# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1926_S162
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

162 Proceedings of Thirty-Third Regular Convention,

ie launched too late and too feebly. Many petty prejudices and predi-
lections will have to be overcome, and it is none too soon for the
preliminary overtures.

Ad II. Our synodical “Short Exposition” of the Catechism, com-
monly called “Schwan’s Catechism” (in honor of Dr. Schwan, its
anonymous author), came out about thirty years ago as a German
text-book of Lutheranism for parish-schools and confirmation classes.
It supplanted the “Dietrich,” which had, prior to that time, been in
general use. The reasons for the change then were very much the
same as those that are now and herein urged in behalf of a revision.

of “Schwan,” viz.: “Dietrich,” being very technical in its phrase-.
oH ologies, had become too difficult, too heavy, for a generation whose
ii German conversation had changed to simpler forms. Even so

“Schwan,” in its heavy English translation, is to-day (and really
always was) above the heads of the masses-and their vocabulary. It
i is extremely difficult to make some of the answers clear to present-day
j catechumens who have not the German background and do not know
the German language. Such words as “invoke” (Qu. 22), “impute”

(Qu. 196), “adorn” (Qu. 27), “desecrated” (Qu. 52), “concreated”

(Qu. 95), “admitting to the Sacrament those only who have been

Ki previously explored” (Qu. 351), etc., etc.,—such words and phrases

are often too enigmatic even for tenth-grade scholars. And even

where the words are relatively plain, the sense is, at times, obscure.

mt The answer to Qu. 20, for instance, is positively unintelligible.

4 Almost invariably Luther’s text is simpler and easier than the “expo-

, sition” of that text. There is no gainsaying the fact that a smoother

English in a simpler “exposition” is a need of the hour, — either
a thoroughly revised “Schwan” or a totally new text-book.

Submitted with the endorsement of the
Chicago English Conference by a
March 2, 1926. Turo. J. GESSWEIN.

Revised Edition of Our English Synodical Catechism.
(Memorial 506.)

The monthly Pastoral Conference of Los Angeles and Vicinity,
as at its regular meeting on March 2, 1926, passed a resolution to submit. .
to Synod the following overture: — ‘
\" That Synod publish the English translation of our Synodical
Catechism (Schwan) in an edition de luxe on occasion of the quadri-
centennial of Luther’s Small Catechism;
That the translation in this new edition appear revised and cor-
rected according to tried and approved pedagogical standards. ;
A. Improvement of language is needed. i
B. Sound pedagogy especially requires a simplification of the 3
Catechism. A university professor who made a study of our Cat- §