DL7d: Harrison vs. Lochner - a comparison; another question for Carver

      This concludes from Part 7c (Table of Contents in Part 1) in a series presenting Der Lutheraner, 1888-1934, in English. — President Harrison's blindness is bad enough for himself, but to inflict it upon the whole Synod is… disastrous.  Sometimes I wonder that I have promoted the "Pope is the Antichrist" too much, but then I read another article, now Lochner's, that tells me that I have been too mild.  So in this last Part 7d, I highlight the clear difference between Harrison and Lochner, and pose another pointed question to a CPH/LC-MS translator.  — Excerpts from Der Lutheraner, vol. 50 (1894), p. 204-205 [EN]: 

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“Keep us, O Lord, by Thy Word, And prevent the murder by Pope and Turk.”

[by Pastor Friedrich Lochner; concludes from Part 7c]

“Lochner… is in sympathy and dialogue with… Roman Catholics” Foreword to The Chief Divine Service, p. xi

“Let us therefore thank God that our hymnal also contains this Reformation hymn completely unchanged! And so…, in these last sorrowful times (1) in which only a few still believe that the Pope is the real Antichrist, and (2) in which one has become even more gentle and considerate against this arch-enemy of Christ and His Church, we may sing all the more with right earnestness in our churches and schools: ‘And prevent the murder by the Pope and Turk’… According to the Scriptures, Pope and Turk are and remain the “two arch-enemies of Christ and His churches” Der Lutheraner, vol. 50 (1894), p. 205

Let the reader judge between these two testimonies! I believe that if Lochner was with us today, he would answer Pres. Harrison in a way similar to Franz Pieper, in an irenic way:

“President Harrison's claim is fiction.”

Lochner explicitly states that the Pope will remain, for all time, the “arch-enemy of Christ and His Church" because Holy Scripture teaches it. Can any reader still doubt that the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is actually and actively a Romanizing church body?… when its President can so blatantly falsify the theology of Pastor Friedrich Lochner. No, no, listen to Pastor Lochner who is so highly praised by LC-MS leaders, teachers and pastors! Or rather, listen to Luther, Walther, Pieper, the Lutheran Confessions, and the dear Pastor Friedrich Lochner! — I have headlined Pastor Carl Manthey Zorn as a discovered treasure from Der Lutheraner, but a close second to him is Pastor Friedrich Lochner.  Look for his instructive essays in Der Lutheraner, either by search terms “F. L.” or “Lochner”.

To Matthew Carver:

      I put the question about the above to you, Matthew Carver, the translator of Lochner’s book. Do you now believe what Harrison stated in his “Foreword” to your translated book, that “Lochner is in sympathy and dialogue with Roman Catholics"? (I only ask you because of your last response to me.)

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      How hard the LC-MS will use sophistry to attempt to make Lochner's theology “more gentle and considerate” towards Romanism.  Yet the plain reading of Lochner above shows rather how embarrassing he is now for the LC-MS.  May they continue to praise him to the highest heavens!… and so expose their duplicity. — 

      Luther composed his hymn for children.  Would not children understand the term "Pope" as not just the office of the Papacy, but also all who hold that office, like I did in my younger years? The LC-MS teaching is now forced on its people against all logic. — The Der Lutheraner series continues in Part 8, an updated version of The Walther Years.