WIC6: "The Open Heaven" (1929 Synod); Walther "remains firm, like steel and diamond"

      This continues from Part WIC5 (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — This sixth of six essays completes the series of essays that Prof. J. T. Mueller translated in 1933. It is a fitting essay for the finale, as Christians must always keep their eyes on the hereafter. This is largely a Bible lesson and will place a Christian's faith on solid ground and in… the Open Heaven. 

      I am sorry that Prof. Mueller did not include much of the emphasis of wording as these are critical to get the full power of Pieper's teaching. Again, this is one of the main benefits of my translations over Mueller's. This essay was not printed in the convention report but rather in 3 installments of Lehre und Wehre, vol. 75, pp. 196-201, 225-233, 257-264.

Notable Quotes:

Part I: How was heaven opened?

198: "of this heaven we say from Scripture that it is open to all men.… Yes, heaven is open!"

198: "Of course, heaven was closed to us humans because of the Fall of our first parents."

199: "He also committed Him to take upon Himself the whole guilt of sin that lay upon the human race.… thus opened heaven again completely to all men without exception."

199: "For the apostle does not say: 'God was in Christ, reconciling' half the world or a quarter of the world to himself, but 'the world.'"

200: 2 Cor. 5:19 – "word of reconciliation": "does not refer to the reconciliation that takes place in the heart and conscience of man…[but] the reconciliation by which God reconciled the whole world to himself" [I. e. not subjective reconciliation, but objective reconciliation.] 

200: "He who does not preach heaven open to all men through Christ does not preach the gospel"

201: "everything that the world generally puts under the comprehensive heading of "worldview" is trivial."

201: "As far as reconciliation through Christ is concerned, there is no distinction of race, color, class, culture and unculture, worldly respectability and worldly reproach."

Part II: Unitarians, Calvinists, Romanists and Arminians, American Lutherans want to close the open heaven.

225: "Unitarians openly practice the closure of heaven.…deny that God was in Christ…"

226: Unitarians "invoke Christ … 'In my Father's house are many mansions.'" Answer: "'I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.'  John 14:6"

226: "If [Unitarians] continue to deny the Lord who bought them with his blood, they exclude themselves from the open heaven."

226: Calvinists "teach that Christ has acquired grace and opened heaven for only a part of mankind"

228: "Calvinist Reformed thus take the liberty of simply crossing out Scripture words like these: 'God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself'" [2 Cor. 5:19]

228: "as soon as man is struck by God's law,… he logically counts himself among the eighty percent whom Christ did not purchase from eternal damnation with his blood" [According to Calvinists.]

228-229: "the Calvinist must become Lutheran, that is, believe in God's completely unlimited general grace, if he is not to perish through despair in temptation and agony"

229: "Let us therefore also be careful when recommending Calvinist writings." [Examples: Spurgeon, John MacArthur]

230: Synergists: "The Roman Church places itself before the door of heaven… and demands that those who wish to enter must show a fulfillment of 'the law of God and the commandments of the Church'."

230: The Arminian Reformed [Methodists, Holiness groups, Pentecostals, Mennonites] also stand before the door to heaven…God's grace in Christ is not enough …man must contribute to this" [Some want to distinguish Arminians from Reformed, but Pieper corrects that notion.]

231: "the saddest event in the history of the Church and the world in recent centuries"…within the American Lutheran Church in particular, 'by grace alone' was also fought against and rejected with great seriousness.…taught that conversion and salvation depended on the right conduct of man"

Part III: Against Reformed attacks on Lutheran doctrine

257: "…attested in our Lutheran Confessions, that God has reconciled the whole human world to himself through the vicarious life, suffering and death of his incarnate Son, and that heaven is thereby open to all people without exception. We must teach and confess this truth clearly and tirelessly."

257: "Krummacher wrote an article …entitled: "Why we are not Lutheran, but Reformed.…to propagandize for the Reformed Church against the Lutheran Church in this country""

258: "two things are held up as Lutheran doctrine against the Reformed…unrestricted universal grace, …and unrestricted grace alone"…God's Word teaches both." 

Both Calvinists and synergists are against God's Word that teaches both universal grace and grace alone. This refutes the notion that Arminian/synergists are distinct from the Reformed. Their difference is only superficial, as they both deny God's clear Word. One of the most confusing theological topics is found when asking the Internet "intelligence" whether Arminians are "Reformed" or not. One gets conflicting explanations when exploring this (search "are Arminians Reformed?") on the Internet. The Calvinists and synergists are united in their opposition to Lutheranism, and God's Word.

258: "…the Lutheran Church in its Confessions believes God in his Word"

259: Walther: "He who has not yet learned to hold both — universal grace and grace alone — … has not yet passed the last necessary test of his ability to teach within the Christian Church"

260: Walther "remains firm, like steel and diamond, in his judgment and condemnation of the opposing doctrine that God's grace and mercy are dependent on human good behavior".

261-262: "Every chain, as Dr. Walther used to remind us, is only as strong as its weakest link.… The chain forged by God for our salvation is strong…O pity! — people have come up with the idea of improving the divine chain of grace by inserting human good behavior.

263: "So we should not be lax in spreading the message of the open heaven, but rush out into the world with it, as it were"

      Now I present my full translation of Pieper's 1929 essay. Again all of Pieper's emphasis of wording has been retained, unlike the translation by Prof. Mueller in 1933:

Download file without highlighting >> here <<; German text file here.

      Prof. Mueller chose well in selecting these essays as they cover a broad spectrum of topics and are all edifying for the Christian faith and life. One could even think of this selection as an abbreviated, less technical, version of the 3-volume set of Pieper's Christian Dogmatics.

      But I would like to add one more essay that I feel should have been included in this compendium. It's topic would go along with the above essay on "The Open Heaven", and I am including it as an Appendix to this collection, in Part 7 in the next blog post.

WIC5: The Holy Scripture ("The Holy Bible"; 1921 S. Illinois); "entire world…our enemies"

      This continues from Part WIC4e (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — This fifth of six essays is one I have been looking forward to as especially important for today. Being delivered in 1921 to the Southern Illinois District, is would be a prelude for what he taught 3 years later in his Christliche Dogmatik, volume one. I have blogged about that previously, but this 1921 essay is a wonderfully concise yet thorough version that will be even more accessible for the general reader.

      There was no greater point of controversy in the Lutheran conferences in the 1930s and 1940s in America than the matter of "Verbal Inspiration" and "Inerrancy" of Holy Scripture. One may read about this in Clifford Nelson's 1972 book Lutheranism in North America, 1914-1970, search for "verbal inspiration". One comment by Nelson indicates the source of the problem: "Lutheran scholars in Germany and Scandinavia". Pieper's essay is the perfect antidote to their corrosive influence in America.

Notable Quotes:

9: Luther "stuck to sola Scriptura. Scripture alone must teach Christianity and govern hearts and consciences"

10: "we have virtually the entire world, the host of hell, and most of contemporary external Christianity as our enemies."

11: Papists at Luther's time "left unchallenged…the proposition that Holy Scripture is the Word of God."

11: "Scripture is [by deniers] called "divine-human" in the sense that human error is also found in Scripture alongside divine truth. [C.D. I, p. 216] [Cp. with the LC–MS’s and Dr. Samuel Nafzger’s Confessing the Gospel, and others.]"

13: How do we know "that Holy Scripture…is God's own Word"? "1. The words of the Old Testament Scriptures are quoted in the New Testament as God's words. [C.D. I, p. 214]

13: "scriptural passages that are sometimes overlooked…the passages of Scripture that say that all events in the world must be or happen according to the Word of Scripture" [C.D. I, p. 214]

14: "the writings of the apostles of the New Testament are … also God's own Word"

14: "The apostle Paul explicitly refers the Christian churches of his time to his letters and demands that the churches should accept the letters he has written as God's Word"

15: "1 Cor. 14:37: "…let him acknowledge the things that I write unto you: for they are the commandments of the Lord.""

16: "We cannot come closer to God for our salvation in this life than in His Word."

17: "The world is wrong in its assessment of current events. …[Christians] can and should put all these things in the light of the Word of God." [I.e. judge all "news" in light of the Word.]

18: "Are we diligent to commit as many words of Scripture as possible to our memory" [This catches me as I find the Internet usage a hindrance to doing this memorization. But as I was first returning to my old faith, I bought a Billy Graham book with tear-outs of Bible verses to commit to memory. I thank God for that!]

18: "Many unbelievers have been converted to Christ by reading the Bible. [Contrary to some in the LC-MS!]

19: "This divine act of inspiration is the reason why Holy Scripture…is not the word of man but the Word of God." [C.D. I, p. 235: "There is no danger that the 'human side,' [of Scripture] …will be overlooked."]

19: "Scripture…does not consist of "persons" or "things" but of words, so certainly the inspiration of Scripture is word or verbal inspiration"

20: "every dispute is decided by words. By saying "It is written" three times, Christ confronts the devil with the words of Scripture and wins the victory.

20: "If ye continue in my word…"

20: "Guided or directed by God and inspired by God are quite different concepts."

21: "civil society is to be instructed from reason about good and evil. But in the church, a completely different order prevails"

22: Romanists "want to lower the prestige of Holy Scripture and, on the other hand, raise the prestige of the "oral tradition" they fabricate." [Against Prof. Biermann and his “tradition”!]

22: Deniers of Inspiration "deny that there is a God who has all 'accidental occasions' in his hands."

23: Luther on the general authority of Scripture are "blasphemers, blind people, and people of disturbed minds"

23: "that Holy Scripture is inspired by God and is therefore God's own Word also implies its complete inerrancy" [I.e. deniers of inerrancy deny Scripture is God's Word.]

24: "The sacred writers were no more and no less than organs or instruments of the Holy Spirit in the creation of Holy Scripture."

24: Of the individual writers of the Scriptures were: "…the Church Fathers' image of a musical instrument. [Cp. this blog post.]"

24-25: "every critic of the Word of God is struck by God's judgment,…denies his natural understanding…becomes unreasonable and illogical." [There are many "Lutheran" theologians who have been "struck by God's judgment".]

25-30: Objections to the inspiration of Scripture: with Pieper's answer

25: 1) different styles: "different styles do not contradict divine inspiration, but are required by it, because God spoke not only through one, but through several men, each of whom had his own style"

26: 2) human research, human information, and human knowledge: God "used the historical knowledge that the writers had through their own experience or through research or through communication from other people"

28: 3) various readings (variants): "…it is thereby presupposed and promised that the apostles' word will not be lost until the Last Day, but will be present."

29: 4) contradictory passages: "If, however, a case should occur to us where we do not recognize a possibility of reconciliation, we as Christians leave the matter alone, because we believe the inerrancy of Scripture on the authority and clear testimony of the Son of God… John 10:35"

      Now I present my full translation of Pieper's 1921 essay. Again all of Pieper's emphasis of wording has been retained, unlike the translation by Prof. Mueller in 1933:

Download printable file without highlights >> here <<; German text >> here <<.

 

      May readers who want to believe their Bible find refreshment for their faith in Pieper's powerful essay. Amen! — In the next Part WIC6…

WIC4e: Lay movement and the Christian walk (Thesis 3); full essay downloads

      This continues from Part WIC4d (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — This section of Pieper's fourth essay covers the good works of Christians, or the "tangible fruits of faith". — From pages 62-67.

Notable Quotes:

62: "…all Christians should also work diligently… through their Christian walk in all circumstances of life"

63: "an advertisement of the Christian Church…through the good walk of Christians"

63: "But before men who cannot see into the heart, we are only justified by works."

64: "we are to pursue good works with the greatest seriousness and zeal"

65: "We have the outward witness of the Holy Spirit in that the Holy Spirit produces tangible fruits of faith and moves us to good works."

66: "Every time we give offense to a brother through evil conduct, so that he is in danger of falling, we are busy destroying a work of the Holy Spirit"

67: "the world has a judgment on the walk of Christians."

67: "People are not converted by the ringing of bells in our churches, but they are called into the church to hear the Word of God."

      Now I present the full polished English translation of Pieper's essay that follows the original more closely than that of Prof. Mueller's translation. Importantly, it retains Pieper's emphasis of wording:

Download the above in a non-highlighted version >> here <<; German text file here; 

One hundred years ago, the "Lay movement" was a "hot topic". Pieper counsels this movement to encourage it, and to show its limits in certain cases. — In the next Part WIC5, we cover the fifth essay in this compilation.

WIC4d: Lay Movement: Financial matters (Theses 1 & 2)

      This continues from Part WIC4c (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — This post covers pages 37-61, on the financial matters of a "lay movement".

Notable Quotes: Financial terms (pages 37-61)

38: "We do not, however, impose tithing as a duty on the conscience of New Testament Christians. … because it would be contrary to Scripture."

38: "on the other hand, …we should not turn the freedom with which Christ has set us free into a cover for sin"

40: "it is a terrible abuse of Christian freedom when Christians use the freedom from tithing to give Christ as little or nothing as possible for his kingdom"

41: "the weakest Christian should start in Christian freedom where the Jew left off, namely with 10 percent"

42: "But alas, when the "mite" is misused by those who are not poor widows, but who have plenty of earthly goods, to seek the smallest possible gifts and to soothe their conscience with the 'widow's mite'!"

45: "the desire for small gifts also easily becomes an offence to the unbelieving world."

45: The unbelieving world "rejoices immensely when it perceives that Christians…even resort to gambling and dubious entertainments in order to drive out money [for their cause].

46: "…the goal of Christians to give first to the kingdom of God"

48: "But in many, many cases, the poverty or small possessions of Christians is also due to the fact that they give so little for God's kingdom."

48: "…whether we too have not become a blight on the land through our ingratitude and stinginess in giving to the gospel."

49: Luther Germans lack of giving: "If this is how it is to be in German lands, I am sorry that I was born a German or that I have ever spoken or written in German."

50: Christians "owe their teachers reverence and sustenance"

51: Scripture "warns both sides [congregations and pastors] against selfishness and avarice."

52: "What should the preachers be paid for? The work, the hard work."

52: "story of a Negro preacher": "‘Dat’s true, brudder, but de congregation mus’ pay for de pipin'" ["That's true brother, but the congregation must pay for the piping"]

54: "we can also point to congregations in our midst that now provide amply for their preachers after the preachers have endured their poverty."

54: On pastors and teachers: "…avarice, which happens when the real aim of their ministry is to provide for earthly needs and to maximize their salary"

54: "True men of war [pastors, teachers] do not see their life's work in foraging, but they leave it to the commissary department to supply their rations."

55: "we expect our pastors, …to preach under certain [temporary] circumstances even without a salary."

57: Financial sluggishness comes from "a partial lack of clarity in the doctrine of justification."

57: "The more seriously we teach good works in a Christian manner, the more powerfully we preach the gospel."

59: "let us not neglect…to familiarize our Christians with the needs of the kingdom of God"

59: "As a Christian, you are obliged to keep your own eyes open. Perhaps you don't even keep a church newspaper, for example Der Lutheraner, [or the Lutheran Witness]"

61: "a discussion about the support fund for old and sick pastors and teachers and their families and surviving dependents"

61: "If this [enough wages for pastor] is done, they have money left over for sickness and old age."

      When I read of these financial matters, one could sympathize regarding the load on congregations to support their pastors and teachers and their families, including for sickness and old age. The cost of healthcare is massively out of balance due to the socialist nature of medical care in the United States. — In the next Part WIC4e,  the "The 'lay movement' in the Christian walk in general".

WIC4c: Women and the "Lay Movement"; Klemet Preus counsels his LC-MS

      This continues from Part WIC4b (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's convention essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — On pages 36-37 of the fourth essay of Pieper is a short explanation on women teachers, certainly a "hot topic" for today. We have visited this topic over 12 years ago on this blog post. But the importance of the topic for today calls for a complete reprint of this section from Pieper's essay. In Pieper's Thesis I, he calls out a special case of the "Lay Movement", the matter of women in the preaching of the Word. He then gives a short, yet Scriptural instruction on this matter. Again, from pp. 36-37:

The preaching of the Word by women,

its legitimacy and its limitation.

It is a clear teaching of Scripture that the woman should also teach. According to Titus 2:3, the older women are to be teachers of the younger women. Example: Timothy is reported to have known the Scriptures from childhood because he had good teachers in his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois, as we see from 2 Timothy 1:5. Luther therefore wanted not only teachers, but also "female teachers" [Lehrerinnen, lereryn] in the schools. (St. L. X, 479 [WA 15, 47; AE 45, p. 371 is not translated properly.]) But Scripture excludes women from teaching in public assembly before men. Two passages support this. 1 Tim. 2:11 ff.: "Let the woman learn in silence. … But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve." 1 Cor. 14:34-35: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak.… And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." It has been objected that these are Oriental views that have no validity in the New Testament, especially in America, where we live far away from the Orient. To this it must be said: there is nothing in the text about restrictions to the Orient and to certain times. These passages show that the prohibition of teaching is valid for all regions and for all times until the Last Day. The very reason for the apostle's prohibition ("for Adam was made first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived") shows that the prohibition is binding for the Christian Church of all places and all times. The woman is to be a good teacher in her own circle, but not publicly before men. — It has also been asked in our midst whether women and girls could also be teachers in our parish schools. This teaching is perfectly acceptable as long as it is teaching children. Women should not be excluded from teaching children. But as soon as it is a matter of adult men, even adolescent boys, the woman is no longer in the right place with her teaching. Objection: However, in individual cases even in the Old Testament, women have taught by appearing, driven by the Holy Spirit, and instructing those present with God's Word, such as Miriam, Exodus 15:20-21. With regard to the example of Miriam, it must first be said that Miriam appears here as the leader of the women of Israel. But from the example of the judge and prophetess Deborah it can be seen that in special cases, at God's instigation, women appeared as teachers before men, Judges 4 and 5. To this we must say: If God makes exceptions to his rule, we cannot do the same. For us humans, the rule applies; we must leave the exceptions 37 to God. Luther says: "God hangs down the law, but He does not take it up again", that is, He acts as He wishes; we humans, however, remain bound by the rule. The objection that some women are smarter and more eloquent than men does not apply either. We have to admit that. God also knew that. Nevertheless, he gave order: "Let your women keep silence in the churches", 1 Cor. 14:34, and: "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve", 1 Tim. 2:12-13.

The following applies to women's right to vote in the state: because the right to vote in the state implies participation in the rule over men, it is contrary to the natural order that God has made with regard to the relationship between man and woman. Again, the objection that women are often smarter than men, can make better election speeches and vote more intelligently does not apply. We are bound to the order God has made, Gen. 2:18; 1 Tim. 2:12-13, and the reversal of the Creator's order is severely avenged.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

    Contrast Pieper's biblical instruction with a report by Pastor Klemet Preus († 2014) on women in today's Lutheran Church in his 2004 CPH book The Fire and the Staff (CPH 2004), pp. 299-301. On women in the LC–MS, page 300:

"In The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod today, our practice is similarly changing. Women are invited to assume the responsibilities traditionally assumed by pastors—reading the Scriptures in the Divine Service, distributing the Sacrament, leading the service, addressing the congregation during the service, preaching.")

On p. 303-4, Pastor Preus relates an encounter with a progressive LC–MS congregation:

     "I asked  my  third  question:  “I  noticed  that  women  seem  to  do everything  that  men  do  in  this  church.  They  read  the  lessons  and gave  the  children’s  sermon  and,  I assume,  lead  some  of the  Bible studies.  Do  you  limit  the  involvement  of women?  Could  a  woman preach?” 

     Their  answer  was  clear.  “We  have  found  that  women  are  just as capable  as  men  and  just as  much  called  by God  to  do  these  things.…"

Of course, Pastor Preus points out one of the Bible verses that Pieper references, 1 Cor. 14:34, as the norm. — In the next Part WIC4d, we conclude the "Proclamation of the Word", then review his Thesis 2, "Financial terms".

WIC4b: Pieper's 8 questions to examine lay Christians

      This continues from Part WIC4a (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — In this segment Pieper addresses the duty of all Christians to proclaim the Word to the world. I personally struggle with this "duty" and find Pieper's counsel to "speak God's Word in a very simple way" to be most helpful. — From pp. 26-35:

Notable Quotes:

26: "It is God's will that the masses be reached. That is why God has arranged it in such a way that Christians do not sit in a corner…"

27: "We are to be completely separated from the world in one respect, namely in our walk. … In another respect, we are to… penetrate the world, namely through the proclamation of the Gospel."

27: "The main means of reaching the masses is a completely different one. It is the preaching of the Word, which should be done by all Christians"

28: "these Christians, wherever they go and stand, should be the spiritual light for their surroundings and speak God's Word in a very simple way…Christians have a call for this way of preaching the Word."

28: "What was the privilege of individuals in the Old Testament has now become the duty of all Christians in the New Testament."

29: "But all Christians can and should testify to everyone that all people are sinners and are completely reconciled with God through Christ. If we look at the history of the Church, we must say that Christianity has been spread precisely through lay preaching."

29-30: Pieper's grand "brief examination of Christians" — 8 questions, with a response by a "Christian". A humbling experience for me when I ask myself whether I would answer Pieper's exam questions adequately.

1. "Do you perhaps know where this world, heaven and earth, and what is in it, comes from?"
2. "Then perhaps you also know who the one true God is?"
3. "Do you know who Jesus Christ is?"
4. "Do you know what Jesus Christ has done for you?"
5. "Do you also know how you can come to faith in Christ and remain in faith?"
6. "But if you now have to confess that you still sin much every day and certainly deserve punishment — how will you get out of this embarrassment?"
7. "If you lack anything in spiritual and physical things, do you know where you can turn and fill your lack?"
8. "Do you also know what will happen at the end of the world?"

31: "All Christians should preach the Word in their own homes. There should be no house in which a daily service is not held in one form or another." [In my youth our family read "Portals of Prayer" each day.]

32: "In former times…no one was married until he had passed an examination in catechism with the pastor.

33: Luther: "But if one were to come among the multitude where there were no Christians, one would want to do as the apostles did and not wait for a call." 

34: Luther: "we (we Christians) must know what we believe, namely, what God's Word is, not what the Pope or Council say or proclaim. For you must not trust in men at all, but in the pure Word of God (not in human interpretation of the Word)." [Against Prof. Biermann]

35: Luther: "If you hear such people who are so blinded and hardened that they deny that this is God's Word, what Christ and the apostles have spoken and written, or doubt it, just keep quiet, don't say a word to them and let them go" [A Luther quote that I will never forget!]

In the next Part WIC4c, …

WIC4a: Layman's Movement: Proclamation of the Word (Thesis 1)

      This continues from Part WIC3b (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — In this fourth of six essays, Pieper addresses a movement that originated over a century ago, which eventually culminated in establishing the "Lutheran Layman's League", better known as the group associated with a float in the Rose Parade every year on New Year's Day, and the "Lutheran Hour" broadcast. — The essay spans pp. 8-67 in the Report of the 1913 Southern Illinois District convention.

      This essay is divided into 3 major sections:

Thesis 1: "The "lay movement" in the proclamation of the Word." (pp. 11-37)

Thesis 2: "The "lay movement" in financial terms." (pp. 37-62)

Thesis 3: "The "lay movement" in the Christian walk in general." (pp. 62-67)

Notable Quotes:

9: For some speakers for this "Movement": "The task of the Christian church is seen not so much to save sinners… but to educate the non-Christian world to become civilized people. However, this is quite wrong."

10: "When Darwin later visited them [people of Tierra del Fuego] again and saw the change that had taken place with this people as a result of the mission…he is said to have made regular contributions to the mission."

10: "all Christians without exception and without ceasing should be active in preaching the Gospel near and far"

10: "spiritual priesthood is just another word for the Christian lay movement"

12: "…what is the relationship between this public teaching ministry and the teaching of all Christians?"

12: "Some have…restricted the proclamation of the Word, which belongs to all Christians…This is done by the Roman sect and also by Romanizing Protestants. … Others…deny the divine order of the public preaching ministry."

14: "The apostle Paul commands the establishment of this [public] office"

18: "Persons who serve the church within the church…remain under the oversight of the office of bishop or public preaching office"

19: "A church…may not call a man to the preaching office or leave him in this office if he has committed civil offenses and thereby lost his good name before the world.…The church must take the office from him."

20: "a congregation that has …the office of bishop…that is temporarily "vacant" will appoint one or more people to read out a sermon, visit the sick, perform baptism and serve communion."

21: "Pastors…cannot refer to their "office" or their higher education, "science" and the like without and against God's Word."

21: "The public preaching ministry requires a special, that is, greater teaching ability, a greater gift …"

22: "public ministers of the Word are not to involve themselves in the affairs of this life,…but according to Christ's command they are to feed on the gospel, 1 Cor. 9:14" [This would seem to be a hard saying for small congregations unable to support a pastor adequately.]

24: "This gives him [the pastor] courage and strength to remain faithfully at his post, for example in the case of contagious diseases, when everyone flees." [This would be pertinent to recent Covid-19 outbreak.]

26: "Luther…says that those who stand in God's office and faithfully preach God's Word should …be called…"holy father", not because of their person, but because of the office in which they preach God's Word" [Gottesdienst members will overlook the condition that "they preach God's Word".]

In the next Part WIC4b, …

WIC3b: "Reconciliation…" essay concluded; new translation

      This continues from Part WIC3a (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — This post presents the balance of various quotes from one of Franz Pieper's most notable convention essays: "The Reconciliation of Man With God". 

Notable Quotes: (comments in red)

- - - - - - -> The following are 6 objections followed by Pieper's responses:

Objection #1: 

329: "Christ's actions and suffering is completely unnecessary"

329: "All who wish to set aside Christ's atoning sacrifice are outside the Christian Church."

Objection #2:

330: "unworthy conception of God to portray him as so angry with sinners"

330: "But God's revelation in His Word is first of all that God is angry with sinners."

Objection #3:

330: "…God revealed his love for mankind. Therefore, there can be no question of reconciling God's wrath through the death of Christ"

330: "According to Scripture, both the love and the wrath of God are revealed in the mission and death of Christ."

Objection #4:

331: "It would be unjust of God to allow the innocent Christ to be cursed and punished instead of guilty people."

331: "on the one hand, God has imputed our, man's, guilt to Christ… and on the other hand, God made the innocent Christ suffer for us guilty people"

332: "We only keep solid ground under our feet if we refer to God's Word alone for the justice of divine action in the substitution of Christ."

Objection #5:

332: "Christ actually did not suffer what men should have suffered, and therefore one cannot speak of a vicarious satisfaction."

332: "According to Gal. 4:4-5, Christ fulfilled the law given to man"

Objection #6:

332: "Christ's vicarious satisfaction is too "juridical" and not "ethical" (moral) enough"

333: "According to Holy Scripture, the reconciliation of the world took place in a thoroughly juridical way"

333: "Juridical is the transfer of our guilt and punishment to Christ"

- - - - - - - - 

334: "all critics are put to shame by their human substitutes for divine reconciliation"

353: "a perfect reconciliation. …an objective reconciliation."

353: "Only those who believe the gospel will share in the salvation acquired by Christ."

354: "At the time of the Reformation, it was the so-called humanists, the admirers of pagan education, who granted salvation to pagans"

355: "we in turn are fully partakers of reconciliation as soon as faith lights up in our hearts."

355: "faith is the only means by which we can be reconciled with God…only the Missourians and the Saxon Free Church still hold to "the strict orthodoxy of the Old Lutherans".

356: "All Christians, even those in the heterodox fellowships, believe this doctrine of reconciliation"

357: "The gospel has a very strange characteristic. It creates its own recognition…"

358: "The world that still exists is only the scaffolding for the building of the Christian church."

359: "The world sees us Christians as a minor matter, but basically we, … are the center of the universe."

      Now I present the updated version of one of Pieper's greatest essays. Hyperlinks added for reference and navigation. Pieper's emphasis of wording is retained, unlike the previous translation. Quotes from Luther have been cross-referenced to the American Edition where possible:

Downloadable, unhighlighted print file version here; German text file here.

      May Dr. Franz Pieper's essay provide instruction, comfort and strength for the reader's faith (and mine), and provide the tools to fend off all false teaching concerning the "Reconciliation of Man with God"! Amen! — In the next Part WIC4a we begin the lengthy essay on the "Layman's Movement".

WIC3a: reprint "The Reconciliation of Man With God" (1916, S. Illinois updated in 1921 L. u. W.)

      This continues from Part WIC2 (Table of Contents in Part WIC1) in a series presenting a new translation of all of Franz Pieper's essays previously translated in the 1933 CPH book What Is Christianity? And Other Essays. — In this third essay of six, we encounter an unusual case. The 1916 Southern Illinois District convention essay (text file) was reprinted in Lehre und Wehre 5 years later in 1921. Editor Prof. Friedrich Bente explained that this was done "In response to several requests", and because "the basic Christian truth…is almost universally…openly and deliberately denied". And we are told by Bente that "several deletions and additions [were] made by the speaker [Pieper] himself". Pieper wanted to polish this remarkable essay for this reprint after 5 years. So this translation will not use exactly the same German text as Prof. J. T. Mueller used for his translation in 1933. 

Notable Quotes: (comments in red):

289: "Reconciled with God! These words express the greatest happiness that a person can enjoy here on earth." [Pieper grabs our attention with the very first words!]

290: "God must come upon the world with terrible plagues… in order to remind people…for the purpose that people repent and embrace in faith the reconciliation with God brought about by Christ"

291: "all these things [calamities] should bring home to us the fact that we need reconciliation with God."

292: "We live in "the age of newspapers". [Now the Internet.]"

292: "the Lord adds the instruction that misfortunes bring to light what all people deserve because of their sins"

292: "However, in Germany, the land of the Reformation, the contempt for the Word of God is great."

292: "In our country the pope is spreading"

293: "sectarian preachers of our time often speak of a 'fatherhood' of God and a 'brotherhood of all men'… without the reconciliation brought about by the blood of Christ." 

294: "When Adam sinned, the fact registered in his conscience."

295: "the world is still under the sign of divine sparing"

296: "the most powerful revelation of God's wrath against sin is that God gives His only begotten Son, to whom He imputed the sin of the whole world, to death."

296: "The world does not despise the religion of works."

321: "It was not people who were reconciled to God, but God reconciled people to Himself…"

322: "reconciliation…does not consist in the fact that people have changed their attitude towards God… God in Christ or for the sake of Christ has changed His attitude towards mankind." [See this blog post.]

323: "…in God's heart, forgiveness of sin has taken the place of imputation of sin, and grace has taken the place of wrath"

323: "This reconciliation is behind us, it has happened, it is an accomplished fact.… the reconciliation that is not only to happen in the future, when people change, repent and believe, but which has happened"

324: "each one of us, can and should be certain that he is already reconciled with God through Christ"

325: "The Romans [Catholic Church] in particular come here with a whole series of objections."

325: "What the Romans still teach about a necessary confession before the "priest" and about satisfactions that the priest determines, is contrary to God's Word"

326: "But man is created for eternity, and if…he does not fully abide by God's law, then he lives on, but as one eternally cast out from God's presence."

327: "the worm that does not die and of the fire that does not go out, and … the utter darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth" [For eternity!]

327: "God has made his incarnate Son our, human, substitute before his forum."

327: "other so-called founders of religions … Confucius, Buddha, Mohammed, the Pope, the Unitarians … impose burdens on people.… [Christ] does not place the slightest burden on people"

328: "His actions and suffering means that the whole world of mankind is reconciled with God"

Critics of God's method of reconciliation.

328: "And now people are not satisfied with this reconciliation!"

328: "They call it unnecessary, unworthy of God, contradictory, completely unjust, inadequate or not covering the matter, too external or too legalistic."

329: "They see the essence of Christianity not in the belief in Christ crucified for the sins of the world, but in the endeavor to keep the commandments of God."

In the next blog post, Part WIC3b, we complete our "Notable Quotes" from this Christian essay, and a new full translation free for use by all.