StL5c: human wisdom… done in smooth, pleasing language; No human teacher… like Luther

      This continues from Part 5b (Table of Contents in Part 1) in a series on the St. Louis Edition (StL) of Luther's complete writings in English. — Pieper highlights Luther's way of writing that is so understandable, as compared with modernists, and so Scriptural, as compared, again, with modern theology. Walther called the modernists the "newfangled faith".  Pieper uses different terms. 

(From Der Lutheraner, vol. 63 p. 403-405 (No. 26, Dec. 17, 1907) (all underlining and bolding follows Pieper's emphasis):

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Luther's Writings.

[by Franz Pieper; continued from Part 5b]

For the church, it depends immensely on which human writings are read in addition to the Holy Scriptures. If one reads writings that clearly and soberly inculcate the pure doctrine of Scripture and thus lead the reader into Scripture and keep him with Scripture, as is the case with Luther's writings in a unique way, then it is well in the church. If, however, one's teachers and advisors are primarily books that mix human wisdom into the teaching of the Word of God, then — especially if it is done in smooth, pleasing language — one will unmistakably come under the influence of false teachers, and things will then go badly in the church. The undersigned is vividly convinced that if our synod is to maintain clarity, simplicity, certainty and decisiveness in doctrine, and if above all we teachers are to remain and increase in the right teaching ability, then one of the most excellent means to this end is that we place Luther's writings first among the human writings that we study. 

No human teacher leads so powerfully into the Scriptures and binds heart and conscience so firmly to the Scriptures as Luther. Under Luther's guidance, one becomes certain of things from Scripture, and certainty creates joy and constancy. And as far as the exposition of the individual doctrines is concerned: no human teacher has explained so simply, clearly and powerfully from Scripture what sin and grace, Law and Gospel, what faith, justification, sanctification and a truly Christian life are, than the Reformer of the Church. The longer one reads Luther, the more one realizes this. The beginner in reading Luther is somewhat hindered here and there by the peculiar language. But as soon as one has “read into it” a little, Luther is easily understood, because he speaks of the highest things so very [p. 405] simply and plainly. Experience also teaches that especially those who are more accustomed to the learned-sounding language of our time initially overlook much in Luther that is really there, because Luther speaks so simply and plainly of the things that others struggle over with high words. [Nafzger, LC-MS, Harrison] But even that soon changes. The longer one reads Luther, the more one notices his God-given mastery in the exposition of the doctrine of Scripture, and the more reading becomes not only a study, but also a spiritual refreshment and delight.

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Luther does not use many of the terms that today's LC-MS teachers do (as pointed out earlier):

actualization, contextualization, culture, data/datum, enmeshed, enfleshed / enfleshment, epistemology, etiology, etymological, existential / existentialism, human creatures (man?), identity, metatheological, metalinguistic, motif, nomological, ontological, paradigm/paradigmatic, personhood, postmodern, matrix, psychology, sociology, resonate, teleological, transsubjective

These "learned-sounding" words are used in the so-called "Confessional Approach" by Dr. Sam Nafzger in his new CPH 2-volume doctrinal teaching book at LC-MS seminaries. — In the concluding Part 5d…