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Historical Introductions
to the Symbolical books
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
by F. Bente
Published in:
_Triglot Concordia:
The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church_.
(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921)
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HISTORICAL INTRODUCTIONS TO THE SYMBOLICAL
BOOKS OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.
I. The _Book of Concord_, or _The Concordia_.
1. General and Particular Symbols.
_Book of Concord_, or _Concordia_, is the title of the Lutheran _corpus
doctrinae_, i. e., of the symbols recognized and published under that
name by the Lutheran Church. The word symbol, _sumbolon_, is derived
from the verb _sumballein_, to compare two things for the purpose of
perceiving their relation and association. _Sumbolon_ thus developed
the meaning of tessara, or sign, token, badge, banner, watchword,
parole, countersign, confession, creed. A Christian symbol, therefore,
is a mark by which Christians are known. And since Christianity is
essentially the belief in the truths of the Gospel, its symbol is of
necessity a confession of Christian doctrine. The Church, accordingly,
has from the beginning defined and regarded its symbols as a rule of
faith or a rule of truth. Says Augustine: "Symbolum est regula fidei
brevis et grandis: brevis numero verborum, grandis pondere sententi-
arum. A symbol is a rule of faith, both brief and grand: brief, as to
the number of words; grand, as to the weight of its thoughts."
Cyprian was the first who applied the term symbol to the baptismal
confession, because, he said, it distinguished the Christians from
non-Christians. Already at the beginning of the fourth century the
Apostles' Creed was universally called symbol; and in the Middle Ages
this name was applied also to the _Nicene_ and the _Athanasian_ Creeds.
In the "Introduction" to the _Book of Concord_ the Lutheran confessors
designate the _Augsburg Confession_ as the "symbol of our faith," and in
the Epitome of the _Formula of Concord_, as "our symbol of this time."
Symbols may be divided into the following classes: 1. Ecumenical
symbols, which, at least in the past, have been accepted by all
Christendom, and are still formally acknowledged by most of the
evangelical Churches; 2. particular symbols, adopted by the various
denominations of divided Christendom; 3. private symbols, such as have
been formulated and published by individuals, for example, Luther's
Confession of the Lord's Supper of 1528. The publication of private
confessions does not necessarily involve an impropriety; for according
to Matt. 10, 32. 33 and 1 Pet. 3, 15 not only the Church as a whole,
but individual Christians as well are privileged and in duty bound to
confess the Christian truth over against its public assailants. Self-
evidently, only such are symbols of particular churches as have been
approved and adopted by them. The symbols of the Church, says the
_Formula of Concord_, "should not be based on private writings, but on
such books as have been composed, approved, and received in the name of
the churches which pledge themselves to one doctrine and religion."
(CONC. TRIGL., 851, 2.)
Not being formally and explicitly adopted by all Christians, the
specifically Lutheran confessions also are generally regarded as particular
symbols. Inasmuch, however, as they are in complete agreement
with Holy Scripture, and in this respect differ from all other
particular symbols, the Lutheran confessions are truly ecumenical and
catholic in character. They contain the truths believed universally
by true Christians everywhere, explicitly by all consistent Christians,
implicitly even by inconsistent and erring Christians. Christian
truth, being one and the same the world over, is none other than that
which is found in the Lutheran confessions.
2. The German _Book of Concord_.
The printing of the official German edition of the _Book of Concord_
was begun in 1578, under the editorship of Jacob Andreae. The 25th of
June, 1580, however, the fiftieth anniversary of the presentation of
the _Augsburg Confession_ to Emperor Charles V, was chosen as the date
for its official publication at Dresden and its promulgation to the
general public. Following are the contents of one of the five Dresden
folio copies which we have compared: 1. The title-page, concluding with
the words, "Mit Churf. G. zu Sachsen Befreiung. Dresden MDLXXX." 2.
The preface, as adopted and signed by the estates at Jueterbock in
1579, which supplanted the explanation, originally planned, of the
theologians against the various attacks made upon the Formula of
Concord. 3. The three Ecumenical Symbols. 4. The _Augsburg Confession_
of 1530. 5. The Apology of 1530. 6. The Smalcald Articles of 1537, with
the appendix, "Concerning the Power and Supremacy of the Pope." 7.
Luther's Small Catechism, omitting the "Booklets of Marriage and
Baptism," found in some copies. 8. Luther's Large Catechism. 9. The
_Formula of Concord_, with separate title-pages for the Epitome and the
Solida Declaratio, both dated 1580. 10. The signatures of the
theologians, etc., amounting to about 8,000. 11. The Catalogus
Testimoniorum, with the superscription "Appendix" (found in some copies
only). The Preface is followed by a Privilegium signed by Elector
August and guaranteeing to Matthes Stoeckel and Gimel Bergen the sole
right of publication, a document not found in the other copies we com-
pared. The _Formula of Concord_ is followed by a twelve-page index of
the doctrines treated in the _Book of Concord_; and the list of
signatures, by a page containing the trade-mark of the printer. The
center of this page features a cut inscribed, "Matthes Stoeckel Gimel
Bergen 1579." The cut is headed by Ps. 9, 1. 2: "Ich danke dem Herrn
von ganzem Herzen und erzaehle all deine Wunder. Ich freue mich und
bin froehlich in dir und lobe deinen Namen, du Allerhoechster. I thank
the Lord with all my heart and proclaim all Thy wonders. I am glad
and rejoice in Thee, and praise Thy name, Thou Most High." Under the
cut are the words: "Gedruckt zu Dresden durch Matthes Stoeckel. Anno
1580. Printed by Matthes Stoeckel, Dresden, 1580."
In a letter dated November 7, 1580, Martin Chemnitz speaks of two
Dresden folio editions of the German _Book of Concord_, while Feuerlinus,
in 1752, counts seven Dresden editions. As a matter of fact, the
Dresden folio copies differ from one another, both as to typography
and contents. Following are the chief differences of the latter kind:
1. Only some copies have the liturgical Forms of Baptism and of
Marriage appended to the Small Catechism. 2. The Catalogus is not
entitled "Appendix" in all copies, because it was not regarded as a
part of the confession proper. 3. In some copies the passage from the
_Augsburg Confession_, quoted in Art. 2, 29 of the Solida Declaratio, is
taken, not from the Mainz Manuscript, but from the quarto edition of
1531, which already contained some alterations. 4. Some copies are
dated 1580, while others bear the date 1579 or 1581. Dr. Kolde gives
it as his opinion that in spite of all these and other (chiefly
typographical) differences they are nevertheless all copies of one and
the same edition, with changes only in individual sheets.
(_Historische Einleitung in die Symbolischen Buecher der ev.-luth.
Kirche_, p. 70.) Dr. Tschackert inclines to the same view, saying:
"Such copies of this edition as have been preserved exhibit, in places,
typographical differences. This, according to Polycarp Leyser's
_Kurzer und gegruendeter Bericht_, Dresden, 1597 (Kolde, 70), is due
to the fact that the manuscript was rushed through the press and sent
in separate sheets to the interested estates, and that, while the
forms were in press, changes were made on the basis of the criticisms
sent in from time to time, yet not equally, so that some copies differ
in certain sheets and insertions." (_Die Entstehung der luth. und der
ref. Kirchenlehre_, 1910, p. 621.)
However, while this hypothesis explains a number of the variations
in the Dresden folio copies, it does not account for all of them,
especially not for those of a typographical nature. In one of the
five copies which we compared, the title-page, radically differing
from the others, reads as follows: "Formula Concordiae. Das ist:
Christliche, Heilsame, Reine Vergleichunge, in welcher die Goettliche
Leer von den vornembsten Artikeln unserer wahrhafftigen Religion, aus
heiliger Schrifft in kurtze bekanntnues oder Symbola und Leerhafte
Schrifften, welche allbereit vor dieser zeit von den Kirchen Gottes
Augspurgischer Confession, angenommen und approbiert, verfasset.
Sampt bestendiger, in Gottes wort wolgegruendeter, richtiger, endlicher
widerholung, erklerung und entscheidung doren Streit, welche unterter
etlichen Theologen, so sich zu ermelter Confession bekant, fuerge-
fallen. Alles nach inhalt der heiligen Schrifft, als der einigen
Richtschnur der Goettlichen wahrheit, und nach anleitung obgemeldter
in der Kirchen Gottes, approbierten Schrifften. Auff gnedigsten,
gnedigen, auch guetigsten beuehl, verordnung und einwilligung nach
beschriebener Christlichen Churfuersten, Fuersten und Stende des
heiligen Roemischen Reichs Deutscher Nation, Augspurgischer
Confession, derselben Landen, Kirchen, Schulen und Nachkommen zum
trost und besten in Druck vorfertiget. M. D. LXXIX." ("Formula of
Concord, that is, Christian, wholesome, pure agreement, in which the
divine doctrine of the chief articles of our true religion have been
drawn up from the Holy Scripture in short confessions or symbols and
doctrinal writings, which have already before this time been accepted
and approved by the Churches of God of the _Augsburg Confession_,
together with a firm, Scripturally well-founded, correct, final repetition,
explanation and decision of those controversies which have
arisen among some theologians who have subscribed to said Confession,
all of which has been drawn up according to the contents of Holy
Scripture, the sole norm of divine Truth, and according to the analogy
of the above-named writings which have the approval of the Churches of
God. Published by the most gracious, kind, and benevolent command,
order, and assent of the subscribed Christian Electors, princes, and
estates of the Holy Roman Empire, of the German nation, of the Augsburg
Confession, for the comfort and benefit of said lands, churches,
schools, and posterity. 1579.")
Apart from the above title this copy differs from the others we
examined in various ways, Everywhere (at four different places) it
bears the date 1579, which, on the chief title-page, however, seems to
have been entered in ink at a later date. Also the place of
publication, evidently Dresden, is not indicated. Two variations are
found in the Preface to the _Book of Concord_, one an omission, the other
an addition. The signatures of the princes and estates to the Preface
are omitted. Material and formal differences are found also on the
pages containing the subscriptions of the theologians to the Formula of
Concord; and the Catalogus is lacking entirely. The typography
everywhere, especially in the portions printed in Roman type, exhibits
many variations and divergences from our other four copies, which, in
turn, are also characterized by numerous typographical 'and other
variations. The copy if which, above, we have given the contents is
dated throughout 1580. Our third copy bears the same date, 1580,
excepting on the title-page of the Solida Declaratio, which has 1579.
In both of these copies the typography of the signatures to the Book
of Concord is practically alike. In our fourth copy the date 1580 is
found on the title-page of _The Concordia_, the Catalogus, and the
appended Saxon Church Order, which covers 433 pages, while the title-
pages of the Epitome and the Declaratio and the page carrying the
printer's imprint are all dated 1579. In this copy the typography of
the signatures closely resembles that of the copy dated everywhere
1579. In our fifth Dresden folio copy, the title-page of the Book of
Concord and the Catalogus are dated 1580, while the title-paves of the
Epitome and Solida Declaratio are dated 1576. This is also the only
copy in which the Catalogus is printed under the special heading
"Appendix."
In view of these facts, especially the variation of the Roman type
in all copies, Kolde's hypothesis will hardly be regarded as firmly
established. Even if we eliminate the copy which is everywhere dated
1579, the variations in our four remaining Dresden folio copies cannot
be explained satisfactorily without assuming either several editions or
at least several different compositions for the same edition, or
perhaps for the two editions mentioned by Chemnitz. Feuerlinus
distinguishes seven Dresden editions of the _Book of Concord_ - one,
printed for the greater part in 1578, the second, third, and fourth in
1580, the fifth in 1581, the sixth also in 1581, but in quarto, and
the seventh in 1598, in folio. (_Bibliotheca Symbolica_, 1752, p. 9.)
A copy like the one referred to above, which is everywhere dated 1579,
does not seem to have come to the notice of Feuerlinus.
In the copy of the Tuebingen folio edition which is before us, the
Index follows the Preface. The appendices of the Small Catechism are
omitted, likewise the superscription Appendix of the Catalogus. Our
copy of the Heidelberg folio edition of 1582 omits the Catalogus and
adds the Apology of the _Book of Concord_ of 1583, as also the
Refutation of the Bremen Pastors of the same year. A copy of the
Magdeburg quarto edition lying before us has the year 1580 on the
title-pages of the _Book of Concord_, the Epitome, the Declaratio, and
the Catalogus. The Preface is followed by three pages, on which
Joachim Frederick guarantees to "Thomas Frantzen Buchvorlegern"
(Thomas Frantzen, publishers) the sole right of publication for a
period of five years, and prohibits the introduction of other copies,
excepting only those of the Dresden folio edition of 1580. Luther's
Booklets of Marriage and of Baptism are appended to the Small
Catechism, and to the Large Catechism is added "Eine kurze Vermahnung
zu der Beicht, A Brief Exhortation to Confession." (None of the
Dresden folio copies we compared contain these appendices, nor are
they found in the Latin editions of 1580 and 1584.) The index is
followed by a page of corrected misprints. The last page has the
following imprint: "Gedruckt zu Magdeburg durch Johann Meiszner und
Joachim Walden Erben, Anno 1580, Printed at Magdeburg by John
Meissnei's and Joachim Walden's heirs. In the year 1580."
3. The Latin Concordia.
Even before the close of 1580, Selneccer published a Latin
Concordia containing a translation of the _Formula of Concord_ begun by
Lucas Osiander in 1578 and completed by Jacob Heerbrand. It was a
private undertaking and, owing to its numerous and partly offensive
mistakes, found no recognition. Thus, for instance, the passage of the
Tractatus, "De Potestate et Primatu Papae," in 24: "Christ gives the
highest and final judgment to the church," was rendered as follows: "Et
Christus summum et ultimum ferculum apponit ecclesiae." (p. 317.)
Besides, Selneecer had embodied in his Concordia the objectionable text
of the _Augsburg Confession_ found in the octavo edition of 1531, which
Melanchthon had altered extensively. The necessary revision of the
Latin text was made at the convention in Quedlinburg during December,
1582, and January, 1583, Chemnitz giving material assistance. The
revised edition, which constitutes the Latin textus receptus of the
_Formula of Concord_, was published at Leipzig in 1584. Aside from many
corrections, this edition contains the translation of the Formula of
Concord as already corrected by Selneccer in 1582 for his special
Latin-German edition, and afterwards thoroughly revised by Chemnitz.
The texts of the _Augsburg Confession_ and the Apology follow the
_editio princeps_ of 1531. The 8,000 signatures, embodied also in the
Latin edition of 1580, were omitted, lest any one might complain that
his name was appended to a book which he had neither seen nor approved.
In keeping herewith, the words in the title of the Book of Concord:
"_et nomina sua huio libro subscripserunt_ - and have subscribed their
names to this book", which Mueller retained in his edition, were
eliminated. The title-page concludes as in the edition of 1580, the
word "denuo" only being added and the date correspondingly changed. On
the last two pages of this edition of 1584 Selneccer refers to the
edition of 1580 as follows: "Antea publicatus est liber Christianae
Concordiae, Latine, sed privato et festinato institute, Before this
the _Book of Concord_ has been published in Latin, but as a private and
hasty undertaking." In the edition of 1584, the text of the Small
Catechism is adorned with 23 Biblical illustrations.
Among the later noteworthy editions of the _Book of Concord_ are the
following: Tuebingen, 1599; Leipzig, 1603, 1622; Stuttgart, 1660, 1681.
Editions furnished with introductions or annotations or both: H.
Piping, 1703; S. J. Baumgarten, 1747; J. W. Schoepff, Part I, 1826,
Part II, 1827; F. A. Koethe, 1830; J. A. Detzer, 1830; F. W. Bodemann,
1843. In America the entire _Book of Concord_ was printed in German by
H. Ludwig, of New York, in 1848, and by _The Concordia_ Publishing House
of St. Louis, Mo., in 1880. In Leipzig, Latin editions appeared in the
years 1602, 1606, 1612, 1618, 1626, 1654, 1669, 1677. Adam Rechenberg's
edition "with an appendix in three parts and new indices" (_cum
appendice tripartite et novis indicibus_) saw five editions - 1678,
1698, 1712, 1725, 1742. We mention also the edition of Pfaffius, 1730;
Tittmann, 1817; H. A. G. Meyer, 1830, containing a good preface; Karl
Hase, in his editions of 1827, 1837, and 1845, was the first to number
the paragraphs. Reineccius prepared a German-Latin edition in 1708.
This was followed in 1750 by the German-Latin edition of Johann Georg
Walch. Mueller's well-known German-Latin Concordia saw eleven editions
between 1847 and 1912. Since 1907 it appears with historical
introductions by Th. Kolde.
4. English Translations.
All of the Lutheran symbols have been translated into the English
language repeatedly. In 1536 Richard Tavener prepared the first
translation of the _Augsburg Confession_. Cranmer published, in 1548,
"A Short Instruction into the Christian Religion," essentially a
translation of the Ansbach-Nuernberg Sermons on the Catechism. In 1834
a translation of the German text of the _Augsburg Confession_ with
"Preliminary Observations" was published at Newmarket, Va., by Charles
Henkel, Prof. Schmidt of the Seminary at Columbus, O., assisting in
this work. The Introduction to the Newmarket _Book of Concord_ assigns
Henkel's translation of the _Augsburg Confession_ to the year 1831. Our
copy, however, which does not claim to be a second edition, is dated
1834. In his Popular Theology of 1834, S. S. Schmucker offered a
translation of the Latin text, mutilated in the interest of his
American Lutheranism. Hazelius followed him with a translation in 1841.
In 1848, Ludwig, of New York, issued a translation of the German text
of the Unaltered _Augsburg Confession_, as well as of the Introduction,
prepared by C. H. Schott, together with the Ecumenical Symbols, also
with introductions. The title-page of our copy lists the price of the
book at 12 1/2 cents. C. P. Krauth's translation of the _Augsburg
Confession_ appeared in 1868. The first complete translation of the
German text of the entire _Book of Concord_ was published in 1851 by the
publishing house of Solomon D. Henkel & Bros., at Newmarket, Va. In
this translation, however, greater stress was laid on literary style
than upon an exact reproduction of the original. Ambrose and Socrates
Henkel prepared the translation of the _Augsburg Confession_, the
_Apology_, the _Smalcald Articles_, the Appendix, and the Articles of
Visitation. The _Small Catechism_ was offered in the translation prepared
by David Henkel in 1827. The _Large Catechism_ was translated by J.
Stirewalt; the Epitome, by H. Wetzel; the Declaratio, by J. R. Moser.
The second, improved edition of 1854, contained a translation of the
_Augsburg Confession_ by C. Philip Krauth, the Apology was translated by
W. P. Lehmann, the Smalcald Articles by W. M. Reynolds, the two Catechisms
by J. Cr. Morris, and the _Formula of Concord_ together with the
Catalogus by C. F. Schaeffer. In both editions the historical
introductions present a reproduction of the material in J. T. Mueller's
__Book of Concord__.
In 1882 a new English translation of the entire _Book of Concord_,
together with introductions and other confessional material, appeared
in two volumes, edited by Dr. H. E. Jacobs. The first volume of this
edition embraces the confessional writings of the Lutheran Church. It
contains C. P. Krauth's translation of the _Augsburg Confession_ as re-
vised for Schaff's _Creeds of Christendom_. Jacobs translated the
Apology (from the Latin, with insertions, in brackets, of translations
from the German text), the Smalcald Articles (from the German), the
Tractatus (from the Latin), and the _Formula of Concord_. The
translation of the _Small Catechism_ was prepared by a committee of the
Ministerium of Pennsylvania. The _Large Catechism_ was done into English
by A. Martin. A reprint of this edition appeared in 1911, entitled
"People's Edition," in which the _Augsburg Confession_ is presented in a
translation prepared by a committee of the General Council, the
General Synod, the United Synod in the South, and the Ohio Synod. The
second volume of Jacobs's edition of the _Book of Concord_ embodies
historical introductions to the Lutheran symbols, translations of the
Marburg Articles, the Schwabach Articles, the Torgau Articles, the
Altered _Augsburg Confession_ of 1540 and 1542, Zwingli's Ratio Fidei,
the Tetrapolitana, the Romish Confutatio, Melanchthon's Opinion of
1530, Luther's Sermon on the Descent into Hell of 1533, the Wittenberg
Concordia, the Leipzig Interim, the Catalogus Testimoniorum, the
Articles of Visitation, and the Decretum Upsaliense of 1593. The
Principles of Faith and Church Polity of the General Council and an
index complete this volume. A Norwegian and a Swedish translation of
the _Book of Concord_ have also been published in America.
5. Corpora Doctrinae Supplanted by _Book of Concord_.
More than twenty different Lutheran collections of symbols or
_corpora doctrinae_ (a term first employed by Melanchthon), most of
them bulky, had appeared after the death of Luther and before the
adoption of the _Formula of Concord_, by which quite a number of them
were supplanted. From the signatures to its Preface it appears that
the entire _Book of Concord_ was adopted by 3 electors, 20 princes, 24
counts, 4 barons, and 35 imperial cities. And the list of signatures
appended to the _Formula of Concord_ contains about 8,000 names of
theologians, preachers, and schoolteachers. About two-thirds of the
German territories which professed adherence to the Augsburg
Confession adopted and introduced the _Book of Concord_ as their _corpus
doctrinae._ (Compare Historical Introduction to the _Formula of
Concord_.)
Among the _corpora doctrinae_ which were gradually superseded by
the _Book of Concord_ are the following: 1. Corpus Doctrinae Philippicum,
or Misnicum, or Wittenbergense of 1560, containing, besides the three
Ecumenical Symbols, the following works of Melanchthon: Variata,
Apologia, Repetitio Augustanae Confessionis, Loci, Examen Ordinandorum
of 1552, Responsio ad Articulos Bavaricae Inquisitionis, Refutatio
Serveti. Melanchthon, shortly before his death, wrote the preface for
the Latin as well as the German edition of this Corpus. 2. Corpus
Doctrinae Pomeranicum of 1564, which adds Luther's Catechisms, the
Smalcald Articles, and three other works of Luther to the Corpus
Doctrinae Philippicum, which had been adopted 1561. 3. Corpus Doctrinae
Prutenicum, or Borussicum, of Prussia, 1567, containing the Augsburg
Confession, the Apology, the Smalcald Articles, and Repetition of the
Sum and Content of the True, Universal Christian Doctrine of the
Church, written by Moerlin and Chemnitz. 4. Corpus Doctrinae
Thuringicum in Ducal Saxony, of 1570, containing the three Eeumenical
Symbols, Luther's Catechisms, the Smalcald Articles, the Confession of
the Landed Estates in Thuringia (drawn up by Justus Menius in 1549),
and the Prince of Saxony's Book of Confutation (Konfutationsbuch) of
1558. 5. Corpus Doctrinae Brandenburgicum of 1572, containing the
_Augsburg Confession_ according to the Mainz Manuscript, Luther's Small
Catechism, Explanation of the _Augsburg Confession_ drawn from the
postils and doctrinal writings "of the faithful man of God Dr. Luther"
by Andreas Musculus, and a Church Agenda. 6. Corpus Doctrinae
Wilhelminum of Lueneburg, 1576, containing the three Ecumenical
Symbols, the _Augsburg Confession_, the Apology, the Smalcald Articles,
Luther's Catechisms, Formulae Caute Loquendi (Forms of Speaking
Cautiously) by Dr. Urbanus Regius, and Formulae Recte Sentiendi de
Praecipuis Horum Temporum Controversiis (Forms of Thinking Correctly
concerning the Chief Controversies of These Times) by Martin Chemnitz.
7. Corpus Doctrinae Iulium of Duke Julius of Braunschweig-
Wolfenbuettel, 1576, containing the documents of the Wilhelminum, with
the sole addition of the _Short Report of Some Prominent Articles of
Doctrine, from the Church Order of Duke Julius, of 1569. 8. The Hamburg
Book of Confession of 1560, which was also adopted by Luebeek and
Lueneburg, and contained a confession against the Interim, drawn up
by Aepinus in 1548, and also four declarations concerning Adiaphorism,
Osiandrism, Majorism, and the doctrine of the Lord's Supper, drawn up
since 1549. 9. The _Confessional Book of Braunschweig_, adopted in 1563
and reaffirmed in 1570, containing, The "Braunschweig Church Order of
1528", the _Unaltered Augsburg Confession_, the _Apology_ thereof, the
_Smalcald Articles_, _Explanation_, etc., drawn up at Lueneburg in 1561
against the Crypto-Calvinists. 10. The Church Order of the city of
Goettingen, 1568, containing the Church Order of Goettingen of 1531,
_Luther's Small Catechism_, the _Smalcald Articles_, the _Augsburg
Confession_, and the _Apology_. (Tschackert, _l. c._, 613 f.; Feuerlinus,
_1.c._, 1 f.)
6. Subscription to Confessions.
The position accorded the symbols in the Lutheran Church is
clearly defined by the _Book of Concord_ itself. According to it Holy
Scripture alone is to be regarded as the sole rule and norm by which
absolutely all doctrines and teachers are to be judged. The object of
the Augustana, as stated in its Preface, was to show "what manner of
doctrine has been set forth, in our lands and churches, from the Holy
Scripture and the pure Word of God." And in its Conclusion the
Lutheran confessors declare: "Nothing has been received on our part
against, Scripture or the Church Catholic," and "we are ready, God
willing, to present ampler information according to the Scriptures."
"Iuxta Scripturam" - such are the closing words of the Augsburg
Confession. The Lutheran Church knows of no other principle.
In the _Formula of Concord_ we read: "Other writings, however, of
ancient or modern teachers, whatever name they bear, must not be
regarded as equal to the Holy Scriptures, but all of them together be
subjected to them, and should not be received otherwise or further
than as witnesses, [which are to show] in what manner after the time
of the apostles, and at what places, this doctrine of the prophets and
apostles was preserved." (777, 2.) In the "Conclusion" of the _Catalog of
Testimonies_ we read: "The true saving faith is to be founded upon no
church-teachers, old or new, but only and alone upon God's Word, which
is comprised in the Scriptures of the holy prophets and apostles, as
unquestionable witnesses of divine truth." (1149.)
The Lutheran symbols, therefore, are not intended to supplant the
Scriptures, nor do they do so. They do, however, set forth what has
been at all times the unanimous understanding of the pure Christian
doctrine adhered to by sincere and loyal Lutherans everywhere; and, at
the same time, they show convincingly from the Scriptures that our
forefathers did indeed manfully confess nothing but God's eternal
truth, which every Christian is in duty bound to, and consistently
always will, believe, teach, and confess.
The manner also in which Lutherans pledge themselves confessionally
appears from these symbols. The _Augsburg Confession_ was endorsed by
the princes and estates as follows: "The above articles we desire to
present in accordance with the edict of Your Imperial Majesty, in order
to exhibit our Confession and let men see a summary of the doctrine
of our teachers." (95, 6.) In the preamble to the signatures of 1537
the Lutheran preachers unanimously confess: "We have reread the
articles of the Confession presented to the Emperor in the Assembly at
Augsburg, and by the favor of God all the preachers who have been
present in this Assembly at Smalcald harmoniously declare that they
believe and teach in their churches according to the articles of the
Confession and Apology." (529.) John Brenz declares that he had read
and reread, time and again, the Confession, the Apology, etc., and
judged "that all these agree with Holy Scripture, and with the belief
of the true and genuine Catholic Church (haec omnia convenire cum
Sacra Scriptura et cum sententia verae _kai gnehsiehs_ catholicae
ecclesiae)." (529.) Another subscription-to the _Smalcald Articles_ -
reads: "I, Conrad Figenbotz, for the glory of God subscribe that I
have thus believed and am still preaching and firmly believing as
above." (503,13.) Brixius writes in a similar vein: "I. . . . subscribe
to the Articles of the reverend Father Martin Luther, and confess that
hitherto I have thus believed and taught, and by the Spirit of Christ
I shall continue thus to believe and teach." (503, 27.)
In the "Preface" to the _Thorough Declaration of the Formula of
Concord_ the Lutheran confessors declare: "To this Christian Augsburg
Confession, so thoroughly grounded in God's Word, we herewith pledge
ourselves again from our inmost hearts. We abide by its simple, clear,
and unadulterated meaning as the words convey it, and regard the said
Confession as a pure Christian symbol, with which at the present time
true Christians ought to be found next to God's Word. . . . We intend
also, by the grace of the Almighty, faithfully to abide. until our end
by this Christian Confession, mentioned several times, as it was
delivered in the year 1530 to the Emperor Charles V; and it is our
purpose, neither in this nor in any other writing, to recede in the
least from that oft-cited Confession, nor to propose another or new
confession." (847, 4. 5.) Again: "We confess also the First, Unaltered
_Augsburg Confession_ as our symbol for this time (not because it was
composed by our theologians, but because it has been taken from God's
Word and is founded firmly and well therein), precisely in the form in
which it was committed to writing in the year 1530, and presented to
the Emperor Charles V at Augsburg." (851, 5.)
In like manner the remaining Lutheran symbols were adopted. (852.
777.) Other books, the _Formula of Concord_ declares, are accounted
useful, "as far as (wofern, quatenus) they are consistent with" the
Scriptures and the symbols. (855, 10.) The symbols, however, are
accepted "that we may have a unanimously received, definite, common
form of doctrine, which all our Evangelical churches together and in
common confess, from and according to which, because (cum, weil) it
has been derived from God's Word, all other writings should be judged
and adjusted, as to how far (wofern, quatenus) they are to be approved
and accepted." (855, 10.)
After its adoption by the Lutheran electors, princes, and estates,
the _Formula of Concord_, and with it the entire _Book of Concord_, was,
as stated, solemnly subscribed by about 8,000 theologians, pastors,
and teachers, the pledge reading as follows: "Since now, in the sight
of God and of all Christendom, we wish to testify to those now living
and those who shall come after us that this declaration herewith
presented concerning all the controverted articles aforementioned and
explained, and no other, is our faith, doctrine, and confession, in
which we are also willing, by God's grace, to appear with intrepid
hearts before the judgment-seat of Jesus Christ, and give an account of
it; and that we will neither privately nor publicly speak or write
anything contrary to it, but, by the help of God's grace, intend to
abide thereby: therefore, after mature deliberation, we have, in God's
fear and with the invocation of His name, attached our signatures with
our own hands." (1103,40.)
Furthermore, in the Preface to the _Book of Concord_ the princes and
estates declare that many churches and schools had received the
_Augsburg Confession_ "as a symbol of the present time in regard to the
chief articles of faith, especially those involved in controversy with
the Romanists and various corruptions of the heavenly doctrine." (7-)
They solemnly protest that it never entered their minds "either to
introduce, furnish a cover for, and establish any false doctrine, or
in the least even to recede from the Confession presented in the year
1530 at Augsburg." (15.) They declare: "This Confession also, by the
help of God, we will retain to our last breath, when we shall go forth
from this life to the heavenly fatherland, to appear with joyful and
undaunted mind and with a pure conscience before the tribunal of our
Lord Jesus Christ." (15.) "Therefore we also have determined not to
depart even a finger's breadth either from the subjects themselves or
from the phrases which are found in them (_vel a rebus ipsis vel a
phrasibus, quae in illa habentur, discedere_), but, the Spirit of the
Lord aiding us, to persevere constantly, with the greatest harmony, in
this godly agreement, and we intend to examine all controversies
according to this true norm and declaration of the pure doctrine."
(23.)
7. Pledging of Ministers to the Confessions.
Such being the attitude of the Lutherans towards their symbols, and
such their evaluation of pure doctrine, it was self-evident that the
public teachers of their churches should be pledged to the confessions.
In December, 1529, H. Winckel, of Goettingen, drew up a form in which
the candidate for ordination declares: "I believe and hold also of the
most sacred Sacrament . . . as one ought to believe concerning it
according to the contents of the Bible, and as Doctor Martin Luther
writes and confesses concerning it especially in his Confession" (of
the Lord's Supper, 1528). The Goettingen Church Order of 1530, however,
did not as yet embody a vow of ordination. The first pledges to the
symbols were demanded by the University of Wittenberg in 1533 from
candidates for the degree of Doctor of Divinity. In 1535 this pledge
was required also of the candidates for ordination. The oath provided
that the candidate must faithfully teach the Gospel without corruption
steadfastly defend the Ecumenical Symbols, remain in agreement with the
_Augsburg Confession_, and before deciding difficult controversies
consult older teachers of the Church of the _Augsburg Confession_. Even
before 1549 the candidates for philosophical degrees were also pledged
by oath to the _Augsburg Confession_.
In 1535, at the Diet of Smalcald, it was agreed that new members
entering the Smalcald League should promise "to provide for such
teaching and preaching as was in harmony with the Word of God and the
pure teaching of our [Augsburg] Confession." According to the
Pomeranian Church Order, which Bugenhagen drew up in 1535, pastors
were pledged to the _Augsburg Confession_ and the _Apology_ thereof.
Capito, Bucer, and all others who took part in the Wittenberg Concord
of 1536, promised, over their signatures, "to believe and to teach in
all articles according to the Confession and the Apology." (_Corpus
Reformatorum_, opp. Melanthonis, 3, 76.) In 1540, at Goettingen, John
Wigand promised to accept the _Augsburg Confession_ and its _Apology_,
and to abide by them all his life. "And," he continued, "if I should be
found to do otherwise or be convicted of teaching and confessing
contrary to such Confession and Apology, then let me, by this
signature, be condemned and deposed from this divine ministry. This do
I swear; so help me God." Also at Goettingen, Veit Pfluimacher vowed,
in 1541, that he would preach the Gospel in its truth and purity
according to the _Augsburg Confession_ and the contents of the postils
of Anton Corvinus. He added: "Should I be found to do otherwise and
not living up to what has been set forth above, then shall I by such
act have deposed myself from office. This do I swear; so help me God."
In 1550 and 1552, Andrew Osiander attacked the oath of confession
which was in vogue at Wittenberg, claiming it to be "an entanglement
in oath-bound duties after the manner of the Papists." "What else,"
said he, "does this oath accomplish than to sever those who swear it
from the Holy Scriptures and bind them to Philip's doctrine? Parents
may therefore well consider what they do by sending their sons to
Wittenberg to become Masters and Doctors. Money is there taken from
them, and they are made Masters and Doctors. But while the parents
think that their son is an excellent man, well versed in the
Scriptures and able to silence enthusiasts and heretics, he is, in
reality, a poor captive, entangled and embarrassed by oath-bound
duties. For he has abjured the Word of God and has taken an oath on
Philip's doctrine." Replying to this fanatical charge in 1553,
Melanchthon emphasized the fact that the doctrinal pledges demanded at
Wittenberg had been introduced, chiefly by Luther, for the purpose of
"maintaining the true doctrine." "For," said Melanchthon, "many
enthusiasts were roaming about at that time, each, in turn, spreading
new silly nonsense, e. g., the Anabaptists, Servetus, Campanus,
Schwenckfeld, and others. And such tormenting spirits are not lacking
at any time (_Et non desunt tales furiae ullo tempore_)." A doctrinal
pledge, Melanchthon furthermore explained, was necessary "in order
correctly to acknowledge God and call upon Him to preserve harmony in
the Church and to bridle the audacity of such as invent new doctrines."
(C. B. 12, 5.)
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