# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1969_S557 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 546 THEOLOGY OF FELLOWSHIP pleasing peace in the church must be based on the Word of God, and dare not be contrary to the divine Word in the articles of faith). Calov quotes without exegesis the follow- ing passages: 2 John 10, 11; 2 Peter 1:1, 2; 2 Peter 3:17; Gal. 1:9; 1 Tim. 4:3-5; Rom. 16:17, 18; Titus 1:9, 10; 2 Tim. 2:25; Titus 3:10; 2 Cor. 6:14-17 and others. These, essen- tially, are the passages which have been quoted in the Synodical Conference against prayer with Christians of other confessions. For further information the student is directed to this work of Calov’s. The text from which we quote reveals neither the name of the printer, nor the place of publication. The historical material on the whole syncre- tistic controversy is found in Schmid, Heinrich, Geschichte der synkretistischen Streitigkeiten in der Zeit des Georg Calixt, Erlangen, Verlag von Carl Heider, 1846. On the Colloquy of Thorn see also under Thorn, Religionsgespraech, in Herzogs Realenzyklopaedie fuer Protestantische Theologie und Kirche, Leipzig, 1907, Vol. XIX, ® See Webster's Third New International Dictionary, G. and C. Merriam Co., 1961, under “prophet.” 7 Bauer (Arndt-Gingrich), under prophéteué (proph- esy): “To proclaim a divine revelation; prophetically reveal what is hidden; foretell] the future, prophesy.” Thayer, under prophéteia: “Prophecy, that is, discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or com- forting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; esp. by fore- telling future events,” The prophet, (prophétés) is then defined as “an inter- preter or spokesman for God, one through whom God speaks ».. . One who speaks forth by divine inspiration. ... In the New Testament one who moved by the Spirit of God and hence His organ or spokesman solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration. ...” This is essentially also the understanding in the 82-page article on prophétés and related words in Kittel, Friedrich, Theologisches Woer- terbuch zum Neuen Testament, Vol. VI, pp. 781—863. For this understanding the article refers to Deut. 18:20; 34:10; Jer. 28:8 ff.; Amos 3:7. 8 This understanding of “false prophet” is widely recog- nized by the lexica for New Testament studies, Bauer (Arndt-Gingrich) recognizes two meanings of pseudoprophétés: “False prophet, one who falsely claims to be a prophet of God or who prophesies falsely,” Thayer: pseudoprophétés: “One who acting the part of a divinely inspired prophet, utters falsehoods under the name of divine prophecies.” We translate the following on pseudoprophétés from the lengthy article by Friedrich in the Theologisches Woerter- buch: The Word pseudoprophétés is not employed by St.Paul. It is found eleven times in the New Testament, of these, three Matt. 7:15 they act as though they were prophets, but are In essence liars. In Mark 13:22; Matt. 24:24: 1John 4:1 (cp. 2:18) they are mentioned together with pseudo-Christs. As the pseudo-Christ is not a Christ who spreads lies, but falsely claims the title of Christ, so the Ppseudoprophet is first of alla Person who takes to himself the title of prophet without being a Prophet. 1 John 4:1-3 shows that the Pseudoprophet is also a man who proclaims lies; for he is recognized as a false prophet in this that he represerts a false doctrine. 2 Peter 2:1 the false prophets of the Old Testament are compared with the false teachers of the pres- ent. who bring in destructive heresies. They are therefore people who proclaim lies. But by and large the false prophet is not called a pseudoprophet because his teaching and prophesying is false, but because he makes the false claim that he is a prophet. From the fact that he is a false prophet there follows then in most cases that he also proclaims what is false, and thus spreads lies, (P. 831) ® It should be noted, for a proper understanding of this passage, that the term doctrine in Scripture, when applied to the truth, is almost always in the singular. On the side of the truth Scripture knows of one doctrine, the doctrine of God or Christ. On the side of error it knows of doctrines, e.g., doctrines of devils (1 Tim. 4:1). The Formula of Con- cord similarly uses doctrine in the singular for Gospel (FC, Ep. V, 5: see also FC, SD, X, 31). In later usage in the church we have become accus- tomed to speak of doctrines in the plural to designate what Luther and the earlier theologians of our church, and notably the Lutheran Confessions, called articles, that is, integral parts, of the one doctrine, that is, the Gospel. Thus, the article of justification is considered the chief article of the Christian doctrine. (Cf. THEoLocy oF FELLOWsuiP, Part II, p. 19.) 19 Von den Conciliis, etc. (WA 50, 544 f.) The RSV renders the passage, “Do not be mismated with unbelievers.” 12 Cf. The Book of Concord (Tappert), 328. 41; 493, 6; 611. 6; 615. 22. 1 Brockhaus, Conversationslexikon, 16. Band zig, 1887), p. 39. 14The term Synkretismus was employed during the period of 17th-century orthodoxy to denote efforts to re- unite Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Reformed. These efforts are described in Abraham Calov’s Historia Syncre- tistica., 15 F, Eckhardt, Homiletisches Reallexikon (St. Louis), has no less than 18 pages of reference to “union” and “unionism,” indicating how live this subject was in the thinking of the synodical fathers. 16 Fuerbringer, L., Th, Engelder, and P. E. Kretzmann (eds.), The Concordia Cyclopedia (St. Louis, 1927), under Unionism, 17 Separation, a separation in a Scriptural manner on account of false doctrine, and separatism, a separation against the Scripture for all kinds of other reasons, Cf. Eckhardt, under Spaltung. 18 The prayer here enjoined is prayer among Chris- tians met for a God-pleasing purpose, Joint prayer with non-Christians is to be avoided. 19 Cf. THEOLOGY oF FELLOwsHIP, Part II, p. 19. 20 Thid., p. 22. As one respected Lutheran theologian, Dr. Hermann Sasse of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia, has urged, the least that Christians can do on such oceasions is to pray together: Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide, For round us falls the eventide; Let not Thy Word, that heavenly light, For us be ever veiled in night. (The Lutheran Hymnal, 292) °1 THEOLOGY oF FELLOwsurP, Part II, pp. 24—29, (Leip-