Arthur Carl Piepkorn cheerfully subscribed to the doctrinal content of the Book of Concord of 1580 because he believed what it claims to be, namely, an authoritative interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures. See "Subscription to the Lutheran Symbols," Volume 2 of the SWACP, p. 203-04. His subscription, therefore, was a quia ("because") subscription. He said that a quantenus "subscription really says nothing" since one "can just as well subscribe to the Qur'an, the Bhagavad-Gita, or the collected works of Thomas Paine as far as these reproduce the Sacred Scripures." p. 204.

Confessional hermeneutics:

Piepkorn believed that "the sense of the Symbols is that which the writers intended to communicate to the readers through the words which they employed." "Suggested Principles for a Hermeneutics of the Lutheran Symbols," Volume 2 of SWACP, pp.110-11. He said this was the hermeneutics of the Symbols themselves according to Epitome, Summary Concept, section 8.