1: Pieper's 1st book: Basic Confession of Lutheran Church – Augsburg Confession (Part 1 of 3)

      The year 1880 was when the young 28-year old Prof. Franz Pieper came into full view in the Missouri Synod.  This was the year of Pieper's first book as a professor, and it was also the year of his first Convention Essay – both of which gave him a high standing as a teacher in the Missouri Synod, alongside C. F. W. Walther.  

Pieper's first book was announced and reviewed by Prof. Martin Guenther, in vol. 36 of Der Lutheraner, p. 88.  Guenther references an earlier book by Walther, Formula of Concord, Core and Star ($7.95 from Christian News Mo., German original book), thereby placing Pieper's work in a similar high level of importance for all Lutherans. [2023-7-19: see later blog for English translation of Walther's book]

Before I comment further, let us hear Guenther's high praise in his book announcement:

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The Basic Confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. With a historical introduction and short explanatory notes. Presented to the Lutheran Christian people on the 350th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession by F. Pieper. Price, postage paid, 40 Cts.

Who does not remember with joy the marvelous pleasure which the booklet Formula of Concord, Core and Star [Walther's Der Concordienformel Kern und Stern] gave him in the jubilee year 3 years ago! [1877] Also for the upcoming jubilee celebration, the Lutheran Christian people will be offered a similar booklet, containing the basic confession, the Augsburg Confession, with a historical introduction and short explanatory notes. It is true that this confession is found in our hymnal, but who would not also like to have an explanation of it, who would not also like to know its history in more detail? After all, it only serves to increase the joy of rejoicing, if one knows the object of the joy properly. And here the reader sees in the first part how the faithful God has given and preserved this gem for the Lutheran Church, and in the second part how glorious it is in its content. No one will read it without thanking the dear author for the marvellous notations.

The first part contains the historical introduction:

Ch. 1. Short overview of the events from the beginning of the Reformation to the Diet of Augsburg.

Ch. 2.. Preparation for the Diet and arrival in Augsburg.

Ch. 3. Confession before the opening of the Diet.

Ch. 4. Adoption of the confession.

Ch. 5. Beginning of the Diet and the Emperor's refusal to allow the Lutheran Confession to be read.

Ch. 6. Delivery of the Confession.

Ch. 7. Impression of the Augsburg Confession.

Ch. 8. The Papist so-called Confutation.

Ch. 9. The Augsburg Confession in danger and saved from danger.

Ch. 10. Final negotiations and conclusion of the Diet.

Ch. 11. Luther and the Augsburg Confession.

Ch. 12. Review and Concluding Remembrance.

The second part contains the Augsburg Confession itself with explanatory notes.

As once [Walther's] Formula of Concord, Core and Star, this book also has lasting value. After the end of the jubilee celebration, it should not be put aside. In our congregations, it is required of the members who are to be accepted that they know and profess the unaltered Augsburg Confession in addition to Luther's Small Catechism, even if they still lack knowledge of all Lutheran symbols. No more suitable book can be given to the newcomers than this edition of the Augsburg Confession with historical introduction and explanatory notes.

May this book find as wide a circulation and be such a blessing as [Walther's] Formula of Concord, Core and Star was 3 years ago.

The price is 40 Cts. postage free. Addressed to: Luth. Concordia Verlag, St. Louis, Mo. G. [Martin Guenther]

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      One is immediately made aware of the high importance of Walther's earlier book, a book that has languished in the LC-MS, but was translated by Kenneth Howes and published by Herman Otten's Lutheran News in 2012. (See above; unfortunately today's LC-MS would rather have its people read from Robert Kolb on the history of the Formula of Concord.)  And the young Prof. Pieper is thrust into the spotlight as a highly gifted teacher for all of Lutheranism. —  In the next Part 2, the rest of the story on this book. The following is a semi-polished machine translation of "Pieper's First Book" on the 350th anniversary of the founding Confession of the Lutheran Church: