The “Silent Sin”: Dietrich's Catechism speaks

      While translating portions of the venerable old Lutheran Dietrich's Catechism, I ran across a small portion that struck me for its clear Scriptural teaching.  It was in the section on the Sixth Commandment: 

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”  

Before proceeding further, here is the translation from the 1896 German version of Dietrich's Catechism, p. 97-98, which was a translation from Dietrich's original Latin, p. 154 (translation by BTL, all emphasis mine):

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40. In how many ways, then, is adultery committed?

…

Accordingly, the following vices and sins are forbidden in this commandment: 1. evil lusts and irritations of the heart. 2. shamelessness, lascivious looks, bewitching facial expressions, voluptuous clothing and bodily movements. 3. insolence, disgraceful words, foul and nasty gossip, and songs of wooing. This also includes all enticements, opportunities and stimulants to fornication, such as excess, gluttony, idleness, bad company, lascivious resting, intemperance, lasciviousness, drunkenness, eating and drinking, and the like. These things most often incite to sins against the 6th commandment. 4. open and secret fornication, weakening, adultery, procuring, fornication, incest, keeping of concubines, whether standing alone or in wedlock, sodomy. These things are distinguished as follows: Weakening means: illegally depriving virgins (as well as respectable widows) of their virginity. Common fornication takes place between unmarried persons without distinction. Illicit sexual intercourse between married persons is called adultery; it is a violation of the promised marital fidelity. It is simple adultery if it takes place between a single and a married person; double: if between two married persons. The Saxon law calls this kind: Higher whoredom [Ober-Hurerei]. Pimping [Kuppelei] or prostitution means the commercial prostitution of virgins, unmarried and married women or courtesan [Buhldirnen]. Therefore, one who engages in such activity is called a pimp [leno], whoremaster; and a woman who engages in it is called a woman pimp [lens], or whoremaster. Kidnapping and fornication means to take a woman by power to a foreign place and to ravish her, Ex 22:16, Deut 22:25. Blood libel is cohabitation with blood relatives and other close relatives within the degrees forbidden by divine law, Deut 18:6, 20:11. Concubinage or cohabitation is the regular attendance of an unmarried man with a woman without conjugal affection.  Concubinage means the regular cohabitation of a husband with other women besides his lawful wife. Sodomy means the unnatural carnal intermingling either between persons of the male sex or with animals, Rom. 1:16 [sic, Rom. 1:26-27]. It is also called the silent sin [stumme Sünde], because it should not even be mentioned among Christians, let alone be known.

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In all the catechisms that I have researched other than Dietrich's full explanation, English or German, the teaching on "Sodomy" (German  "Sodomiterei", Latin "Sodomia") was omitted. This is likely due to abridgements, and so this “silent sin” was not directly addressed.  But there it is, in the earliest, most orthodox explanation of Luther's Catechism, that was used extensively by Old Missouri. According to Prof. Gerhard Bode's 2005 PhD dissertation, p. 304, emphasis mine: 

Even after the new synodical catechism began to roll off the presses in 1896, Dieterich's catechism would remain in print and continue to be used for decades. Over the next ten years alone, 71,491 copies of the Dieterich catechism were sold to congregations and schools in the Synod. In 1905, Dieterich's catechism was still used as a textbook for English catechetics at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.

      In the preface to the 2017 translation of Walther's Pastoral Theology, the LCMS editor asserted that, unlike in Walther's time, we  face “new challenges” today, including “homoerotic behavior.”  The editor, like the LC-MS teaching in general, thinks today's "homoerotic behavior" is unlike it was in 1613, when Dietrich first authored his explanation of Luther's Catechism.  What is actually different is what their teachers teach for doctrine.  They do not teach as Scripture teaches (Rom. 1:26-27), as the orthodox Lutheran Catechism teaches. 

      This blog has not dwelt on the rampant issues of today that are forced "out" into the open, into public discussion.  In only one other blog post have I even mentioned the sin of Sodomy.  This is because this "silent sin" is not the major issue in the world today.  We see something even worse, and it is pointed out to us by our Savior Jesus Christ.  What could be worse?

“Whosoever shall not… hear your words… It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.” — Matt. 10:14-15

It is not hearing the Word of the God. — One asks oneself: Is this "silent sin" against the Sixth Commandment kept silent about in our day? — For those interested in translating the above Dietrich section into other languages, after the break below is the original German text:

Demnach werden folgende Laster und Sünden in diesem Gebot verboten: 1. Böse Gelüste und Reizungen des Herzens. 2. Schamlosigkeit, lüsterner Blick, beranssorderndes Mienenspiel, wollüstige Kleidung und Körperbewegung. 3. Frechheit, schandbare Worte, faule und garstige Geschwätze, Buhlenlieder. Dahin gehören ferner alle Lockungen, Gelegenheiten und Reizmittel zur Unzucht, als zum Beispiel: Uebermaß, Uebersättigung, Müßiggang, schlechte Gesellschaft, wollüstiges Ruhelager, Unmäßigkeit, Ueppigkeit, Trunkenheit, Freßund Sausgelage u. dgl. Diese Dinge reizen zu allermeist zu Sünden wider Las 6. Gebot. 4. Offene und geheime Hurerei, Schwächung, Ehebruch, Kuppelei, Nothzucht, Blutschande, Halten von Beischläferinnen, fei es im ledigen oder im ehelichen Stand, Sodomiterei. Diese Dinge unterscheiden sich folgendermaßen: Schwächung bedeutet: Jungfrauen (wie auch ehrbare Wittwen) unerlaubter Weise ihrer Jungfrauschaft berauben. Gemeine Hurerei findet statt zwischen ledigen Personen ohne Unterschied. Unerlaubter Geschlechtsverkehr zwischen Verheiratheten heißt Ehebruch; er ist eine Verletzung der zugesagten ehelichen Treue. Er ist einfacher Ehebruch, wenn er zwischen einer ledigen und einer verheiratheten Person statthat; zweifacher: wenn zwischen zwei Verheiratheten. Das Sächsische Recht nennt diese Art: Ober-Hurere. Kuppelei oder Hurenwirthschaft bedeutet die gewerbsmäßige Prostitution von Jungfrauen, ledigen und verheiratheten Weibern oder Buhldirnen. Daher Einer, der solches betreibt, ein leno, Hurenwirth; und eine Frau, die sich damit abgibt, eine lens. oder Hurenwirthin genannt wird. Entführung und Nothzucht beeutet: eine Weibsperson mit Gewalt an einen fremden Ort führen und schänden, 2 Mos. 22, 16. 5 Mos. 22, 25. Blutschande ist der Beischlaf mit Blutsverwandten und anderen nahen Verwandten innerhalb der vom göttlichen Recht verbotenen Grade, 3 Mos. 18, 6. 20,11.. Concubinat oder Beischläferinnen-Halten ist die regelmäßige Beiwohnung einer ledigen Mannsperson mit einem Weib ohne eheliche Zuneigung. Kebsweiber-Halten bedeutet die regelmäßige Beiwohnung eines Ehemannes mit anderen Weibern neben seiner rechtmäßigen Ehefrau. Sodomiterei bezeichnet die unnatürliche fleischliche Vermischung entweder zwischen Personen männlichen Geschlechts ober mit Thieren, Röm. 1, 16. Sie heißt sonst auch die stumme Sünde, weil sie unter Christen nicht einmal genannt werden, geschweige denn bekannt sein sollte.