(!tnurnrbtu
ml1rnlngitul flnut41y
Continuing
LEHRE UND VVEHRE
MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK
THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY
Vol. IX February, 1938 No.2
CONTENTS
PBI'e
The Pastor's Professional Bible-Study. Th. Laetsch _. _______ . _____ . __ ._. __ . 81
"Von der babyloniscben Gefangenschaft bis auf Christum."
P. E. Krehmann . __ .____________ 89
The Import and Content of Luther's Exegetical Lectures on the
Epistle to the Hebrews. Walter E. Buszin--___________ ______ 100
The Domine of Justification According to Thomas Aquinas.
Thco. Dierks ___ . _______ 114
Sermon Study on 1 John 2:12-17. ___ . ____________________ 123
Miscellanea ________________________ ____ _ 134
Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitgescbichtliches _______ 138
Book Review. - Literatur _. __ _ .. ____ .. __ ._ .. _____ . __ 150
BIn Prediger muu nlcht allein tDri-
deft, also das! er die Schate unter-
welle. wle lI1e rechte Cbriaten sollen
te1n. sondem aueh daDeben den Woel-
fen tDehren, class sic die Schafe niclit
angrelfen und mit falscher Lehre ver-
fuehren und Irrtwn elnfuehren.
Luther
Es 1st keln DIna. das eIle Leute
mehr bel der K1rche behaelt denn
die gute Predigt. - ApologW, ArC. 14.
I:t the trumpet elve an uncertaln
sound who ahall prepare hlmaIf to
the battle? -1 Cor. 14,'.
Published for the :~ ~, Ii' Ev. Lllth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUBLISHING BOUSE, St. Louis, Mo.
~
Be I"
150 Book Review-13iteratur
Book Review - ~itertttur
New Chapters in New Testament Study. By Edgar J. Goodspeed. Mac-
millan Company, New York. 1937. 223 pages, 5lhx8. Price, $2.00.
Written with that grace and charm which we have come to associate
with whatever Dr. Goodspeed (professor emeritus of Biblical Greek and
chairman emeritus of the Department of New Testament and Early
Christian Literature at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago)
produces, whether it be an essay in the Atlantic Monthly or a learned
discussion of some abstruse textual problem, the chapters of this book
make delightful reading. As the preface informs us, we are here dealing
with the Ayer Lectures of Rochester Theological Seminary for 1937,
four in number, to which the author has added four other chapters,
treating subjects of a nature similar to those dwelt on in the lectures.
The table of contents will serve best to introduce the reader to the
volume: 1. Publication and Early Christian Literature; 2. The Place of
Ephesus in Early Christian Literature; 3. A New Organization of New
Testament Introduction; 4. New Testament Translation and Manuscript
Discovery; 5. Why Translate the New Testament; 6. The Original Lan-
guage of the New Testament; 7. Pseudonymity and Pseudepigraphy in
Early Christian Literature; 8. Modern Apocrypha. Everybody who takes
pleasure in scholarly research will read these chapters with great in-
terest. They do not discuss doctrinal subjects, but are concerned with
historical, critical, and linguistic matters pertaining to the New Testa-
ment, its canon, and its manuscripts, furnishing information which it is
good for pastors and Bible-teachers to possess. The chapter on modern
apocrypha tells about fraudulent works pretending to give authentic and
contemporaneous reports on the life of our Savior and the apostles and
can be useful to the pastor whose people are troubled by purveyors of
such abominable trash. Some of the critical opinions advanced, espe-
cially such as betray a modernistic view, we have to reject. Thus we
cannot agree that Ephesians is a non-Pauline epistle. Dr. Goodspeed's
contention that Ephesus played a far greater role in the history of the
early Church than we usually assume, may be correct and deserves
close examination. When he reminds us that according to Ignatius's
Letter to the Ephesians Onesimus was the bishop of the church there
and that this. Onesimus may be the same as the slave of Philemon,
whose cause Paul pleads in the Epistle to Philemon, we cannot deny
that the combination has some merit. But to proceed and to hold that
this Onesimus may have collected the epistles of Paul and have been
the author of Ephesians, an opinion which is tentatively expressed, is
an altogether different matter. A conservative Bible-reader is glad to
see the fine array of proofs marshaled to show that the fourfold gospel
(that is, our four gospels conceived of as a unity) was in existence as
early as 125, Ephesus probably being the place where the collection
was made. Hardly anyone will read the chapters on New Testament
Translation' and Manuscript Study and on the Original Language of the
New Testament (whether, as some contend, it was Aramaic or whether
Book Review- ~itetatUt 151
it was Greek) without much gain for his understanding of these im-
portant subjects. All in all, while we deplore the negative views of
Dr. Goodspeed, we are grateful to him for his instructive and stimulating
discussions. W. ARNDT
The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians. Studies in the Chris-
tian Life. By Harold F. Pellegrin. Zondervan Publishing House,
Grand Rapids. 892 pages, 51f4x8. Price, $3.50.
The author of this very detailed exposition of the Epistle to the
Ephesians is a Presbyterian, and this fact colors his interpretation
throughout the book. Yet by that wonderful inconsistency which charac-
terizes so many Calvinistic productions, the way of salvation is clearly
set forth in connection with many of the amazing statements in which
this letter of the great apostle abounds. The Lutheran theologian will
be able to use page after page of the exposition to the best advantage
of his work in specific situations. But the chief characteristic of the
book is indicated in the subhead: Studies in the Christian Life. For
that is the author's strong point, the application of the apostle's words
to the situations of every-day life and problems. To pastors who are
working through the Letter to the Ephesians we would suggest that
they add this exposition to that of Stoeckhardt, Harrison, and others
(e. g., Beyer), so that the special gift which is here evidenced may be
utilized also in our Bible classes. P. E. KRETZMANN
Literary Treasures of the Bible. By Oscar L. Olson, Ph. D. Augsburg
Publishing House, Minneapolis, Minn. 48 pages. Price, 50 cts.
Order from Concordia Publishing House, 3558 S. Jefferson Ave.,
St. Louis, Mo.
Dr. Olson has given us a very delightful booklet, which is worth
many times the money which it costs and is worth reading repeatedly.
It is true, Christians know that the Bible is beautiful and precious. Many
may therefore feel no need of anyone's calling their attention to its
value. But it is also true that many of its precious gems are overlooked.
Even such a man as Luther seems not to have seen all. Wherefore
every one who points out to us this or that treasure in this precious
Volume merits our gratitude. Dr. Olson tells us of the wonderful and
rich information concerning human nature which is contained in the
Bible, the wealth of its biography, the delight of its many short stories,
the worth of its instruction and direction for the life of young and old,
the many eloquent sermons, the exquisite poetry, and the reliable his-
tory which we find there. He calls our attention to some of the literary
gems in its chapters. Then he would have us note the remarkable
influence which this Book has had upon English and American literature;
and finally he does not forget to speak of that which is most precious
of all. This booklet costs so little, and its content is so helpful, that
we wish all our families could put it in some convenient place in the
home. May many of our young people find it there and take it up to
read it! We are confident that it will win many friends for the Bible,
that it will help many a one to see more of the beauty of God's, own Book.
M.S. SOMMER
152 Book Review - 2itctntut
The Heart of the Christian Faith. By Francis Shunk Downs, D. D.,
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, Cal. American
Tract Society, New York. 1937. 209 pages, 5%X7%. Price, $1.50.
The teaching of Scripture on verbal inspiration, the person of Jesus
Christ, the God-man, the vicarious atonement and universal redemption,
the resurrection of Christ, and justification by faith is here, in general,
ably presented. The language is simple and lucid, unequivocal and
vigorous. The fundamental doctrine of the means of grace, however,
gets the usual Fundamentalist-Reformed treatment. The author quotes
Titus 3, 5 verbatim and still declares that "the Bible does not teach
baptismal regeneration." And the teaching that the Gospel and the
Sacraments offer and bestow the forgiveness of sins is completely ignored.
There is also the old Reformed error on the relation of repentance and
faith. And the last chapter, on "Things to Come," contains six pages on
heaven and fifteen on the millennium. While Dr. Downs repudiates "the
extravagances of the unbalanced enthusiast, he has taken over the gen-
eral ideology of premillennialism. - Two additional remarks: 1) Dr. C. S.
Macfarland states that "Fundamentalism, so far as our major religious
bodies are concerned, has almost ceased to be an internal issue." (Trends
of Christian Thinking, p.190.) No doubt the Modernists in the Presby-
terian bodies would like to ignore the testimony of the Fundamentalists;
but publications like the one before us show that the Fundamentalists
are not minded to ignore the deceptions and machinations of the Mod-
ernists. 2) Occasionally a Neo-Lutheran attempts to discredit the doc-
trine of verbal inspiration by pointing out that the Reformed use the
same language and employ the same arguments as we do. That will
not deter us from giving our hearty approval to treatises on the verbal
inspiration of the Bible like the one before us, which bases its argument
on the plain statements of Scripture. If a doctrine carries less weight
because it is held by a Presbyterian, what will become of the teaching
on the deity of Christ and the vicarious atonement? And if one rejects
the doctrine of verbal inspiration because the insistence on particular
Bible-passages is "legalistic and atomistic," he will have to reject the
doctrine of the deity of Christ, too. TH. ENGELDER
'l(rlJcit tmb Sittc in $n!iiftiun. mou 0luitaf 5l)nImnn. \Snub V: ,,®eoftoff,
6jlinnen, ®eoen, .1'Hdbuug." I5d)riften be~ 5l)eutfe!)en ~nli.iftinn<;Suftituts,
8. \Snnb. \Seitrage BUt \'l'iirberung e!)riftlie!)er st(Jeo(ogie. 2. lJl:eige.
36. \Sanb. ffiW 128 'Ifb6Hbungen. 5l)rucl' unb merlag bon ~. \Serte(smann
in 0lilterslolj. 1937. 396 unb XII 6eitcn G% X9l;2, in 2einlllnnb mit
5l)ecl'e{~ unb IRilcl'entitef gebunben. ~reis, fartoniett: RM.22; ge6unben:
RM.25.
5l)ies ift llun eill Hener \Snnb in biefem monumentalen ®erte, beffen ftil~ere
)5[inbe lllir f[imtlid) em1Jfllf)fen (Jabett, unb aud) biefer neue \Saub berbient fole!)e
\);m~fe91uno. \);s gibt meindl ®ifiens rein iiI)nHe!)es ®erf in irgenbeiner 61lrae!)e,
bas fo unterrid)tct tiber ben im stUd genannten 0legenftanb. Sl)as fommt eben
ba~et, baa D. ::t;afman faft fein gnnBes 2eben bieier 6ae!)e gelllibmet unb fie!) nie!)t
nur einige 3eH, jonbcrn ia~refang in ~aftiftina aufge~a(ten ljat uub ben gauBen
610ff oeljerrjcf)t, fOino!)! bie 0i6Hfd)c 3ei! tuie Die talmubtfe!)e uub !lie (Jeutige 6itte
unb 0lettloI)nljeit in ~ct1iiftina. 5l)er borliegenbe \Sanb be(Janbelt, lllie bet Unter~
Book Review -13iteratut 153
titel fagt, alles, luas fief) auf bie .ltIeibung in fI,lnHiftinn be3ie~t, 3uniid)ft bie .\";)cr,
ftellung, tuobei bas lJRaterinl unb bas \lieben, 6tiden, 9Hi~en uftu. bc~nnbert tuitb;
fobann bie ein3elnen 6tUde bet .Rleibung felbft, bie lJRiinnetfleibun\l, bie \'l'rauen,
fleibung, bie verfd)iebenen :traef)ten. Unb immer tuetben bie brei @efid)±S»unfte
im ~Tuge be~alten: tuns je~t 6itte uub @eluo~n~eit ift, tuas in bet ~ibel barUber
Ilefa\lt tuitb unb tuas rUt (,\;d1Cirun\len im ::talmub gegeben luerben. \liit nenmn
ein »aat ~eifl>iele. 6.332 bB 339 tuitb Die .\";)nattrnef)t bet \'l'tauen be~anbeU;
6. 340 bB 353 bet 6ef)mud, bas 6d)minfen unb :tiito\IJieren. ilubei fommt aUd)
:Jef. 3, ioo bie (,\;itelfeit bet ::tiid)tet :JetufaIems gefd)Hbet tuitb, in ~ettad)t,
rootiiber fciner3eit 6tocr~urbt einmaI dmn bead)tensilletlen ~rtife( im IIBut~e,
runer" gefd)rieben unb rootin Ct feine ~enntniffe unb 3utteffenbe ~eutteilun\l an
ben ::tag gegeben l)at. \lienn man bann nad) bem lRegiftet bas 6Ud)tllott "fI,luu,
Ius" uuffd)liigt, fo finbet man metlueiie aUf fI,laun .\";)anbroetf bes :te»»id)mad)ens
ober bielme~t bet .(leHbcdentoebetei (6. 18) unb eine ~usfii~tung, luie et biefes
.\";)anbroed rool)I in feinet .\";)eimat :tarfus, beten ®e\lenb bute!) i~te .(liegen~aat'
beden befannt roar, geIcrnt l)atte unb batUm bei ~quHa unb fI,lriScilla in ~rbeit
trat, ~l>oft. 18, 2. 3. (6. 116). SDann luitb nod) bas 6d)roeibtue!) etluii~nt, ~l>oft.
19, 12 (6. 239. 260). ubet bie .\";)ant±tad)ten ~eii3t es: ,,\lienn :Jiebe! il)ten ~olJf
fclJiin mncl)t, um an3iel)enb iU fein (2 .Riin. 9, 30), bebeutet bas .\";)aatlJjrege, luie fie
:Jubit~ nne!) bem ~abc Ubte, ~ub. 10, 3; 16, 19. \licibnd)e (,\;iteifeit tann fiel) im
.\";)aatjred)ten betiitigen, 1 :tim. 2, 9; 1 fI,ldt. 3, 3. 60 luitb es immer geluefen
fein, obroogI im ~lten ::teftament bas \'l'Ied)ten bes .\";)aars 3U .(liilJfen nie ausbtUd,
!ir!) gennnnt iff, abet wo~f :Jef. 3, 24 burd) bas ,'Vreef)felroert' angebeutet luirb."
(6. 337.) Unb fo !Bnnten tlJit noe!) 3a~Uofe ~eifl>iere anfU~ten, roo bibIife!)e
6tellen tur! edliitt llletben; benn ber merfaffer tennt bas ~{te roie bas ')lene
::teftament, lueId) le~teres fein eigentlie!)e!5 \'l'aef) ift; er fJe~errfef)t bas bibIife!)e
~ramiiife!) unb l)at cine ®tammatif biefes ilialetts gefef)tieben, unb bie ~eutige
arabifd)e llmgangsflJrad)e ift i~m ebenfalls \lana eigen. .(lu bem ~n~alt tommen
Dann noel) 116 ausgqeie!)nete ~ilDer, aUf ®lan3l>al>ier \lebtndt (62 6eiten), Die
teiB bom merfaffer felbft, teHS bon anbem, 3um :teil auef) bon bet American
Colony in :Jctufalem aUfgenommcn luorben finb. ~m 6d)Iuji finbet fief) ein
breifad)es ffiegiftet, cin mer3eid)niS ber l)ebtiiife!)en unb acamiiifd)en \liiirtet, fa'
balm cine mfte bet acabifd)Clt lilliirtet, luie fie ie\jt in fI,lafiiftina gebtaue!)t werben,
femet ein mct3eid)niS bet bel)anbeUen 6ae!)en unb victtens, roas befonbets gute
SDicnfte ieiftet, tin meqeid)nis bet etroii~nten unb bel)anbeUen ~ibeiftellen aUf
7 6eiten. B. \'l'ii r b tilt g e r
Why Do Men Suffer? By Leslie D. Weatherhead. The Abingdon Press,
New York, N. Y. 224 pages, 5X7%. Price, $1.25.
How to Meet and Master Adversities. By Walter R. Cremeans. The
Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pa. 148 pages. Paper cover,
5X7lj2.
Living Religion. Manual for Putting Religion into Action in Personal
Life and in Social Reconstruction. By Hornell Hart. The Abing-
don Press, New York, N. Y. 260 pages, 5X7%. Price, $1.50.
We have grouped these three titles together, although the third book
has a wider scope, that of teaching a technique for applying spiritual
power to personal and social regeneration. Hart's Living Religion
is a strange mixture of Buddhism. mysticism, pantheism, and a few
Christian phrases. According to Hart, Jesus set up fifteen "stringent
154 Book Review - ~itetat1!t
requirements for the disciple who was to receive the Spirit and to
become fully a member of the Kingdom of Universal Brotherhood"
(pp.1l-13). In order to help "regenerate our social order," the follow-
ing seven steps are advised: Selection (of a subject or problem), relaxa-
tion, concentration, invocation, meditation, illumination (the solution of
the probl€m, at least part of it), application. Rather naively the author
states that these steps "are not offered dogmatically. It is merely sug-
gested that the reader tryout these methods as possible keys to unlock
doors hitherto closed. If these keys fail to work for the reader, let him
not rest content until he has found the right keys. At all times it is
vital that we keep on guard against the error of depending upon a
technique rather than upon the reality to which it is designed to lead"
(p.31£.). Unfortunately the reader is not told how he can depend on
a reality to which a technique is designed to lead, while it is just this
reality that we are trying to find.
Both Weatherhead and Cremeans claim to approach the problem of
suffering and adversities from the standpoint of Christian psychology,
and both woefully misunderstand and misrepresent Christianity. Neither
knows and understands the fundamental doctrines of sin and grace, of
God's holiness, of Christ's vicarious atonement. Jesus is no more than
an example of the correct attitude toward suffering. By this attitude
He redeemed the world, and all who take His attitude toward suffering
will "by that secret alchemy of Jesus make t...'ldr pain :Usa redemption"
(Weatherhead, p.150).
After reading these books, one . turns with deeper appreciation to
Paul's "solution" of this problem, offered, e. g., in Rom. 8:18-39; and
Paul's Christ is not merely a redemptive example, but the vicarious
Sufferer, Gal. 3: 13; 4: 4,5. TH. LAETSCH
@lefdjidjte bet nIten Sfitdje. mon &'dan~ me~mann. 2. Ecclesia catholica.
metIag bon !fiaHer be @ru!)tet & ([0., lSedin unb ~eiNig. 1936. vm
unb 339 @:Sciten. sprd~: RM.4.80.
5l)ies ift bet 3tueite lSanb cines !fietfe~, bas in ettlla jiinf lSanben ben Seib
raum bon ([ljrifti @eburt Dis gegen 600 umfjJannen foIL '!liefet \Sanb bringt
bie @efcl)idjte bet .lHtdjc biS ettua 260, bis lum Cl:nbe bet erften allgemeinen
([ljtiftenberfolgung untet 5l)ecius unb maletian. 5l)et metfaffet ift bet befannte
bmtfdje ~irdjenljiftotifet D. &'dans Bietmann, .\'datnacrs \)cadjfoIgct in \Serlin. SDer
erfte lSanb etfdjien im :Sal)re 1932 unb tuutbe te3enjiett in hiefet Seitfd)tift
:;S~tg. V, 973 f. ~as bott gefagt tuutbe, tuiu idj ljiet mit nodj ft1itfetem lJCad}.
brucr tuiebetljoIen. Um bem ~efet cine IItnbeutung bon bem teidjen :;Sn~aIt biefes
lSucf)es 3U geben, feien bie ~apiteltitel angefiiljtt: 1. 5l)as romifcl)e ~eItteidj im
3tueiten unb britten :Sa~tljunbett. 2. 5l)ie .Ritdje. 3. 5l)as lJCeue Xeftament.
4. @lau{lCllsrege( unb X~eofogie. 5. SDct .RllftUS. 6. 5l)as G:f)tiftentum unb bie
!fielt. 7. 5l)ie IItpo{ogeten. 8. SHeinajien unb bet lJJContanismus. 9. @aUien.
10. IItftifa. 11. lRom. 12. @:S!)den unD fein &'dintetlanb. 13. ugl)jJten. 5l)er
;