EC3b: Franzmann's conditional confession; “in the light of Scripture”? (Excursus)

(This blog is being published out of order, but it pertains to an earlier blog in this series)

     This continues from Part EC3a (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — Recent readings have brought to light a glaring example of non-confessionalism by one of the leading lights among LC–MS theologians. How I was able to determine this was from reading Walther's highly instructive defense against the German theologian Wilhelm Loehe in the matter of defective forms of "confessionalism". One may read the particular excerpt that brings out Walther's teaching in Part EC3 of this series. At the 1858 Western District convention, Walther identified seven forms of conditional acceptance of the Confessions. The following is the third:

A third kind of conditional recognition of the symbols is when one expresses it in this way: one subscribes to them [Lutheran Confessions] if one only interprets or understands them according to Scripture or correctly. Even the Reformed have declared their willingness to sign the Unaltered Augsburg Confession under this condition. … With such additions, that one wishes to subscribe to the symbols if one may understand them correctly, it cannot of course be said that one may understand them as they read and are really meant, for only a madman can want to demand a different understanding; these additions rather indicate that one cannot accept them as they read, and that one therefore requires to be able to connect with the words of the symbol a meaning which does not lie in them, but which one considers to be the right Biblical one.

Now it may sound nice to promote the idea of evaluating theological writings "according to Scripture". But "confessional statements" are not ordinary writings, they are statements to which true Lutherans subscribe to as their own confession before God. They recognize the Confessions as agreeing with Scripture, and therefore no longer need further "interpretation" or "correct understanding" among Lutherans. Walther has beautifully exposed the error of this conditional recognition. With Walther's instruction, we are ready to judge a well known LC–MS theologian.

    Dr. Martin H. Franzmann († 1976) is routinely referenced and praised among LC–MS pastors and theologians for his knowledge and exposition of Scripture, his hermeneutics. His works were referenced several times in the LC–MS text book Confessing the Gospel. Concordia Publishing House continues to sell 5 of his books. He was deeply involved in the discussions with the old American Lutheran Church (ALC) during the 1960s before leaving the U.S. for England in 1969. A leading theologian of the ALC, Prof. Edward C. Fendt, wrote about these discussions in his historical book The Struggle for Lutheran Unity and Consolidation in the U.S.A. from the Late 1930's to the Early 1970's. Written from the perspective of the opposing body of the LC–MS, it was nevertheless quite informative on the LC–MS theologians who were involved during this controversial period. One of those theologians was Martin Franzmann. And what did Prof. Fendt report of Dr. Franzmann? On p. 192-193, he stated:

“Dr. [Martin] Franzmann was committed to look at confessional…statements in the light of the Holy Scriptures, not to look at the Scriptures in the light of confessional…statements. At times he was initially a minority of one in this respect while serving on the LC-MS Committee on Doctrinal Unity, but with the honest leadership [?] of Drs. [John] Behnken and Oliver Harms it was not too long until Dr. Franzmann spoke for the entire group.”

So we see that while Walther warns against recognizing the Confessions conditionally, or one who "only interprets or understands them according to Scripture", Franzmann did just that. He even convinced all of his committee members and two Synod presidents to follow his position. (Honest leadership?) One could wonder that Fendt did not represent Franzmann's position correctly, but they were co-authors of a 1967 essay, "What Commitment to the 'Sola Gratia' of the Lutheran Confessions Involves", which was published in the Synod's Convention Workbook (download here). Franzmann's conditional attitude toward "confessional statements" does not surprise me as he also reportedly denied the plain meaning of John 10:35.

      What prompted Franzmann to this conditional attitude? It was because he was a closet unionist. A conditional recognition of the Confessions was the position of the opposing ALC (and Prof. Fendt), which was the position of its father Wilhelm Loehe. Walther called out Loehe, in his 1858 Western District convention essay, on his so-called "confessionalism" (again Part EC3):

“In a similar spirit [as the Reformed and Calvin!], a few years ago an entire conference of Lutheran preachers gathered in Fuerth in Bavaria, headed by Pastor Loehe in Neuendettelsau in Bavaria, encouraged our Synod to understand and interpret the Symbols [i.e. 'confessional statements'] according to Scripture.”

Franzmann was following Loehe's work-around of the Confessions. According to Prof. Fendt, Dr. Franzmann's commitment "to look at confessional … statements in the light of the Holy Scriptures" is exactly the same position as what the Reformed, Calvin, and Wilhelm Loehe held. Fendt, Franzmann, and today's LC–MS theologians who follow Franzmann in this regard are exposing themselves and their confession as "quatenus", not in full agreement, instead of "quia", or full agreement. Walther, the far better theologian knew exactly how to spot a less than confessional theologian. 

      Again, this can be somewhat deceptive, because it sounds so nice, because it seems to hold up Scripture. Franzmann's attitude towards Holy Scripture sounds solid. But the problem lies in what "confessional" means. To be a true Lutheran, one confesses that the Book of Concord is Scriptural! To now "look at [or judge] confessional statements" means to reverse one's confession because it calls into question one's own confession. 

      May God help me and the reader to find and confess that the Confessions are the true teaching of Holy Scripture! Amen! (In the next Part EC4 we uncover again Walther's love for the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification.)

EC11: Justification, Law & Gospel, Hermeneutics (Central District 1868)

     This continues from Part EC10 (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — In this sixth of eight essays, Central District 1868, elucidating the Theses in Walther's True Visible Church book, he covers XVIII A–C. This essay is one that grounded me in my new found Christian faith when I first read it in the mid-1990s. I have quoted the phrase found on page 14 several times on my blog, and even reproduced the exact 1992 printed page (p. 172). I am pleased to be the one to honor Director August Suelflow's efforts to bring Walther to today's church by once again bringing this special essay to public view in English. What was it that Walther said? This:

“…you often hear them preach: You are saved if you believe, instead of saying: You are saved so that you might believe.”

That is the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification. I am a Lutheran because of this.

Notable Quotes:

12: "The doctrine of Christ is no other than the doctrine of justification and vice versa."

12: "The Reformed false doctrine of the sacraments comes precisely from the fact that they do not rightly believe "that man is justified and saved for Christ's sake alone".

13: The Lutheran Church "actually makes this distinction [of Law and Gospel] and thus proves itself to be the true church."

13: The OT Jewish "faith was more hopeful, looked more to the future — ours looks more to the past."

14: "Because they do not recognize "the difference between the Law and the Gospel" "as a special glorious light", many pastors in Germany and here do not make a proper distinction between the acquisition of salvation and the appropriation of the same. That is why you often hear them preach: You are saved if you believe, instead of saying: You are saved so that you might believe. Nor does one of the sects teach that Christ has already acquired everything and that man only has to accept by faith what God offers him." [Universal, Objective Justification!]

16: "the Methodists…always indicate the actual character of Christians with the words: "They are serious about sanctification"…we answer: We want to be saved by grace alone for Christ's sake. That is the main thing for us."

18: "The Missouri Synod is thought to be orthodox, and it is thought that it only comes from the letter. But the faith of the heart has brought us together."

21: "If, however, the foundation is left standing, but only human thoughts are built on it, … then wood, hay and stubble have been built on the foundation."

21: "stubble Christian": "But the stubble, such as [St.] Bernard's monasticism and the like, fall away, are consumed by the fire of temptation."

22: "The essential foundation is Christ, grasped through faith; the instrumental foundation, by which that foundation is laid, is the Word of God."

23: "There is still enough in the Roman Church that people can be saved.…When he [the priest] baptizes children, he is Christ's servant, but when he reads mass, he is the devil's servant. The doctrine of the papacy, however, is not Christian, but overturns the whole of Christianity."

24: "A resolute Calvinist overturns the foundation of faith.…does not know from God's Word that God wants to save all and that Christ has redeemed all men". [Universal Justification]

In the following, underlining follows Walther's emphasis, which is sometimes missing in the 1992 CPH translation. Paragraph breaks follow the 1992 translation, many hyperlinks added:

Web version here; The file may be downloaded >> here <<; the German text >> here <<.

In the next Part EC12…

EC10: Hermeneutics; Justification; plus the Antichrist (Western 1868) (Hrm05)

     This continues from Part EC9 (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — In this fifth of eight essays, Western District 1868, elucidating the Theses in Walther's True Visible Church book, he covers XVII—XVIII A. This essay covers two main topics: the Scriptures themselves and the Doctrine of Justification. — There is an added bonus of a Synod discussion of "a paper by one of its members" [not Walther] on the Doctrine of the Antichrist. But Walther's presence gives this discussion his stamp of approval. — 

Notable Quotes:

19: "groups that deny God's Word as God's Word are outside the church; such groups in which God's Word is still partially present are sects…the Lutheran Church says: "It is written"."

19: "Until the Reformation, no one … dared to say that one word… in Scripture was not inspired by the Holy Spirit, not even under the papacy."

20: "But for the Lord to say to the Jews: …"the Scriptures cannot be broken" [John 10:35] is worth more than the whole world."

20-21: "In the papacy, the Word of God … has been abolished…by equating tradition with Scripture" [also by Concordia Seminary Prof. Joel Biermann in a lecture to seminarians, see JB01]

21: "Everyone should judge his sermon by the golden scales of Holy Scripture and not engage in extemporizing".

21: "…those who do not accept the whole Word of God will not be able to hold on; for example, in matters of revolution, slavery, usury, where the whole world stands against us."

22: "one cannot fight with the modern theologians, because they do not recognize the Bible"

23: "Presbyterians are appalled by the newer theology in Germany and maintain that every word is inspired."

24: "The Lord calls the doctrine derived from the Scriptures "the Scriptures"."

29: "Nowhere in the Bible does it expressly say of Christ the Savior that He is my Savior. But it does say that He is the Savior of the world, …from which everyone can and should conclude: I also belong to the world, to all people; therefore He is also my Savior." [Universal Justification]

30: The Lutheran Church "makes the doctrine of…justification the foundation, core and star of all doctrine".

34: The sects "think of justification as something that happens first in the heart of man, whereas it is a quality in the heart of God." [Objective Justification.]

Paper on the Doctrine of the Antichrist:

35: Importance: "It must be remembered, however, that this doctrine is contained in the Scriptures, and that it speaks of it clearly and at length."

37: "…our theologians themselves Romanize much in doctrine and practice."

40: "but the pope is more dangerous than all of them." [all sects].

41: "…no Lutheran theologian could go to the Council of Trent, because they did not want to swear such an oath [of allegiance to the Pope]."

42: "the Reformation would not have been possible if the doctrine of justification had not been brought back to the fore, for without it the Antichrist… could not have been discovered."

44: "there are now Lutherans who, despite the clear teaching of Scripture and our confessions, do not want to consider the Pope to be the Antichrist… [we consider] them not to be Lutherans in this respect." [LCMS?]

46: "Every Christian is obliged by God's clear Word to recognize, hate and fight the pope as the revealed Antichrist."

In the following, underlining follows Walther's emphasis, which is sometimes missing in the 1992 CPH translation. Paragraph breaks follow the 1992 translation, many hyperlinks added:

Web version here; downloaded >> here <<; German text >> here <<.

In the next Part EC11…

EC9: Christianity gathered spiritually; Antichrist; hermeneutics (Eastern 1867) (Hrm04)

     This continues from Part EC8 (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — In this fourth of eight essays, Eastern District 1867, elucidating the Theses in Walther's True Visible Church book, he covers Theses XI-XIII.  The printed convention report prefixed each session's record with the following short statements:

• What the Lutheran Church should be regarded as. Grabau's erroneous teaching on this. False doctrine of the Reformed concerning the Lord's Supper. That there are also many believers outside the orthodox Lutheran Church.
• Believers are also under the papacy. The Pope is the Antichrist. He is still in the church. What to think of the Roman communion.
• Why no particular church can claim to be the only one that saves. Difference between division and sect.
• Holy Scripture alone is the source of divine teaching. Errors of modern theology in this respect. Consideration of the biblical passages cited.
• Reason cannot be the source of pure doctrine. Right use of reason in matters of doctrine. Traditions and new revelations cannot be a source of doctrine either. What the Office is.

This essay and the next deal in part with the subject of Hermeneutics and are being added to my ongoing blog series "HrmXX". This one will be listed also as Part Hrm04 (Table of Contents in Part Hrm02).

Notable Quotes:

8: The Lutheran Church "is also sometimes called catholic, but not in the sense that it includes all those who believe and are saved, but in terms of doctrine…"

9: Luther "did not want to bring the whole of Christendom out of the papacy in order to gather it around him"

11: "…even those who have been born again can still be caught up in various major or minor errors."

12: "a Christian should and must avoid the false churches with all seriousness if he does not want to sin against an explicit Word of God"

14: "the seventeenth century, when some Lutheran theologians corresponded with the heads of the Greek Church in order to pave the way for the Reformation there too; of course, the attempt was unsuccessful".

15: "Christianity is scattered physically, but gathered spiritually"

16: "some still follow the false prophets in simplicity and do not realize that they are fighting against Christ…"

17: "Is the church among the sects mutilated because the Word of God is not preached purely and clearly? Answer: No, not the church is mutilated, but only the characteristics of it."

18: "So we see that one and the same error can condemn one person but not harm the salvation of another." [Due to weakness and simplicity of heart.]

21: "The Salzburgers, for example, were such congregations; they were Lutherans, even if they did not bear this name.

21: "in apostolic times there was a true visible Catholic Church, outside of which there was no salvation. But this did not last long".

23: Written Word = "sole source" of doctrine: "means that there is nothing apart from it that can be a source … not reason; not traditions; not new revelations".

23: "Many German theologians [and Prof. Joel Biermann of Concordia–St. Louis, Part JB01] admit that it [Scripture] is the rule and judge of divine truth, but not the source alone".

24: "The Jesuits, of course, believe… that one could certainly add truth, for example from tradition".

24: "Before the Word was written down, God preserved and propagated it through oral tradition, … but when the life of mankind after the Flood was set by God for such a short period of time, …God had it recorded". [Cp. to Prof. Biermann on this subject, Part JB02.]

27: "That traditions or ecclesiastical customs cannot and must not be a source or judge of doctrine."

Paragraph breaks follow the 1992 CPH translation, hyperlinks added:

The file may be downloaded >> here <<; the German text >> here <<.

In the next Part EC10…

EC8: Greatest righteous separation: the Lutheran Church; ceremonies (Central District 1867)

     This continues from Part EC7 (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — In this third of eight essays, Central District 1867, elucidating the Theses in Walther's True Visible Church book, he covers Theses VI-X. Walther's explanations of "schism", "sect", "division", "cults", "heretics", "apostates" etc. are most instructive. One learns when to use certain terms and when not. Strangely Prof. Charles Arand, the writer of the 1992 CPH Forewords, called these "seemingly tedious if not hairsplitting dis­tinctions". But I found these highly instructive, not "tedious" or "hairsplitting".

Notable Quotes :

16: "…not every division is a sect, but every sect is a schism"

17: "By a sect we do not mean a bunch of worldly nefarious people, but only people who hold to a fundamental error."
17: "Unitarians, Mormons, etc. etc. are to be counted along with the Turks; they are not heretics in the strict sense of the word, but apostates".
17: "One should depart from heretics and false teachers; one should not separate from preachers who are not right in life, but otherwise teach correctly, otherwise one would create a schism".
18: "dissolute life of a preacher… could well be assumed that there would also be a lack of pure doctrine".

19: "This error [denying Pope is Antichrist] would not be a fundamental error, but a dangerous one."

20: "…one part embraces the pure doctrine, the other rejects it, then the former part, which separated itself from the others, has carried out a just, unrighteous separation. The greatest righteous division that ever took place in the Church is without question the foundation of the Lutheran Church in the Reformation"
21: Ceremonies: "a congregation need not allow itself to be prevented by one or two from introducing a beautiful order"
22: "Unitarians, Socinians, Rationalists are all non-Christian assemblies".
24: "We baptized Christians are now the true Jews in the New Testament — the so-called Jews are the school of Satan, they have left the people of God through their unbelief."
25: "a true visible church… is only that in which God’s Word is proclaimed in its purity and the sacraments are administered according to the Gospel."
28: "…one reserves the right to understand and interpret this [Confessions] one way and that differently".

29: "Lutheran doctrine is everything that is clearly stated in the Bible. In its confessional writings, the Lutheran Church confessed the Holy Scriptures from the very beginning."

29: "our faith is not really a gloss or interpretation of the Bible, but a simple reference to what is clearly written."

30: "Dr. Luther's word was the voice of the Church, because his word agreed with Scripture."

31: "The following was also mentioned about false preachers: that they do not always preach falsehood, but also truth" [i.e. half-truths]

33: "…it has actually happened at times, that in the full sense of the term there was no true visible church".

33-34: "…the general apostasy, where the public preaching ministry will also be completely destroyed. — Word and Sacrament will remain, but there will be no pure public ministry of preaching." [Ref. this blog.]

34: Gerhard: "We say that … all particular churches, and therefore the whole visible church may be darkened by clouds of corruptions, errors, offenses, heresies, persecutions, and the like"

35: "some clear teachings of Holy Scripture are not explicitly discussed and treated in the Symbolical Books. These doctrines are Lutheran because they are Biblical"

38: "…a Lutheran is only he who has come to the certain conviction that in the symbolic books of the Lutheran Church stands the pure truth of the divine Word".

Paragraph breaks have followed the 1992 CPH translation, hyperlinks added:

Web version here; The file may be downloaded >> here <<; the German text >> here <<.

In the next Part EC9…

EC7: Church in proper, improper sense; Hypocrites; Heretics, schismatics and sects (Western District 1867)

     This continues from Part EC6 (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — In this second of eight essays, Western District 1867, elucidating the Theses in Walther's True Visible Church book, he covers Theses III–VI. The printed convention report prefixed each session's record with the following short statements:

• Church in the proper and improper sense. Hypocrites in the church, not belonging to it. Word and Sacrament do not belong to the essence of the Church.
• What it means to be mixed in. Context of the previous theses. Christians also among the members of false churches. Where God's Word is essential. Examples: the Galatians, Reformed, Greek and Catholic Churches.
• The expression: "true church" used in different senses. Stages of purity. What is sect and sectarianism.
• Heretics, schismatics and sects within the church. Difference between an erring church and a sect. What makes a heretic. Examples of teachers who erred but were not heretics. What a sect is. Example of the Roman Church and the Methodists. Children of God under the papacy.
• Roman Church in the good and in the evil sense. Errors of the same. Necessity of knowing these errors. Unionism not to be tolerated. Causes. What schisms are. Example of the Corinthians.

Notable Quotes:

19: "…the doctrine of the Romanizing Lutherans that hypocrites belong to the Church only leads to security".

20: "The characteristics of a thing [e.g. the Church] cannot belong to its essence."

20: "When it was recalled from one side that Loehe and Kliefoth maintain that hypocrites are members of the body of Christ, but dead ones…" [Loehe and Kliefoth refuted.]

22: "It is true that the Rationalists say: the Bible is God's Word; but from their explanation one sees at once that it is all deception." [Or "smokescreen"]

23: "The Reformed children have the right baptism, although the Reformed teaching about it is wrong."

24: "…the Catholic priests are and remain hypocrites, who say with their mouths that the Bible is the Word of God, but in their hearts they think it is a fable."

24: "For we are not to condemn the Reformed, but neither can we hold fraternal fellowship with them, otherwise we are professing their false doctrine."

26: "If a fellowship has the Word of God completely pure and the sacraments are administered in it according to the Gospel, it is not the Church alone, but it is the orthodox Church."

28: "The essence of the Church is the people who truly believe in Christ.… The marks have nothing to do with the essential nature of the Church."

29: "…it has been demonstrated to the followers of Grabau that in their doctrine of the Church they no longer have the pure doctrine of justification."

31: "Perhaps no teacher of the Church has written such powerful polemical writings as Luther."

34: "With erring teachers, therefore, the fault lies in their understanding, with heretics in their will."

37: "…when they [Romanists] show the monstrance [or pyx, container used in elevating the host] to the people, they are only asking them to worship a piece of bread, and that is pagan idolatry."

In the following presentation, the paragraph breaks have followed the 1992 CPH translation which broke up the long paragraphs of the German original. As always, many hyperlinks have been added:

The file may be downloaded >> here <<; web version here; the German text >> here <<.

In the next Part EC8…

EC6: Church in proper sense; Harrison's "disconnect" (1866 Missouri)

     This continues from Part EC5 (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — This essay is the first of eight which are the majority of Theses in Walther's book The True Visible Church. These Theses were previewed in advance of the convention in a Der Lutheraner article, vol. 22, pp. 186-187, so the convention was familiar enough to have questions prepared. The book was written "for the convention … at St. Louis, Mo., October 31, 1866", but the next seven convention essays continued on from this first essay, which dealt with Theses I-III.

     The writer of the Forewords to the 1992 CPH Essays I, Prof. Charles Arand, wrote (p. 14) that Walther "draws many, and at times seemingly tedious if not hairsplitting distinctions", yet he at least acknowledged that "The patience and effort it takes to 'plow' [?] through these lectures will be greatly rewarded." It is sad for me that Arand was picked to provide these Forewords because he has virtually ignored Walther for the rest of his professional career.

      This essay is a perfect compliment to my blog series on Walther and the doctrines of Church and Ministry as it provides clarity, and answers several questions.

Notable Quotes:

44: "…the expression was not correct when one said that belonging to the visible orthodox church was necessary for salvation."

50: "Never again are the means of grace, Word and Sacrament, the constituent parts of the Church, and therefore do not belong to the definition of its essence."

50: "The believers make up the Church, [but] the wrong understanding [of the Church] … would have it that the definition of the Church is the gathering of believers around the Word and Sacrament or the orthodox preaching ministry. … Romanizing Lutherans [do not deny this wrong understanding]"

56: "…the Third Article, according to Luther, speaks only of the invisible church".

58: "the Synod expressed its astonishment that there could still be Lutheran theologians today who claim that the doctrine of the church was not yet properly developed at the time of the Reformation, that it still needed to be perfected. [e. g. Loehe] Luther could not have waged the battle against the heresies of his time, which among other things concerned precisely the point of the church, if he had not known exactly what the church actually was according to God's Word."

61: "All the misery, all the confusion in the dispute about the concept of the Church came from the fact that this sentence was not held fast: The church is the congregation [Gemeinde] of saints."

65: "But as long as the preaching of the Word is still there, we can still believe with certainty that the Church is still there, i.e. the children of God through faith, no matter how horrible things may be in life.".

 72: "Dr. Luther deliberately never used the word 'church' [Kirche] in the German Bible, but always 'congregation' [Gemeinde], in order not to encourage the pope, who had made it so that 'church' was understood to mean him, the pope, and his bishops. This, too, is one of the errors of the false Lutherans of our time, that they also make a distinction between 'church' and 'congregation'." [Cp. to Pres. Harrison's statement against J. T. Mueller's translation here on this point, that his translation of Walther was a "disconnect" with Walther's intent. Since Luther never used the word "Kirche" in his Bible, Mueller was correct in sometimes translating it as "congregation" where it was necessary. It is Harrison who is "disconnected" with Walther and Luther. Walther at times uses the terms "church" and "congregation" interchangeably. The reader is especially encouraged to read the section on Thesis III here.]  

The following presentation provides links to each individual page of the original German publication. It follows the paragraph breaks of the 1992 CPH translation:

This file may be directly downloaded >> here <<; German original text >> here <<.

In the next Part EC7…

EC5: Calling a Pastor by a congregation (Synod 1863)

 [It should be noted at this point that the next essay in Essays vol. 1, the essay "Church and State" was erroneously attributed to Walther. After researching and corresponding with top LC–MS historians years ago, it was discovered that this essay was delivered by District President J. G. Schaller, and so it is being skipped over in this blog series of Walther's essays.]

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

     This continues from Part EC4a (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — This essay, delivered to the 1863 general Synod, is best introduced by quoting the "Foreword" from the 1992 CPH book:

“This essay is an elucidation of Thesis XXI of Wal­ther’s book The Proper Form of an Evangelical Lutheran Local Congregation Independent of the State [see Part EC4a], which appeared in 1863 and whose contents were in the hands of the delegates to the Synodical convention of that year.”

One may read Thesis XXI in translations by John Drickamer here, and by Theodore Engelder here in the book Walther and the Church (p. 97). It is also in J. T. Mueller's translation The Form of a Christian Congregation, p. 63-75. My translation is available in the file below. 

      There are 3 matters addressed in this Thesis XXI:

• Walther counsels congregations, in calling pastors, against an isolationistic, do-it-yourself approach that excludes the counsel and guid­ance of the church at large.
• Walther reviews the re­quirement for the pastor to subscribe unconditionally to the confessional writings of the Lutheran Church.
• The nature and role of ordination: not divinely instituted, but a “wonderful institution”.

Just two quotes that speak to the first and second points above, from pp. 32 and 41:

“…in Acts 1:26, … the apostles do not carry out the election, but give advice”

“Then what is required of the congregations is not really a commitment to the symbols, but a confession of them.”

      Another quote from Walther demonstrates his teaching on the Synod itself and whether it can be called a "church" in the sense that the local congregation is "church". On page 34, it is taught that independent minded congregations 

"hinder the inner growth of our Synod and thus of the kingdom of God, of which our Synod is also a part, even though it is only a small part."

Compare this with Pres. Matthew Harrison's statement that "a synod is in fact 'church' because it is a transcongregational expression of ecclesiastical unity." Walther minimizes the Synod as only "a small part" in the kingdom of God, Harrison maximizes it in comparison to the local congregation. — 

       In the following, file links are added pointing to the German original page in Google Books. Links have also been added to the sources for Luther's writings:

Web version here; print format file download here; German text here.

In the next Part EC6…

EC4a: Walther's Proper Form essay/book renewed (Western 1862)

     This continues from Part EC4 (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — This post for the essay partially delivered by Walther to the 1862 Western District convention was not included in volume 1 of the 1992 CPH Essays for the Church, but was inexplicably replaced with the address by District President J. Gottlieb Schaller on "Church and State". After some research, it was discovered that Walther's essay was not included in the convention report but was later published in book form under the title Die rechte Gestalt…, or better known as The Proper Form…. The English translations of this book began in 

• 1897 with A. L. Graebner's translation of only the Theses themselves in the Theological Quarterly, vol. 1, pp. 401-421. Then in 
• 1938 Prof. Theo. Engelder followed that up with his somewhat more expanded version in the book Walther and the Church, pp. 86-115. But it too was abridged. So in 
• 1963, Prof. J. T. Mueller's "paraphrase translation" of the full book appeared. Unfortunately this book is not freely available to borrow online. And perhaps because Mueller's "paraphrasing" was not always the best translation, finally in 
• 1981, in the CPH book Walther on the Church, Dr. John Drickamer reworked Mueller's translation and so although he "makes  use  of Dr.  Mueller’s  work", yet  Mueller's "translations  have  been  exhaustively  compared  with  the  original  German, and  numerous  revisions  have  been  made." The result is a better translation but still an abridgement because of CPH's "space limitations".

Because the translation history of Walther's important book is so fragmented and somewhat incomplete, I am publishing my own translation, a partially polished machine translation utilizing the online machine translators, primarily the DeepL Translator. An additional benefit is that I have retained all of Walther's emphasis of wording, where it is missing in Mueller's 1963 translation. 

      In Walther's Foreword, he points out that while the old orthodox teachers lived in "a state church under a consistorial constitution", yet they "did not, on the basis of their doctrine of church, office, church government, etc., conceive of the form of a local church independent of the state in any other way than is presented here." Walther proves his point in this book. As the leader of the old Missouri Synod, he put this in practice.

A Few Notable Quotes:

5: "A congregation is independent of the state when the state leaves it to govern itself in everything."

8: Luther in 1543: "The offices in the church and at court must be distinct" [Separation of Church and State]

10: Luther in 1530: "I am speaking of the Church as something special and distinct from the civil state."

11: "no rank, no matter how worldly it may appear, deprives the Christian of his spiritual and priestly character and his share in church rights"

12: Luther: "We must tear up the Consistory, for we do not want, in short, to have the lawyers and the Pope in it."

19: "That a local congregation…must be externally connected with other congregations…is an error on which the papacy is founded".

50: "All adult male members of the congregation have the right to actively participate in speaking, deliberating, voting and deciding in such congregational meetings; women and youth are excluded."

61: "matters which are decided in God's Word and testified to in the church confessions cannot be decided by a majority vote".

100: "schoolmasters are to be subject to the supervision of the preaching office, Luther testifies…"

Subject Index:

      Perhaps the best overview of this book is by reviewing the subject index, p. 219-228, in the back of the German book, a feature not carried forward by any of the other translations. Here are a few of these subjects to stir the reader's interest:

Confession, private confession, is an indifferent thing and has not been customary in all orthodox churches, but is extremely beneficial 91-93.

Freedom, Christian, therein is to be firmly insisted upon in regard to indifferent things 62. 63. 118-121.
Cemeteries, church is to be maintained in good condition 171.
Church government, a common of several congregations is not in itself necessary 19. 20. — a common of several congregations is only of human right 20. 21. — is salutary 213-215, (see: Unity — Synod.)
Köhler faith [blind faith, charcoal burner’s faith] is not faith 111.
Parishes should be geographically, i.e. locally, delimited 184-186 — can be changed 186.
Governments, spiritual and secular are not to be mixed 7. 8, (see: Authorities — State.)
Schools, children's schools, every parish was asked to establish 96-99 — are to be maintained from the parish treasury for the sake of the poor 161. 162 — high schools are also to be endowed and maintained 203. 204.
Majority of votes does not decide matters of conscience or what is already decided in God's Word and the confessions 61. 62. — should decide in indifferent matters 62. 63. 172. —  in certain cases the majority should give way to the minority 172. 173.
Voting ability 50-54.
Union, ecclesiastical, with different doctrine is against God 150-152, (see: Syncretism [Religionsmengerei].)
Transfer of preachers, when it is right and when it is not right 193. 194. — who is to decide 194. 195. — the consent of the congregation concerned is necessary 194. 195.

— Mueller's translation did not carry forward Walther's many critically important emphases of wording. I have used underlining to show all of these. 

— For convenience, all page numbers in this index are linked to their respective German page. 

— While Mueller added paragraph breaks for better readability, I have attempted to maintain the original paragraph breaks, with one major exception. There are over 90 quotes from Luther's writings and perhaps that many more from other orthodox Lutheran theologians of the past. I have isolated the quotes with indented margins to make them more readable.

— Pagination follows the original German publication, and all page numbers have been linked to their respective German pages for immediate comparison.

      The following is a partially polished machine translation. Many hours were spent in linking all Luther quotes to the St. Louis Edition. Some were also linked to the pages in the American Edition and to Lenker's edition. — Hyperlinks have been added to all page numbers which follow the original German publication:

Web version here; download print file here; German text here.

It is my hope that this electronic publication will stir enough interest in the reader to also purchase Mueller's translation from Concordia Publishing as his work will be somewhat better in some cases. Then both translations may be compared for the maximum benefit. — SDG, To God Be the Glory! — In the next Part EC5 Walther expanded on Section 21 of the above essay: on "Calling a Pastor".

EC4: Justification — LDJ essay revisited (Western District 1859) (LDJ)

     This continues from Part EC3b (Table of Contents in Part EC1), a series restoring availability of English translations of several of Walther's convention essays that have seemingly been abandoned by Concordia Publishing House. — I have blogged twice before (here and here) on this foundational essay of the old Missouri Synod. While the doctrines of Church and Ministry are quite important in Christian doctrine, yet they are based on the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification. It all hinges on this doctrine.

       Walther gave dozens of quotes and references to the writings of Martin Luther and so this essay (Western District 1859) provides the greatest compilation of Luther quotes every assembled on this doctrine. It still seems incredible that it is no longer available from CPH or the LC–MS, Walther's great essay on the Lutheran Doctrine of Justification. So I am revisiting this essay on this blog post to allow it to shine once again, with additional material. Just one quote to share the heavenly doctrine that Luther brought to light again:

“In the life beyond we will forever find our joy and delight in this, that the Son of God so deeply abased Himself that He takes my sin on His back;  yes, not only my sins, but also those of the whole world, from those of Adam down to the very last man, … On this now stands the basis of all Christian doctrine; whoever believes this is a Christian…” — Martin Luther

      The following is a vastly updated version of the one published over 10 years ago. I spent some days updating the hyperlinks and adding new ones. In most cases the links provide direct, immediate access to even the American Edition's translation, along with my English translation of the St. Louis Edition of Luther's writings. Almost all of the links to outside reference materials are on the Internet Archive and should survive this blog. So if one downloads this file, these links should be viable for many years, should the world continue:

 This file may be downloaded >> here <<; same file with no highlighting >> here <<.

In the next Part EC4a… we give a proper presentation of a major essay by Walther on The Proper Form of a Christian Congregation.