New CPH book: Old Missouri Homiletics comes to light in 2025

     I have recently discovered that Concordia Publishing has a "New Release" book this year that quite surprised me: Evangelical Lutheran Homiletics by Prof. Reinhold Pieper, translated by Pastor Isaac Johnson. I had reported on Johnson's work in a 2023 blog post. But I did not think that CPH would be the one to publish his work because old Missouri writings are still not highly regarded in today's LC–MS or by CPH. But there it is, all 512 pages of it! 

      But CPH's (and LC–MS's) ambivalence towards this book is yet noticeable. New  books of this caliber typically receive "Praise for…" remarks by notable theologians and scholars. For example another "New Release" book, Life under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus by Wade Johnston (a writer for the 1517 organization), received two "Praise for…" comments. But one looks in vain for CPH sponsored "Praise" for this important book on Homiletics from the old Missouri Synod. Why? (It was a relief to find that Pres. Matthew Harrison did not write the Foreword as he did for last year's Rediscovering the Issues book.)

      What I hoped for when reading the "Look Inside" file was a better translation than my machine translation. But I was stunned to read not only a fine Foreword by Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz, but a very detailed (29 pages!) history of the life of Reinhold Pieper and the influential Pieper brothers, Franz and August. This is perhaps the greatest history of the Piepers every written. I learned a lot. It surprises me that all the prefacing articles are available for free in the "Look Inside" file. 

      But the "Look Inside" file surprisingly contains no translated text from Pieper's work, surely an oversight by CPH. However one can read a sampling of the translation in the "Read Sample" file on Amazon. And there I was impressed with Johnson's translation compared to my 2023 machine translation. 

    Pastor Johnson has obviously poured a lot of effort and love into this project, surprisingly so. I wonder that Dr. Koontz put him up to it. This would be a serious book for pastors and seminary students to be used throughout their career as preachers. It is not a glib, witty book, like for example last year's homiletics book by LC–MS "Gottesdienst" theologian Heath Curtis, but brings forward the best of Lutheran teaching to today on preaching. And although all the prefacing articles are available for free in the "Look Inside" file, yet it would be well worth the price of $65 especially in a printed version because serious students could make use of the margins to make their own notes. And of course the translation is superior to any machine translation.

      May this book receive the attention it deserves, for the preaching of God's Word, and to the glory of His grace. Amen!

Hrm03: Surburg's essay: Walther’s Hermeneutical Principles

 

      This continues from Part Hrm02 (Table of Contents in Part Hrm02) in a series on Lutheran Hermeneutics. — Twelve years after Prof. Raymond Surburg penned his scathing Book Review (series Cyc1) of the disasters of the 1975 Lutheran Cyclopedia, the basis for today's LC–MS "Christian Cyclopedia", he authored an essay to review Walther's itemized listing relating to "Hermeneutics" in Walther's book True Visible Church of God on Earth.  This appeared in the book C. F. W. Walther: The American Luther, pp. 95-113, commemorating the 100th year of the passing, or "going home", of Walther.

Notable quotes:

95: Walther "has not written a separate book or treatment on the important subject of Biblical hermeneutics".

95: "Hermeneutics set forth the proper rules of interpretation, while exegesis applies these principles in the interpretation of the Bible." [Excellent concise definitions and distinction.]

96: "the use of the historical-critical method with its devastating and emasculating effects on Lutheranism".

96: "hostile types of Biblical criticism… form criticism, tradition criticism, redaction criticism, and in recent years a type called structuralism".

96: "key hermeneutical principles in the Bible itself".

97: Walther "studied the Lutheran Confessions of the Book of Concord of 1580, in which he found the same hermeneutical principles as he had discovered in Luther’s works".

97: "The second source for doctrine, tradition, was repudiated by Luther and the Lutheran Confessions." [Prof. Joel Biermann teaches the opposite.]

98: "Walther in his lifetime saw the origin of such cults as Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, … all of which claimed new revelations from their founders and leaders". [This directly contradicts claims made by Profs. Joel Biermann and A. C. Piepkorn.]

98: "Human reason as a source of religious knowledge is rejected by the Apology…The Apology … reject[s] tradition as another source for revelations… New revelations as a source of knowledge in religion are… are condemned in the Smalcald Articles."

98: "The average Christian does not need a church council, a pope, the consensus of the Church fathers or tradition to teach him what Holy Writ states".

99: "Walther wrote: “Whoever thinks that he can find an error in Holy Scripture does not believe in Holy Scripture but in himself.”".

99: "…this basic hermeneutical principle that only Scripture is able correctly to interpret itself".

102: "'…the literal sense has but one sense.' This hermeneutical principle eliminates allegorization of the text".

102: "…critical scholarship has repudiated the New Testament’s interpretation as erroneous. …many miracles of the Bible… are reinterpreted by historical critics as sagas, myths, legends, and parables…"

103: "interpreting, is guided by the context and intention of the author".

104: "“dark passages are to be interpreted by the clear ones” (Thesis XVI G).…Luther affirmed this principle … as follows: 'That is the special nature of the whole of Scripture that it explains itself through all passages that belong together and by the analogy of faith.'"

105: Luther: "…where the Holy Scriptures establish something to be believed one should not deviate from the words as they are expressed".

105: "Analogy of Faith": “The Ev. Lutheran Church rejects out of hand every interpretation not in harmony with the analogy of faith (Romans 12:6)” [Prof. Joel Biermann confuses what the "analogy of faith" is.]

106: "Walther ruled out the practice of claiming that those teachings and practices [of the Bible] which modern culture … finds unacceptable are time-bound and no longer binding."

106: The Lutheran Church "makes the teaching concerning Christ, or justification, the foundation and marrow and guiding star of all teaching."

107: "It was Luther who emphasized the proper distinction between Law and Gospel as a procedure in Biblical hermeneutics."

108: "…this principle [on adiaphora] is in harmony with the Lutheran Confessions".

108-109: "'…no teaching as an article of faith which is not contained in God’s Word.' … This principle eliminated a whole host of teachings, many of which are based upon the consensus of the Church Fathers, the decisions of the teaching magisterium and the tradition…"

109: "rule out teachings of certain Protestant denominations…gone beyond the clear teachings of the Bible" cults claiming new revelations as a source for their theological teachings

109: "many different cults claiming new revelations as a source for their theological teachings". [Prof. Joel Biermann teaches that cults get their theology from the Bible, not their "new revelations".]

110: The Lutheran Confessions are "the hermeneutical criteria for the evaluation of the theology of the Enthusiasts, of Calvinism and of Roman Catholic doctrines".

110: "Unfortunately, after 1947 the position of Walther and The Lutheran Confessions on Biblical interpretation was not adhered to by many in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod". [This is certainly still true today! Prof. Joel Biermann teaches explicitly against Walther's teaching, particularly on "tradition" and "the analogy of faith". See the other blog series starting with Part JB01.]

In the following "reprint" one will find that practically all references are hyperlinked to their sources. Highlighting is mine:

One may download the complete essay without highlighting >> HERE  <<.

One caveat to this essay is that Surburg refers, in his footnote # 3, to Prof. Martin Scharlemann's entry for "Hermeneutics" in the 1975 Lutheran Cyclopedia. But Scharlemann avoided the 1954 edition’s assertion of an errorless Bible. Although Scharlemann did not participate in the 1974 "Walkout", his early writings on Holy Scripture were devastating.  Another issue is Surburg's reference, in footnote #90, to a writing of Prof. A. C. Piepkorn, but Piepkorn clearly brought into question the inerrancy of the Bible. — The next blog post in this series, should there be one, will be Part Hrm04…

Hrm02: Walther's Hermeneutic rules — True Visible Church

    Although I have blogged last December (Hrm01) about Walther's Hermeneutics from his convention essay to the 1867 Northern District, I realized later that the subject is more important than one blog post. That essay was in the same year as Walther's essays on the The True Visible Church of God on Earth (Archive copy) which were compiled and published in book form. This well-known book contained much of the same material as the Northern District essay, and bears repeating. Prof. J. T. Mueller translated this book into English in 1961. As mentioned in a recent post (Part Cy3), Prof. Raymond Surburg wrote an essay in 1987 to review and commemorate the portion of Walther's book addressing Hermeneutics. It appeared in the 1987 book C. F. W. Walther: The American Luther. More on that in the next blog post…

      I prepared a table itemizing (1) the German original wording, (2) Prof. Surburg's translation, and (3) Prof. Mueller's translation. All items are hyperlinked to their respective original pages. Some text has been bolded and highlighted by me to reflect key wording:

These	(Wahre Kirche page #) / Walther’s German text to DeepL translation	(page #) Surburg translation, Am. Luther	(page #) Mueller True Visible translation
XIII (13)	(59 / ) / DeepL  Die ev.-luth. Kirche erkennt das geschriebene Wort der Apostel und Propheten für die alleinige und vollkommene Quelle, Regel und Richtschnur und für den Richter aller Lehre an,  a. nicht die Vernunft,  b. nicht die Traditionen,  c. nicht neue Offenbarungen.	(97) The Ev. Lutheran Church recognizes the written Word of the apostles and prophets as the only and perfect source, rule, norm, and judge of all teachings - a) not reason, b) not tradition, c) not new revelations.	(50, 50) The Evangelical Lutheran Church recognizes the written Word of the apostles and prophets as the sole and perfect source, rule, and norm, and the judge of all doctrine; (a) not reason; (b) not tradition; (c) not new revelations.
XIV (14)	(66) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche halt fest an der Deutlichkeit der heil. Schrift. (Ansichten — offene Fragen.)	(98) The Ev. Lutheran Church holds fast to the clearness of Scripture (There are no “views” and “open questions.”)	(56, 56) The Evangelical Lutheran Church professes the perspicuity of Holy Scripture (Private Views — Open Questions)
XV (15)	(70-71) / DeepL Die ev. - luth. Kirche erkennt keinen menschlichen Ausleger der heiligen Schrift an, dessen Auslegung um seines Amtes willen für untrüglich und bindend anzusehen wäre,  a. nicht einen einzelnen Menschen,  b. nicht einen besonderen Stand,  c. nicht ein Particular- oder Universal-Concilium,  d. nicht eine ganze Kirche.	(99) The Ev. Lutheran Church acknowledges no human interpreter of Scripture whose interpretation must be received as infallible and binding on account of his office — 1. not an individual, 2. not an order, 3. not a particular or general council, 4. not a whole Church (nicht eine ganze Kirche)	(61, 61) The Evangelical Lutheran Church recognizes no human interpreter of Holy Scripture whose ex officio interpretation must be regarded as infallible and binding; a. not any individual person; b. not any special estate; c. not any special or universal church council; d. not the whole church.
XVI (16)	(77) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche nimmt Gottes Wort an, wie es sich selbst auslegt.	(100) The Ev. Lutheran Church accepts God’s Word as it interprets itself.	(66, 66) The Evangelical Lutheran Church accepts God’s Word as it interprets itself.
(16A)	(79) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche laßt den Grundtext allein entscheiden.	(101) The Ev. Lutheran Church lets the original text alone decide.	(68, 68) The Evangelical Lutheran Church leaves the decision solely to the original text.
(16B)	(81) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche hält in der Auslegung der Worte und Sätze den Sprachgebrauch fest.	(101) The Ev. Lutheran Church, in the interpretation of the words and sentences, holds fast to the usage of language.	(70, 70) The Evangelical Lutheran Church, in its interpretation of words and sentences, adheres to the linguistic usage.
(16C)	(83) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche erkennt nur den buchstäblichen Sinn für den wahren Sinn an.	(101) The Lutheran Church acknowledges only the literal sense as the true sense.	(72, 72) The Evangelical Lutheran Church recognizes only the literal sense as the true meaning.
(16D)	(85) / DeepL Die ev. - luth. Kirche halt fest, daß der buchstäbliche Sinn nur Einer sei.	(102) The Ev. Lutheran Church holds the literal sense has but one sense.	(74, 74) The Evangelical Lutheran Church maintains that there is but one literal sense.
(16E)	(91) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche richtet sich in der Auslegung nach dem Zusammenhang und Zweck.	(103) The Ev. Lutheran Church, in interpreting, is guided by the context and intention of the author.	(79, 79) The Evangelical Lutheran Church is guided in its interpretation by the context and purpose.
(16F)	(92) / DeepL Die es.-luth. Kirche erkennt an, daß der buchstäbliche Sinn sowohl der uneigentliche, als eigentliche sein könne; sie geht aber von der eigentlichen Bedeutung eines Wortes oder Satzes nicht ab, es zwinge sie denn die Schrift selbst dazu: entweder nehmlich die Umstände des Textes selbst, oder eine Parallelstelle, oder die Aehnlichkeit des Glaubens.	(104) The Ev. Lutheran Church acknowledges the literal sense may be the improper sense as well as the proper; but it does not depart from the proper sense unless forced by Scripture itself— either the circumstances of the text itself or a parallel passage or the analogy of faith.	(80, 80) The Evangelical Lutheran Church recognizes that the literal sense may be either the improper or the proper one; however, it does not deviate from the proper meaning of a word or sentence unless Scripture itself forces it to do so, namely, by either the textual circumstances, a parallel passage, or the analogy of faith.
(16G)	(98) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche legt die dunklen Stellen nach den klaren aus.	(104) Dark passages are to be interpreted by the clear ones	(85, 85) The Evangelical Lutheran Church interprets the obscure passages in the light of the clear.
(16H)	(99) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche nimmt die Glaubensartikel aus denjenigen Stellen, in welchen dieselben ihren Sitz haben, und beurteilt hiernach alle beiläufigen Aussprüche über dieselben.	(105) The Ev. Lutheran Church takes the articles of faith from texts constituting the seat of the doctrine and judges all obiter dicta [incidental statements] accordingly.	(86, 86) The Evangelical Lutheran Church takes the articles of faith from those passages in which they are expressly taught, and judges according to these all incidental expressions regarding them.
(16I)	(100) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche verwirft von vornherein jede Auslegung, die mit der Aehnlichkeit des Glaubens nicht im Einklange steht. Röm. 12, 7.	(105) The Ev. Lutheran Church rejects out of hand every interpretation not in harmony with the analogy of faith (Romans 12:7)	(87, 87) The Evangelical Lutheran Church rejects from the very outset every interpretation which does not agree with the analogy of faith. (Rom. 12:6)
XVII (17)	(104) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche nimmt das geschriebene Wort Gottes (als Gottes Wort) ganz an, achtet nichts darin Enthaltenes für überflüssig oder gering, sondern alles für nothwendig und wichtig, und nimmt auch alle die Lehren an, welche aus den Schriftworten nothwendig folgen.	(106) The Ev. Lutheran Church accepts the whole written Word of God (as God’s Word), deems nothing in it superfluous or of little worth but everything needful and important, and also accepts all teaching deduced of necessity from the word of Scripture.	(90, 90) The Evangelical-Lutheran Church receives the entire Holy Scripture (as God’s Word), regarding nothing set forth in it as superfluous or unimportant, but everything as necessary and weighty; it accepts also all doctrines which necessarily follow from the Scripture words.
XVIII (18A)	(108) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche gibt jeder Lehre des Wortes Gottes die Stellung und Bedeutung, die dieselbe in Gottes Wort selbst hat: A. zum Grund und Kern und Stern aller Lehre macht sie die Lehre von Christo oder von der Rechtfertigung.	(106) The Ev. Lutheran Church gives each teaching of God’s Word the place and importance it has in God’s Word itself. A. It makes the teaching concerning Christ, or justification, the foundation and marrow and guiding star of all teaching.	(94, 94) The Evangelical Lutheran Church assigns to every doctrine of Scripture the rank and significance which it is given in God’s Word itself. A. As the foundation, core, and guiding star of all teachings it regards the doctrine of Christ or of justification.
(18B)	(111) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche unterscheidet streng Gesetz und Evangelium.	(107) Paraphrase: “must sharply distinguish between Law and Gospel.”	(97, 97)  The Evangelical Lutheran Church distinguishes sharply between Law and Gospel.
(18C)	(114) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche unterscheidet streng in der Schrift enthaltene fundamentale und nicht fundamentale Lehrartikel.	(107) Paraphrase: the necessity of making a distinction between fundamental and non-fundamental doctrines.	(99, 99) The Evangelical Lutheran Church distinguishes sharply between fundamental and nonfundamental articles set forth in Scripture.
(18D)	(123) / DeepL Die ev..luth. Kirche scheidet streng, was in Gottes Wort geboten und freigelassen ist (Adiaphora, Kirchenverfassung).	(108) The Ev. Lutheran Church distinguishes between what God’s Word commands and what it leaves free (things indifferent, adiaphora, church government).	(107, 107) The Evangelical Lutheran Church distinguishes sharply what God’s Word commands and what it leaves to Christian liberty (adiaphora, ecclesiastical organization).
(18E)	(127)  / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche scheidet ebenso streng als vorsichtig Altes und Neues Testament	(108) The Ev. Lutheran Church distinguishes sharply between the Old and New Testament.	(111, 111) The Evangelical Lutheran Church distinguishes sharply and cautiously between the Old and the New Testament.
XIX (19)	(130) / DeepL Die ev.-luth. Kirche nimmt keine Lehre als eine Glaubenslehre an, die nicht als in Gottes Wort enthalten unwidersprechlich gewiß erwiesen ist.	(108) The Ev. Lutheran Church accepts no teaching as an article of faith which is not contained in God’s Word. [missing Walther’s emphasized word “certainty”]	(114, 114) The Evangelical Lutheran Church adopts as an article of faith no teaching not shown with incontestable certainty to be contained in the Word of God.

      In the next Part Hrm03, we "reprint" Prof. Surburg's 1987 essay because of its helpfulness in summarizing Walther's Hermeneutics...

- - - - - - - - - - - -  Table of Contents  - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hrm01: Walther's hermeneutics essay: 1867 Northern District; Fuerbringer compared 

Hrm02: Walther's Hermeneutics rules — True Visible Church

Hrm03: Surburg's essay: Walther’s Hermeneutical Principles

Hrm04: (EC9) 

Hrm05: (EC10)