This continues from Part 1 (Table of Contents in Part 3), a series presenting an English translation of Pastor Christian Hochstetter's 1885 480-page book entitled (abbreviated English)
One English translation was made available 100 years after Hochstetter's book, in typed manuscript format, but has remained unpublished. While the title page had the indication
"© 2005 Concordia Historical Institute" (CHI),
the book had originally been translated in 1984 by Prof. Dr. Fred Kramer (1902-1991), Academic Dean of the Springfield, Illinois seminary. This situation begs the question: Why did CHI slap a copyright on Kramer's 1984 manuscript in 2005? Did that not indicate an intent to publish the manuscript? Yes? No? Only they and Concordia Publishing House know the answers to these questions. So far, neither Concordia Publishing House nor Concordia Historical Institute have seen fit to publish an English translation of the greatest history of the (Old) Missouri Synod. Now let us see what Dr. Kramer thinks about this.
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The following is taken verbatim from Dr. Kramer's "Foreword" to his translation, highlighting is mine:
TRANSLATOR'S FOREWORD.
In presenting this translation of Hochstetter's History of the Missouri Synod in North America to the church, a word of explanation may be in order.
The names of Pastor Walter J. Plischke and of Prof. Fred Kramer appear on the title page as translators. The explanation is as follows. Long before Prof. Kramer became involved in this translation Pastor Plischke had produced a translation of the book for Concordia Historical Institute. His translation was judged to be not publishable, because it abounded in Germanisms, and generally had some difficulty achieving clear, easily understandable English. Therefore Concordia Historical Institute sought a person who would revise this translation in such a way that it might be publishable. This task was offered to the undersigned, and he accepted in the winter of 1983-84.
On examination the undersigned found that he could not do justice to the task unless he checked every word in the original German. This in fact really called for a completely new translation, which was far easier than trying to revise the existing translation. However the undersigned carefully read Pastor Plischke's translation, and wherever he came upon a fortunate expression he gratefully adopted it. Wherever the language of Pastor Hochstetter easily lent itself to a translation into English the two translations are quite similar. In the more difficult sections they tend to diverge more sharply.
In spite of the deficiencies of Pastor Plischke's translation he deserves much credit for his work. He was the first to attempt a translation of this valuable history, which has been called "a history of the doctrine of the Missouri Synod". Had it not been for Pastor Plischke's work, the undersigned would very likely never have heard of the project.
The translation is herewith given to the church. The book is of such importance for the early history of the Missouri Synod that it ought to be part of the personal library of every pastor in this synod. It would be well also if it were placed in every church library in the synod, in order that also interested laymen might learn and benefit from it. The book helps us to understand who we are, and why we are as we are, and such knowledge is of great importance if we are to preserve the treasure which God has entrusted to our synod in the Scriptural and confessional doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Fred Kramer
Springfield, Illinois
April 26, 1984.
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When I first read Dr. Kramer's 1984 "Foreword", I think that I may have wept. Here was a well-known LC-MS theologian who had been active in synodical affairs and in inter-synodical meetings with outside church bodies (p. 552). Prof. Kramer had in his early years been strong in defending the true faith, then he wavered amid the surrounding mediating ("moderates") of the LCMS. He criticized Franz Pieper in 1969 for emphasizing the Doctrine of Inspiration and not treating the doctrine of "revelation" in detail (p. 197-198 here). Yet now, in 1984 in his later years, he highly praises Hochstetter's History which defended the "Lutheran doctrine of Inspiration" (p. 415-416), just like Pieper, and said nothing about the doctrine of the so-called "revelation". Kramer now, in 1984, saw what he had perhaps been missing from his own earlier training in the LC-MS. By his own words above in his "Foreword", he now saw that the Old Missouri Synod was not some over-zealous faction, with outdated theology that needed to be toned down from its old positions, but rather that the history of its founding and early decades was none other than the story of the struggles of the true Evangelical Lutheran Church to reassert itself, as at the time of Martin Luther, now in America. Now in 1984, 15 years after his 1969 CTM essay, Kramer states that Hochstetter's History was a book of"such importance… that it ought to be part of the personal library of every pastor in this synod…in every church library."
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| Kramer Chapel |
This publication of Hochstetter's History
is dedicated to the memory of
Dr. Fred Kramer
because of his wonderful words of praise for Hochstetter's History in his "Translator's Foreword". — In the next Part 3, we will hear from Walther on this book, and receive more background information on it.
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