canurnr~ta
UJ4rnlngtrul flnut1Jly
Continuing
LEHRE UNO WEHRE
MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK
THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY
Vol. X March, 1939 No.3
CONTENTS
Page
The Means of Grace as Viewed by the Reformed. J. T. Mueller .. . 161
Christi Selbstzeugnis von seiner Person und seinem Amt
F. Pfotenhauer ______ . __ .. ___ .. __ ....... _. 175
The Doctrine of Justification According to Duns Scotus, Doctor
Subtilis. Theo. Dierks _ ..... _ .... _ ..... _ .... _ .. __ ._ .. __ ... _._._. ____ . ____ _ ._ . 179
The Institutional Missionary and the Sick. E. A. Duemling _. __ .. _._. 187
Predigtentwuerfe fuer die Evangelien der Thomasius-
Perikopenreihe __ .... _ .... _ ... __ ... __ ._ .. ___ ... __ . ___ . ___ ._. _____ ._. ___ .. ___ ._. ___ . _._. ___ 195
MisceUanea _. __ . _____ ... ____ ._. _ __ _ __________________ .. ________ . _________ .. ___ ._ .. _______ 203
Theological Observer. - Kirchlich-Zeitgesehiehtlicbes __ .... ________ . _____ 218
Book Review. - Literatur ________ ... ______ .. _._. _________ ._ ... _ .. ___ .... _. 233
ElD PredJger mUllS n1cht alleln fDd-
den, al80 dass er die Schafe unter-
weise. wle sie rechte ChrIsten sollen
Ieln. sondern auch daneben den Woel-
fen fDeh1'4!n, dass s1e die Schafe nlcht
angrelfen und mit falscher Lehre ver-
fuebren und Irrtum elnfuebren.
Luther.
Es 1st keln Ding. das die Leute
mehr bel der KJrche bebaelt clam
die gute Predlgt. - Apologlc, An. 24.
If the trumpet give an uncertain
sound who shall prepare hlmIe1f to
the battle? -1 C01'.14,'.
Published for the
Ev. Lath. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States
CONCORDIA PUBLISHING BOUSE, St. Louis, Mo.
ARCHIVE
218 Theological Observer - .Ilitcf)lidH3eitgeicf)il:)t1icf)e~
Theological Observer - ~irdjIidj~ geitgef djidjtlidje~
D. E5affe§ stamlJf gegen bie "lutljetifd)cn il 5.leugner ber Iutf)erifcf)en
'!f6enbuwf)f§leljre. ,;sn bel' "stil'd)lic~en 2eitfdjl'if±" (,;sanum; 1939) brucH
D. ffieu einen mcfonnation§fef±artifel au§ bet (Sebet D. @Safieil, bet bie ftliev
fdjdf± lja±: ,,@linb mit nodj SHrdje bet ffieformation'? U unb filr bie ,,2utlje~
rifdje Shrdje" gefdjrieben murbe. )fiir ronnel! unil nidj± tJerfagen, einige
i'Ylif d)nitie biel eil ±reffHdjen Wrmcr§ unfern ,\2e1 ern botilUlegen: ,,05il gili±
,el1angeIifdje' SHrdjcn in ~eu±fdjranb, in benen rein 5tljeologe meljr \lSfarrer
11.1etben fann, ber ba§ glauli±, feljrt unb liercnnt, luail 2utljcr gegfauli±, gefeljrt
lInb befannt ljat. . .. Wein, man braudjt mitfHdj nidj± erft bi£; au bem
~eutfd)en ~ljtiftentum gel)en, um ben llo[[en \{3etfall ebangeHfdjer 2eljre im
beutfdjen ~rotef±antii:lmui:l mit anaufeljen. . .. W6er man ljanbeIt fa, ,af0
06' man in ben ?Baljnen beil meformatoril luanbeIt, menn man bail @egenteil
lJon bem tnt, mail et ge±an unb gefcf)rt ljat. . .. 05i:l fann fein, bab jemanb
ilu ber it6etDeugung romm±, 2utljetil W6enbmaljf0[eljre fei, um mit ben )fior~
±en beil .Q;laIlef djen 5tljeologen 200fil au teben, ,cine ber granbiof eften \{3er~
irnmgen cIJriftIicljet @Iau6enilgebanfen'. )fiir adjten jcben, bet aUf @tunb
crnfter ?Bemilljung um bail \{3erftCinbniil bet ?Bi6el ou anbern 05rgeliniffen
fommt af0 2utljer unb bie 2fug!J6urgifd)e Sionfeffion. Wber luai:l mir bann
alli:l @tilnben menfdjIid)en 2lnftanb§ unb djrifHicljer )fialjrljaftigreit bon iljm
crlnarten bilrfen, iff bieil, bab er ficlj el)rIiclj 5U bet ~atfadje 6efcnnt, bab cr
onbcril [eljrt ag 2utljet. . .. )fienn fd)on bet menfcljIiclje Wnftanb eil ber<
[lietet, cinem 2ebenben bail )fiort im 9JCunbe umilubreljcn unb auil feinen
lll.lor±en bail @egentdl bon bcm au madjen, mail er gefag± r)at, mic bid meljr
\lilt bail bon ben \{3atern, bie fidj nidj± meljr berieibigcn, bie nidjt mel)r
anberil au uni:l reben £onnen a[il burdj iljr gef djrie6eneil )fiort 1 )fiir modjten
bail nidji nur filr 2utljer fagen, fonbern filr bie \{3a±er unferer 8tirc~e ilber~
[)aupi, bon ben bielgefdjmalj±en lEerfafiern ber StonforbienformeI biil oU ben
,~leurutljeranern' be§ 19. ~aljrljunberi!J, bie geluiffe ~ljeofogen unferer3eit
mit .Q;loljn unb @lpo±t au ii6etgieben j.Jf[egen, nadjbem fie il)re )fierre aUf ge~
r eljrie 2i±a±e ljin gepIiinber± [)a6en, unb 6i§ ou ben 2cljrern l1nb (Silljrern
1Lnferet S1ird)e, bic nodj bii:l in unfcrc 5tage gele6t ljaben. . .. ~ie linbanf~
barreH gegen bail )fied bel' ffieformation, bie \{3erfeugnung ber 2egre
2u±ljer§, ift bie tiefe Wo± ber ebangelifdjen SHrdje ~eutfdjlanbiJ. @lie iff
bie eigcnHidje lirfadje filr ben offenfunbigen \{3etfall unferi:l ~ljrif±entumil.
05il [)at feinen @linn, bab wit unil il6er bail 6efIagen, mail bie @egner ber
,mrdjc unil an±un. @lie bollftteden ein @eridjt, bail fommen mub±e unb bai:l
bieienigen, mefdje ein menig ±tefer in bie inneren 2uf±anbe unferer ~irdjen
ljineingefeI)en lja6en, liingfi 1)a6en fommen leljen. . .. ~ie einaige ffie±tung
beil elJangelif djen ~ljriftentnmi:l in ~eutf djlanb befte~t bielmeljr barin, bab
l\lir enblidj mH ber furdjtbaren linmaljrljaftigfeit ein 05nbe madjen, in bcr
ber beu±fdje \lSroteftantiilmuil nun feit @eneraiionen relit. . .. @lett @ldjleier~
madjer 6ef±elj± bei lJiden ~eorogen bie 5tljeorogie in ber Sl'imft, mit ben
)fioden bei:l firdjHdjen Q3efenn±niff eil bail @egen±eil bon bem au re~ren, mail
bai:l ?Befenn±niiJ fag±. ~iefe, aui:l einer tiefen meltanfdjaulidjen Wo± er~
IlJadjf ene Unmaljrljaftigfeit liegt luie ein (SIudj aUf ber ±ljeorogif djen )fiiff en~
fdjaft unb lja±, inbem fie bon ber )fiiffenfcljaf± in bie \lSra6ii:l einbrang, bail
Theological Observer - oRitdJHdJ=,seitgefd)idJtridJeg 219
firdjlidje 53eben bergifte±. ~ai3 ift bie SftanUjeit, an bet bie ebangelifdje
KHrdje Ieibet. . .. ~er ~urdjfdjni±±i3pfarrer bon ~eute ljat fein @)efuljI meljt
bafiit, ban ei3 cine stierfiinbigung an bet iIBaljt~eit ift, rocnn et bai3 funfte
.\)auptftiicf [unfet fed;lftci3 ~auptftucfJ in 53ut~eti3 @dliirung Iernen Iiint,
biefe @rffiirung abet roiebet calbinifdj edliirt. . .. @i3 roar ber gro\3e ~rr.
hun bei3 ~roteftantii3mui3 im 18. unb 19. ~aljrljunber±, ban er meinte, ber
1I10bernen iIBeIt ben iIBeg 3um [ljriftentum burdj bie ~reii3gabe ber firdj.
fidJen 53eljre erleidjtern au fannen. @r l)at bamit nUl: erreidjt, ban nie.
Illanb meljr feine SZledunbigung ernf± nal)1n. ~enn roet foIT eine .I1itdje
ernf± neljmen, bie feIbft niclj± meljt roei\3, luai3 fie gIaubt, Icf)rt unb be~
fennt? . .. IDlan meine audj nidj±' baB eine @)eringfdjiii)ung bei3 fitdj~
ridjen ~efenntniffei3 bie 2iutoti±iii bet ~eHigen @3djrif± f±eigern fonn±e. @§
ift cine gana unumftii\3Ticlje 5ta±fadje bet SHrdjengefdjidjte, ban bie 2iutoritii±
bet ~ibeI mit ber \lIutoritiit bei3 bie ~ibeI aUi3Iegenben ~efenntniff ei3 ftelj±
Hnb fiiITt. ~ai3 groBie [leifpieY bafur iff bie ffieformation feIbft. ()ljne ba§
~efenntng ber .I1itdje mit feinem ,~ienf± am iIBod', mit feinem ffiefpef± bor
bem iIBot± roirb bie ~ibef 3um @3jJieIbaIT luWhlrfidjet, fefHererifdjer 2iu§~
Iegung. ()bet gibt e§ eine Hefete, bemu±igere, bem iIBod geljot[amere 2iu§~
Iegung ber ~emgen @3cfjrift aI5 bie ~efenn±nii3fdjriften unferer Sfitdje?
~iemanb beljauptet, ban fie aIle§ fagen. 9Ciemanb beftreitet, baB ei3 iIBaljv
ljeHen bet @3djrif± gibt, bie nodj Hefer, nodj beffet berftanben luerben mUnen.
9Ciemanb nimm± Unfefjlbarfei± fUt iI)te IJhli3fagcn unb B'ormuIietungen in
2(nfjJntdJ. ~ai3 abet gfauben roit, baB bet Sfitclje neue @denntniffe unb
ein tiefete§ SZletf±iinbnii3 bet @3djrif± nur bann gefdjenH roerben funnen, roenn
[ie bie iIBaljrljeit, bie iljt in ber ffieformation 53u±ljeti3 einft filr aITe :Beiten
gefcljenft rootben ift, nicljt betgiBt unb nicljt betadjtet."
~ai3 ift ein erfcljut±ernbei3, abet auclj ljerrIicljei3 :Beugng, bem man e§
luunfdjen mudjte, baB ei3 in jeber Iutljetifdjen @3tubicrftube beaclj±et unb
unter @)ebet etroogen rourbe. 1)'teHidj gel)± bief er teUte ~efenner au roeit,
111enn et meint, 01)ne bai3 ~efenntnii3 ber S1:irdje roerbe bie ~ibeI "oum @)pier.
baU roiIlfiltIidjer, feftieterifdjet 2iu§Iegung". ~a§ ljii±±e ettuai3 eingefdjtiinft
h.Jethen follen. ~a§ ~ibelroort iff miidjtig unb fIar genug, fidj audj oljne
ha§ [lefenntni5 ber Sfitcfje au beljaupien. iIBenn et babon tebete, roai3 ge~
roiiljnlidj gefdjieljt, bann ljiitte er redji. @§ ljiiite am @3djluf3 audj nodj ge~
fagt roetDen fennen, baB bdenntni§trelle 53l1t~eraner, roiiljrenb fie alletbing§
bie ~efenntniffe nicljt ali3 unfeljlbar unb infpitiert anfeljen, bodj glallben,
han barin bie goIbreine .2eljre be;:; gettIidJen iIBort§ befann± lutrb, ban fie
barum auclj nidj±§ mit bet fogenannten 53eljrentttJicfeIung au tun fjaben rooITen.
@3djIienIidj fomen roir noclj bie iIBode ljini\ufiigen, mit benen D. ffieu
biefen 2irtifeI @3affei3 einleitet. @t fagt, baB D. @3affe enbHdj eimnal hie
B'tage aufroirft, bie Iangft ljaHe aufgeroorfen roerben foITett. ,,~dj nenne
nUt ein§: Sfann eine Sfirdje nodj ben 9Camen ,Iu±ljetifdj' beanfprudjen, luenn
gum ~eifjJier bie erbrucrenbe IDleljqaljI iljtet :itlje010gen bie Iu±ljerifdje 53eljre
bom I2Xbenbma~r entroebet offen befiimjJft obet bodj fubieftib umbeu±e± lInb
bie SfirdjenIeitungen entroebet ba3U fdjroeigen obet fefbet cbcnfo ljanbeln?
!llia§ foU unter biefcn stietljiiltniffen bet ,Iutljerifdje' iIBertfonbent?" 2L
American Delegates at the Lutheran World Convention. - Accord-
ing to an item that appeared in the Lutheran of December 28, 1938, forty
delegates will represent American Lutheran churches at the Lutheran
220 Theological Observer - .RitdJlidJ,,aeitgefdJidJtlidJd
World Convention to be held in Philadelphia in 1940. According to the
allocation made by the committee the United Lutheran Church is asked
to send 17 delegates, the American Lutheran Church 6, the Norwegian
Lutheran Church 6, the Augustana Synod 4, the United Danish Lutheran
Church, the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Free
Church, and the Icelandic Synod each one. The item states: "Three
places were held open for the possible use of the Suomi Synod, the
Eielsen Synod, and the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. If was
furthermore agreed that the heads of the respective bodies are entitled
to be delegates ex officio in addition to the number of regular delegates."
A.
Is the Christian Ministry No Longer Attractive? - The Presbyterian,
January 5, contains an article in which we read this paragraph: "A re-
cent editorial in a great newspaper, commenting on the choice of pro-
fessions of a college class of nearly 1,500, states that 8 per cent. chose
medicine, 4 per cent. law, 15 per cent. accounting, 14 per cent. engineer-
ing, 6 per cent. business, over 25 per cent. teaching; but the ministry is
not even mentioned, nor any percentage given. An inquiry of the in-
stitution reveals the fact that of the 1,500 only 3 chose the ministry, 2 the
Roman Catholic priesthood, and one the Jewish rabbinate. In 77 years,
of 8,000 alumni of this institution only 3 per cent. have entered the min-
istry. Of course, the story of our denominational colleges is very dif-
ferent, and yet less and less are students thinking of the ministry as
a profession. . .. During the last five years, candidates for the ministry
under our presbyteries' care have steadily dwindled: 1,464, 1,314, 1,274,
1,160, 1,128. During the same five years our 12 theological seminaries
graduated every year fewer men, namely, 246, 228, 220, 208, 198. And of
these seminary graduates, for years, the proportion who actually become
pastors of churches grows ever less, falling from 93 per cent. in 1894
to 80 per cent. in 1928. . .. Last year 255 of our ministers died, and we
ordained only 178. In 1935 it was much the same: 252 died, and we
ordained only 176, and last year, with 255 dying, our seminaries pro-
duced, to take their places, probably not 160 men." Concluding his re-
marks, the writer of the article makes mention of the closing of Auburn
Theological Seminary on account of lack of funds, the second oldest
seminary of the Presbyterian Church. A dark picture! A.
State Aid for Parochial Schools. - Catholics won their fight for State
aid for parochial schools in New York. By a narrow margin the voters
at the November election approved Amendments One and Eight to the
constitution, authorizing the State Assembly to pass legislation provid-
ing taxes for the transport of children to parochial schools and to furnish
social services to the pupils of these schools. The whole power of the
Roman Catholic hierarchy was used to influence the voters, and, as
usual, the opposition was divided. But the chief blame for this breach
in the principle of separation of Church and State must rest on the
politicians; they were afraid of alienating the Catholic vote and had little
to say on the matter. As was brought out by the Lutheran protest
during the campaign, the matter of bus transportation for children at-
tending parochial schools is not so much to be feared; but the "joker"
221
in the amendment is the other phrase: to furnish social services to them;
anything from dental inspection to the building and equipping of new
schoolhouses may be made to hide behind this. Besides, it is the first
wedge; and, mixing my metaphors, you know what happens after the
camel gets its nose into the tent. T. H.
The "New York Times" recently quoted an advertisement that ap-
peared in a Southern city: "Lost or strayed - an undetermined number
of Baptists from services of First Baptist Church. Hope to find them
at church. Dr. J. A. Stewart, pastor." To this the Watchman-Examiner
remarked: "If Dr. Stewart will come to New York or any other large
Northern city, he may find some of his 'lost' or 'strayed' members roam-
ing among the crowds. Not only from Mississippi but from almost every
other State in the Union there are thousands upon thousands of Baptists
in urban centers who have failed to notify their home churches where
they are and have never affiliated themselves with a 'church of like
faith and order' in their new communities. Here is an evil which ought
to be corrected." Reading this, I was reminded of an old farmer from
the Ozarks who visited an acquaintance in a certain section of Kansas
and, after viewing his farm, exclaimed: "Gott sei Dank, andere Leute
haben auch Steine!" It is a sad consolation that the above-mentioned
evil is not limited to Lutherans. - The situation is aggravated by the
fact that there still are preachers who fail to report removals of mem-
bers to the pastors in their new location even when they know about
them or could easily find out. T. H.
On Gambling. - Asserting that the situation in the Christian Church
as far as gambling is concerned fills one with shame, the editor of the
Lutheran Companion presents these facts gathered by the American
Institute of Public Opinion, Dr. George Gallup, director. "The survey
has revealed the fact that more people gamble in church-conducted
lotteries and raffies than in any other form of game." The figures he
(Dr. Gallup) gives are as follows: "Church lotteries, 29%; punch boards,
26%; slot-machines, 23%; playing cards for money, 21%; betting on
elections, 19%; sweepstake tickets, 13%; betting on horse races, 10%;
numbers games, 9%. The survey revealed the fact that more than five
persons in every ten in the United States indulge in some form of
gambling, and most of them freely admitted that they came out 'on the
losing end.' Those who are in the lower-ring group were found most
frequently among the losers, and 45% of all those who gambled confessed
that they are 'on relief.''' Continuing, the editor says that in Cincinnati
the chancellor of the Roman Catholic diocese defended gambling "as
a legitimate amusement or recreation because it is intended as a necessary
relaxation of the mind." This utterance was made in criticism of the
order of the city manager, who endeavored to restrict gambling practises
in that city. There is no doubt that here attention is drawn to a sore
spot in conditions as they obtain today in outward Christianity. A.
The Situation in Korea. - "One long resident in Korea" draws a dis-
turbing picture of the situation in the Presbyterian missions in Korea
as he discusses the situation in an article appearing in the Presbyterian.
We quote a few of his sentences. "Due to strict censorship, it is difficult
222 Theological Observer - .Ritd)tid)=,8eUgefd)id)tlid)e§
to inform the Church in 'sending-lands' of the most amazing period of
trial the Korean Church has ever known. It is so insidious and subtle
that it would be hard to prove that it is persecution, and yet it is under-
mining one of the greatest churches in mission lands, a Church of 500,000
Protestant adherents. This. period of trial began three years ago by the
government's requiring all schools to do obeisance at the shrines of the
sun goddess Ama-terasu O-mikami, the grand ancestress of the imperial
family of the late emperor Meiji. To most missionaries and Korean
Christians this seems nothing more or less than paganism, than ancestor-
worship, even though officials insist that they are not requiring it as
a religious rite but only as an act of patriotism. Several missionaries
and Koreans were removed as principals and teachers in schools because
they refused to comply. Three Presbyterian missions, representing by
far the greater part of the work in Korea, finally decided that they would
withdraw from the field of secular education. They do not want to
oppose the government in its educational policy, and they feel that,
regardless of whatever stand the Korean can or will take, the missions
must take the stand that to comply with such an order is to compromise
Christian witness. Many mission-schools have been closed. From other
schools the missions are withdrawing and the schools are being carried
on by the presbyteries or boards of control. The Korean Christians
in such cases, although sympathetic with the missionaries, were faced
with the dilemma of having no schools for their children, or compro-
mising. The government officials naturally encouraged, or put pressure
on, the Koreans to continue schools. Indeed, they know the alternative
for them is arrest and torture." In addition, the government has sought
to compel the native Christians to go to the shrines and bow there.
At church meetings, through the pressure exerted by the presence of
police officials and the action of plain-clothes men, resolutions were
passed condoning such "going to the shrines."
In speaking of what has resulted, the writer says: "Some churches
have been able to 'get by' by silent prayer at the beginning of the
services, singing the national anthem, repeating the oath of allegiance,
bowing to the East, raising the national flag in front of the church-
building-things which most Christians (but not all) think they can
do without a compromise of conscience."
The following information is likewise to the point: "With the present
war in China the denationalization of the Korean people has been carried
on in earnest. The use of Japanese by all officials and in all the schools is
required. It is predicted that in a few years preaching in the churches
will be allowed only in Japanese .... Many of the best Korean church-
leaders are, or have been, in prison for two reasons. First, because
they refuse to go to the shrines. They have been tortured by beatings,
by the 'water cure,' by being dragged by the hair, by being forced to
sign statements, by being released for a few days and then called back
to endure more torture. . .. Other church-leaders and Christian
teachers have been imprisoned because of political suspicion. . . .
Extreme nationalism has put them under suspicion, and their future
at this moment seems hopeless." These are terrible conditions. May
God have mercy on His little flock! A.
Theological Observer - .\titdjlid),,seitgefd)icl)tIidjes 223
The Difficulties of the "Godless" in Russia continue to multiply.
In spite of their bland assurances (for foreign consumption) that religion
will be thoroughly stamped out within a few years, their own papers
have been publishing agitated accounts of a wide-spread and increasing
interest in religion throughout the Soviets. Their editors are par-
ticularly exercised over the specially keen inquiry about religion among
the young people and within the chosen ranks of the Komsomol, which
includes nearly 6,000,000 of both sexes between fourteen and twenty-
three years of age. The current purge of this organization, which was
considered to be definitely committed to the godless ideology of the
Soviet regime, has been attributed to the Soviet abhorrence for "the
development of extreme moral laxity" in the Komsomol. That, however,
is an excuse too often used recently by several governments to cover
persecutions for other reasons objectionable to the authorities. Uneasy
knowledge is taken of the fact that village churches are being more
frequently attended by young women who bring their children to the
services. Some groups on the collectivist farms (state-controlled) will
not work on Sunday. At Berditchef the peasants placarded their
meeting-houses with Bible-verses - "Consider the lilies of the field;
they toil not, neither do they spin," and "Thou shalt not kill." The
first text caused the peasants to be charged with sabotage of the
collectivist farm spirit; the second convicted them 2S conscientious
objectors. A growing group of Adventists have become so influential
that atheists, and even their children, are being converted. Near Rostov
another group, vowed to silence, will take no part in the government and
follow only the precepts of the Bible. For all these the "Godless" ask
the Soviet's condemnation as "Kulaks undermining the work of the
Soviet regime." Russia is slowly on her way to learn that persecution
of faith only vindicates it in the end. - The Luthemn.
Niemoeller Still in Prison. - In an article written by Dr. Turner, for-
merly pastor of the American Church in Berlin, the Christian Century
submits interesting news on Pastor Niemoeller's condition. In spite of
numerous efforts in his behalf his release has not yet been obtained.
We quote Dr. Turner: "These delegations doubled in number as the
Christmas season approached. Most moving and dramatic of all was the
personal petition of Field Marshal von Mackensen to Hitler. This sole
surviving war lord is a popular hero in Germany and has been much
feted by the Nazis. He is an outspoken evangelical believer, as was
Hindenburg. Mackensen, who is in his ninetieth year, stated his wil-
lingness to forego a military funeral and other public honor if only the
Fuehrer would grant the request of one who might die any time, and
stated that his sole and last request was for the liberation of Pastor Nie-
moeller." The plea was in vain. Niemoeller "is now allowed to write
only his wife, and that but twice monthly. . .. Niemoeller's physical and
mental health is noticeably suffering. An attack of intestinal grippe,
an illness prevalent around Berlin this summer, further weakened his
powers in August. During October a threat of pneumonia caused great
anxiety throughout the Evangelical Church. . The cells at Sachs en-
hausen uniformly have full-length windows. The lower two thirds of
224 Theological Observer - .R'hdjlidj,;geitgefdjidjtHdjes
Niemoeller's window, however, has been boarded up, affording him in-
adequate light and no outside view. . .. As for his family, the Dahlem
pastor has been nominally allowed to see his wife and one child monthly.
This would ordinarily mean that he sees his entire family every seven
months, for there are seven children. . .. Frau Niemoeller does not
journey to the concentration camp for the monthly meeting with her
husband. They see each other at Alexanderplatz, the Berlin city police
headquarters. Dr. Niemoeller looks forward to the auto ride as a wel-
come break in camp monotony. The route lies through fifteen miles of
beautiful Brandenburg landscape north of Berlin. Concentration camp
Sachenhausen lies at Oranienburg, and the camp is sometimes called
Oranienburg. . .. So far as can be learned, the present demand is that
Niemoeller promise to leave the Christian ministry as the price for his
release. Earlier he was twice offered his freedom if he would promise
not to attack the state. His reply was that during the war, if he saw
a ship with the enemy's flag, he would send a torpedo at it; now if he
hears any voice lifted against Christ and the Church, he will send a tor-
pedo off, regardless of who the defamer is. Without promotion of any
kind from the confessional leadership, a steady stream of delegations has
poured in upon Berlin from all parts of Germany. . .. A delegation,
composed entirely of militant Nazi party members, came from the mines
to plead for Niemoeller's release. One gaunt miner rose and addressed
the ministry official thus, 'I have the lung disease that we miners die of
in Westphalia. My father died of it; his father died of it. My son has
just entered the mines. If you radical fellows take our Christ away from
us miners, what have we got left?'"
It is difficult for us to judge of this case correctly at this distance.
Since Niemoeller has become a world figure, we consider it proper to
print the above excerpts. A.
The President's Birthday Ball. - In the Watchman-Examiner Chap-
lain Henry W. Anderson of Roseburg, Oreg., calls attention to the
President's "Birthday Ball," which seems to have become a national
institution and, cleverly promoted as a benefit ball, with proceeds dedi-
cated to fight infantile paralysis, has caught the interest of this dance-
mad age. Rightly he points out that, however praiseworthy the end
may seem, Christians can hardly (?) justify the means employed:
"A day wherein sin holds high carnival is not sanctified by a philanthropic
purpose, however worthy." The Baptist journal adds that this nation-
wide dance orgy is in many places associated with heavy drinking;
that Christians can certainly have nothing to do with the present method
of celebrating the President's birthday; that in view of the moral state
of our country and the world it would be more proper to observe the
day in prayer and self-denial. T. H.
Evolution - Bible Skepticism - Is It Scholarly? - Robert Etheridge,
F. R. S., distinguished Fossiologist of the British Geographical Survey and
Assistant Curator of the Geological Department of the British Museum
in South Kensington, says: "In all this great museum there is not a par-
ticle of evidence of the transmutation of species. Nine tenths of the talk
of evolutionists is sheer nonsense, not founded upon observation, and
Theological Observer - .reitcl)ncl)~8eitgefcl)icl)Uicl)es 225
wholly unsupported by facts. This museum is full of proofs of the utter
falsity of their views." W. Bell Dawson, M. A., M. E., D. Sc., M.-Inst. C. E.,
F. R. S. C., Laureate, Academy of Science, Paris, Gold Medalist in Geology
and Natural Science, McGill University, says: "Evolution is a theory
founded on ignorance." Sir William Dawson, M. A., LL. D., F. G. S., F. R.
S., F. R. S. C., F. G. S. A. M., says: "I know nothing about the origin of
man except what I am told in the Scriptures - that God created him.
I do not know anything more than that, and I do not know of anybody
who does. There is nothing in science that reaches the origin of any-
thing at all." Quoted from tract by J. E. McKee (Biblia Sacra)
Current Crises and the Perspective of History. - Under this heading
the Catholic HistoricaL Review (Vol. XXIV, No.3) prints L. J. A. Mercier's
address before the eighteenth annual meeting of the American Catholic
Historical Association held last year in Philadalphia. The essay reviews
the two contradictory trends of Monism and Dualism in their historic
perspectives to show how Monism, which in its present form is about
a century old, is the deadly enemy of theistic Dualism upon which our
present civilization is built. Describing the two contradictories, he
writes: "Dualism recognizes other-worldliness and this-worldliness, God
and the universe, with man the intelligent line between the universe and
God. Monism merges God, man, and nature into one self-existing evo-
lution. As these two conceptions are contradictories, no other can have
appeared in history which is not reducible to one of them." Monism,
however, as he goes on to point out, is bound "to destroy the civilization
built on a foundation of Dualism, and, on its ruins begin to erect its
opposite. . .. If there is only one order of existence, as the Monist would
have it, then there is no God distinct from man and nature, their Creator
and end. The idea of personal immortality must be given up and the
religions of the Western world. The individual sacredness of the human
person, with corresponding inalienable rights, likewise disappears, and
the way is paved for the totalitarian state. If reality is purely a be-
coming, realizing itself through struggle, might makes right, and any
means may be used to attain supremacy whether in the economic or
political field or in international relations. If there is no antecedent
righteousness in the mind and will of a God which we should aim to
discover, we are left to make our own morality; and whether we say,
with the pragmatist, that ideas are true when they work to our satis-
faction, or, with the instrumentalist, when they work for the social good,
our truth remains relative to the flux of total change in which we have
immersed ourselves by merging God, man, and nature; and that flux
includes the appetites, emotions, and fancies of the racketeer or atheistic
Communist as well as of the liberal humanitarian. Monism must re-
main morally helpless in its subjectivism." . .. "The Monistic historian
of our day hides this perspective as the Monistic philosopher hides the
perspective of the history of thought. Both would have us believe that
humanity was in thraldom till it caught the vision of a Monistic reality
and a Monistic evolution. They both beg the question. . .. Today the
Monistic naturalist tells the Protestant that even Modernism is outmoded,
that civilization must be reorganized on an atheistic basis, here through
15
226 Theological Observer - ~irdJHdJ'8eitgefd)id)tltd)es
class struggle, there through race supremacy, while everywhere a sub-
jective morality leaves every personal right at the mercy of the ruthless
force." One readily agrees with these conclusions, though not with the
author's implied and expressed suggestion that Romanism today offers
a panacea against idealistic and materialistic Monism. He quotes "an
eminent Protestant leader" as saying: "I believe with you that, if we lose
the distinction between the human and the subhuman, in a pantheistic
Monism, then all is lost. The Monism which blurs and finally banishes
all the distinctions which give the moral and spiritual and esthetic life
of man any real meaning, I regard as the foe which we must fight to-
gether. I find myself increasingly with the Neo-Thomists in a large
number of matters; and I am sure that there are vast numbers of people
in the Protestant churches who would agree with me in all these things."
He also quotes a "prominent American philosopher" as saying: "I, too,
feel the well-nigh desperate need of restoring the native American
dualistic practical philosophy: objective standards with individual free-
dom, of course, in proper limitations, as against the socialistic-commu-
nistic-materialistic-instrumentalistic threat. I wish that we might have
conferences clearing the air, giving at least mutual understanding of our
positions. I wish, too, that we could diffuse a sounder knowledge of
Neo-Scholasticism." But neither Neo-Thomism, in particular, nor Neo-
Scholasticism, in its wider implications, can save our modern world from
the destruction of the various Monistic forces; only the Bible and its
divine religion can offer that salvation. Thomism, whether new or an-
cient, is rationalistic, is human speculation, and, after all, its difference
from Monism is not so much in kind as in degree. What gave the world
salvation four hundred years ago through the Reformation will still help
it today - the omnipotent Word of God, which is His appointed power
to salvation to everyone that believes and which outlives all pantheistic
and materialistic notions of unbelieving men. This Word, which we pos-
sess in its truth and purity, we must oppose alike to Monism and Ro-
manism in their ably directed propaganda for recognition and victory.
J.T.M.
A Book that Comes to a Bad End. - Under this heading the Rev.
Prof. R. B. Kuiper, in the Presbyterian Guardian (January, 1939), dis-
cusses Dr. Link's The Rediscovery of Man far beyond the scope and con-
fines of a mere book review. As Dr. Link's Return to Religion, so also
The Rediscovery of Man has received much praise also in the religious
press of our country; and in the general field of iustitia civilis it indeed
stresses important truths. Dr. Kuiper freely admits that this second
volume of Dr. Link is much better than the first. It bitterly deplores
present-day denial of man's responsibility in almost every sphere of
human endeavor and is a powerful plea for renewed recognition of in-
dividual responsibility. After discussing this point at great length,
Dr. Kuiper continues: "Dr. Link's emphasis on individual responsibility
is beyond question one of the greatest needs of our generation and there-
fore deserves the warmest kind of commendation. But how is man to
meet his responsibility? Where is he to get the strength to discharge it?
Dr. Link's reply to that intensely practical inquiry is: by returning to
Theological Observer - .Ritd)Hcf)'.8elt\lefd)id)mcf)e~ 227
religion. Again our author is right, and once more we express enthu-
siastic assent. One crucial question remains. Of the many religions of
mankind, which is it that will enable man to do his duty? For the
Christian but one answer is possible. It is: the Christian religion. Does
Dr. Link agree? Seemingly so. He expresses emphatic agreement with
Christianity as the 'philosphy of personality,' and he adores Jesus as the
'Supreme personality.' And yet, sad to say, at this very point Dr. Link's
argument breaks down, and the breakdown is so complete as to vitiate
the whole book. Dr. Link's Christianity is not the Christianity of the
historic Church. It is not the Christianity of the Bible. In short,
Dr. Link's Christianity is not Christianity at all. After the manner of
the liberal preacher the author brushes aside Christ's bodily resurrec-
tion and exclaims: 'Truly no personality who now walks the earth be-
gins to be alive compared with the living influence of Jesus!' (P.245.)
That sounds suspicious. Our author is much more outspoken when he
defines his 'rediscovered man.' Religion, he tells us, 'can give the in-
dividual a faith in the universe and in himself that will move mountains.
The great religions have insisted on this truth, which psychology now
scientifically confirms, that the individual is a creature of infinite pos-
sibilities. This conviction and the power which it gives is the final solu-
tion to the individual's conquest of himself, his environment, and his
fears.' (Pp. 109, 110.) 'I see the soul,' says Dr. Link, 'as a unique power
which enables the individual to say: 1 do not have to remain as I am,
I can be something better. 1 have faith in my powers as a free-will
agent, able to choose between right and wrong. I have faith in a moral
and spiritual order higher than any comprehended by science or reason.
By faith I can accept a superhuman concept of personality which gives
me confidence in my own potentialities. I will not accept defeat; I will
struggle to achieve. I may fall, but I will rise again. I may not win
wealth, but I will win mastery over myself.' (Pp. 131, 132.) Can that
evaluation of man be squared with the Scriptural verdict that unre-
generate man is 'dead in trespasses and sins,' Eph. 2: 1? Dr. Link bids
man have faith in himself. But the Son of God said: 'Ye believe in God,
believe also in Me.' John 14: 1. Dr. Link would have man save himself.
Christianity insists that salvation belongs to God, to God alone. Dr. Link's
view of man is the exact opposite of the Christian view of man, so ably
expounded by the late Dr. Machen under that very title. In brief, the
religion advocated by Dr. Link, far from being Christianity, is the baldest
kind of humanism. [Italics his own.] Dr. Link was running well on the
path of human responsibility. But the devil had a trap waiting for him.
The great deceiver had shrewdly set it at the precise spot where so many
have been caught before Dr. Link. And Dr. Link landed squarely in the
trap when from the sound premise of full human responsibility he
jumped thoughtlessly to the utterly false conclusion of plenary human
ability. [Italics our own.] The trap sprang with a vengeance. William
E. Henley once boasted: 'It matters not how strait the gate, How charged
with punishment the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the cap-
tain of my soul.' The author of The Rediscovery of Man sings with him.
But their song is Pelagian, pagan, even blasphemous."
228 Theological Observer - ,RitdJHdH3eitgefdJidJllidJes
We read both of Link's recent works with deep interest, and
Dr. Kuiper's critique of his last coincides with our own criticism of it in
a remarkable way. And yet the religious press of our country has
largely praised and recommended it as a Ch1·istian. book, not noticing
its Pelagianistic viewpoint. Dr. Kuiper's opinion on the volume is very
valuable, showing, as it does, that there are still men in our country
who can recognize Pelagianism also in its more refined form. In our
own Church we must keep on studying diligently and persistently Ar-
ticles I and II of the Formula of Concord; for Christianity's greatest
enemy is, after all, Pelagianism in its various forms. J. T. M.
An Englishman Warns Congregationalists. - Bernard Manning, pro-
fessor of history at Cambridge, England, is reported to have spoken the
following frank words to a meeting of Congregationalists in England:
"A Congregationalism which thinks lightly or coldly about the Word and
the Sacraments will surely, however slowly, set itself outside the com-
munion of Christendom. . .. That has already happened to what was
once a sister church as evangelical and orthodox as our own. English
Presbyterianism, at first the most splendid of the three dissenting bodies,
clung only to the negations and abandoned the affirmations of the
Reformers. In the eighteenth century it wilted in Arianism and
perished in Unitarianism. To a hostile or a pessimistic eye Congre-
gationalism in the twentieth century might appear to be in danger of
repeating that pitiful and shameful story. It is a path which some of
us seem not loath to tread. May God in His mercy preserve the Church
which He purchased with His own blood! The peril is real. It will
not abate until we have learned afresh the majesty of the revelation
of God in Christ in historic time, until we have seen the Word breaking
through to a world that is lost." (Quoted in Christian Century.)
~u~ mom. :Ba0 ~oraflroefen foIT neu geodmet roerben. ~arbinaI .l3auri
fjat bem llSapft einen 700 @SeHen f±aden ffianb borge1egt, ber aITe ®eode
Hnb ~roll1ll1igfei±0iilJungen entfjiirt, bie mit \l{oIiiffen aU0geaeidjne± finb.
@:6enfo finb aITe ffiebingungen gcnannt, bie aur ®eroinnllng eine0 beftimm~
±en ~Oraffe0 au erfilTIen finb. SEorangefdjicH finb bie ffieftimmllngen be0
fanonifdjen ®efeljllJudjell ii6er bie ~6riiHe, bie :Befre±e ber llSiipfte unb ~on~
grega±ionen unb anbere grunbfiitfidje ~ullfilfjrungen. ~g :8tDecr biefer 9(eu~
nullgaoe nennt ba0 SEaHfanifdje ffila±± Osservatore Romano bie 9(o±ttJenbig~
feit, bie "delicatissima materia" ber ~lJIiiff e in ciner ber :8dt aUf agenben
~orl11 bar8uf±eTIen. IJ/adj SEeroffentIidjung bief er @Samll1(ung foTIen nUt bie
barin en±ljaHenen WoTiiff e nodj geUen. ®elJde unb mietle, bie nidjt cnb
f)nr±en finb, llerIieren bie ~oriiffe. (~ITg. @:ll.~.I3utlj. Shrdjenaeitul1g)
;tJa~ neue ~rjetedJt in 6f±erreiuj. ~atfjoIifdje 2eitfdjriften fdjlagen ge~
roaItigen .l3iirrn barlioer, ball burdj ben ~nf dj1ull @:ljefdjIieflung unb @:I)e~
fdjeibung in Dftetreidj ben ©iinben ber ~irdje entriffen unb in bie ©anb bell
@S±aag geIeg± roorben finb. @:fje man iiberfjallp± barauf fjod, fome man
roiffen, ball in bern fatljoHfdjen Df±erteidj in beaug aUf ball @:fjeredjt einfacI)
rnittelaltedidje :8uftiinbe ljerrfdjten. :Bie ,,~irdjHdje 2eitfdjrif±" beridj±e± fo:
"SEon befonberer ffiebeutung filr bie C1ftmad ift ell, bafl ball neue @:lje~
redj± bell ffieidje0 audj bod burdjgefilljrt roirb. :Bod roar ba~ !anonifdje
@:ljeredjt ffiedjggrunbTage flir ben @S±aa± getDefen, nm bafl illlleljlt filr bie
Theological Observer - .R'ircf)licf),,geitgefd)id)tlicf)es 229
nidj±fat~olif el)en @:l±aat6biirger @:lonberregelungen ilugeIaffen roaren. @:lo be~
ftanben fdjfief3fidj bier £lis fiinf giirtige @:!ljeredj±e nebeneinanber: fUr bie
gfa±~olifen, bie bem ranonifdjen ffiedjt unterroorfen roaren; fitr bie ~urgen~
Iii:nber, bie nodj nadj llem ar±en ungarifdjen ffiedj± i~re @:!~e gefdjloffen ljat~
ten; fiir ~ro±ef±anten; fiir Stonfeffionsrofe unb fiir bie ~ullen. @:!s iff Har,
baf3 biefe mielqeit bon @:!~egefeten au ciner \JiiUe juriftifdjer sminfelaiige Wn~
faB bot. ~ie grof3±e ffieel)t§unfidjer~eit ~errfc'fjte aUf bem ®ebid ber ®lje>
fcl:)eilJung, aumar ~ier au ber miefqei± ber @:!I)egefete nodj bie fatljonfel:)e
~isjJensef)e f)in3ufam. smiiljrenb niimIidj nadj la±ljoIifdjem ffiedjt eine @:!'fje.
nielj± gefd)iellen llJerben £ann, fo baf3 audj @:!~eleute, bie fidj ge±t:enn± ljaben,
nidjt roieber l)eiraten biirfen, ~atte ber ofterreidjifdje @:ltaat fie bon biefer
\Jeff eI bes fanonifdjen ffiedjts bisjJenfiert unb au i'fjrer smielJerber'fjeiratung
mitgeluirrt. @:loIdje ~isjJenseljen gab £s iiber 50,000. ~erfelbe ofter>
reidjifel:)e @:ltaat, ber fie gejdjaffen, erfliirte fie llurdj Wnerfennung bes fano~
nifdjen @:!'fjeredjts unb ller fatljoIifdj>firdjIidjen @:!'fjegeridj±9badeit llurdj llas
S'fonforllat bon 1934 fUr im ®runllfat ungiiItig. ~ie \Jolge biefer ffiedjg~
unfid)er'fjeit luar, bail unaiiljIlge ~aare fidj ber firdjIidjen ®eridj±9barfeit ent~
30gen, -inbem fie !:lie firdjHdje ;;traullng nidjt meljr begel)rlen unb in roilber
@:!I)c leblen. man biefen Buftiinben rourbe audj llie ebangeHfdje &rirc'fje be>
rilljd, roed fie im ganaen morf llie fUtridjen \Jolgen biefes ,ffiedj±9allftanbes'
faI) unll lneiI bas fanonifdje ffiedjt nidjt nur fUr ~aare gart, bie beille fatqo~
lifel) iuaren, fonbern mtdj fUr fordje, £lei bencn nur ein ;;tei{ fat~olifdj roar
oller aur Beit ber @:!~efdjIief3ung aur rom-ifdjen Si-irdje geljiirte, aber llann
l'lJangefiielj geroorben iuar. ~[us einer Drbnung, roefdje bie @:!lje fdjilten
lllome, ruar eine uueUe ller linorllnung gelnorben. ~as neue @:!ljegefet ift
einljeitridj fiir aUe. ®eln-if3, eiJ faf3t @:!lje 1mb @:!ljefdjrief3ung ro-ie @:!~efdjeibung
nl[( unter natiirIidjen ®efidjtspunfien - toie fome ber @:l±aat audj bOll
e i nem anbern ~)efidjtiJ1JUnft auiJge~en fiinnen ~ WCan briicf± bas f 0 aus: ~ ie
@:!lje ift nUt in iljrer lBeaieljung amn \noU§fenen au orllnen. @:lo etfliirt fidj
§ 36, 1: ,@:!in @:!~ega±te rann Wllfgenen ber @:!~e bege~ren, roenn ber anbere
OL)ne triftigen ®runb hdj beljarrHdj roeigert, Wadjfummenfdjaft au eraeugen
ollcr au empfangen, oller i1Jenn er redjtiJroibrig WCiHer aur mer~-inbet:1lng lJer
0JenUtt anroenlJd ober anroenllen fiiilt.' linll es ifi @:ladje bes @:ltaa±es, fte
ilU orllnen. Bu±~er fag±e (sm. W. 32, 377): ,smas bie Dnrigfeit unb roeife
Beute in @:!ljefadjen nadj llem ffiedj± unll ber mernllnft befdjHeilen unb orbnen,
lla foU man eiJ nei b(eiben laffen. ~enn audj ~ljriftus ~at in lliefem ~llnft
nidjt6 gefett unb georllne± aIS ein ~urift ober ffiegen± in iiuf3erlidjen @:ladjen,
fonllern aUdn aIS ein ~rebiger bie ®eroiffen unterridj±et, baf3 man bas
0Jefet bam @:lel)eiben reeljt braudje, nie~t nUt aur ~iiberei unb e-igenem WCut~
ll1iHen roiller ®ottes Drbnung.' ~af3 llaneben llie S'firdje dne Wufgabe ljat,
llie @:ldjIief3ung roie \Jit~t:1lng unll @3djeibung ber @:!lje £lei i~ren ®Iiebem
ltn±er bas Bidjt bes smotes ®ottes au fteUen, f djHef3t bas neue @:!ljeredj± nidjt
im geringf±en aus."
smas man alldj itber llie belltfdje ffiegierllng fagen mag, bieiJ fome i~(
augu±e gefdjrieben roerben, llail fie lliefen roiiften WCoraft ±t:ocren geregi !jat.
\D'lan 1f± berfudj± au fagen: W,ag baiJ .l;>eHmitter nodj fo fdjIimm fein, fdjHm~
mer aIS f oldje stranfljeit iff eiJ nidjt. \Jemer: ,bfterreidj roar feinesroegiJ eine
2Iusna~me, roas bie nefdjriebenen Bufiiinbe anfangt; fo roitft geljt's iiberall
!jer, roo ffiom ~errfdjt. WCan beurteile bodj bie romifdje S'firdje nidjt nadj
bem, roas man 3. lB. ~ier in unferm Banlle an f~r fie!jt; !jier !jat fie stOl1~
furrena unb mUfl fidj bafjer einigermaflen be±ragen. bfterreidj fjat meqrmaI§
in fetner