Robert Newton and “Accountability and Faithfulness in Reaching the Lost”
By Dr. Mark D. Nispel | April 26, 2008
Robert D. Newton, President of the California, Nevada, Hawaii district of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, presented a paper in Nashville, TN in January 2008 at a conference of the Transforming Congregations Network: Mission Revitalization Process.
This paper is part of the ongoing activity associated with the Ablaze! program within the Missouri Synod of which President Newton is an active part. In fact he seems to be somewhat of a theological apologist for the program as his papers and presentations are appearing in various places throughout the church body.
The original paper (about 11 pages) is available here: Accountability and Faithfulness in Reaching the Lost.
My interest in it came about because I was asked to review it and comment upon it.
My complete comments (about 12 pages) are here: Nispel Comments
The summary from the comments document are as follows:
First, it is appropriate to respond to this paper publicly because it has been presented in a public forum. Secondly President Newton appears to be one of the ongoing theological apologists for the Ablaze! initiative and thus has placed his work in general into the position of receiving critical evaluation. And finally, in his paper, President Newton explicitly invites a fraternal conversation on the topics he addresses.
Summary
First it should be granted that President Newton has raised a legitimate issue for discussion. And he points to real concerns in relation to the history, status, direction, culture, and theology of the Missouri Synod in relation to reaching the lost. And these can and should be discussed openly and seriously. However, the paper itself in dealing with the two questions related to proclaiming the gospel to the unchurched, presents exegesis, language, and arguments that are significant innovations and diversions from the historical examples and norms of the Lutheran tradition and, to some degree, from the wider historical Christian tradition. As such they should be evaluated carefully.
This innovation in language and argument is not simply a neutral clarification or alternate description. On the contrary, it creates a theological model of “mission” by changing the scope of the fundamental term “gospel” and using this term as a label for something that is clearly considered “office” by Luther and the Confessions. This approach can not help but affect many other related doctrines such as the public office of the ministry, the means of grace, etc. although these topics are not addressed directly by President Newton’s paper. Beyond this, the new terminology used in the presentation of this model leads to additional statements that appear to border on careless and should not be accepted without careful scrutiny.
Finally, important issues of church polity are touched upon by President Newton’s argument in that he claims Synod should provide centralized oversight and accountability for mission to the lost because we provide accountability for those things we value most. These issues should be evaluated carefully within a proper description of the relationship between the Synod and its member congregations as established by the doctrine of the church.
I was asked to review the document and make my comments. And I think
the comments raise important and non-trivial issues. Every man can use
them as they like.
I have no interest in simply being argumentative on this topic. And I have had no previous exposure to or conversations about the Ablaze! program other than a couple of incidental remarks I have heard a couple of times that were without any detail. The comments contained here are not general comments regarding Ablaze! Nevertheless, they could easily raise more general concerns as to what other similar arguments and assertions may be in use for the promotion of this program.
m.
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Walther - officially speaks Nebraskan
By Dr. Mark D. Nispel | April 14, 2008
My translation (mentioned in earlier posts from last August and September) of part 1 of a series of articles in Der Lutheraner by C.F.W. Walther has officially appeared in print. It is in the Forum section of the latest issue (Eastertide 2008) of Logia. It is titled: “Walther on Absolution.” The second part has been translated by Dr. Matthew Phillips of Concordia University, Seward, NE. It should be appearing in upcoming issues.
m.
UPDATE 4/26/2008: I noticed this evening that Logia referenced my first part of the series as Der Lutheraner 3 (1846):59-60. In actuality, it is 2 (1846): 59-60. I see that I made the mistake on the copy of the translation I sent them. I had it right when I originally referenced it here in this blog: Original Der Lutheraner Reference
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Three Luther documents completed
By Dr. Mark D. Nispel | March 22, 2008
I finally finished the third Luther work assigned to me by CPH for translation. It has been submitted for editing.
This document came from 1537 and was an introduction by Luther to a work titled “A disputation regarding the monarchy of the pope.”
In this document Luther was quite severe in his judgement of the papacy and its ongoing claims to have authority over all the churches and the right of shepherding them, which Luther considered a lie. And while this claim was made, said Luther, the papacy regularly took money and physical goods from the churches to enrich itself.
In addition, Luther makes some interesting remarks about the history of Charles the Great and his coronation of the papal claims that were made on the basis of this event.
Finally, Luther in several places demonstrates rhetorical skill and polish even while using harsh language to express his disapproval of the papacy.
The work is found in WA 50:102-105.
m.
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Wittenberg and Aristotle
By Dr. Mark D. Nispel | December 11, 2007
Logia has called for manuscripts on the topic of “Wittenberg and Athens” for their Reformation 2008 issue. So at the end of November, I reworked my paper titled Wittenberg Reforms in the University which I wrote as part of my doctoral program. I reworked it to shorten and improve the text and fix up some reference mistakes and then I submitted it to Logia.
The paper is a historical piece that discusses the place of Aristotle in the late medieval European university and Luther and Melanchthon’s modification of that tradition in Wittenberg. The topic is quite interesting in a number of different aspects. The primary of these is Luther’s complete rejection of Aristotle and the medieval commentaries from the area of theology. A secondary area of interest is Melanchthon’s continuing use of Aristotle as a basis for a new Lutheran Natural Philosophy that placed the rational study of the world within the context of the biblical doctrine of creation. This effort by Melanchthon was very influential in the subsequent history of European education.
We’ll see if it is of enough interest to get published or not.
m.
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Two down, on three
By Dr. Mark D. Nispel | December 10, 2007
The second Preface and the Afterword are completed. The German afterword was especially interesting as it contained several historical allusions and Luther’s recounting of a couple of stories from his early history including Luther’s recollection of his being a student and reading a book containing sermons of John Hus. There is also an interesting story that Luther repeats regarding the role a biblical textual variation in Ezekiel 34:10 played in the condemnation of Hus. (The variant is not noted in modern critical editions of the Hebrew or the Septuagint)
There are also several examples of Luther’s love for creative language or play on words, usually polemical in nature.
The final component of my current assignment is another Luther Afterward for a disputation on the monarchy of the pope written in 1537. I have not looked at it enough yet to make any comments about it. But hopefully it will be completed by the end of the year.
m.
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Three Luther documenta completed
By Dr. Mark D. Nispel | December 10, 2007
I finally finished the third Luther work assigned to me by CPH for translation. It has been submitted for editing.
This document came from 1537 and was an introduction by Luther to a work titled “A disputation regarding the monarchy of the pope.”
In this document Luther was quite severe in his judgement of the papacy and its ongoing claims to have authority over all the churches and the right of shepherding them, which Luther considered a lie. And while this claim was made, said Luther, the papacy regularly took money and physical goods from the churches to enrich itself.
In addition, Luther makes some interesting remarks about the history of Charles the Great and his coronation of the papal claims that were made on the basis of this event.
Finally, Luther in several places demonstrates rhetorical skill and polish even while using harsh language to express his disapproval of the papacy.
The work is found in WA 50:102-105.
m.
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Three forwards and second assignment done
By Dr. Mark D. Nispel | December 10, 2007
I finally finished the third Luther preface and turned them in for editing. This preface was written by Luther for publication with a work titled “A disputation concerning the monarchy of the pope.” Luther judges the papacy harshly in the work especially in regard to the claim to have authority over the church and the right to shepherd all the churches. Luther points out that the pope takes much money and goods from the churches and basically continuously robs them of their physical goods in the name of Christ. He says the papacy continuously lies and steals from the churches for its own benefit. Luther makes specific reference to Charles the Great and the claims of the pope based upon his coronation.
Luther put some rhetorical touches to the work, some of them fairly elaborate, even while using harsh language in his judgement of the papacy.
m.
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Two of Three
By Dr. Mark D. Nispel | November 21, 2007
The first preface is completed and the second is underway. This second work is a Latin preface and German afterword written by Luther to a publication of several letters of John Hus (WA 50, 23-25 & 34-39).
The occasion was the rumor in 1536/1537 of a general council to be held in the near future to deal with the ongoing division within the church. Luther had Hus’ letters translated into Latin and published them with his remarks, intending to warn those that may take part that in such a council that such an event had ended badly for Hus at the hands of Roman officials and could turn out similarly this time around as well.
The Latin preface is short and rather polemic as one would expect from the context. But Luther closes it with a prayer that is as fitting for us and for those who govern the church today as it was then:
Christus donet spiritum orandi nobis & ijs, qui Concilium gubernaturi sunt, quaerendi, quae Dei, & obliviscendi vel contemnendi, quae ipsorum sunt. AMEN
May Christ give us the spirit of prayer, and to them who are to govern the council (i.e. the church), (the spirit) of seeking the things of God, and of forgetting or despising the things of their own. Amen.
m.
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Next Luther translation assignment
By Dr. Mark D. Nispel | October 23, 2007
I have begun my next translation assignment for upcoming volumes of Luther’s Works. This time around I have three of Luther’s prefaces to translate, all Latin.
The first is a preface of Luther to a letter of Saint Jerome, published in 1538 (WA 50, 341-343). The letter was published with Luther’s preface primarily to provide historical evidence from the ancient church that the Roman hierarchy known in Luther’s day was unknown in Jerome’s day and thus was a later creation. Therefore, it can not be considered a divine institution, concludes Luther. This argument had been used by the Lutherans for two decades already by this time.
As just a taste: Luther points out that Jerome remarks that the Bishop of Iguvium, a small town close to Rome, is equal to the Bishop of Rome. Then Luther, in typical energetic style, bursts forth:
Heu quantus haereticus futurus, si hodie viveret vir Sanctus.
“Oh what a heretic he would be, if the Saint lived today” (WA 50, 341, 35-36).
A very nice turn of phrase, an example of using assonance and alliteration to add a bit of rhetorical flash. So we see Luther could be a man of style as well as substance.
Translation in process.
m.
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C.F.W Walther - officially speaks Nebraksan
By Dr. Mark D. Nispel | September 13, 2007
My translation (mentioned in earlier posts from last August and September) of part 1 of a series of articles in Der Lutheraner by C.F.W. Walther has officially appeared in print. It is in the Forum section of the latest issue (Eastertide 2008) of Logia. It is titled: “Walther on Absolution.” The second part has been translated by Dr. Matthew Phillips of Concordia University, Seward, NE. It should be appearing in upcoming issues.
m.
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