StL3e: Parish library; great fire in America; Luther's writings, not his person; "Nor should they be"?

      This concludes from Part 3d  (Table of Contents in Part 1) in a series on the St. Louis Edition (StL) of Luther's complete writings in English. — Walther gives an impassioned plea to his readers of just how important Luther's writings should be to them – setting aside all other writings excepting the Bible.  Then he explains what he meant when he said earlier that this volume was a "people's volume." — It was Luther's writings that stirred the Reformation.  Can they do it again?… as they did in Walther's time?  Let us listen to Walther.

(From Der Lutheraner, vol. 41 p. 105-107 (No. 14, July 15, 1885)[EN] (all underlining and bolding follows Walther's emphasis): 

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[Review by C. F. W. Walther; concluded from Part 3d]

Dr. Martin Luther's

Complete Writings,

Tenth volume.

Containing Luther's Catechetical Writings.

Finally, we take the liberty of reminding you once again how good it would be if all Lutheran congregations would set up a parish library belonging to them and acquire primarily Luther's works for it. Of course, it would be too much for the smaller congregations to purchase a complete collection of Luther's works at once; but to purchase only one volume each year, which is now an opportunity, would probably not be too much for any of our dear congregations. —  

Let us go then, dear Lutheran brethren and congregations! God has kindled a great fire from heaven among us here in North America, that fire which once blazed up to heaven more than 1800 years ago at the time of the apostles in the whole world, and again more than 300 years ago at the time of Luther in all of Europe. 

But remember: it was not living persons, as in former times, but the writings of Luther, long since departed from the arena of the church in conflict on earth, which in our days has fanned the blessed fire in our outermost western country. As sincerely and ardently as we now all certainly wish that the fire of pure faith kindled among us by Luther's writings may not soon be extinguished again, but may remain maintained until the Last Day and spread like a prairie fire quickly and inexorably westward, eastward, southward, and northward, over all North America, with such great zeal let us also be anxious to spread Luther's writings as if written with fiery letters. 

These writings should be brought into every Lutheran's home and take first place in every Lutheran home library, next to the Bible and the Catechism. This is all the more necessary, the more the illiterate sons of Luther now try to suspect their faithful teacher, even to accuse him of Calvinism, and to prevent the dissemination of his writings, or only to prepare editions of them for the scholars, in order to give them the opportunity to criticize Luther's teachings, which they are not at all capable of understanding, given their pride of reason. When the Calvinist [Ludwig] Lavater had once dismissively judged Luther, Count F. L. von Stolberg wrote to him in 1778: 

“You have spoken of Luther as I would not write of your ‘reformists’ ['Reformatörchen']" (Zwingli, Calvin). "You Calvinists do not know the exceedingly glorious man, the rock in the sea, who wanted and was able to do such great things!”  

God ordered it this way, dear reader.     W. [Walther]

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Walther makes a stinging charge against scholars who want 

“only to prepare editions of them for the scholars, in order to give them the opportunity to criticize Luther's teachings, which they are not at all capable of understanding, given their pride of reason.”

Walther's charge applies in many ways against the CPH/Fortress American Edition. (It also applies to portions of the Weimar Edition as pointed out earlier.)  To portray their attitude, one can look no further than the "General Introduction" printed in every volume of the "Old Series":

"Although the edition as planned will include fifty-five volumes, Luther's writings are not being translated in their entirety. Nor should they be."

"Nor should they be"?  That short sentence sums up the "ambivalent" attitude that LC-MS General Editor Jaroslav Pelikan had towards Luther.  Of course his true colors became apparent when he left the Lutheran Church.  — Although CPH may view my project as being aimed at diminishing the value of their American Edition, yet because Luther's writings should be available to readers in print, I wonder that it may, for this reason, actually spur sales of the CPH American Edition, and that my free English St. Louis Edition can be used for a comparison of translations and as a supplement/corrective. I will use it in these ways.

      Although the "Complete Writings" are now available in English for free, will we want to take the time? More incentives to read Luther (and the St. Louis Edition) are planned for future blogs. In the next sub-series (Part 4a), we publish Walther's review of Luther's Genesis commentary, Volume 2.