# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_Juli 1864_S212
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

212 Christian Catechism; A Guide to Religious Instruction.

be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as menpleasers, but in singleness of heart, as fearing God." Likewise chapter 4:1: "Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing," etc. The Greek οἶδα, by the way, means not so much "to consider" as rather "to know," so that here too Luther had, once again, translated quite literally. At Proverbs 22:1 Luther is supposed to have translated the word Gerücht ["report"] in a misleading way for "good reputation." The new translation therefore has: "A (good) name is more precious," etc. But whoever knows Luther's manner of writing will misunderstand this all the less if, like every diligent Bible reader, he also takes into account the parallel at Ecclesiastes 7:1. These would be a few examples of the new Bible translation. It would, of course, be regrettable if our German Bible had so many faults according to this; it is, however, a comfort that, through Luther's translation, neither has the sense of Scripture, on the one hand, been distorted by too free a rendering — thereby giving just cause for false doctrinal consequences — nor, on the other hand, has our German language been corrupted by too literal a translation; on the contrary, it possesses such beauty and simplicity that, even today, after more than 300 years, despite all attempted improvements, it remains in general use among Christians of the German tongue. —

A far more important question, however, is: what chief articles of Christian doctrine has Dr. Schaff now drawn from his Bible? To recognize this, the contents of his catechism will guide us. To the question, "Canst thou become blessed by thine own strength?" the catechism indeed answers quite correctly: "No; but alone through the grace of God in Christ Jesus"; but there follows immediately: "What must thou do, in order to become blessed? — Believe in Jesus Christ, and follow him." What? Is this, then, the comfort which this Christian catechism brings its readers — that no one may hope to become blessed who does not keep the law? The proof-text that is cited, Luke 9:23, does indeed show what it means to follow Jesus, but says not a word to the effect that this is a condition of blessedness (Romans 11:6). From the way to blessedness the catechism now takes occasion to speak of the source of knowledge, holy Scripture. After a general description of the Bible, the author has a testimony from the "worldly poet" "Goethe" follow. (N.B., in a Christian catechism!) "The higher the centuries rise in culture, the more the Bible will be used, in part as a foundation, in part as a tool of education, by truly wise men." We should think that this praise of the Bible from the mouth of a man to whom the preaching of the crucified Christ, as far as he knew it, was foolishness, is by no means an analogue to an apostle's citations from the writings of heathen authors. According to Dr. Schaff, the proof-texts for the divinity of holy Scripture are indeed to be referred first of all to the Old Testament, but in a stronger sense to the New Testament. According to this, it would seem that the latter, too, is meant to be God's Word in a stronger sense than the former. The passages which, according to this, present a weak