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Monday, December 12, 2011

Dr. C.F.W. Walther As Theologian (by Dr. Franz Pieper)

[2019-04-01: added links to original Lehre und Wehre articles in listing below]
As I research the web for content from the old (German) Missouri Synod, I find sources from various people and organizations. One of the major publications of the old (German) Missouri Synod was a series of articles (21 articles!) entitled Dr. C.F.W. Walther As Theologian (or D. C.F.W. Walther als Theolog in German) by Dr. Franz Pieper. It was  published in Lehre und Wehre a few years after the death of Walther. The series appeared from April 1888 through May 1891 and extensively covered virtually all the important points of C.F.W. Walther's theology. Next to Pieper's volumes of Christian Dogmatics, this is one of his greatest works. After all, Dr. Pieper was the Elisha to Walther's Elijah.

An English translation was begun by J.T. Mueller but not completed. Only 2 articles were translated and published in English in the 1955 and 1956 Concordia Theological Monthly journal. Only one tenth of the original series was translated... because the modern (English) Missouri Synod did not care for the beautiful Christian teaching of it's founder.  I notice the modern LC-MS has seen fit to re-publish these 2 articles on the web to "honor" the 200th anniversary of Walther's birth. Although I am happy to see this, yet these articles are published only as a "lip service"... only as a passing nod as they walk on by the "American Luther".

But the story does not end there. Among those who left the erring LC-MS was Wallace McLaughlin who was one of the founders of the Orthodox Lutheran Conference (OLC). He published in 23 installments the English translations of the original 21 articles in the Orthodox Lutheran Theologian journal in 1953 through 1956.  (Wallace McLaughlin is one of the writers that I let out of the side room because of this.)  There is currently another website that intended to publish all of these articles but strangely stopped with only the first 2 articles in 2008... why?

Anyway, the complete translation of C.F.W. Walther as Theologian can be downloaded here. And below is a listing of all 23 installments that can be downloaded individually. Note: Greek and Hebrew fonts were not entered but replaced by alternate characters such as question marks (??) or X marks (XX):
Part.... Subject.................................................... Orthodox Luth. Theol.........   L.u.W.
1......... Theology ................................................ 1) OLT, Vol. I #2 2/1953...... April,1888
2......... How to be a Theologian............................ 2) OLT 2/1953 - Part 2......... May, 1888
3......... Doctrine of Inspiration............................... 3) Part 3 – Inspiration ........ July-August, 1888
4......... Open Questions (pp. 198-204)................. 4) Part 4 of 21....................... July-August, 1888
5......... Lutheran dogmaticians - Repristination...... 5) OLT 11/1953 148f............ September, 1888
6......... Scientific (Modern) Theology..................... 6) OLT 12/1953 p. 162......... November-December,1888
7......... The Church.............................................. 7) OLT 2/54 p. 19................. April,1889
8......... The Church (continued)............................ 8) OLT 3/1954 p. 34............. May, 1889
9......... The Ministry (part 1)................................. 9) OLT 4/54 p. 45 ................ July-August, 1889
10....... The Ministry (part 2; pp. 227-235).............. 10) OLT 9/54 pg 109............ July-August, 1889
11....... Church Government................................. 11) OLT 11/54 pg 135.......... November,1889
12....... Church and State.................................... 12) OLT 12/54 Page 149...... December,1889
13....... Justification- General.............................. 13) OLT 1/55 p. 4................. January,1890
14....... Justification- Universal........................... 14) OLT 3/55 page 43.......... February, 1890
15....... Justification – Means of Grace................ 15)........................................ April,1890
16....... Justification – faith................................... 16)....................................... June,1890
17....... Conversion and Election........................... 17) OLT 8/55 page 122........ August, 1890
18....... Mystery of Conversion and Election.......... 18) OLT 9/55 p. 131............. September, 1890
19....... Conversion.............................................. 19) OLT 10/55 148............... October,1890
20....... Election of Grace..................................... 20) OLT 11/55 174-177........ November,1890
21....... Faith and Election.................................... 21) OLT 12/55 p 188............ December,1890
22....... Election – Wider or Narrower Sense........... 22) OLT 1/56 pgs 2-6.......... March, 1891
23....... Assurance of Faith in Election.................... 23) OLT 2/56 pgs 27-30...... May, 1891

Update Nov. 24, 2012: See this German website for original German text of Pieper's series.
**** Updated June 2013: This posting has being obsoleted by a full publishing of all installments with added hyperlinks and some corrections.
***** Updated March 5, 2017: Upgraded all DropBox download links due to change in their system.

Finally this treasure is now available on the web. May this be more than honoring the 200th anniversary of Walther's birth but an honor for all time! To God Be The Glory! SDG

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