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