The Abiding Word: Volume I Part 1 "The Doctrine of Creation" by Prof. Gotthold Viehweg

 

As mentioned in the introductory post in this series, The Abiding Word was a project for the centennial celebration of the founding of the Missouri Synod. The essays were based upon convention essays and other works in German to preserve "the father's faith in the children's language."

Each essay reworks the treasures from the German speaking Missouri Synod in differing ways. Some summarize, some essays extensively quote, and others more extensively rework and synthesize previous essays. For each essay, I will try to provide some information about the author and give a brief review of the essay.

BTW, here are some some interesting links regarding the publication of The Abiding Word: Volume I:

-Review of Volume I by J. T. Mueller (scroll to page 477)

-J .T. Mueller complaining about an unfair review in the ALC's periodical (scroll to page 624)  

1. The Doctrine of Creation by G. Viehweg was a 1945 convention essay of the Southern Nebraska District.

Pr. Gotthold Moritz Viehweg was a professor at Concordia College in Austin, Texas from 1928-1964. He was born in Planitz, Saxony on October 13, 1891. After coming to America, he went to Concordia College--Milwaukee and Concordia Seminary--St. Louis, graduating in 1914. He served as a pastor to congregations in Wellfleet, NE, Winfield, KS, and Arapahoe, NE. He died on August 19, 1977. (details found through CHI)

You can find some interesting correspondence of and about Viehweg and the beginning of his time at Concordia--Austin here.

The essays which form the background of Viehweg's work are:

    

    a. District Convention Essays 

        Atlantic, 1909, Chr. Merkel.

        Canada, 1898, F. Bente; 1901, H. Wente; 1903, Wm. Moll.

        Central, 1878, E. W. Kaehler; 1885, C. Gross.

        Illinois, 1885, A Brauer.

        Michigan, 1901, Th. Engelder.

        Nebraska, 1894, A. Graebner.

        South Dakota (and, it seems from the text of the essay, Southern), 1910, 1912, R. Pieper.

    

    b. Articles

        Lehre und Wehre, 22: 97, 240; 23: 273, 335, 362; 46: 8, 39, 135, 164, 217; "Die Evolutionismus und die Wissenschaften" by F. Bente. 55: 289, 351, 454, 499, 546; "Die Evolution und die Bibel" by J. Hoeness.

        Theological Quarterly, 9: 271, A. Graebner; 14: 78, 155, Th. Graebner. 

    c. Other References in the Text

        Christliche Dogmatik, F. Pieper. 

        Notes on Genesis, W. A. Maier.

        Evolution; an Investigation and a Criticism, Th. Graebner.

        Christliche Dogmatik, J. T. Mueller.

        Genesis, H. C. Leupold

        various quotes from Luther.

Viehweg strongly and hilariously condemns both the unbiblical and unscientific view of those who reject the biblical account of creation:

If we men presume to correct God's account of creation through inferences from the present condition of the world, we are indulging in unscientific conceit and pretense which does not become a Christian or any man for that matter. The disagreement between geologists concerning the age of the earth a man is so great that they can speak of the assured results of geology only if they completely give up the use of that small amount of reason which we still have after the Fall. Some are satisfied with a few hundred thousand years, other demand millions of years. Among these gentlemen a million of years is a mere trifle. They are very generous; a million more or less does not matter, but is that scientific?

He also relates the differing opinions of R. Pieper and some of the delegates of the Southern District concerning the firmament (which is actually a long running debate, z. B. Luther and Baier disagree on this):

R. Pieper, South. Distr., 1910, pp. 26, 27, claims that the waters beyond the firmament are nothing but the clouds...Some of the delegates of the Southern District   did not agree with R. Pieper's views on the firmament. They did not think that the firmament was the atmosphere surrounding the earth, but the star-spangled vault of the sky, that the clouds were not the waters beyond, but rather under firmament. The waters beyond the firmament were, in their opinion, not fog or vapor, but water whose nature is unknown to us.

Our forefathers also had quite a robust understanding of the natural knowledge of God. Concerning the birds of creation declaring the glory of God, Viehweg writes:

R. Pieper mentions especially the meadowlark and the nightingale. If a man has an ear for these voices, they sing into his heart the wisdom and goodness of his Creator, and admonish him to join them in the praises of the Creator, forgetting useless, heathenish cares and worries.

The essay is definitely worth reading in full. 

Need to Get Level: 10/10 for pastors; 3/10 for laymen [For the Abiding Word Set in General]

If you are a Lutheran pastor, particularly a Missouri Synod pastor, and do not have this on your shelf, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Bear the proper fruit of repentance and get a copy. If you are a layman who is very interested in studying dogmatics or digging into a particular doctrinal topic, these essays will give you an English survey of what our early Missouri forefathers taught.

You can get new paperbacks from CPH, or find original hardbacks on Amazon and other online booksellers.

Other Posts in the Series on The Abiding Word

The Abiding Word: Introduction and Overview

The Abiding Word: Volume I

The Abiding Word: Volume II

The Abiding Word: Volume III

Contents of Volume One

Outlines of Doctrinal Theology by A. L. Graebner

Note: Thanks to Pr. Andrew Gray for our first guest post and pointing us to a great resource from old Missouri.



 

Outlines of Doctrinal Theology is a collection of concise doctrinal statements with Scripture references to show the origin of those statements.  It is a great quick reference guide and has great value for preparation and personal study.  Topics are arranged from prolegomena to eternal life and everything in between. 

It was written by A.L. Graebner who served as a professor at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. [He is the father of Theodore Graebner] The book was published by Concordia Publishing House in 1910.  This would make the work in the public domain, though I was not able to find an available scan online. (Let me know if you find one.) It is however available in the Print-on-Demand section of the CPH site for what I would consider a very reasonable price at 29.99 for this work. http://www.cph.org/p-6560-outlines-of-doctrinal-theology.aspx As with all of the books listed on L-TOM you might be able to find a copy if you search the right places. I picked mine up for a dollar at a Concordia Theological Seminary book sale a few years back.

               
The book began as dictated notes from the English lectures on Dogmatic Theology at Concordia Seminary St. Louis delivered by Graebner. The students had reprinted the notes and they began to be disseminated beyond the seminary. When it became apparent there was demand for the work Graebner in his preface notes, “Finally, the students’s supply was exhausted and the Board of Directors of Concordia Publishing House determined on the publication of this book, the author deemed it no longer proper to refuse his consent and cooperation.”
               
This is a great work to have in your collection. In our day, when there is a great temptation to cast off the teachings of our Lutheran Fathers, Graebner states, “While it has been the author’s constant aim to demonstrate the scripturalness of the doctrinal statements set forth in the Paragraphs of this book, he deems it a duty to say that he knows himself also in full accord with the doctrine of the Lutheran Chruch as laid down in the Book of Concord, and that the absence of references to the Symbols of our church, the norma normata of sound Lutheranism, must not be construed into a disparagement of the Lutheran standards or of any point of doctrine therein contained. With an emphatic refusal to apologize for having nowhere, from the first point in Bibliology to the last in Eschatology, progressed beyond the theology of our orthodox fathers, and with the fervent prayer that God would graciously keep him and his bretheren in the faith from any such progress, this humble contribution toward the theological literature of our church in America is dedicated to the service of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and commended to His divine blessing by the author.”   

Need to Get Level: 10/10

I would say that for the pastor's library it is a must have, especially for its quick reference value, and that laymen would get a lot out of it as well if they had it on their shelves. It is rather accessible.

Pastor Andrew Gray
St. John Lutheran Church-Marengo, IA