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Concordia Journal CONCORDIA JOURNAL Volume 32 October 2006 Number 4 CONTENTS EDITORIALS In Memoriam ............................................................................. 366 Theological Observer ................................................................. 368 ARTICLES Recte Administrantur Sacramenta: “Sacraments Administered Rightly” according to Augustana VII James Alan Waddell.............................................................. 371 Reflections on the Death of God David R. Maxwell ................................................................. 381 If Jesus “Came Down from Heaven,” Where Does That Leave Me? Justin Rossow ...................................................................... 388 SHORT STUDY Still a Place for Our Confessions? John Frederick Johnson ....................................................... 396 GRAMMARIAN’S CORNER .............................................................. 401 HOMILETICAL HELPS .................................................................. 404 BOOK REVIEWS ............................................................................. 433 BOOKS RECEIVED ......................................................................... 455 INDEX ............................................................................................. 456 CONCORDIA JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2006 365 Editorials In Memoriam †George Stiegler Robbert† (1925 – 2006) The Lutheran Church, Concordia Seminary, and the larger church catholic are bereft of a fine Christian man, a knowledgeable theologian and church historian, a colleague who was gracious, affable, and a humble servant of Christ. On August 1, 2006, the Lord called to Himself in heaven the soul of George S. Robbert, professor emeritus at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. He was eighty-one years of age. Born in Dallas, Texas on January 24, 1925, Dr. Robbert was educated in both public and Lutheran schools. He earned the following degrees from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis: the Bachelor of Arts (1946), the Master of Divinity (1948), and the Master of Sacred Theology (1949). In 1951, he received the Master of Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati, and he earned the Ph.D. degree at Indiana University in 1964. Dr. Robbert specialized in the life and theology of Martin Luther, and in the history of the medieval church. From 1957 to 1962, he was assistant to the executive director of the Center for Reformation Research, St. Louis, Missouri, working under the late Dr. Ernst Schwiebert. In 1975, he was called to the faculty of Concordia Seminary as associate professor of his- torical theology. Advanced to the rank of professor in 1985, Dr. Robbert completed twenty years of service to the seminary in 1995 when he re- tired. As professor emeritus, he taught courses until his seventy-seventh year. Prior to his ministry at Concordia Seminary, Dr. Robbert had taught at Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas), 1962-1975, where he was named the first full-time professor of European history. Also, he served Lutheran parishes, the first full-time pastor of Worthington Lutheran Church (now Gethsemane) in Worthington, Ohio, from 1954-1956, and for many years as assistant pastor, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Lubbock, Texas, during his tenure at Texas Tech University. In seminary classrooms, Dr. Robbert discovered fulfillment in forming aspiring pastors. Not only did he explain the position taken by theologians in the past, he did so with implications for the church today, her crises, discussion and debate, and resolution of present concerns. About the church’s life, past and present, he emphasized how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is foremost, a Lutheran confessional approach. In regard to his specialty, the life and work of Martin Luther, George Robbert was impas- sioned with accurate representation of the Reformer on the basis of the larger corpus of Luther’s works with which he was familiar. 366 Recognized for his scholarship and teaching, Dr. Robbert taught as guest professor at Eden Seminary. He served as president of the St. Louis Chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America, 1983-1985. He was welcomed as an active participant in the community. He served on the governing board of the Rotary Club of Clayton, Missouri. He had served as a member of the Board of Directors of Lutheran Village Church in Ladue, Missouri. Dr. Robbert is survived by his wife of forty-five years, Louise Buenger Robbert, his son, George Harold Robbert of Fort Collins, Colorado, and several cousins. He was a family man. To family and friends, George was a delight, a Christian gentleman blessed with a temperament of steady cheer- fulness, springing from his childlike faith in his Lord Jesus Christ from the day of his Holy Baptism. Though sinner was his plight, George’s pedi- gree was of the saints, in Christ! He lived as a man en Christo humbly and joyfully. We who knew George well, prayed with and for him through years of fragile health. His stalwart faith and positive outlook, commending all to our heavenly Father, proved strengthening to his friends. In the latter months of serious and grave illness, George showed resolute courage. Firm was his faith-grip on that indomitable peace of God through Christ Jesus. So he lived, so he died, in the Lord. And thus he rests until the Lord’s day of resurrection. Rest, dear friend, George! Requiescat in pace! Richard H. Warneck CONCORDIA JOURNAL/OCTOBER 2006 367 Theological Observer Broken Teeth, Bloody Baths, and Baby Bashing: Is There Any Place in the Church for Imprecatory Psalms? “Break the teeth in their mouth, O God!” (Ps. 58:6). “The righteous will be glad when…they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked” (Ps. 58:10). “Blessed is he…who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks” (Ps. 137:8b-9). How did such barbaric words make their way into the prayer book of God’s people? Are these texts really part of the same tradition that admonishes the faithful to “love your enemies” (Matt. 5:44), “turn the other cheek” (Luke 6:29), “walk the extra mile” (Matt. 5:41), and “bless, and do not curse” (Rom. 12:14)? The sentiments of broken teeth, bloody baths, and baby bashing are not confined to a few psalms, in fact thirty-two of them fall under the ominous title, “imprecatory.” They are often categorized into these three groups: imprecations against societal enemies (58, 94), imprecations against national enemies (68, 74, 79, 83, 129, 137), and imprecations against per- sonal enemies (5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 17, 28, 31, 35, 40, 52, 54, 55, 56, 59, 69, 70, 71, 104, 109, 139, 140, 141, 143). It is one thing for someone to pray these prayers, but it is an entirely different matter for the compilers of the Psalter to incorporate them into Israel’s hymn book. Who appointed this Commission on Worship? Or were the doctrinal reviewers taking a nap? Or—horror of horrors—perhaps the editors of the Psalter are telling us that they worshiped a different God from the New Testament and were governed by a pre-Christian ethic! Marcion was right all along! But before we accuse the Old Testament of such atrocities, we have to face the fact that in the first book about the Christian church, and this in its first chapter, Luke records an event when Peter quotes from both Psalms 69 and 109—two of the most notorious of the imprecatory psalms. The apostle goes on to quote from these two psalms with the words that these texts “had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas…” (cf. Acts 1:16, 20; Pss. 69:25; 109:8). Does this mean that the imprecatory psalms—all thirty-two of them— were inspired by the Holy Spirit? How did this state of affairs come about? The answer is in Genesis 12:3. Here Yahweh promises Abra[ha]m, The “Theological Observer” serves as a forum for comment on, assessment of, and reactions to developments and events in the church at large, as well as in the world of theology generally. Since areas of expertise, interest, and perceptions often vary, the views presented in this section will not always reflect the opinion of the editorial committee. 368 “the one cursing you I will curse.” “I will curse” comes from the Hebrew word rao=aI’ which is an imperfect qal verb. When the same verbal form— rra—appears in Israel’s cursing texts (e.g., Deut. 28) it is a qal, passive participle (rWrïa I’). This use of rra is revelatory. Yahweh curses in the active aspect of the verb (rao=aI’); Israel curses in the passive aspect of the verb (rWrïa I). This grammar and theology are summed up when Yahweh says in Deuteronomy 32:35 (cf. Rom. 12:19), “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” Yahweh’s vengeance arises out of a cultural milieu in which cursing was an integral part of life. Ancient Near Eastern texts are filled with treaty curses, inscriptional curses, and incantations to undo curses. Often these blessings and curses were employed to ensure a vassal’s loyalty to his sovereign. While the sovereign played an important role in either be- stowing favor or calling down curses upon his subject, most of these texts indicate that it was the god’s duty to execute either blessing or curse. And it is out of this understanding that the imprecatory psalms are prayed. When psalmists call down curses, it is because enemies have been disloyal to Yahweh’s covenant. As a consequence, the covenant breaker deserves Yahweh’s covenant curses. So when Israel’s God enacts vengeance, “his sword is all blood, it is gorged with fat” (Is. 34:6), but this is because he is “contending for Zion” (Is. 34:8). Without vengeance upon Israel’s en- emies there can be no salvation for Israel (cf. Is. 35:4). Paul makes it clear in Galatians 3:29 that the baptized “belong to Abraham’s seed, [and are thus] heirs according to the promise.” As heirs of Abraham through Christ we are heirs of Yahweh’s promises of blessing and cursing. It should not surprise us, therefore, that the theology of im- precation appears in many places in the New Testament (cf. e.g., Acts 8:20; 13:10-11; 1 Cor.
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