Concordia Theological Monthly
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CONCORDIA THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY The Role of the Self in Counseling and Its Application to Pastoral Counseling DAVID LUDWIG The Future of Theological Education SAMUEL I. GOLTERMANN St. Paul's Ideology for the Urbanized Roman Empire SAUL LEVIN Reading Programs in Theology: Hermeneutic(s) MARTIN H. SCHARLEMANN Homiletics Theological Observer Book Review Vol. XXXIX October 1968 No.9 BOOK REVIEW All books reviewed in this periodical may be procured from or through Concordia Pub lishing House, 3558 South Jefferson Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63118. CARMEN CHRISTI: PHILIPPIANS 11.5-11 salvation. The key factor is that of obedience IN RECENT INTERPRETATION AND and vindication. IN THE SETTING OF EARLY CHRIS The final section seeks to place the hymn TIAN WORSHIP. By R. P. Martin. (independently of its place in Philippians) Cambridge: University Press, 1967. xii into the life of the early church. It probably and 364 pages. Cloth. $10.50. was used in a baptismal context to hymn Few passages in the New Testament have Christ as the Kosmokrator. Man's destiny is thus determined by his relation to Christ, not received more careful, detailed, and extended study than the great Christo logical passage in by demonic forces. The author of the hymn Philippians 2, and few present the modern has used both Hebraic and Hellenistic thought in his composition. It is thus in student of the Bible with as rilany varied in terpretations. The English student who con some sense a missionary manifesto. trasts the comm2ntaries of J. B. Lightfoot and Martin's careful evaluation of current F. W. Beare will see how widely divergent trends and interpretations make this a book of great value. Both theologians and pastors conclusions can stem from good scholars. Martin, formerly of the London Bible Col will find it a book to challenge and enrich lege and presently of Manchester University, them. We hope that they will read it. published a short survey of modern interpre EDGAR KRENTZ tation of this passage in 1960 (An Early DAS WEINWUNDER VON KANA: DIE Christian Confession). The present volume AUSLEGUNG VON JO 2, 1-11 BEl extends the coverage and gives a more de DEN V A'TERN UND HE UTE. By Adolf tailed evaluation; it serves as a kind of road map over the thorny path interpreters must Smitmans. Tiibingen: J. c. B. Mohr (Paul follow. The first section presents a survey of Siebeck), 1966. vii and 337 pages. Paper, the evidence for hymns in the New Testa DM 38.00; cloth, DM 43.50. ment, and then discusses the literary form The current interest in hermeneutics has (certainly hymnic) to propose a structure of led to a revival of study of the methods of six distichs, four through verse 8, two in interpretation used at various periods in the verses 9-11. After a survey of arguments for church. The Beitrage ZUy Geschichte der and against Pauline authorship, which leads biblischen Exegese, of which this is number to a non liquet conclusion, Martin surveys 6, has published a number of these studies the major trends of interpretation in the last that examine the history of the interpretation two centuries. of a specific passage. The bulk of the volume (some 170 pages) The book before us first examines the is taken up with a clear yet detailed inter- opinions of modern exegetes to demonstrate pretation of the hymn. One is struck in this that there are divergent opinions on most section with the fact that Ernst Lohmeyer points of interpretation. What is the proper and Ernst Kasemann seem to be most per- background for understanding the narrative? suasive to Martin. The hymn is primarily What is the major point which it is to teach? soteriological in intent, not Christo logical. It Is there a mario logical interest or not? Is is designed not to give information about the there a critique of contemporaneous under natures of Christ but rather about the path of standing of miracle? 631 632 BOOK REVIEW The bulk of the book is taken up with The JulittS excluS1ts is valuable as a literary a careful and detailed survey of the exegesis work. It belongs to the pieces Erasmus wrote of the fathers of the East (down to about as a moral reformer. Its portrait of a pre A. D. 650) and in the West (down to about Reformation pope is supplementary, not A. D. 635). The fathers also show great primary, evidence of the character of Julius variety in detail, but have a contribution to II. The carefully prepared edition before us, make to modern exegesis in their concern for however, will be highly useful for the stu Christo logy (though modern exegetes cannot dent of the period. follow the identification of Christ with the The pacifistic note of the Julius deserves bridegroom). The Old Testament plays a mention. Julius is condemned for his wars, very minor role in their exegesis, a detail in not merely because he was a pope who waged which one can scarcely follow them. wars. CARL S. MEYER The very short third section of the book proposes some guidelines for the modern un GESAMMELTE AUFSATZE. By Kurt Die- derstanding of the Cana narrative. The trich Schmidt. Edited by Manfred Jacobs. '·hour" of 2: 4 must refer to the hour of Gottingcn: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Jesus' death; in that light the miracle is 1967. 335 pages. Cloth. DM 39.00. a proclamation in advance of the eschatologi Schmidt, ordinarius for church history at cal joy which Jesus' glorification has for the Hamburg University, died July 27, 1964. church. John is critical of a false under For this volume Manfred Jacobs has selected standing of miracle in the church of his day, 26 essays from Schmidt's pen, reflecting his for it separated the miracles from the death particular interests. One of the essays dates of Jesus. Thus John 2:4b is the key to the from the year 1929, two from the 19305. narrative. None comes from the war years between This is a valuable contribution to the his 1939 and 1945. The period between 1954 tory of exegesis. Scholars will refer to it and 1959 was a prolific one for &hmidt. frequently. EDGAR KRENTZ As might be anticipated from the author of a Grundriss de., Kirchengeschichte, the THE JULIUS EXCLUSUS OF ERASMUS. range of the essays is a wide one. Some are Edited by J. Kelley; translated by Paul historiographical, others deal with the Ref Pascal. Introduction and notes by J. Kelley. ormation and the Counter-Reformation. Five Sowards, Bloonlington: Indiana University have Luther as a subject; one Ignatius Loyola; Press, 1968. 141 pages. Cloth. $6.50. another Thomas Aquinas. Ecumenism, inter Pope Julius II (died 1513) was a warrior communion, catholicity, the mission of the and a Renaissance princeling. His death church, the confessing church are topics evoked a satiric masterpiece, an invective by which command this outstanding church his the foremost master of satire of the times, torian's scholarly attention. although Erasmus did not actually acknowl To single out one of the essays for atten edge the authorship of the dialogue. Sow tion may be indicative of the reviewer's pre ard's erudite introduction brings rather con dilections or of his judgment of what may clusive evidence that Erasmus was the author, be of interest to the reader. In his "Luthertum a conclusion in which scholars like Roland und Oekumene (1959)" Schmidt speaks of H. Bainton, Elizabeth F. Rogers, and Wallace the Synodical Conference and the intransi K. Ferguson concur. gence of the Wisconsin Synod, which, he Pascal's translation is the first complete says, is greater than that of the Missouri translation of Julius exclusus a coelis into Synod. He also cites Wilhelm Lohe and English. It was translated into German as Peter Brunner to show that Lutheranism has early as 1520; a French translation appeared a dialectic character. Luther gave an extra in 1615. Pascal speaks of the "exceedingly ordinary emphasis to the catholicity of the colloquial, almost racy, style and vocabulary" church. After 1537 Melanchthon stressed of the work. the pura doctriM and ecclesia visibilis, ac- BOOK REVIEW 633 cording to Schmidt on the basis of Jacobs' sen was also associated with William Tennent research, to identify the congregatio vere and George Whitefield and with the Great credentium. In the 17th century both Lu Awakening. ther's and Melanchthon's concepts are found, In the second part of the volume Tanis and in the 19th century Wilhelm Lohe tried treats Frelinghuysen's theology. He charac to reconcile both of them. This brief analysis terizes him as a follower of Gisbertus will indicate that Schmidt has a vast and Voetius, studied primarily on the basis of detailed knowledge of various periods of the Johannes a Marek's Christianae theologiae history of the church and that his analyses medulla didactico-elenctica. There was in are worth considering. Any of the other es Frelinghuysen's theology an emphasis on says would show a similar range of knowl "experimental divinity," a pivotal stress on edge and the need for a careful consideration rebirth and an underscoring of one's own of Schmidt's judgments. experience of the covenant relationship with Helga IVlietzsch has supplied a bibliog God. In his covenant theology Frelinghuysen raphy of 139 of Schmidt's writings. was a Voetian rather than a Cocceiano His CARL S. MEYER doctrine of election stressed the certainty of assurance of salvation. Frelinghuysen held DUTCH CALVINISTIC PIETISM IN THE that IX Drs, the "watchers on the walls of MIDDLE COLONIES: A STUDY IN Zion," should examine those who go to the THE LIFE AND THEOLOGY OF THE Lord's T hIe and determine their fitness, for ODORUS JACOBUS FRELlNGHUY bidding ..he unworthy to partake.