StL10a: Guenther (& Walther) on Vol. 20, against Sacramentarians, Jews, Turks (Der Lutheraner 1890)

      This continues from Part 9c (Table of Contents in Part 1) in a series on the St. Louis Edition (StL) of Luther's complete writings in English. —  This new 2-part sub-series presents Prof. Martin Guenther's announcement and review of  StL Volume 20, the last of the 3 volumes of "Dogmatic-Polemical Writings." This moves on from earlier volumes on the Papists to the Sacramentarians, Jews and Turks. The great value of this essay is the extended quote taken from Walther's earlier writing. 

(From Der Lutheraner, vol. 46 p. 205 (No. 26, Dec. 16, 1890) [EN] (all underlining follows Guenther's emphasis):

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Dr. Martin Luther's

Reformation Writings.

Second Section.

Dogmatic - polemical writings.

B. Against the Sacramentarians and other zealots,

as well as against the Jews and Turks.

Our readers will certainly be pleased that — after a year — a new volume of our Luther edition has appeared. While the two volumes published before this one contained Luther's controversies against the papists, the new volume contains the controversies against the sacramentarians, i.e., the enthusiasts who deny the true presence of the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament, against other enthusiasts, as well as against the Jews and Turks. If the dissemination and study of Luther's writings against the papists is necessary and important in our time and in our country, since the papacy seeks to expand its power, the same applies to the writings against the sacramentarians, since we are surrounded by sacramentarians and enthusiasts in this country, and one no longer wants to see enemies of the truth of Christ in the sacramentarians, but rather likes to unite with them.

The main writings of the present volume are: 

Against the Heavenly Prophets,

Sermon on the Sacrament against the Fanatics [Schwärmgeister],

That These Words "This is My Body" Still Stand Firm against the Fanatics,

The Great and Small confession of the Lord's Supper.

About these writings of Luther, the blessed Dr. Walther wrote in 1857: 

 

“After many years of uninterrupted study of these writings, we have come to the clear conviction that Luther not only wrote the best, most thorough, and most powerful of all against the Reformed errors, but that these polemical (controversial) writings of Luther surpass everything that has ever been written in the field of polemics. Those who have not yet read these writings do not yet know what polemicizing (fighting the errors) actually means.… 

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Walther reveals to what extent he himself studied Luther: "years of uninterrupted study". Walther can properly speak on Luther.  We see now how he can so deftly quote from Luther and all the old orthodox Lutheran theologians. The next Part 10b finishes the quote from Walther on Luther's polemics.