BWC1c: Scripture sufficient, Tradition not needed; Internal Testimony, TSSI, etc.; Apocrypha; Koran

      This continues from Part BWC1b in a series (Table of Contents in Part BWC1) presenting Walther's edition of Baier's Compendium of Positive Theology. — Continuing our…

Notable Quotes: (Italics follow the original. All quotes not from Baier were from Walther's additions.)

80: Quenstedt: "Holy Scripture is sufficient by itself to prove all the dogmas of faith, and there is no need to add to it either the Roman Pontiff or the consent and authority of the Church, or human reason, revelations and private visions."

82: Quenstedt: "This principle of the pontiffs: 'Whatever the Roman Pontiff determines is infallibly true', first of all cannot be, it is clear from this, because they try to prove it from another source, namely from the Scripture itself, St. Matthew 16:18."

85: Balduin: "When even the regenerate want to argue about matters of faith from the principles of reason, then their reason is said to be corrupted."

 87: Calixt: “There are two principles: the authority of the divine law, and the tradition of the Catholic Church [i.e. Tradition, the theme of Prof. Biermann. Calixt was known to be heterodox.]…To this Kahn says: “When Calixt spoke of two principles in the Church, Scripture and Tradition, this was evidently at the expense of the Protestant principle of Scripture and was once again an approximation to the Roman Church.” [Dr. Benjamin Mayes incredibly argued otherwise! See here, p. 295 ff.]

91: Von Hofmann and his "I" theology: "But where do I find the faith by which I interpret the Scripture, if not in myself?"

95: Baier: "not only the sublime things that surpass the grasp of human reason, but also all the other things contained in Scripture, were inspired by God…"

96: Augsburg Confession: "Why does Scripture so often forbid making and hearing traditions?"

101: Antithesis: R. F. Grau: "the Holy Scripture…did not originate in a purely divine manner, as if the Holy Spirit, as the sole author, had dictated to the human writers, as mere scribes or instruments, both the content and the very words".

100-105: Walther quotes, in addition to the earlier Calvin, many later German "Lutheran" theologians in Antithesis to Baier's teaching of divine inspiration: R. F. Grau, Kahnis, Thomasius, von Hofmann, Luthardt, Delitzsch, Kurtz, Dieckhoff, and Philippi.

107: Chemnitz: "And so that the people of God might be certain that this Scripture was not brought by Moses by human will, but was divinely inspired, God, by very many stupendous miracles, attested to Moses's authority both before, after, and during the very writing."

110: Luther: "But the Jews, most pestilential of men, frequently pervert the meaning of the prophets by their points and distinctions"

115: Baier: "the reading of Scripture was also granted and commended to all indiscriminately, and this by divine command (Deut. 6:6–7)"

116: Quenstedt: "2. In the so-called Inquisition, nothing is more heretical and capital than the reading of the Bible."

119: Baier: "Holy Scripture does not derive its authority from the Church, since the Church was not its author"

122: Baier: "Scripture does not use the blandishments of words and the coloring of secular eloquence, adapted to captivate the minds".

126: Baier: "that the Holy Scripture so clearly and distinctly shows the way of reconciling a sinful man to God, which no other religion or writing teaches."

130: Baier: "As for the Muhammedan religion, it is a mixture of various religions, which is self-contradictory and, when compared with Christianity, is forced to submit". (Walther then gives a long quote from the Koran.)

135: Baier: "This full assurance is the benefit of the Holy Spirit, who, as Augustine says, has a chair in heaven and teaches hearts from within". [The internal testimony of the Holy Spirit, or TSSI in Latin: see Pieper, C.D. I, 313; Noland, Scaer, Tepker deny this teaching, calling it Calvinistic.]

136: Quenstedt: "A demonstrative regress is when we proceed from a confused cognition to a distinct one. When we prove the authority and divinity of the Holy Scriptures from the intrinsic testimony of the Holy Spirit, and from the Holy Scriptures we prove the testimony of the Holy Spirit, we do not commit a circle, but it is a demonstrative regress." [Another Lutheran teaches TSSI.]

138: Baier: "the testimony of the Church alone does not suffice; rather, the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit, or His operation, efficacious through Scripture itself, must also here concur."

142: Kromayer: "We believe that this writing is inspired not because of the testimony, but through the testimony of the Church." [Against the Papists.]

144: Chemnitz: "Thus Origen says that he learned from the paradosis (παραδώσει, by tradition) that the four Gospels are undisputed in the universal Church". [The place for "Tradition" in the Church.]

146: Hollaz: "Cicero gravely says in his speech Pro Archia Poeta: 'Greek is read in almost all nations, while Latin is confined to its own borders, which are indeed narrow.'"

149: Baier: Apocrypha "are not to be brought forward when the canonical Scripture is required; although otherwise they are not to be completely hidden, but are to be read profitably"

152: Chemnitz: "the Council of Trent, in its fourth session, decrees as follows: 'If anyone does not receive the entire books, with all their parts, as they are contained in the old Latin Vulgate edition, for sacred and canonical, let him be anathema.'"

NOTE: Gemini reports the following Papist doctrines supported by the Apocrypha: 1. Purgatory and Prayer for the Dead, 2. Intercession of Saints, 3. Almsgiving as a Penitential Act, etc.. See also Mark Surburg's blog post of 4 years ago > HERE <.

In the next Part BWC1d we conclude the Notable Quotes from Volume I, then present the full text.

BWC1b: Non-fundamental doctrines, Antichrist; Papists made Luther "a fairly good theologian"

      This continues from Part BWC1a in a series (Table of Contents in Part BWC1) presenting Walther's edition of Baier's Compendium of Positive Theology. — We are first greeted in this segment with very important words of Luther on the importance of the Doctrine of Justification, then we continue with my highlights…

Notable Quotes: (Italics follow the original. All quotes not from Baier were from Walther's additions.)

55: Gerhard: "Some things revealed in the Word are so arranged that they can be ignored without jeopardizing salvation, although they cannot be denied without the same danger"

57: Luther: "For in this (article on justification) everything hangs and stands, and it draws all the others along with it, and everything is for the sake of this one; that whoever errs in the others certainly does not have this one correctly, and even if he holds the others but does not have this one, it is all in vain. [LUTHER!; StL 8, 628–630; AE 24, 320–322]

59: Luther: "Do we not see in Augustine many errors, which he recanted? These would have all been damning to him, if he had not been preserved by faith… Whoever now follows them, follows to his own destruction."

63: Luther: "And I, a thoughtless fool [20 years ago], could not see the consequence that I would have to admit that if faith alone were sufficient, then monasticism and the Mass could not be".

63: Gerhard: "but whoever, after the scriptures have been published, would pertinaciously deny that there are any divine scriptures, he will be considered a heretic and excluded from the possession of salvation". [Prof. Biermann may not have denied that the Scriptures are divine, but his emphasis on "tradition" does just that.]

65: Baier: "even in these matters [non-fundamental articles], care must be taken not to sin rashly against divine revelation…For thus, as if through a mortal sin, the Holy Spirit and faith can nevertheless be and are shaken." [Example: Copernicanism.]

66: Quenstedt: "To this class we refer the doctrine about the Antichrist because of the prophecies of the Scriptures… "

67: Huelsemann: "the serious warnings of Christ and the Apostles in Matthew 7:24; Luke 12:42 ff., 17:35 ff., 21:8; 2 Thessalonians 2; 2 Timothy 3:4; 2 Peter 2; 1 John 2:4; Revelation 11:12 ff. contain admonitions about avoiding the snares of the Antichrist"

67: Huelsemann: "the doctrine of discerning the Antichrist from true teachers is no less necessary today than the doctrine on the malices and snares of the devils."

69: Luther: "One finds more heathen and human conceit than a certain holy doctrine of the Scripture among the theologians."

73: Luther: "For I myself … have a great deal to thank my Papists for, that they have beaten me, pressed me, and tormented me so through the devil's raging, that is, they have made me a fairly good theologian". [Luther: "a fairly good theologian"!]

75: Dannhauer: "the theologian, instructed with more resources, polished by more practiced senses, must see more in proportion to the degree of his talent and calling, and not only see, but also vindicate from false hermeneutics".

78-79: Kliefoth: "von Hofmann…recommends the path of speculative system-building…he seeks the simplest thing as a starting point, which is to unfold itself…while setting aside Scripture and church doctrine".

In the next Part BWC1c we continue with Notable Quotes from Volume I.

BWC1a: Piety not enough; Reason "to be taken captive"; Theology not "self-awareness of the Church"

      This continues from Part BWC1 in a series (Table of Contents in Part BWC1) presenting Walther's edition of Baier's Compendium of Positive Theology. — This post presents some highlights that I noted while polishing the translated text. In other words, what jewels did I uncover? These quotes are among those which Prof. Krauss judged that were added with "such astonishing dogmatic meticulousness".

Notable Quotes: (Italics follow the original. All quotes not from Baier were from Walther's additions.)

XXII: On Acts 15:2: "it is not enough in the church, if we strive to lead or move men to the exercises of piety … rather chose to enter into and sustain a considerable dispute."

3: Baier: "…we do not concern ourselves with the different kinds of pagan theology, full of lies and impious superstitions".

9: Baier: "the end of natural theology is rightly said to be to render man inexcusable, and to lead him gradually to supernatural theology"

16: Luther: "a person to whom the law is presented soon says, 'Yes, it is so; I cannot deny it.' You could not so quickly persuade him otherwise, unless it had first been written in his heart"

20: Chemnitz: "Natural knowledge must be subordinated to divine revelation in the Word; so that, wherever it disagrees or conflicts, the natural must yield to the divine"

25: Cicero: "yet all believe that there is a divine power and nature"; "It is innate in all, and as if engraved on the mind, that there are gods."

29: Flacius: "Sciences are most commonly taught in a threefold order: by synthesis or composition, as they are made; by analysis or resolution, as they are applied to use; and finally by definition and division, how they can be understood most briefly and most quickly. . . Theology is most conveniently taught by synthesis…"

31: Ovid: "We strive for the forbidden and always desire what is denied."; "What is permitted is unwelcome; what is forbidden burns more acutely."; "I see better things and approve them, I follow worse things." [Walther masterfully quotes the pagan philosophers who spoke from what Baier calls "a certain supernatural divine revelation".]

34: Calov: "…science is cognition that is evident and perfect; which likewise does not entirely apply to theology, whose knowledge is rather non-evident, since it deals not with ἐπιστητά or knowable things, but with τὰ πιστά or believable things, and thus its mysteries are to be believed, not known; it commands reason in its cognitions to be taken captive".

35: Antithesis: Kahnis: "Theology is the scientific self-awareness of the Church".

35: Baier: "…revealed theology, in the principal articles of Christian doctrine which are called mysteries, draws its conclusions from divine revelation alone, which is naturally not self-evident."

37: Meisner "after comparing the theologian with the physician, he says that the internal end of theology is the theological healing, or working for the salvation of man".]

41: Baier: "faith in Christ is also rightly counted among the causes of salvation…Not, however, in itself and absolutely considered…but in relation to the object, which is Christ the mediator." [Baier clarifies this point, as he should. Walther backs this up with quotes from Gerhard and Quenstedt.]

46: Smalcald Articles: "The Papists cite Augustine and certain Fathers who have written about purgatory… We have another rule, namely, that the Word of God establishes the articles of faith and that no one else, not even an angel, does so."

50: Hollaz: "Some fundamental articles of faith are read ρητως or in explicit words in the sacred writings; some are contained in the sacred Scripture only διανοητικώς (intellectually) …which are perceived from it by a manifest and immovable consequence"

50: Luther: "It is certain, whoever does not rightly believe one article or will not (after he has been admonished and instructed), certainly does not believe any with earnestness and true faith…For all heretics are of this sort: first they begin by denying just one article…"

51: Luther: "Thus in theology, a small error overturns the entire doctrine. Therefore, doctrine and life must be kept as far apart as possible"

In the next Part BWC1b we continue with Notable Quotes from Volume I.

BWC1: Baier-Walther Compendium (BWC), Part 1

    This begins a new series that presents as its culmination a complete translation of the Baier-Walther Compendium (BWC). Why do this since it has already been translated by Rev. Ted Mayes (emeritus) a few years ago? Because neither his translation, nor the promised edited version by his son, Dr. Benjamin T. G. Mayes, has been made available to the wider public, as far as I know, except an important 34-page section on "The Office of Christ", or the "Atonement", from Volume III available on Amazon. Now I have found that it is within my grasp to bring this translated series to full public view.

      As I reviewed the old posts under my label "Baier-Walther Compendium" before writing an Introduction to this series, it seemed that I had already written it, especially in the October 7, 2020 post presenting the Book Review that Prof. E. A. W. Krauss wrote in the August 1879 Lehre und Wehre. Allow me to repeat a notable portion from that Book Review:

But the additions from the fathers which Dr. Walther added to Baier's arguments were chosen with such astonishing dogmatic meticulousness, with such detailed expertise, with such a surprising consideration of what must be brought back into the consciousness of the Church, especially in our time, that the reader has in them, together with Baier's text, not only a complete compendium of the dogmatic work of our Church, but at the same time also an armor [πανοπλία, Eph. 6:11] of the orthodox doctrine with which he can confidently enter the struggle with the proud spirits of modern theology without having to fear defeat. 

Another point that Krauss highlights is the following: "Particularly valuable are the Antitheses added by Dr. Walther…". Having completed the first 2 volumes, I quite agree with Prof. Krauss's judgment. Krauss emphasizes the value of this Walther edition more properly than other reviewers.

      One should also read Paul McCain's 2011 Cyberbrethren blog on these textbooks >> here <<, which includes a review by Robert Preus that speaks more to the weaknesses of Baier's, and Baier's father-in-law Musaeus's, pietistic influence — more reason to study this improved edition that corrects these weaknesses.

      

Translation work:

      I had greatly desired to translate these volumes many years ago, perhaps 20+ years ago, but there were no translation aids for Latin short of hiring a theologian at a very expensive rate. (I tried this.) Even when Google appeared with the capability to translate Latin some years ago, it was somewhat rudimentary (but helpful). 

    Fast forward to today with the advent of AI technology. When a correspondent advised me that Claude AI was able to OCR German black-letter font (Fraktur), I decided to give the AI bots some test pages of the Baier-Walther Compendium (BWC), which has 5 languages, and was stunned to see the quality of translation of all three chat bots that I tested. And they would simultaneously handle all languages contained in the original in the same document! I then determined to clean up the text of the BWC for submission to AI. This took considerable time as I wanted the Greek and Hebrew characters to be as accurate as possible. Google Books was my friend for this as it OCR'd these characters quite correctly. I then fed the cleaned text first to DeepL "Translate files" (paid) which had also added the Latin language recently to their translation engine. (A great advantage of DeepL is that it generally retains the original formatting.) Then I sent it to 3 "Chat bots", ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok (also Google's Gemini). They all did a good job, with some exceptions. So to polish the DeepL translation, I had the 4 other chat bots to compare, and I had a copy of Rev. Ted Mayes work from several years ago. How did the AI machine translators compare to Mayes work? I think better in many instances, rarely not. I found myself referring to Mayes work only infrequently. Even so, it is a shame that the elder Mayes's complete work has not been made available to the general public, as far as I know. (Email me if someone knows different. I'm not checking the comments.)

      Compare the following translations of a paragraph from page 189 of the original Volume 1:

§ 48. Definiri a potest Scriptura s., quod sit Scriptura, b Deo c inspirante, d per prophetas et apostolos e partim Ebraeo, partim Graeco idiomate f consignata, hominem peccatorem g de omnibus, quae creditu ac factu necessaria sunt, h instruens, ut fidem i in Christum consequatur, Deoque reconciliatus, sancte vivat, ac tandem k vitam aeternam Dei beneficio consequatur.

BackToLuther

Rev. Ted Mayes, emeritus

§ 48. It can be defined (a) that the Holy Scripture (b) is inspired (d) by God, (c)   delivered through the prophets and apostles,(e) partly in the Hebrew, partly in the Greek language,(f) to sinful man (g) concerning all things necessary to be believed and done, (h) instructing him, so that he may obtain faith (i) in Christ, and, being reconciled to God, may live a holy life, and at last (k) obtain eternal life by the grace of God.

§ 48.  Holy Scripture is able to be defined,a that it is Scripture,b inspiredd by God,c recorded idiomaticallyf through the prophets and the apostles,e partly in Hebrew, partly in Greeks, to human sinnersg about all things, which are necessary for believing and doing,h equipping, so that they obtain faithi in Christ, are reconciled to God, live a sanctified life, and at lengthk obtain eternal life by the gift of God.

Scholars may demote the value of my work, but I would wonder that they themselves are already using AI extensively. I compared all three chat bots (and Gemini) with the DeepL version and made many corrections as needed. Over 5 weeks have been spent on the first volume. Many more for the later volumes. Of course errors will remain, but again, I wonder that this would not be far from the quality of an edited version by Dr. Benjamin Mayes of his father's work. Who knows, maybe better.

      Another benefit of my translation is that hyperlinks were added for page references. Every page follows the original page, so one can immediately compare the translation with its original counterpart by clicking on the page number. Also a few references were linked to Walther's sources. Along with these links, I have included 30 pages of an introductory biography, a dedicatory address to Duke Frederick, and a short essay by Baier not included in the elder Mayes' work.

      In the next Part BWC1a, we begin by offering a few "Notable Quotes" that I highlighted while translating the first volume.

- - - - - - - -  Table of Contents  - - - - - - - - 
BWC1: This post, Introduction
   BWC1a: Piety not enough; Reason "to be taken captive"; Theology not "self-awareness of the Church"

   BWC1b: Non-fundamental doctrines, Antichrist; Papists made Luther "a fairly good theologian"

   BWC1c: Scripture sufficient, Tradition not needed; Internal Testimony, TSSI, etc.; Apocrypha; Koran
   BWC1d: Sacraments & Word differ, i.e. the Word remains forever; Papist: "Scripture is like a wax nose"
BWC2a: Volume II: Trinity explained, the Psalms are made clear, .
   BWC2b: Trinity; Creation
   BWC2c: Creation; Angels
   BWC2d: Image of God; Providence; Eternal Blessedness
   BWC2e: Eternal Blessedness; Eternal Damnation

   BWC2f: Temporal Death; Resurrection of the Dead
   BWC2g: Last Judgment

   BWC2h: Actual Sins; full downloads for Volume 2

BWC3a: Vol. III(A): Grace; "God did not owe it, man could not do it"

   BWC3b:  Jesus Christ, His Person

   BWC3c:  "A divine humanity, a human divinity"

   BWC3d: "not for some only, but for all and every one"

   BWC3e:  Faith in Christ; sola scriptura; "true inward testimony" of Holy Spirit

   BWC3f: Regeneration and Conversion

   BWC3g: Justification: "on this article stands everything that we teach"

   BWC3h:  "justification takes place through the Word"

   BWC3i: Trent blasphemes Faith Alone; Huber's error

   BWC3j:  Renewal/Good Works; supererogation; good intentions: pilgrimages, lit candles, rosaries

   BWC3k: Law and Gospel I: Hearing the Word not better than reading; self-love; usury

   BWC3l: Law and Gospel II: Proper Distinction, by Luther and Walther

BWC3m: Vol. III(B): Sacraments, Predestination, Church & Ministry, Society

   BWC3n: 

   BWC3o: 

   BWC3p: 

   BWC3q: 

   BWC3r: 

   BWC3s: 

   BWC3t: 

   BWC3u: 

   BWC3v: 

   BWC3w: 

   BWC3x: 

Bente3: Repentance & Good Works; conclusion, full download (Part 3)

      This concludes from Part 2 (Table of Contents in Part 1) in a 3-part series presenting Prof. Fredrich Bente's second most important writing, Law and Gospel: Repentance and Good Works.  concludes our 

Notable Quotes:

62: "For even if good works do not belong to the essence of justification and faith, they are nevertheless their purpose and goal, just as good fruits are the purpose and goal of the tree."

63: "the propositions that good works are necessary for the salvation of believers, so that it is impossible to be saved without good works, are rightly rejected."

64: "Before a person can do any truly good work, they must first have the certainty that they are a blessed child of God, an heir to eternal life."

73: "If someone has no good works, it is solely because he does not truly believe that God has forgiven him for Christ's sake."

74: "It is said of the Russians that they know no gratitude because, from long and gloomy experience, they no longer believe that the kindness and offers of friendship shown to them are really sincere and without selfish motives." [Still true today of the Russian people?]

75: "However, they [Lutherans] do not deny that good works should and must be done, namely 'for God's sake and to God's praise.'"

78: "As if God lured us into his kingdom with the call, 'Freely and by grace alone!' but then made us understand that His grace is conditional on the good works we do."

85: "the statement 'good works are done voluntarily' does not mean that it is up to the discretion of Christians whether they want to do good works or not."

92: "however, this remains our consolation, that we and our works are not under the law, but under grace."

99: Ap. IV, 24: "one should not exalt good works and such conduct so highly that it brings shame upon Christ"

102: Ap. III, 61 "we are pleasing to God not because of the law, not because of works, but because of Christ."

104: Ap. III, 148: "cursed are the Pharisees, our adversaries [the Papists], who interpret the law in such a way that they give the glory of Christ to works"

Now I present the (first?) full English translation:

Download unhighlighted version here; PDF version here; German text here.

The reader is encouraged to also compare Walther's book, Der Concordienformel, Kern und Stern, or Formula of Concord, Core and Star.

Bente2: Law & Gospel (Part 2)

      This continues from Part 1 (Table of Contents in Part 1) in a 3-part series presenting Prof. Fredrich Bente's second most important writing, Law and Gospel: Repentance and Good Works. This work draws heavily on the Formula of Concord, quoting it profusely. But this presents the glory of the Formula, even if opponents of Lutheranism vehemently oppose it. 

      In Bente's first paragraph, he outlines the basis for his thesis. I reproduce it here for the readers to assess the importance of this book (p. 3):

The fourth article of the Formula of Concord, “On Good Works,” is primarily directed against the assertion that good works are necessary for salvation—a statement that Melanchthon had presented in his Loci of 1535, but which he had deleted in subsequent editions of the Loci, only to renew it in the Leipzig Interim of 1548, whereupon it was zealously defended by Georg Major and others as a great and necessary truth. The fifth article, “On the Law and the Gospel,” is directed in particular against the teaching that the law should no longer be preached in the church, but only the gospel, from which alone repentance should be taught — an error that Agricola von Eisleben had first defended against Melanchthon in 1527 and against Luther in 1537. The sixth article, “On the Third Use of God's Law,” is also directed against the antinomians, as Agricola and his followers, among whom Andreas Poach in Erfurt and Anton Otto in Nordhausen were prominent, were called. “On the Third Use of God's Law,” which turns its point against the assertion that Christians, as they are here on earth, no longer need the preaching of the law, especially not to show them what works are pleasing to God.

So we see the basis for Bente's title. — We offer a few

Notable Quotes:

4: "what is often attacked in us as something specifically Missourian…is precisely what highlights and adequately expresses the essential and central tenets of Lutheranism.…what is peculiarly Lutheran proves to be essentially Christian."

7: "Those who have the doctrine of justification stand at the center of all truths"

10: "Judged spiritually, the present world war [World War I] also has its ultimate cause in the fact that the world and secularized Christianity have long been disgusted by the blessed doctrine that God is gracious and merciful only in Christ and for Christ's sake."

22: "The Gospel is a free ticket to paradise and at the same time the power that allows us to use this ticket and thus transports us into the kingdom of heaven itself"

22: "When the Apology says that the Gospel, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper “require” faith, this does not mean that faith is a human achievement, … but only that God earnestly wants us to accept the forgiveness offered and not spurn it through unbelief"

27: "The sermon on Christ's suffering and death leads the sinner even more deeply and thoroughly into the law than the law of Moses alone can do."

29: "The suffering and death of Christ was still preached in the Dark Ages. But the “for us” was omitted."

33: "In order to bring people to the realization that they are lost and damned sinners who cannot save themselves, Christ also preaches the law and interprets it spiritually, as in the Sermon on the Mount."

34: "If man himself wields the knife of the law, he either uses the blunt back side and becomes a Pharisee, or he cuts himself to death when his conscience awakens."

39: "The papist doctrine of the law, that we should overcome God's wrath through our love, is nothing other than a doctrine of despair"

47: "For the papists, repentance is from beginning to end a work of man, through which he earns forgiveness"

48: "The right sermon on repentance makes everyone a sinner, finds nothing good in them, compels them to confess all their sins, knows only of Christ's perfect satisfaction, and teaches repentance throughout life with constant struggle against the flesh."

57: "When Scripture says that the Holy Spirit will chastise the world, the world is to be understood as including the old Adam of Christians."

In the concluding Part 3, the finishing quotes on "repentance", then a full translation.

Bente's Law & Gospel, Repentance & Good Works: another BTL book

     Prof. Friedrich Bente is either forgotten or criticized or ignored in today's LC–MS, but in his teaching, he was close to Walther and Pieper.  Next to his hated "Introduction to the Book of Concord" (in the venerable Triglotta) is his 1917 series of essays in Lehre und Wehre entitled Law and Gospel: Repentance and Good Works. These were shortly thereafter compiled into a 1917 book of the same title, with updates.

      Some time ago I had discovered that these were translated by a "J. A. S." in the Concordia Lutheran periodical of the Concordia Lutheran Conference. It began in their March/April issue of 1974, but as far as I can tell was never finished. As I compared these with the original German text, I found some differences, e.g. section numbering is somewhat different from the book version. Because of this, I decided to produce my own polished machine translation.

     But before presenting some quotes from the book, I present Prof. Ludwig Fuerbringer's brief comments in Der Lutheraner when it first appeared (Nov. 6, 1917, p. 370):

• Law and Gospel: Repentance and Good Works. Primarily according to the 4th, 5th and 6th articles of the Formula of Concord. By F. Bente. Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Mo. 104 pages 6x9, bound in cloth with cover title. Price: 60 cts. postage paid.

     "A Gift for the Four-Hundredth Anniversary of the Reformation” is the title of this book, and it treats the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, which the Reformation laid out again according to Scripture and set forth in its confessions. It consists of a series of articles that appeared in Lehre und Wehre during the summer months of this year, but here they are supplemented with additions. The articles are divided into 34 sections, and the entire treatise displays the mastery that readers of Lehre und Wehre have long recognized in the author: thorough, comprehensive treatment; clear, incisive exposition; and a lively, engaging presentation. Writings such as these, which so thoroughly introduce the fundamental ideas of the Reformation, are the most valuable jubilee books, which will not become outdated but possess lasting value. But they are not to be merely skimmed over, but read and studied.

- - - - - - -  Continued in Part 2  - - - - - - -

In the next Part 2, we present Bente's first paragraph as a thumbnail sketch of the book. Then samples of quotes from the book for a better overview.

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Part 1: This introduction; Fuerbringer's book review

Part 2: Law & Gospel (Part 2)

Part 3: Repentance & Good Works (Part 3)

Fendt3: Franzmann's & Graebner's halting speech, tears

      This concludes from Part 2 in a 3-part series (Table of Contents in Part 1) presenting certain highlights from the 1980 book by ALC theologian Edward C. Fendt regarding the controversies between the LC–MS and the ALC. —

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317: “A few months later I talked to Dr. Martin Franzmann. He told me that his son was in a college of the Wisconsin Synod and he went on: "When he comes home for vacation it becomes a problem for him to pray with the rest of us in the family" and a tear fell from his eyes. He added haltingly: "There must be something wrong with synodical resolutions when they destroy prayer fellowship in the family."” [Franzmann was truly a tragic theologian and a deceptive unionist. As with John Behnken, this Bible scholar should have read and inwardly digested Luke 14:26.]

317: Prayer Fellowship in post-Walkout times: “Even though the LC-MS has been led to declare that for it the A.L.C./ LC-MS fellowship is a "fellowship in protest" I know that a fellowship of prayer between the members of the A.L.C./LC-MS commission still exists”” [1978  – prayer fellowship under J.A.O. Preus??]

318: “... that A.L.C. support of the "dissidents" only and not of the LC-MS in this struggle was a serious matter for the LC-MS. … This could cause some problems in the future.” [This seems to expressly declare that the ALC officially supported the “dissidents”, or so-called “moderates” or “progressives”. Many of today's LC–MS leaders and teachers would sympathize with them.]

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But the most stunning account that Fendt related was the "breakthrough" of the prominent LC–MS theologian Prof. Theodore Graebner. Although I reported on this in 2011 (here and here), I want to repeat it here again, from p. 26-27:

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But the real “breakthrough” in Dr. [Theodore] Graebner’s change in attitude toward other Lutherans was observed at the Philadelphia meeting of this conference (joint faculty meetings which started at Valparaiso) several years later. In a session when Dr. Elmer Flack of Hamma presided, Dr. Graebner asked for the floor to make a statement. I wish somebody had taken down the statement, but all of us were intent to listen carefully; the statement in essence was:

“All of you know how active I have been in keeping my church suspicious and hostile with respect to developments in other Lutheran churches. I want you to know that I regret many things I have written and said. I have learned to respect and trust many Lutheran brethren in other synods. From now on I shall devote the rest of my life, the few years that may remain to me, to rectify matters and plead with my brethren in the Missouri Synod to follow my example.”

     At times his voice halted and tears came into his eyes while making this statement. All of us in the meeting were stunned, not exactly surprised, but lacking words to express our appreciation. I remember seeing Elmer Flack’s tears roll down on his face and temporarily he was immobilized. But after a bit he arose and without saying a word he stepped over to shake Dr. Graebner’s hand and embrace him. Then I remembered Dr. Greever’s prediction (watch Graebner for changes) and thanked God with the others at the meeting for Dr. Graebner’s statement.

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There is much material in Fendt's book that that does not deal directly with the LC–MS. Yet it will give the reader much of the background information to more fully understand the opposition. — The sad thing for me is that, since the LC–MS tolerated "moderates" after the Walkout if they did not leave, they now find themselves in just the same dangerous position as in the times leading up to the Walkout of 1974. May God have mercy on that church body!

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Postscript: For those who have purchased the 2024 CHI book Rediscovering the Issues, they may want to compare Pres. Matthew Harrison's brief "Historical Introduction" with Fendt's earlier history. Although Harrison's writing is not without benefit, yet it and the rest of the book, mostly dwells on the latter events that had their roots during Fendt's history, and so, after reading Fendt, one is left with far fewer questions than by just reading the 2024 CHI book.