“Dr. Pieper—the Teacher.” Th. Graebner, Luth. Witness 1931

      This continues from a previous blog series of testimonies on Franz Pieper after his passing in June 1931, published in The Lutheran Witness. I present another one now by the chief editor himself, Prof. Theodore Graebner.  He also wrote a 61-page "biographical sketch" in book form.  It is somewhat superficial compared to Ludwig Fuerbringer's two essays (see here and here). This post is bittersweet for me because of all the heartache that came by Graebner's later turnaround in the doctrines of the "Missourians".  But evidence for his later turnaround was not clearly visible in this testimony for Pieper.  And so, it is a worthy addition to my blog:

The Lutheran Witness, vol. L (50), August 4, 1931, vol. L (50), no. 16, p. 262:

Dr. Pieper — the Teacher.

Those penetrating black eyes of Dr. Walther had recognized in the young student Francis Pieper the gift of clear thinking and clear speech. This gift characterized his co­worker through all the years of his teaching at the Seminary. He possessed a ringing voice, a beautiful enunciation. But this was not all. It was the soul which spoke from his fea­tures and eyes that made his lectures so impressive; the earnestness of conviction, the liveliness of imagination, the eagerness to be understood, that shone forth from voice and mien; these characteristics made him after the death of Dr. Walther the most influential teacher by word and mouth that our Church has had.

He spoke rapidly, rarely became involved in his sentence structure, and there were few lectures in which he did not rise to eloquence in the presentation of his thoughts. 

His knowledge of the Scripture was astonishing, quota­tions from the original Hebrew and Greek being interlarded with great frequency and utmost ease. Luther was ever at the command of his tongue, and the pages of his Christliche Dogmatik will convey an idea of the scholastic learning and acquaintance with the old dogmaticians which made his lec­tures, as it were, a connecting link between the present age and that of the fathers and founders of Lutheranism. But he was equally versed in the principal writings of the Reformed theologians. He would quote from memory pages of Hodge and Shedd. His English, let it be said, was fluent, grammatically correct, and idiomatic.

All in all, his lectures even to the last remained a treat, as his most recent graduates will testify. He was able to accommodate his speech to the gradual decline in the knowl­edge of German among his students.

Sometimes hearty bursts of laughter would rise from his classroom. Dr. Pieper’s humor played about the most solemn subjects, though ever reverently. The knowing smile and the humorous twinkle of his eye would accompany such remarks made in lighter vein, and the effect, so artlessly achieved, was never wanting.

If one learned nothing else from the lectures of Dr. Pie­per, it was at least the dogmatic method, in which he was supreme. His every assertion was buttressed with Scripture truth, and no stone was left unturned to present such evidence in a way that would overcome doubt and skepticism. After submitting the proof from Holy Writ, he was accustomed to enter into the logical argument, first setting forth the contra­diction of those who deny the truth under discussion and then demonstrating that even from the standpoint of reasoning the opponent’s position was an untenable one. Who can tell to how great an extent the doctrinal firmness of our preaching, the unyielding insistence on Scriptural practise, that charac­terizes our work, is due to the example given to so large a number of our ministers in the classroom of Dr. Pieper?

He created nothing new. He introduced no methods or principles that had not the approval of Lutheran custom. But he carried on marvelously the tradition of our Church under the changing sky of modern belief. The principles he enunciated, while derived from his predecessors, have become, largely through his emphasis, part of our synodical life and are giving tone to our work and to that of the churches affili­ated with us in other lands.

He was a great teacher, a sound theologian, a true Lu­theran, a sincere Christian. G.[Theodore Graebner]

= = = = = = = = =  End of essay  = = = = = = = = =

A statement that stood out for me was that "He created nothing new".  In my last series, Walther's essay on "Missourian!", Part 4, a quote from Luther included this: "We invent nothing new".  Hmmm... my term for Pieper fits:

“Franz Pieper, the 20th Century Luther.”

Nothing new.