# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_September 1857_S268
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

268   Lutheran-Theological Pastor's Library.

...of faith of the Archbishop of Cologne, Johannes von Geissel, over against the Neo-Catholics, 3. a declaration of the Prince-Bishop of Breslau, von Diepenbrock, concerning the 7 sacraments, of the year 1845 (pp. 665–685). Whoever knows Professor Dr. Guericke's handbooks needs no reminder that this one too is as rich in usable material as it is thorough in treatment and excellent in the arrangement of it, and that in both respects it far surpasses every other work of this kind. What makes the book exceedingly valuable and useful are the very abundantly given citations from the relevant churchly-symbolical documents. Unhappily, Guericke's work was written at a time in which he had not yet attained—precisely as regards the points of doctrine that have again become matters of contention within our church—the clarity which this distinguished and sincere Lutheran scholar has since gained upon them. — Whereas Guericke's work furnishes the historical material for symbolics and demonstrates the difference of the symbolically fixed doctrines of the various church communions by comparative juxtaposition, a guide to a deeper and right understanding of the text of the symbolical books of our church in particular is given by the following work: "D. Jo. Benedicti Carpzovii Isagoge in libros ecclesiarum lutheranarum symbolicos. Opus posthumum a D. Jo. Oleario continuatum, editum a J. Ben. Carpzovio, filio. Lipsiae 1675." The original author of this writing, Johann Benedict Carpzov, brother of the famous teacher of canon law Benedict Carpzov and father of that Johann Benedict Carpzov who is known as the later vehement opponent of Spener and of the Pietists in general, was born in the year 1607 at Rochlitz in Saxony, whither his parents had betaken themselves on account of the plague, and died as professor of theology at Leipzig in the year 1657. The introduction to our Book of Concord here noticed was our Carpzov's last work and, among all his other excellent theological writings, his richest. Overtaken by death, he did not bring it to completion. The last part, namely from the second article of the Formula of Concord onward, was worked out by Johannes Olearius. The latter, a brother of Gottfried Olearius the Elder and father of Gottfried Olearius the Younger (the author of the precious Observ. in Matth.), was at the last Princely Saxon-Weissenfels church councillor, chief court preacher, and general superintendent, and died, 73 years old, in the year 1684. Our Isagoge contains first a Prooemium, which gives an explanation of the word and the thing of a symbol and sets forth the true meaning of such. Thereupon each section of the whole Concordia is treated in the following manner. First it is set out in outline and analyzed; secondly, all occurring expressions, sentences, argumentations, historical remarks, etc., that may stand in need of elucidation are furnished with the necessary notes; and finally there follows a series of questions which contain the points that emerge from the preceding elucidated section as being in dispute between us and our opponents. The answer is each time simply with yes