Walther: call me a Biblicist, please! LCMS: not us, please!; Walther & Scripture, Part 1 of 3

      If you Google the word "Scripturarismus" you will find an assortment of German theological publications that have used it.  An early use of this term was by a certain German theologian who had traveled to America to report on religious life there.  In particular, he used that word in reference to a certain North American Lutheran synod.  The following is my translation of an excerpt from his 1874 book giving the report of his visit (p. 103-104, translation, bolding mine):

"It  is more than questionable that the Missourians have a well-founded right to call themselves Lutheran with emphasis. … as far as doctrine is concerned, a version of the formal principle is represented which very often has been called Reformed ‘Scripturarism’, [or ‘Biblicism’] and which in truth belongs neither to the one nor to the other branch of the Reformation, but rather is a product of later Orthodoxism."

Walther's Missouri Synod theology was characterized as being guilty of Reformed "Biblicism"! (It may be noted that also the LC-MS historian Carl S. Meyer also charged Walther similarly as Krummacher.) Now one might think that Walther would take offense at this charge, especially coming from a non-Lutheran "Evangelical" theologian.  But in 1875 C.F.W. Walther answered this charge in his Foreword to Lehre und Wehre in the following way (p. 66, translation, bolding mine; see also p. 137 here):

"The United-Reformed [Unierte; Prussian Union] Krummacher, after only a brief glance at our Missouri Synod, accused it of the inconsistency that 'with regard to doctrine it affirms a version of the formal principle that very often has been called Reformed ‘Biblicism’' ['Scripturarism'] … In our opinion a United-Reformed theologian could hardly have paid us a greater compliment; for if our characterization as faithfully adhering to the Scripture principle, a claim which the Reformed Church incorrectly makes for itself, is factual and truthful, we are true Protestants, true Lutherans."

Four points can be made from Walther's response to Krummacher who would call himself a "positive Evangelical" and praises "mild Lutherans" (p. 89):

1. Walther identified Krummacher's "biblicism" with the Scripture Principle, the so-called "formal principle".
2. Walther accepted the charge of  "biblicism" as a compliment.
3. The claim of the Reformed, that they adhere to the Scripture Principle rather than the true Lutherans, is a false claim.
4. Only "true Lutherans", those who are "biblicists", are true Protestants.

      Why is it so important to understand the importance of the Scripture Principle in Walther's theology?  Because the Scripture Principle is the foundation of the Christian faith. (John 17:17) So now we are ready to listen to Franz Pieper once again teach the divine Inspiration of Holy Scripture, just like Walther, in the next installment of my series "The Foundation of the Christian Faith, or "Das Fundament des christlichen Glauben", Part 19.
      Today's LC-MS teachers almost universally attack Franz Pieper for his strong defense of the Scripture Principle. We will expose another one of these attacks in Part 3, but first we will hear from Walther another assertion that will make today's LCMS teachers and leaders squirm even more – in the next Part 2 of this short series.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -  (More on Krummacher available below)  - - - - - - - - - -
      For those interested in more details of Krummacher's charges against the Missouri Synod, they may read my English translation below of pages 102-104, also available here.


The German text of the fuller account is below, pages 89-114, also available here.