Full Text for CTM Book Review 8-6 (Text)

(!tonror~ttt UJ4roingtral :!Innt41y Continuing LEHRE UND WEHRE MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. vm June, 1937 CONTENTS The Pastor and Mission Opportunities. Kleine Hesekielstudien. L. Fuerbringer Arthur Brunn - A Few Remarks on Col. 2, 18. 19a. L. T. Woblfeil - What the Liberal Theologian Thinks of Verbal Inspiration. Th. Engelder No.6 Page 419 41-1 _ __ ill 433 Sermon Study on 1 John 4, 12-14. Theo. Laet,;ch __ . ___ . _ . _______ __ 453 Outlines on the Eisenach Epistle Selections _ 410 Theological Observer. - Kirchlicb-Zeitgeschichtliches _ _ 468 Book Review. - Literatur Ein Predlger muss ntcht allein ",ei- den, also dass er die Schafe lDlter- weise. wle aie rechte ChrIsten sollen seln. sondern auch daneben den Woel- fen ",ehnn, daBs sle die Schafe ntcht anerelfen und mit :falsc:her Lehre ver- fuehren lDld Irrtum einfuehren. Luther 479 Es ist keln Ding. das die Leute mehr bel der Kirche behaelt denn die gute Predlgt. - Apologie, Arl. 24 If the trumpet give an uncertain sound who shan prepare himself to the battle? - I Cor. 14. B Published for the Ev. Loth. Synod of Missouri. Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUBLISHING BOUSE, St. Louis, Mo. Book Review ~ ~itetatut 479 Book Review - £tteratuf The Old Testament. Its Making and Meaning. By H. Wheeler Robinson, M. A., D. D. Cokesbury Press, Nashville, Tenn. 247 pages, 51hx8. Price, $2.00. The Lutheran pastor ought to be acquainted with the views of modern liberal Old Testament criticism. This book will well serve that purpose. It is written by the Principal of Regent's Park College, who is also Reader in Biblical Criticism in the University of Oxford, and is one of the volumes of The London Theological Library, published under the editorship of Prof. Eric S. Waterhouse. The author says in the preface: "By the 'making' I imply the analytical study of literary origins, and by the 'meaning' those qualities of the book which this study reveals the more clearly." With greatest positiveness opinions and views for which there is not the least foundation in fact are set forth as the assured results of scientific-historical research. On the value of the Pentateuch the fol- lowing paragraph will interest our readers and will serve to illustrate the position and style of the author: "It is not necessary to estimate separately the five books of the Pentateuch, because as such none of them had separate existence in the course of their making, apart from their nucleus, Deuteronomy, which is noticed farther on. . .. The value of the rest of the Pentateuch may be sufficiently suggested by glancing at (a) the primeval mythology, (b) the partriarchal legends, (c) the Exodus and its central figure, (d) the religion of Deuteronomy, (e) the conception of the priestly history. Around these themes, the reader of the English Bible may conveniently gather the fruits of his own read- ing of it, which nothing can replace." (Page 45.) "a) The early stories contained in Genesis 2-11 are strictly myths, partly drawn from Babylonian mythology. They belong fundamentally to that large class of stories which attempt to explain the origin of things, so that in one sense they are the science as well as the history of a people's childhood. . .. To us they" (the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain, the tower of Babel, etc.) "may seem childish enough considered as answers to these questions, for they were given by those who were but children in relation to ourselves, as we shall doubtless seem to those who come after us." (Page 46.) ''b) The stories of the patriarchs are to be classed as 'legends' rather than myths. They have doubtless gathered round real persons, or there have been real persons corresponding to those portrayed, though these stories have been so much transformed in oral transmission that we cannot treat them as history. They· reflect history; for such stories of individual men often recounted tribal and clan movements and fortunes, as they still do in the tales of the nomads." (Page 47.) "c) The outstanding historical event of the history of Israel as dis- closed in the Pentateuch is undoubtedly the Exodus. . .. Here we have the first great example of the mere event transformed by the faith of a prophet into a 'fact' for religion. We may only conjecture what 'natural' 480 Book Review- ~itetatUt causes have lain behind Israel's deliverance from Egypt; the essential thing is that Moses was there to interpret them." (Page 49.) "d) The religious interest of the Pentateuch culminated in the Book of Deuteronomy. Here, as we read it in the light of historical criticism, the prophetic teaching of the previous century, that of Amos, Isaiah, Micah, and especially Hosea, was gathered up and enshrined. Here we :find the great declaration of the oneness of Yahweh (as opposed to the many Baalim), ... the centralization of all worship in Jerusalem, ... the doctrine of divine retribution. This last was of special importance for the writing of history in Israel, as we shall see in the subsequent books." This is what future pastors are taught about the origin and value of the Pentateuch, and of the Old and the New Testament in general. We dread to think of the results of such "criticism" which in fact is destroying the foundations. Caveat ecclesia Lutherana! TH. LAETSCH ~1l1S ~ud) bet [£lc(tl'olitif (iJottelS. .~aj)ite! 40--55 bes !Bud)es ~efata. iYftt 1l'reunbe un» metiid)let bet mibe( ausge!egl bon 9Rao. ~el!mut~ fJtel), ~fanet in stlorj)at. ~a!wct meteinsbud)~anb!ung, @5tuttgatt. 1937. 29·1 @5eitcn ®to~ottab. ~n \)einen RM. 5.50. stier S"~aujJttite! bicfcs !Budjcs mag ~uCtft fumb anmuten, unb aud) bie bies" bc~UgJtd)en ~hlsfU~tun\1m finb bon bern ~edBmmHd)en berfd)ieben. Ilrbet getabe Mefet Umftanb btungl sum @5tubium bell !Blld)es, bas wenigftmll in e i n em ~unftc un~weife!9uft ball ffiic!)tige bidet: es edennt bie 9Refjianttut bet !fieis" fugungen in biefm Sl'ajJiteln an unb [e~tt Hat unb bcuHidj bic ftcUbctltctenbe ®enugtuung, wie wenn 3. m. fd)on oU ~ef. 40, 2 gefagt witb: ,,~s war bas &eridjt, bas YUt bas mDrt beftimmt wat. stliefet einselne ~at ben @5d)Iag bicfcs ®etid)t!l aUfgefungen im 9tumen bes mDnes fUt bie Welt; batum flnb bie anbetn fret. II (@5. 14.) ~m gansen mud) ift bie wiittlid)e ftbcrfetung WCtibDU unb antegenb, roenn aud) bet merfaffet ben :te!:t nitgenbs in bet UtfjJtad)e 3iliett. !Bei ~cf. 53 witb immet toiebcr vetDnt, ball wit es ~iet 3U tun !)aven mit bern ~tIofet bcs menfd)" iid)cu @efd)Ied)ts, unb bet merfaffet 3itied bUtd)ioeg @5teIIen bell lJ1euen :tefta" ments, bie ~ataUe(en Bum uHieftameniiid)cn :tC!;t bieten unll Die ~tfUUung bet Weisfagungen in ~~fu bDn lJ1a3arct~ finben. \)eibet roitb bie SDatfteUung bicIet" ottll babutd) geftBtt ltnb 3um XeiI berbunteIt, ball bet metfaffet ~efaiag II bon einem Unoefannten dwa urn bie 9Ritte bes fed)ften ~u!)t~unbetts bDt l,I;1)t1;tD bet" filM fein Hillt. IJJltt bicfcu ~infd)tiintungen emjJYe~Ien toit bas !Bud) angelegenHid) aUcn ~aftDtCU, bie jid) nDd) intenflb mit ~be\lefe bes IlrIten Xeftaments bcfd)uftigen, aud) roenn fie bet lltfjJtad)e nid)t miid)tig jinb. ~. @'. Sl' t e t man n From the Upper Room to the Empty Tomb. By William Evans, Ph. D., D. D. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. 294 pages, 5lj2X8. Price, $2.00. It is with a feeling of grateful appreciation that we draw the atten- tion of our readers to this work of Dr. Evans, quite well known as a writer and lecturer on Bible subjects both on this and other continents. The author says in the foreword: "I have long had in mind the prepara- tion of a book dealing with a theme that would be fitting for Lenten, Passion week, and Easter season. This volume, . . . dealing as it does with the events that were crowded into the last day of Jesus' earthly life, Book Review-2iterntut 481 seems to satisfy that desire." What we have here may be called a har- mony of the accounts of the four gospels touching the suffering and death of the Savior. The resurrection account is dwelt on briefly in the last chapter. But the book is far more than a harmony. Exegetical and harmonistic difficulties play a minor role. The author is chiefly interested in giving a Scriptural interpretation of the great events placed before us in the Passion-story. He endeavors to let Scripture interpret itself, so that the significance of the sacred account might be correctly under- stood by us. Evidently he accepts the Bible as the inspired Word of God, which must be normative for our faith and teaching. He sees what so many writers on the suffering of the Savior do not see - its blessed meaning for the salvation of the world. Speaking of the cry of Jesus on the cross "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" he says: "Here, then, we are face to face with the 'cup' which Jesus had scented in the garden. Now He was drinking the 'cup' which the Father had placed to His sacred lips. He was being 'made sin' for us, and God, 'who is of too pure eyes to behold evil,' momentarily turned His face away from His Son in order that He might not turn His face away forever from the sinning sons of men. . .. 'Separation from God' - that was 'death' in the fullest sense of the word to Jesus; that was the death which was the wages of sin; the debt which He paid; this was the thing from which His holy soul shrank in the garden; here He is drink- ing 'the cup.' And so it was Jesus who rescued human life from the agony of desolation." (P. 239 f.) In speaking of "the place of the death of Christ in the Christian religion," the writer emphatically states and elaborates that Scripture itself calls it a ransom, a propitiation, a recon- ciliation, and a substitution. "By substitution," says Dr. Evans, "is meant that something happened to Christ, and because it happened to Christ, it need not happen to us. Christ died for our sins; we therefore need not die for them if we accept His sacrifice." (P. 258.) There are a few doctrinal strictures which we have to express with respect to this excellent book. In its teaching on the Sacraments its theology is that of the Reformed churches. It therefore denies the real presence of Christ's body and blood in the Lord's Supper. The author shows himself not well informed when he writes: "Some parts of the Lutheran and Episcopal Church hold to what is termed the doctrine of consubstantiation, by which is meant that, while there is real bread and wine, there is also 'in, with, and under' the bread and wine the real body and blood of the Lord, so that there is a real sense (not like the Roman Catholic view, however) in which the participant not only has communion with the bread and wine, but the body and blood, the real presence of the Lord." (P.58.) While the author here correctly describes the Lutheran doctrine, he errs in labeling it as consubstantiation, an error which, it seems, simply will not die. That the author, in speaking of the attitude of Judas, does not teach Calvinism is clear from this sen- tence: "There is no rigid, inflexible law under which God has put man which compels him to do that which is wrong. Man acts as he does, not because he is compelled to, but because he wills to. A man's actions, be they good or bad, are of his own doing; and in the last analysis every man will admit this to be true: Judas did - he said: 'I have betrayed 482 Book Review- l.li.tcrntnr innocent blood.''' It seems, however, that in steering away from Cal- vinistic determinism, the author falls into Pelagianism, as is likewise in- dicated in the above quotation. Barring these matters, the book re- ceives our hearty commendation. W. ARNDT Our Lot·d. An Affirmation of the Deity of Christ. By Wm. Childs Robin- son, A. M., Th. D., D. D. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1937. 239 pages, 5lJ4X7%. Price, $2.00. The author, who is professor of historical theology in Columbia Theo- logical Seminary, Decatur, Ga., is clearly a Fundamentalist, and this monograph is a defense of the deity of Christ, as the subtitle indicates, and an able one. The very chapter headings are suggestive and in- formative: The Quest of the Historical Jesus; Back to Christ; The Greater Confession; The Gospel of the Forty Days; Kyrios Christos; The Worship of Jesus; A Solitary Throne; The Triune God. The author's stand on the deity of Jesus is unequivocal, Biblical, and the study of his book will prove of value to every pastor. A few state- ments are not altogether adequate, as when a reference to Warfield's idea that "the doctrine of the Trinity was revealed between the two testa- ments" is introduced with the added sentence: "It is preadumbrated in the Old Testament and presupposed in the New Testament." (P.108.) The most stimulating chapter in the reviewer's estimate is chapter V. P. E. KRETZMANN Christianity versus Religion. By Shade Simmonds. Fleming H. Revell Co., New York. 265 pages, 51fz X 8¥.l. Price, $2.00. The very title of this book suggests the author's confused, phantastic mode of thinking in matters pertaining to religion. Christianity, he holds, is not a religion, for religion is made up of creeds, and Christianity is essentially not anything to be believed, but something to be done. It is a "life," a "power in man," the "God-life," or the "love-life." The essence of the Bible may be summed up in two brief sentences: "There is one God" and: "God is Love." The Reformation gave us only a religion, not Christianity. Yet it gave us the open Bible, and the Bible gives Chris- tianity. The Reformation gave us Protestantism, and Protestantism is as bad as Catholicism. Christ is coming again to exert His power; nay, He is in the world right now, working Christianity; and Christianity will make for the blessing of humanity. These are a few of the "lessons" which the author in his obscure way develops in the forty-three rambling chapters of his unprofitable book. The writer everywhere uses the cus- tomary terminology of Christian theology, but in a different meaning; for what Christianity is, what it is for, and the primary blessing which it bestows are all things alike unknown to him. Of the six days of creation he says that they are "God's days," not connected in any way with our human measurement of time. This way of treating the Bible is a fair sample of how it is manhandled in the entire book. "God did not make wild or carnivorous animals," it claims. "Every living person has three phases of life - spiritual, animal, and human (carnal). Ani- mals are not persons. But it is impossible to feel that the life of some dogs can be extinguished, because there are instances where some rare Book Review - ~itetatUT 483 dogs seem to have real love, and love, real love, is of God." We quote these bizarre statements to show the reader what he may expect when ordering books like the one against which we here must warn our readers. J. THEODORE MUELLER Germany's New Religion. The German Faith Movement. By Wilhelm Hauer, Karl Heim, Karl Adam. Translated by T. S. K. Scott-Craig and R. E. Davies. The Abingdon Press. 1937. 168 pages, 5x71J2. Price, $1.50. What is the new religion which the German Faith Movement (Deutsche Glaubensbewegung) is spreading in Germany? Who or what is its God? Its prophet, Prof. W. Hauer, of Tuebingen, tells us all about it in three essays: "Origin of the German Faith Movement," "An Alien or a German Faith" (a lecture delivered to an audience of ten thousand in the Berlin Sport Palace in April, 1935), and "The Semitic Character of Christianity." It is a form of neopaganism. Neopaganism-"we have no intention of awakening the old gods" (Thor, Wotan, and the rest of the Nordic pantheon) "to life; we know perfectly well that they will never emerge from their twilight and that each age must mold its own religious forms" (p. 34) . Yes, neopaganism - for the old pagans believed in gods who were superior to them, but the new pagans, in line with the philos- ophy of immanentialism and pantheism, believe in themselves as divine. It is, says Heim (p. 87), "the religion of faith in the divine element in man's inner nature"; its God, says Adam (p.129), "is in the end only a metaphysical representation of man's own infinite soul." And so says Hauer: "The religious life of the believer has its source in the eternal deeps of his own personality" (p. 47). "The office of the leader is to help man to come to himself, to reach that inner core of his being in which the eternal reveals itself" (p. 48) . "We meet the eternal powers in the deeps of our own soul .... We believe in God's immanence in the world" (p. 53). "We need no other guide than the religious creativity of the German spirit; ... we need no other way to the ultimate deeps of existence, that is, to God" (p. 82). Who or what is the God of the Ger- man neopagans? The ultimate deeps of existence, the eternal deeps of the German's own personality. So the statement on page 41 "We have received from God a message to preach" means: We have received our message from the eternal deeps of the Germanic spirit. And the state- ment on page 62 "The God of the German Faith receives the sinner into a redemptive and creative fellowship if he bravely faces his own guilt" means, if you can get the meaning: The ultimate deeps of existence re- ceive the sinner into a redemptive fellowship. - In passing we should like to say that Professor Hauer's demand that "if the Christian com- munions have anything special to teach, let them do it in the institutions which they support and control" is reasonable. But his further demand "We want our universities to be German, we demand national schools," in which "our children are nourished by the German genius" (p. 66 f.) is to the same degree unreasonable. In the essay "Responsibility and Destiny: the difference between Hauer's view and the message of the Bible and the reformers" Prof. Karl Heim of Tuebingen shows that the ethics of Hauer's pagan religion is 484: Book Review - .\litetatut destructive of morality. Hauer teaches: "Guilt is man's destiny. There- fore it is sent by God. . .. We should always speak of guilt as a destiny or fate." And this view, Heirn points out, "weakens the monogamous resolutions of the husband who is tempted to be unfaithful to his wife. It quiets the conscience of the tyrant who in cold blood steps over the dead bodies of his enemies to secure the throne. It gives the adulterer the courage to obey his passion. For he is entitled by it to say, 'without guilt a man does not come into being; that is how God made the world' " (p. 94 f.). The article by Karl Adam, professor of dogmatic theology in the Catholic faculty in Tuebingen, "Jesus Christ and the Spirit of the Age," possesses considerable apologetical value. Referring to Hauer's attack on the truth of the Christian religion and generalizing, Adam says: "Wher- ever the adamantine 'No' of unbelief and skepticism is hurled against the affirmations of faith, it springs not from a crystal-clear insight into irreproachably attested facts, but from the depths of personality which are beyond our control, from those ultimate attitudes and decisions of the spirit which lie beyond all scientific knowledge. Unbelief has its mysteries no less than faith" (p.125). Again: "If God is truly a living God, He can never be a mere object of human questioning or amenable to exploitation by human curiosity. . .. Was it not to be expected that He would give a supernatural revelation . . . which would in its con- tent surpass all human thought, all racial wisdom? . .. So this revelation must be supraracial, supranational" (pp. 128-137). - On the positive side Adam's efforts are wasted. The religion which he defends against Hauer's neopaganism is at bottom a pagan religion, too. The Christ of the Cath- olic religion, "is not only the tender Savior of our souls, but also and above all the Messiah of the wrath of God" (p.140). "According to the Catholic doctrine of justification justifying grace works through man's moral will and conduct." "It recognizes the free moral action of man as a constituent and organic moral factor in the process of justification" (p.156 f.). "The kernel of human nature remained untouched by original sin" (p. 162). "What is meant by redemption through Christ? To believe in Christ, the Redeemer, means, properly speaking and in the last resort, to enter inwardly and personally into the redeeming heroism of Christ, to set it up as the guiding and decisive force in the center of our will- to-live and of our personal existence; it means so to merge our little life in the greatness of the Redeemer's life that they become one life" (p.166). TH. ENGELDER Christianity in America. By E. G. Homrighausen, Th. D., D. D. The Abingdon Press. 227 pages, 51f2X8. Price, $2.00. The author of this book is pastor of a church in Indianapolis, Evan- gelical and Reformed, and lecturer on church history in the College of Religion, Butler University. The title Christianity in America is invit- ing; so are some of the chapter heads, as "Sound Theological Thought," "Christian Preaching," "Who Is Jesus Christ?" and "The Christian Mes- sage." Reading the book, however, a Christian is utterly disappointed, disgusted, and made to feel sad at heart; for the book, after all, fails to present the Christian message of the Bible. It speaks a language which Book Review - 13itttatur 485 for the ordinary reader is rather misleading and confusing; the author makes statements which, taken by themselves, sound very orthodox, but which in their context deny the very fundamental truths of Christianity. In his introduction the author says that he is neither a Fundamentalist nor a Modernist. Whatever he may be, he is not a proclaimer of the Bible doctrine of the vicarious atonement, without which there can be no Christian message and no salvation for sinners. The tenor of the book can be learned from the following quotation: "In some quarters of Protestantism a rigid dogmatism later developed the theory of a plenary inspiration of the Bible, which made of it an almost magical creation, accurate in all its details, whether historical, scientific, or social. In a former day such a theory held charm for people who longed for some external security and authority. In truth, these people made the Bible a material Pope. They made it a rigid book of divine laws and proof- texts instead of a living book of God's life and love. "Few intelligent Protestants can still hold to the idea that the Bible is an infallible book; that it contains no linguistic errors, no historical discrepancies, not antiquated scientific assumptions, not even bad ethical standards. Historical investigation and literary criticism have taken the magic out of the Bible and have made it a composite human book, writ- ten by many hands in different ages." (P.121.) J. H. C. FRITZ iSun ben .fi>ntnfumlien liiB 5U ben Sridjen bet Srit. iler lilleg ber .!'tirdJe burdJ .tud ;;sagrtaufenbe. 91adJge3etdJnet bon D. Dr. S'Jan~ q:\reu\3, Uniberjitag~ vrofeff or in Cftlangen. martin~13utgednerlag, (gdangen. 341 unb vn 6eUen 6% X 9%, in \ldntuanb mit SDecfeh unb lIUicfentUel gebunben. q:\rei~: M. 6.50. SDiefes mit fUr ben ,,13utgeraner" 3u\lefanhte lilled befvredJe idJ lieber an Diefer 6teUej benn obloogl es fUr gebilbete 13efer Ubergauvt gefdJtieben ift, fo tuirb ell bodJ gana befonbers St:geologen interefjieren. mieUeidJt barf idJ mit dner verfonlidJen lSemedung begillnen. ~m iungem 6tubenten, ber jidJ fegr fUr gir~ d)engefdJidJte interefjierte, gab mir mein mater 3tuei lilletfe in bie S'Janb, bie be~ tannte .!'tirdJengefdJidJte bon @uericfe unb bie tueniger befannte bon S'Jafe. Iffiit beiben mannern loar er in f einen iUngeren ;;sagren in lSerUgrung gefommen . .!'tat! bon .I~afe tuar aIS iunger ilo3ent an ber Ultiberjitat in \leiV3ig fein \legter getuefen, ultb S'J. (g. ir. @uericfe, q:\rofeffor ber St:geologie in S'JaUe, tam iifter~ in bas \liilierfdJe q:\fattgaus in (gidJenbet\l in 6adJfen 3Um lSefudJ, ba er gem mit hem trefflidjen \liilier betfegr±e; unb tuenn er meinen mater, ber bamalS S'Jaus~ (egrer in bem \liiberfdJen .!'tltCtbeninftitut loar, bei ben gronen altlutgerifdJen irono~ bunben fiten unb Diefe ftubieren fag, bemedte er tuog!: ,,60 ift's redJt, .I~ett .ITanbibat." @ueticfe loar Uber3eugter \lutgerancr, ber audJ fein ;;sntereffe fUr bie fiidjfifcl)en ~h(stt1(tnberer, nadjbem fie ilcutfdjlanb berlaffen unD nadj ~merita ge~ Jogen tuaren, beloaf)rt !)at. lSeibe lilletfe ergan3ten jidJ. @ueticfes ~itdJen~ ge[dJidjte !)abe idJ bier gebraudj± unD fie ift audj nod) iett tuetiboU tuegen Des entfcliieben !utgetifcl)en @3tanbvunftes unb ber reidjen OueUenbe!ege; abet aUer~ bingiJ tuar @uericfes 6tH mit feinen langen, ofters 3iemlidj bertuicfelten @3allen niel)t fo angenegm 3U leren. .I~afe tuar etn ffiationalift, aber bie .!'titdJengcjdJidJte tuar fein iradJ; er tuu\3tc gefdJicft unb intereffant 3U fdjreiben, tuar etn 6dJiiltgeift, bet immet aue!) aUf Die ~ultft in igre: lSebcutung fUr bie ~itcl)engefdjidjte lSqug nagm. ~n biefe beiben alten !!Berte Dadjte idj, ai§ idj Diefe neue ~ird)engefdjidJte 486 Book Review - mteratUt bon bent fdJon oft in biefer ,settfdJtift unb fonft ermii~nten UniberfitiitSptofe!for in ~rlanl1en D . .fdans ~teut 3ur .fdanb na~m unb las. ~dJ mUrbe iett biefes ®etf befonbers empfe~{en, namentlidJ foldJen, bie fdJon ein anbms .fdanbbudJ bet ~irct)en\JefdJidJte (Jelefen ~aben unb ben @ang bet @efdJidJte fennen. ~s bmini(Jt gellliffetmaten bie beiben etmii~nten 'nbe l1e(efen, unb biele ~attien finb gans ausgc3eid)net. Su g(eid)et Seit ift ~tent aud) ein ljetbonagenber .Rnnft. ~iftorifer, nnb er 3eigt in feiner gan3en :'DarfteUung feine !!lertraut~eit mit biefem &ebiete unb ItJdft nac!), mic bie berfd)iebenen ~etioben ber &efc!)id)te fic!) in ben fd)onen ~Unften dnen ~u§btud fud)en unb mie bie iemeilige @eiftcsrid)±ung in ber ~itetatnr, in ber Sffia(mi unb in bet Sffiufif i~ten ~usbrud fanb. ~reut ift auel) ein fe~r gcmanbter, gefef)idter <5ef)reibet, bon bem man faum lo§fommen fann. :'Das Seigt fid) fd)on in bem :tiM bes ®etfes ,,!!lon ben .Rata tomb en bts SU ben Scicf)en ber ,scit", bas ~eijit eben: bom ~nfang bet MirdJengefdJidJte bill 3ut &egenhJatt. l>'benfo meiii ~teltt befonbets tteffenbe, jladenbc iiberfdJtiften 3U Illa!)(en. :;Sel) nenne nut ein jlaat ans ber ffieformationsgcfd)id)te: ,,:'Da~ :tot fjltingt auf", ,,:'DCt fdammctfcl}1ag", lI:(\fi~e, :'Donner uub I5timmen", ,,'nor .Raifer unb ffietd) unb im ffieid)e ber !Boge!", ,,®iber bie <5d)hJiitmetftont", ,,®ibet bie riiulietif(1)en unb morberifdJen ffiotten bet :(\anctn". ~reut ~at aud) tin befon. beteB (,Ilefc~id, fii1)tenbe I)Jltinner gut au d)araftctifieten unD Ulier~cnq)t mit tin jlaat ®otten nnD @:lttid)en etllla~ gan3 tteffenb au 3eid)nen. Unb fe~r oft merben jlajfenbe ,\3ut~erltJotte eingefUgt. :'Die ~usfii1)rungen Uber ~utljet, Uber ,\3ut~ed BieDer, Uoer ~1)mjljl l)(icolaiS unb ~au! &cr~atbts mebet unb fo mandJe anbm ~articn jlnb gan, ansge3cic!)net, unb mit merben gelegentlic!) batauf 3urUdfom~ men, luel! £)iet bet maum au liingeren Sitaten f(1)lt. IUlier aud) burd) fut,e SUate unD <5c!)(agmorte eroffnet et bem ~efet oft ba~ red)te !Betftiinbnis. ~t fc!)ilbert bell fdieronl)mUs !!lerbienfte unb aud) fetne l>'iteffeit. (<5.28.) l>'t fagt: ,,:'Der <5at: ,:'Der ,sloed ~eiligt bas SffiWel', ltel)t fo formufiert 1n feinem jejuitifdJen :(\nc!), abet bem 6inne nad) lelit cr UlieraU amifd)en ben ,scilen." (<5.221.) G:r ~eot mit ffiedJt 1)erbor, bab ffiembtanbts grobe ~unft Bmar jlroteftantifd), aber im @runbe bodJ m~ftifd) ift. (<5. 217.) l>'t rebet bon bem calbiniftifdJen [nt~ufiasmus Oliber [tomlvells, bem "oft genannten @:lefliftgcfU~1 bet l>'ngliinber", bas ~nfjlt1tdJ aud) aUf fit d) 1 i c!) e !illelt1)cttfdJaft madJt, unb fiilJrt bon :;So1)n SffiiHon bas !illott an: ,,@ott ~at jett aberma1s befdJ(ojfen, eine grobe ~etiobe in fetner .ftitd)e 3U be. ginnen, unb offenbart fid) bo, luie e~ fo feine ®cife iit, aueryt feinen l>'nglanbem." (@:l. 224.) :'Der Duafer ,,&eorge iYOb {Jott eine I5timme aIS @ottesftiunne: ,,sum :'Diener ber ~itd)e nUtt es nidJts, in Obforb ober [ambribge ftubiett 3U ljaben'''. (<5.224.) IUn !Sengels @:ltitn ftanb bas ®ort "l>'migfeit", unb ~teut meiji !Senge(s unbergtingHdJen Gnomon Novi Testamenti ric!)tig ein3ufc!)iiten. (<5.234.) l>'r rebet bon .fdiinbelS betU~mtem ,,~atgoll, bas aus bet roelHid)en Ojlet "xetbes" ftammt, unb etmii~nt bie @:litte, baji heim .fdaUe(uiac!)ot aus bem ,,!Dleffias" bie 'tfter ct~oben ~at. (<5. 227.) ~r ,eigt l)(ajlo1eons maji10fe <5elbfb Book Review - ,\)iteratut 487 bergiitterung (6. 265) unb beutteHt 9Jioaatts "aatten \'l'ronleid)namsgefang" Ave Verum Corpus (6. 268). ~r fil~tt aus, roie .lta~nis unb anbere beril~mte ~~eo. fogen aUe bon einfad)en '\)eutcn aliftammen (6.284), unb Iiringt ben ~~eologen ~Ubred)t ffiitfd)l unb ben mobernen ~mpreffioniSmus in !Berliinbung (6. 295). ~t nennt bie lBilber in ber bielgeril~mten :.Dorefd)en lBiliel tteffenb ,,~~eatetf3enen" (6. 302) unb finbet bas rid)tigc [£Iod illiet stietfegaatb, ~o~n ~enrt} lJleroman, 9Jia! ffieger unb ben mobernen ~mpreffioniSmus. Unb fo fiinnten roit nod) biele :jlunfte nam~aft mad)en aur ~m\Jfe~(ung bes lBud)es. ~liet feine :.DarfteUung ber lut~erifd)en ,\)e~re bon ber ~nf\Jiration (6. 207) milffen loir Iicanftanben. ~r liiut bie 6d)rift nie!)t "alifolut unfe~lliar" unb "irrtumslos" in a f len i~ren ~us. f\Jrilc~en fein unb Iie~auptet: ,,'\)ut~et ~atte biel freier geurteilt unb ~~riftus aum ffila\l aUet 6d)rift gemad)t./I (6.207.) [£Iir Iieanftanben aud) mand)es, roas Ct bon ber fut~erifd)en SHre!)e bes fiev3e~nten ~a~r~unberts fagt, evenfo feine ~uf· faffung, bau ffiuulanb ber ~ntid)tift fei (6. 328), feine unioniftifd)e ffiid)tung (6. 331. 332) unb anberes. !Bon unferer 6gnobe ~eiut es in bem ~lifd)nitt liber U. S. A.: ,,~m [£Ieften ~errfd)te Die im\Jonierenbc 9Jiiffourift}nobe, beren ~n. fiinger unter ber \'l'li~rung bes bann fciber fd)roer entgleiften ~famrs 6te\J~an 1838 einroanbetten. ~ier gilt itrengftes '\)ut~edum, bas aus ber ,\)e~re ein fcf)tocre!l 0lefet mad)t. ~~re ~usfd)Helllid)feit ge~t fo roeit, ball fie nid)t einmal mit an bern lut~erifd)en 6~noben .ltan3er. unb ~lienbma~ISgemeinfe!)aft ~iilt. ~ljt &)ertfd)aftsgeliiet reid)t bom 6tiUen D3ean viS 3U bem ~t1antifd)en, bon ~anaba viS 9Jie!ito./I (6. 317.) [£Ia1t~ets 91ame ttiitb nid)t genannt, roiiljrenb 9Jiii~lenberg erroii~nt roitb. 9Jian witb es uns ~offenmd) nid)t aIS 6t;nobalftola auslegen, roenn roir bamit bergleid)en, loas bas auf gan. anberm 6tanb\JunU fteljenbe ,,&)anbliud) ber .ltird)engefe!)id)te/l bon .ltrilger, bearlieitet bon &)orft 6te\J~an unb ~(ms '\)eulie, fagt: ,,:.Die 9Jiiffourtft)nobe unter i~rem geiftesgeroaltigen \}il~rcr .ltad \'l'. [£I. [£IaUljer/l - [£Iaft~et unteqeid)nete fid) immer ~. \'l'. [£I. [£IaU~er, unb fein Btufname roar \'l'erbinanb - "fteUte fid) aUf fiimHid)c lut~erifd)en 6~mliole, tuies aUen ,6!)nftetiSmus' mit anbcrn .ltird)en ali, Ijie!t feft an bet beutfd)en 6lJtad)e unb forgte burd) 0lemeinoefd)ulen unb tild)tige t~eologifd)e ~raieljung filr iDie [£Ialjrung bes genuinen ,\)ut~ertl)ums./I (lBb. 4, 6. 400.) - :.Das lBud), bas mit fiebenunbbreillig ausgqeid)neten 'EHbern ausgeftattet ift, 3U benen ber merfaffer turoe, trefflid)e ~nmerfungen mad)t, l)at am ~nfang eine genaue ~n~aUsilberfid)t unb cin merseid)niS bet lBioelftellen unb am 6d)lut ehl fielien 6eiten umfaffenbes, befonbers roertbolles ~etfonenber3eid)niS. l1nb es fd)liett mit ben fd)iinen [£Iotten: ,,~s finD lette ,{leiten. ~s etfillIt fie!) bieIes bon bem, tuas ber &)~rr 9Jiattljiius, .R'alJitel 24, alS mor3dd)en feiner [£Iieberrunft betfilnbigt l)at. :.Daji ber grote Seiger an bet l1~r 0lottes fut3 bor bet ,{lroiilf fte~t, bas fe!;en roir alIe. Db aud) ber Heine? :.Der .Ram1Jf gegen bas Sheu3 ~~rifti ift neu unb f d)arf entlirannt. :.Det ~ntid)tift ift ba. ~lier roann il)n ber &)~rr ,fd)lagen roitb mit bem 0leift jeines 911unbes', bas liefe~len toit bem &)~tt1t bet ,{leiten in bemiltiger 0lebulb unb ftadem 0lfauDen. ~t roeiji, roann bie 6tunDe rommt, ba er bie .Ritcf)e, feine liebe lBraut, lJeimfill)ten roitb nad) langrm [£Ianbem nnb [£Iaden./I (6.332.) ,\). \'l' il r b r i n get A History of the Early Christian Church. By Wm. Scott, Th. D. Cokes- bury Press. 375 pages, 81,6X51,6. Price, $2.50. Dr. Scott, the author of this work, is professor of religion in Randolph Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg, Va. In his book he "sketches the background and origin of the Christian religion and traces the course of 488 Book Review - \literntut its development to the time of Constantine." Of the seventeen chapters into which the volume is divided, thirteen (300 pages) are devoted to the Apostolic Age and four (64 pages) to the post-Apostolic. The author's viewpoint is liberal throughout, and his conclusions therefore are not acceptable to orthodox Christians. A few quotations will suffice to show the tendency of the book: "A perusal of the New Testa- ment reveals the fact that the doctrines of the Church in the Apostolic Age had not attained the fixity which was felt necessary at a later time, when ecclesiastical control became more rigid." (P.297.) "With the par- tial exception of the Apocalypse, which is marred by a vindictive atti- tude toward Rome, all of the writers reflect the truly Christian spirit." (P. 298.) "Yet He [Christ] did not attempt to define God; He only sought to share with others His experience of God." (P.I09.) "His son- ship, by which He described His relation to God, was based upon an acquaintance with the moral nature of God, which it was His aim to make known to others, so that they, too, might become sons of the Father." (P.I09.) "It was not the belief that Jesus' body had risen, but that His spirit was free that constituted the significance of the resur- rection to those who experienced the vision." (P.137.) W. G.POLACK laltgegnllgene ~itetntur ~n ~utfjettuUt fUr \}'ebrunt bidet !!Betnet (nert einm ~uffa~, betitelt "S)ie lutl)etifcI)e .ltirdje im neum \Reidj"; !!Bilf)elm ~af\lati referiert liber ,,&';loUe, lUo ift bein 6ieg 1" unb ~Lbam S';lOf)enherget tiber ,,®ottesoffenOatung im &';linbuiSmus nnb im ~l)tiftentum". S)ieier ~ttifel lUitb in ber lJJ11ir3nummer 3U ~nbe gefUlJrt, IInb in Mefet 9lummet flnbet fidj audj tin ~uffat bon I.j!aul ~ltlJaus ilber ,,®laube nnb lBoUstnm in het IntlJetifdjen .ltitdje I.j!olens". - S)ie ~ijeo(Dgie bet (Mcgen- lunrt lJef\ltidjt in bet \}'ellruamummet 9leuetfdjcinungen anf bem ®ehiet her .ltitd)engeidjidjte, in ber ~11it3nnmmer folcI)e aUf bent ®eliiet bet djtij't!id)en .ltunj't. In Thy Courts. For mixed voices. By F. Leslie Calver. No. 47 of the Concordia Collection of Sacred ChoT1Lses and Anthems for More Ambitious Choral Organizations. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 7 pages. Price, 25 cts. NOTICE TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS In order to render satisfactory service, we must have our current mailing-list correct. The expense of maintaining this list has been materially increased. 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