ago by a non-
Lutheran, that "there is more Modernism in some Lutheran circles than
in the Reformed churches of our country." It is to the reproach of all
Lutherans if we must admit the truth of that declaration. At any rate,
the time has come when all Lutherans must take up the study of the
doctrine of Biblical inspiration and confess it in terms as clear (if not
clearer) as those of the Reformed theologian Dr. L. Boettner. J. T. M.
B~·ief Items. - The Board of Directors of Auburn Theological Semi-
nary (Presbyterian), Auburn, N. Y., recently elected a new president, the
fourth one. It is Dr. Paul Heath, a Presbyterian minister of Wilkes-
Barre, Pa. He succeeds Dr. H. L. Reed, who retires after thirty-four
years' service. The plan to erect a building on the campus of the Roch-
ester Colgate Divinity School, Rochester, N. Y., a Baptist institution with
which the Auburn Seminary is to be affiliated, will be pushed. This is
unionism kat' exochen. - As a gesture of friendship the Archbishop of
York, who will prominently assist at the coronation of George VI, has
chosen'the son of the presiding bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church
in the United States to be one of his chaplains when the great ceremony
is enacted. This means that there is at least one American who will get
a good view of the proceedings, - The list of waiting candidates of our
sister Synod of Wisconsin has dwindled down to seventeen names, and
some of these young men are already temporarily employed. vVe are
glad to see that the situation is improving. - How cheering and £aith-
strengthening is not the venture of that Lutheran grandmother in New
Mexico belonging to Pastor Arnold Meyer's church in Las Vegas, who
in a part of the granary which was arranged as a small schoolroom in-
stalled a Christian day-school teacher for her four grandsons! That is
the faith which overcomes the world. - A chance remark of a Protestant
Episcopal dean reported in the papers shows that his church-body oper-
ates fourteen theological schools. He maintains that five would be plenty
and that for the good of the Church combinations should be made re-
sulting in that number. - In Memphis the Baptists prevented the holding
of services by the Federal Council Preaching Mission. They discerned
its true character more clearly than some Lutherans we have read about.
- On February 2 Princeton Theological Seminary installed its new pres-
ident, John Alexander Mackay. Dr. Mackay did notable work as a rnis-
sionary in South Arnerica. - A reviewer in the Presbyte1-ian, writing on
the book of Emil Brmmer entitled Our Faith, says: "While studying
under Professor Brunner last summer at the University of Zurich, the
reviewer met an English student at the university who told him that he
had taken a complete course of three years in one of the English divinity
schools. He said that at the end of those three years he had not the
slightest knowledge of what the Gospel was which he was supposed to
get out and preach. His study of eight months with Professor Brunner
had remedied that situation, and I found him enthusiastic over his first
Theological Observer - ~h:dj1icf)'3ettgefdjidjmcf)cs 3n7
genuine understanding of the Gospel of the Mediator." This eloquently
testifies to the confusion reigning in English divinity schools today. Too
bad that Brunner could not lead this inquirer into the whole truth of
God's Word! - From Greece comes the news that the so-called Zoe (life)
Movement has resulted in the organization of many Sunday-schools,
where thousands of children are instructed in the teachings of the Bible.
Even prominent leaders of the Church are now assuming a favorable
attitude toward the movement, and many of the priests urge that the
Scriptures be read. An account quoted by the Presbyterian says: "There
has been a strange awakening of priests to the significant influence of
the Scriptures upon the people, while they themselves have been fettered
by dead formalism for so many years." - It is a little more than two
hundred years ago that the Salzburgers were fiercely persecuted in
Austria and driven from their homes. At present there is a resurgence
of the Roman Catholic offensive against Protestantism in Austria. The
present Austrian government is proving itself a loyal servant of the Ro-
man Catholic hierarchy and making life for the Protestant minority,
which numbers about four hundred thousand in a population or six mil-
lion, quite difficult and miserable. Weare told that in certain instances
the erection of churches has been forbidden, that Bible-class meetings
have been prohibited, that pastors have been interfered with in their
endeavor to give religious instruction, and that criticism of the Roman
Catholic Church has been punished with arrest. It costs something to
be a Protestant Christian in Austria today. - From a pamphlet issued
by the Conference on Education and Race Relations of Atlanta, Ga., the
Lutheran quotes some interesting statistics on the Negroes of our country.
In 1930, so we are told, the Negro population of the United States num-
bered 11,891,143, or a little less than one-tenth of the total population.
The white population increased a little faster than the colored, with the
result that "the proportion of Negroes in the total was smaller in 1930
than ever before in the nation's history. In 1790 this proportion was 19.3,
or practically one in five; in 1930 it had fallen to 9.7, or not quite one
in ten." "Of the 882,850 Negro farm operators reported by the 1930 cen-
.sus, 7,911 were landless renters and tenants. Only one in two hundred
of these families had a telephone, and but one in three hundred had water
and lights in the home. More than three-fourths of their houses were
valued at less than five hundred dollars each." These are figures which
should arouse our heartfelt sympathy. - From the Brethren Evangelist
one of our exchanges quotes this report: "A year ago in X. we stopped
"all suppers and rummage sales and discontinued our solicitation among
the business men and went on the tithing plan. Since then the income
of the local church has increased five hundred per cent. over any and
all previous years. All bills have been paid, and the church has a sur-
plus of one thousand dollars. The attendance has increased three hun-
dred per cent., and five hundred have been added to the membership." -
How eagerly magazine writers who no longer accept the Holy Scrip-
tures use opportunities of discrediting the Bibl'e is shown by an article
in the American Weekly on Belzhazzar's feast. It is stated that Nebu-