Recent items are always added at or near the top and were written by the Director of the ACP Center.
2012
January 2012
Blessed Arthur Carl Piepkorn in a novel??
KeatingReports@aol.com reports that according to an Amazon.com review by “Sam at Sem) in St. Louis, in Ray Keating’s novel ,Warrior Monk: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel, the last name of the president of the LCMS is “Piepkorn”! Here is the what KeatingReports quotes from the review:
“Ray Keating has crafted a wonderful story. I love the writing style and the little details about life as a Lutheran pastor (LCMS) that have made it into the story. Many who read this work, unless they know the history of the LCMS, will miss the reference made to Arthur Carl Piepkorn, a seminary professor and gifted theologian who valued ecumenism. Keating shows his knowledge of the synod by making Piepkorn be the last name of the synod president.”
Blessed Arthur Carl Piepkorn never even expected to teach at an LCMS seminary, much less to become synodical president, but was well known for his strong support of ecumenism.
2011
June
The Director was alloted five hours and 45 minutes for presentation over two days for what was to be only a five hour presentation on "An Introduction to Arthur Carl Piepkorn, with special reference to the Doctrines of the Sacred Ministry and of the Church" at the May 23-24, 2011, retreat of the California Chapter of the Society for the Holy Trinity (STS) in Valyermo, CA. One of those who attended was the Right Reverend Joseph Herandez, vice-chancellor of the Los Angeles Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Director made another a five hour presentation on the same topic at the June 6-7 retreat of the Florida Chapter of the Society for the Holy Trinity at the San Pedro Center in Winter Park, Orlando, FL.
The Director made a five and a half hour presentation on that topic on the northwest side of Lake Canandaigua, NY, at the August 25-26 retreat of the Upper New York Chapter of the STS.
Though the topic was the same no two of those three presentations will be the same since the Director will not be delivering a "canned" lecture, but leading those present in exploring and discussing Piepkorn's personal and professional writings on the basis of the 148 boxes of the Piepkorn Papers in the ELCA Archives and the 28 boxes in the archives of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. He has spent at least eight weeks doing reserach in those boxes, as well as many thousands of additional hours working with Piepkorn's writings in the ACP Center, which is located in the Director's home in Mansfield, CT.
2010
July
A newspaper that will not be named here regularly accuses Arthur Carl Piepkorn of false doctrine. The accusations are carefully worded to deceive readers. For example, one accusation is that Piepkorn "denied the Scriptural doctrine of election." The truth is that the editor of the newspaper and Piepkorn disagreed on what the Lutheran Symbols teach about election. The odds are extremely high that Piepkorn understood the Symbols better than the editor. If so, then it is the editor who is denying the Scriptural doctrine of election. What the editor should say is that he and Piepkorn disagreed on their interpretation of what the Symbols say about this very difficult doctrine.
Another accusation that the editor makes is that Piepkorn "opened the door to a denial of justification by faith alone." This seems to be an unjustified conclusion that the editor draws from his false claim that Piepkorn denied the Scriptural doctrine of election, because Piepkorn affirms justification by grace through faith hundreds of times in his writings and never denied it in any way.
Another accusation that the editor makes is that Piepkorn denied the inerrancy of the Sacred Scriptures. In fact Piepkorn nowhere denies it. Indeed, in his "What Does 'Inerrancy' Mean?" (Concordia Theological Monthly, September 1965) he specifically recommends that inerrancy should not be denied even though the term was not applied to the Scriptures until late in the 19th century and can easily be misunderstood. For a summary of Piepkorn's position see the Foreword to volume 2, which was written by Concordia Seminary professor Robert Kolb.
Another accusation that the editor makes is that Piepkorn denied the immortality of the soul. That makes it sound as if he did not believe in everlasting life. He certainly did, affirming it scores of times in his writings. I think what the editor means is that Piepkorn did not accept the teaching of Greek philosophy that the soul is inherently immortal. No Bible believer should accept that teaching as it has no Scriptural basis. Rather, Piepkorn agreed with the Sacred Scriptures that everlasting life is a gift given to the soul at the time of physical death.
The editor also asserts that Piepkorn denied the historicity of the Genesis creation account. Lutheran pastors and teachers are sworn to interpret the Sacred Scriptures according to the Lutheran Symbolical Books. The latter nowhere assert that every detail in the Genesis account must be accepted as an historical statement. The Bible often uses metaphors or figures of speech. Consequently, some freedom must be allowed in the interpretation of details that may not be historical and that do not affect the Scriptural and confessional doctrine of creation in any way.
The editor often claims that he “took almost every course Piepkorn taught in both the graduate and undergraduate school at the St. Louis seminary.” That is misleading. What the editor means is that he took almost every course that was offered while he was a student at the seminary. Piepkorn taught more than two dozen different courses at the seminary. Some he taught only once. Some he taught only every four to six years. No one has taken "almost every course Piepkorn taught" at the seminary, not even I, though I was a full-time student at the seminary for almost seven years, and a part-time student for another four.
Recently the editor printed this in his newspaper: "Both seminaries now view Piepkorn as confessional" (Vol. 48:37, Sep. 27, p.5); and "Both LCMS seminaries have now been presenting Jaroslav Pelikan, Arthur Carl Piepkorn, and his follower, Father Richard John Neuhaus as faithful Christians" (Vol. 48:46, Nov 23, 2010, p. 17). They should view and present Piepkorn as a faithful, confessional Lutheran Christian, because that is what he was.
June 29: GLOSSARY OF VOLUMES 1 AND 2 :
A free Glossary of foreign language terms in Volumes 1 and 2 is now available by email attachment from the Center Director. All foreign language in the text of Volume 2 and in key footnotes has been translated, but the editors of Volume 1 did not do this. So this Glossary can be very helpful. It will also be useful to readers of Volume 2 since foreign terms and phrases are translated only the first time they appear in a given document. Thanks to all who helped put it together, especially my sem roommate Donald Veitengruber!
June 1: The Conduct of the Service available again
Piepkorn's The Conduct of the Service (1965) is once again online at http://www.lexorandi.org/piepkorn.html
If it disappears again, I have a copy that I will share, or post on this website after obtaining copyright permission.
It can also be purchased as a hardcover book from www.redeemerfortwayne.org/conduct.php
April 1010: "Schism of Authority" paper available
A PDF of my "Arthur Carl Piepkorn on the 'Schism of Authority' in Lutheranism," is now available from me for free by email attachment. Just remove the ### from ###psecker@snet.net and request my Fort Wayne paper. (The ### is to foil web crawlers that look for email addresses.)
I am releasing it since I just learned that the Concordia Theological Monthly does not plan to publish it. What you will receive is a slightly updated version of the paper as delivered. You may share it as widely as you wish.
April 1010 (updated from February 2010: Dr. Martin R. Noland and the "'High priest' idea."
In early February, it came to my attention that Dr. Martin R. Noland, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Evansville, IN, refers to Arthur Carl Piepkorn in “Contemporary Challenges to Laymen’s Rights: The Blue Ribbon Proposal,” a speech that Noland has delivered on several occasions. (Parts of it were published on pages 14-15 in the November 9, 2009, issue of a journal that will not be named here.)
In section G. of the speech, Noland describes what he calls the “‘High Priest’ Idea” as
"… the Roman Catholic idea that the pastor is the authority in the church over both spiritual and temporal affairs, because of his ordination, call, or ministerial status. I am calling this the 'high priest' idea, since a high priest claims more status than a common priest. I believe that this idea took root in the 1950s due to the teaching and influence of Arthur Carl Piepkorn. Richard John Neuhaus, who later joined the Roman Catholic Church, acknowledged that his biggest theological influence was Piepkorn.”
I sent the first sentence to my former colleague at St. Anselm College, a very competent Roman Catholic theologian with a doctorate from the Institut Catholique in Paris. He denied that what Nolan calls the "'High Priest' Idea" is a Roman Catholic idea or teaching, adding that a priest has "the final responsibility for the institutional health of the parish properties," but that is only by canon law (rather than "because of his ordination, call, or ministerial status").
In a footnote Noland documents Piepkorn’s influence on Neuhaus with a citation from Neuhaus in First Things, and a statement from James Nuechterlein. Noland adds that “Piepkorn was the leader of what became known as the ‘evangelical-catholic’ movement in the LCMS….”
In the next paragraph Noland asserts that “One of the manifestations of this movement is the tendency to call our district presidents ‘bishop’ or our pastors ‘father.’ Those terms carry significant freight with them, and should be avoided by Lutherans.”
Disregarding the fact that the Lutheran Symbolical Books are willing to accept bishops, and even the Pope by human rather than divine right, and the fact that Martin Luther was called “Father” throughout his life, what Noland says gives the impression that Piepkorn may have taught or approved of the idea “that the pastor is the authority in the church over both spiritual and temporal affairs, because of his ordination, call, or ministerial status.”
To Noland’s credit, he has had the following correction published: "Although I have found no evidence that Piepkorn himself would have approved of the Roman Catholic idea of priesthood, many of his disciples, and their disciples, became enamored of all things [Roman] Catholic, thus fulfilling Herman Sasse's warning that the 'high church' approach to worship could lead to a change in future generations' doctrine." (March 1, 2010, p. 15 of the same journal.)
In the same speech, Noland tries to connect the "'High Priest' Idea" with the "Transforming Churches Network" (previously called the "Transforming Congregations Networ"), but the TCN nowhere asserts that "the pastor is the authority in the church over both spiritual and temporal affairs, because of his ordination, call, or ministerial status."
Indeed, the TCN program assumes that the pastor does not have authority over the temporal affairs of the congregation unless the congregations gives him that authority, and adds that the congregation could take that authority back at any time.
February 2010: Patents by Piepkorn's mother and the Center Director
Piepkorn's mother applied for a patent for a window lock that allowed double hung windows to be opened a few inches. She had it manufactured and packaged in a small red box with Patent Pending on it. That indicates that she had applied for a patent. I do not know if she ever received one but she must have sold or licensed her patent application to a manufacturer. Her daughter, Mary, thinks she applied for several more but does not know the details. Piepkorn's hobbies were radios (early on), electronics and photography. He also made a wooden altar for a church.
I filed for a patent in on February 16, and filed for another one in May. The first will save home and business owners a great deal of onerous work(think of leaf raking and show shoveling). It works with leaves, shrubbery trimmings, desbris and snow. Those who have seen it are stunned. When my patent agent and the patent attorney who supervises him saw videos of it in use, both said they wished they had it now. It uses no non-renewable energy, will last indefinitely, and can pay for itself in as little as one year. It also does other things that I cannot reveal yet as doing so away could give its secret away. If you or your church are thinking of buying a leaf blower or a mulching mower, you may be well advised to wait. It could be on the market as early as the fall of 2010 but that is probably optimistic.
The second invention solves a common problem with laptops, PCs and other electronic devices. If you have a laptop you will likely buy it. My son thinks it is my best invention. It should sell for $20 or less, uses no electricity and will last indefinitely. I cannot be more specific now as doing so could prompt others to try to figure out how it works.
If I am able to sell or license either of those, I will file for more patents as I have at least two dozen additional inventions that work and might be worth patenting.
Working on these patents with my patent agent and patent attorney has taken a lot of time and will continue to do so, since once the applications are filed, I must market them, because a patent that is not commercially successful is worthless. That will take time too. So I am behind in my Piepkorn project work, but I keep at it as best I can.
2009
October 2009:
"Piepkorn on the 'Schism of Authoriy' in Lutheranism" is the title of the paper that I delivered at the 42nd Annual Symposium on the Lutheran Confessions at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne on January 21, 2009. The seminary is not posting copies of symposium papers on its new website, but you can obtain a free copy by email attachment from me at pseckerXXX@snet.net (remove the XXX, which is there to thwart Internet crawlers). With it I will send you a 175 word and a longer summary of the paper, as well as some "Reflections" that I wrote up after the August 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the ELCA pointing out how Piepkorn anticipated some of what happened there.
I am currently sending out free DOC and PDF copies of articles by and about Piepkorn by email attachment. If you want to be on the list, let me know at pseckerXXX@snet.net (remove the XXX, which is there to thwart Internet crawlers that look for email addresses.) One of the articles I just found is "Valid Celebrations," which is one part of a five part article entitled "Celebrating Holy Communion Services Outside Congregational Services" that appeared in the July 1966 Lutheran Witness. The other four parts were written by John Korcak, Paul J. Schulze, Herbert H. Mirly, and Herbert Lindemann. In "Valid Celebrations" Piepkorn lists the Confessional requirements for valid celebrations of Holy Communion.
Other articles that are available include Piepkorn's 1946 "A Lutheran Breviary" in which he argues that Lutherans pastors and even some laity should pray at least some of the daily offices every day.
Also available is my "Piepkorn on Remaining 'Where God Has Placed You'".
Other articles that are available include my articles on Hermann Sasse and Piepkorn, which are described below.
Other articles will be available as they are processed.
I attended the General Retreat of the Society of the Holy Trinity (www.societyholytrinity.org) in Mundelein, IL, and signed the Society Rule. I also sold all twenty-four copies of Volume 2 that I had with me. Forty-three new members signed the pledge. About 215 were present. Both were new records for the Society, which has grown every year since it began and now has about 270 members.
September 2009:
HERMAN SASSE and Arthur Carl Piepkorn
I recently received a request for a copy of the two articles I published in Lutheran Forum on the relationship between Hermann Sasse and Piepkorn. I made PDFs of them and sent them to the one who asked for them. The ALPB, which publishes the LF, allows this as long as you give them credit. If you would like copies, let me know.
The first one was actually a letter to the editor, to which he gave name "The Tragedy of Sasse's Critique of Piepkorn" (a play on Sasse's frequent use of the word "tragedy") and published in the "Another Viewpoint" section of the LF. 36:3 (Una Sancta/Fall 2002), 37-38.
The second was "A Closer Look at Sasse's Critique of Piepkorn," 38:1 (Easter/Spring 2004), 30-40.
By the way, while working in the Piepkorn Papers in September, I came across a Dec 6 1947 letter to Herman Preus of Luther Seminary, in which Piepkorn wrote:
“Sasse must be given every bit of support we can muster with our prayers and with our influence.
If you think we can find him a publisher, I should be delighted to translate Vom Sakrament des Altars. It would mean shelving other work for a year, however, and I’d like to feel that it wouldn’t just be a philological exercise for me; I don’t mean compensation by that, but I’d like to hope that it would be published.” The letter is in Box 84, folder 8.
I also learned recently that Jacob Preus paid for a subscription of Christian News to be sent Sasse when he was in Australia. The souce of that news is impeccable. Sasse also received the Confessional Lutheran and was misled by it according to Piepkorn.
January 2009: I was invited to make a presentation on "A Pilgrimage Not Taken: Arthur Carl Piepkorn" at the 32nd Annual Symposium on the Lutheran Confessions, which was held at Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne, January 21-23, 2009. I changed the title to
"Arthur Carl Piepkorn on the 'Schism of Authority' in Lutheranism." Since the Fort Wayne seminary is not posting symposium papers on its new website, I have permission to share the paper. A PDF copy plus a short summary of the paper is available from me at pseckerXXX@snet.net (remove the XXX, which is there to foil Internet crawlers.).
The theme of the Symposium was "A Last Look at Critical Times: Missouri from the 1950s to the 1970s."
The title that was assigned to me referred to the fact that Piepkorn's death prevented him from facing some of the decisions his colleagues faced. I was told that I may wish to
"take into account that today's seminary students and pastors under the age 55 would have little if any knowledge of Piepkorn and his importance. Thus you cannot presuppose any previous knowledge from the audience except with those who have a firm liturgical commitment."
That is the sad truth about Lutheran seminary training in the U.S. today.
In my paper I described Piepkorn's discovery in 1928 of the sacramental character of the Church, and of the importance of the Lutheran Symbols, which he had read only cursorily in the brief course on the Symbols that was required at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 1925-28.
In the bulk of the paper I focused on the "schism of authority" that he describes in his little known 1954 "The Significance of the Lutheran Symbols for Today," and the "biblicism" that resulted (Vol. 2, 78-101; here, 83-84). I pointed out that the resulting biblicism can be either of the right or of the left and, if anything, is worse in our time than in his.
Finally, I emphasized that his 1928 discovery started him on a course (or "pilgrimage," if you wish) from which he never departed.
Robert Louis Wilken of the University of Virginia, who spoke on Jaroslav Pelikan, told me that my paper "was very good," and that he "learned a great deal from it about how Piepkorn got to where he was."
The 430 seat auditorium had only scattered empty seats for my paper and others watched on the monitor in the commons.
Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne has had a copy of my paper since February 8, but as of April 22, is yet to post a single paper.
Paul Robert Sauer made an excellent a presentation on "Out of Step or Ahead of His Times: Berthold von Schenk . Sauer is the pastor of von Schenk's church in the Bronx and Associate Editor of the Lutheran Forum.
I was also invited to be present for the symposium on exegetical theology, which began on January 20.
The list of speakers and the schedule for the two symposia are at
http://www.ctsfw.edu/events/symposia/index.php
http://www.ctsfw.edu/events/symposia/schedule.php
In February I spoke about Piepkorn at the "Adult Forum" of All Saints Lutheran Church in San Diego. I get out to Southern California 2-3 times a year and am available for presentations in Bible classes or to pastoral groups.
2008
MORE than a third of the 984 copies of Volume 2 that were printed have now been shipped. The two bookstores that carry it have steadily increased the number of copies they order over time as they place new orders. The bookstore of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis has ordered a total of 17. The bookstore of Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne has orderd a total of 38, most of them to have on hand for the Symposium. A dozen seminarians and vicars have ordered copies directly from the ACP Center. No ELCA seminary bookstores carry it yet. Can you help to correct that? If so, please do so, and let me know what you have done. Phil Secker
Director was the presenter for the December 1-2, 2008, New England Chapter retreat of the Society for the Holy Trinity, Ender's Island, CT.
Because we continued to discuss Piepkorn during the "Continuing the Conversation" period, I was up for about five hours. I have decided to become a member of the Society of the Holy Trinity. http://www.societyholytrinity.org/
Piepkorn fans may wish to eat some of their meals together, and perhaps get together sometime when the schedule allows. If you will attend either symposium and want to be included, please let me know as soon as you can, so I can make arrangements.
Joyful anticipation vs. weary resignation
In the fall of 1936, Arthur Carl Piepkorn wrote "Missionary Miseries By One Who Had Them" about his experiences as missionary-at-large in Chisholm, Minnesota, from 1933-36. Although he never published the document, at one point he wrote: "If this screed is ever published, I fear it will be misunderstood." So he clearly knew that it might be published some day.
The document was published with an introduction and notes by me in the Una Sancta/Fall issue of Lutheran Forum/Forum Letter package. This fascinating account alone is worth the modest price of a subscription to Lutheran Forum. If you are a Piepkorn fan, you must not miss it. Here are some of the details:
In April of 1933, after completing a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and most of a post-doctoral fellowship in Iraq and Palestine, Piepkorn applied for an assignment to "foreign missions or some domestic appointment."
In early August when he was in London, he learned that he had been assigned as missionary-at-large in Chisholm, canceled a short vacation that he had planned, and left the next day for the U.S. He was installed on August 27th. The powers that be in the Missouri Synod must have thought he was "safe" there.
Chisholm is located on the Mesabi Iron Range, 75 miles northwest of Duluth and five miles north of Hibbing (Bob Dylan was born in Duluth and grew up in Hibbing.) Unemployment was 24.9% in 1932 and may have been double or triple that in this mining town on the Mesabi Iron Range, which had shrunk from about eight and a half to six thousand during the preceding decade. The worst years of the Depression lay yet ahead.
The church building of Grace Church had no basement, was heated by a wood stove in the nave and was apparently covered with black painted sheets of metal, a construction material I recall seeing when I was a child (see the only photo I have, in the Photos page of this website). He had it moved back to partially hide the walls from passersby.
Piepkorn's parish was 900 square miles. In addition to serving Grace Lutheran Church in Chisholm, he served four preaching stations and several Civilian Conservation Corps camps (he joined the Army reserves to have easier access to the latter).
The temperature dropped as low as 54 degrees below zero absolute while Piepkorn was there. He had breakdowns of various kinds with his second hand 1930 Ford up to 26 miles from the nearest town, usually in the winter. Once he had to trundle a flaccid tire 11 miles. Another time his car tipped over in a blinding snowstorm four miles from the nearest telephone.
He arrived in debt and had to pay his own office expenses, postage, advertising, etc., and still owed more than $1000.00 when he wrote this document. He wore a Roman collar as street garb because it was inexpensive and practical, and because the Methodist minister in town did and his congregation expected him to look as professional as the Methodist minister.
His congregation in Chisholm increased by nine-fold during the three years. Part way through his tenure the per communicant giving average of his congregation was higher than the Minnesota District average.
For a number of months in the summer of 1936, bachelor mission pastors did not receive their salary because the Home Mission Board did not have the funds. He had met Miriam Soedergren, who worked as a nurse in southern Minnesota, and they wanted to marry, but he could not afford to on his meager salary.
He closes the document by saying he is not complaining but, like St. Paul, is endeavoring "in whatsoever condition I am therewith to be content.... As long as my Lord wants me to remain in [Chisholm], I am content to remain. If it is His will that I should not marry, I am content, and I anticipate that I shall be as successful in living chastely in the future as I have been in the past.... And in all these things I am not wearily resigned, but I shall accept the indications of His will with joyful anticipation."
Shortly after he wrote this "screed," he received a call to work once again for the Lutheran Laymen's League and the Lutheran Hour, at a salary nearly three times his salary in Chisholm. He accepted and he and Miriam were united in Holy Matrimony four months later on St. Stepen's Day.
The outdoor scences for North Country (staring Charlieze Theron) were filmed in Eveleth, ten miles east of Chisholm and give a good idea of what the region looks like on bleak winter days.
A personal connection: Piepkorn often attended circuit meetings at my home congregation in the more propserous lake country town of Grand Rapids, 35 miles west of Chisholm. I experienced 56 degrees below absolute and walked to school once when it was 40 below, absolute. The pastor of my home congregation often invited Piepkorn for meals, and the congregation gave mission offerings to Grace Church at least twice while he was there. The pastor's wife liked to brag that she had been born in the same delivery room as Judy Garland (I was born in the same small hospital but don't know if the same delivery room was still in use.) Garland first performed on a stage in Grand Rapids, but was gone before Piepkorn arrived in Chisholm and was not famous yet. See the Pipekorn Anecdotes page for some anecdotes from the son of that pastor. Frederick von Heusen, the first pastor I have a memory of, was a very good friend of Piepkorn and served my congregation before and after WWII, and as an Army chaplain in the Pacific during the War.
If you do not subscribe to the The Lutheran Forum/Forum Letter package or have let your subscription lapse, now is a good time to subscribe or resubscribe at alpb.org or by calling Donna at 607-746-7511. The editors of both publications are members of the ELCA; the associate editors are both members of the LCMS.
June 2008:
Piepkorn's "Stand at the gate of Rome"
In 2008, John Damm, one of Piepkorn's colleagues from 1966-73, told the Center Director that once when Piepkorn and he were discussing the topic of conversion to Roman Catholicism, Piepkorn said: "I will march to the gate of Rome and stand and plant my banner" in opposition to such conversions.
This quotation is thoroughly consistent with everything the Center Director has found in Piepkorn's personal and professional writings or heard him say.
Attack on Piepkorn -- Updated September 2009.
A Center correspondent alerted me to an unsigned article entitled "PIEPKORN--NO CONFESSIONAL LUTHERAN" on page 3 of the April 28, 2008, issue of a newspaper that will not be named here.
The article, which was apparently authored by the editor of that newspaper, asserts that "After [Walter A.] Maier died, Piepkorn drifted toward the left. He no longer insisted on the inerrancy of the Bible, the historicity of the Genesis account of creation, and the immortality of the soul. He rejected the scriptural doctrine of election."
Piepkorn did not accept the Greek idea that the soul is inherently immortal. Rather, he believed that everlasting life is a gift given to the soul by God at the moment of death. He believed that the term "inerrancy," which did not take on its modern meaning until 1837, was misleading, but warned against denying it (Volume 2 of Piepkorn's Selected Writings, pp. 44-45). (See Robert Kolb's comments on this in the Foreword of Volume 2, pp. xiv-xv). Piepkorn upheld what he believed was the the confessional understanding of election and opposed interpretations that understood election in a way closer to that of Calvinism.
In an effort to prove Piepkorn's liberalism, the article refers to a book review that Piepkorn wrote. The book review proves nothing of the kind. The editor should have published it in full, but doing would have disproved his allegation.
Lutheran pastors and professors are sworn to interpret the Sacred Scriptures according to the Lutheran Symbolical Books. That is what Piepkorn earnestly strove to do. He believed that binding the consciences of pastors and professors to doctrinal statements or interpretations of Scripture not contained in the Symbols violated the constitution of the the Synod. The doctrinal statements and interpretations may or may not be correct. That was not the issue. The issue was making them binding on consciences.
Piepkorn was a Confessional Lutheran. Anyone who accuses him of not being one must show from the Confessions why that is not true.
As soon as I get copyright permission from CPH to reprint the full book review, I plan to send out a response to this article in the Center Newsletter, or in a separate email. I will also post the response on the Center website.
Reviews of Volume 2
Richard O. Johnson, Forum Letter, January 2008.
George Tavard, AA (+2007), Catholic Historical Review, early 2008.
Ralph Klein (a colleague of Piepkorn's), Currents in Theology and Missions, early 2008.
Both Tavard and Klein sent copies of their reviews to me before they were published allowing me to correct mistakes in them.
Edward H. Schroeder posted a two part, 5,400 word review of Volume 2 on Crossings.org (Thursday Theology, November 22 and 29). Unfortunately, Ed did not avail himself of my offer to read through his review before it was posted, and makes numerous misstatements of Piepkorn's theology and attributes positions to him that he did not hold.
Ed did the same in a paragraph about Piepkorn in Ed's review of Paul Zimmerman's A Seminary in Crisis (Thursday Theology, September 6 and 13) which he sent to me in September. I alerted Ed to the errors, but no correction was made.
Since Piepkorn can no longer defend himself, I interspersed comments in Ed's review of Volume 2 and sent it to Ed for his review. He replied using a phrase that he says Piepkorn often used when he was challenged by his colleagues: "You may be right." In May I sent the review with my interspersed comments to Crossings.org, asking them to post it so their readers could evaluate it for themselves. I resent the review to the President of Crossings on June 25. I had to write to contact him again before he finally replied, denying my request. He says that Ed is the one in charge though Ed says "the Kids" are. I will be sending out the reviews with my reponses in a Center newsletter soon.
April 2008:
A letter to the editor in the Christmass/Winter issue of Lutheran Forum refers to the phrase "Where orthodoxy is optional, sooner or later orthodoxy will be proscribed" as "Neuhaus' law." A letter to the editor by the Center Director in the Easter/Spring issue quotes the following statement by Arthur Carl Piepkorn from 1937: "Church history reveals a...formula for the penetration of unbelief, repeated...in modern Protestantism with disheartening uniformity: First the demand for toleration, then the deamand for equal rights, finally the use of the ecclesiastical machinery for the disenfranchisement and suppression of the dissident orthodox minority." ("The Contribution of the Lutheran Church to American Protestantism," Augustana Quarterly, October 1937). Richard John Neuhaus, who was a student of Piepkorn, has since told the director that he does not know the origin of the formula but recalls that Augustine says something very much like it against the Donatists.
Richard O. Johnson reviewed Volume 2 in the January Forum Letter. Ralph Klein's appeared in Currents in Theology and Missions. and the Catholic Historcial Review They should appear some time in Pro Ecclesia, the Lutheran Quarterly, the Concordia Journal, Condordia Theological Quarterly, Dialog and First Things.
The Perpetua and Felicitas, Martyrs 2008 Newsletter went out on March 7. It is much shorter than the last one, All Saints Day, 2007.
CONTENTS
1. Website now easier to navigate
2. Piepkorn on the Sacred Ministry and the Church (Presentation made by the Director)
3. “The Beloved, Legendary Piepkorn,” by George Lindbeck
4. Edward H. Schroeder on Arthur Carl Piepkorn - Expanded
5. Update on Volume 2 of the Selected Writings of Arthur Carl Piepkorn.
>Price increase (from $21.95 to $22.00)
>How to do a computerized search of Volume 2
>Description and ordering information on the Website
>Seminarians and other students’ special
>Latest libraries to order it
>Use with lay people
>Required text at Concordia University Bronxville
>Bookstores that carry it
>Book reviews by Tavard, Klein and Schroeder
>“What Others Are Saying” about Volume 2
6. Donate a Copy of Volume 2
7. Progress Report on Volumes 3 and 4
8. Needed: A copy of the Concordia Triglotta
"The Beloved, Legenday Piepkorn" and the Book Reviews and "What Others Are Saying" are all available on this website. Item 4. will be added at some point.
There are now multiple ways to navigate this website (see on the "Welcome" page and at the top and bottom of all pages). Many pages have been added or added to. One of the new pages is "Patron of the Arts."
Volume 2 is being used in at least one Lutheran seminary course, and as a required text in a Lutheran University.
A NEW Page, "The Beloved, Legendary Piepkorn" has been added to this website. It contains the comments that George Lindbeck, Robert L. Wilken, and David Lotz, made about Blessed Arthur Carl Piepkorn on the 25th Anniversary of his death.
Also on that page is "Arthur Carl Piepkorn, a Saint?", which contains comments by those three scholars and and Richard John Neuhaus about Father Piepkorn's saintly character. If you did not know Piepkorn personally, reading this page is a must.
If you own the book, please post a REVIEW on Search Google Books and/or on WorldCat.org.
Photos of the Director are now posted on "The Director and Mt. Whitney" page.
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2007
A number of new anecdotes have been added to the "Piepkorn Anecdotes" page, with more to come as time permits.
On December 2-3, 2007, the Director made a presentation on Piepkorn at the New England Chapter Retreat of the Society for the Holy Trinity. The presenation was supposed to be for only two hours, but so many came (most not members) just to hear the presentation that the schedule was cleared and the Director was up for five hours. He was invited to come back and said he would, but a date was not set. Check with Dean Jack Whritenour.
"The beloved, legendary Piepkorn" page was added in 10/07. "Was Piepkorn a Saint?" is on the last half of it.
Volume 2 of the Selected Writings of Arthur Carl Piepkorn was published in June 2007. See the Welcome page, and "The Selected Writings of Piepkorn" page for details.
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2006
Early on Palm/Passion Sunday evening, April 9, 2006, the Rev. John G. Schettenhelm of Orange, CT, stopped to turn into the driveway to his home on his 1989 Harley Davidson and was hit from behind by a car. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. He is survived by his wife Rachael and their 13 year old twin sons, Adam and Luke. More than 35 Missouri Synod pastors, plus clergy from other churches attended the packed Holy Communion service, held at Holy Cross Lutheran in Trumbull to accomodate more people. John supported the Arthur Carl Piepkorn Center by loaning and donating copies of Una Sancta that he owned and in other ways. May he rest in peace and may light eternal shine upon him!
Rachael has since donated all of John's Una Sanctas and copies of the Concordia Theological Monthlly to the Center. Thanks to Rachael!
On February 13-14, 2006, I made a five hour Power Point presentation on Piepkorn and his theology to the New York City Metropolitan Chapter of the Society of the Holy Trinity (S.T.S.)at the Ignatius retreat House in Manhasset, Long Island.
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2005
"Arthur Carl Piepkorn, Prophet?" Piepkorn did not claim to be a prophet since, as he obviousl enjoyed saying, he "was not the seventh son of a seventh son." This article looks at an article he published in 1937 that, if not prophetic, was remarkably prescient of the problems facing the Church today. To cite just one example: In referring to what he calls "the collapse of conservatism" he says the formula is:
"First the demand for toleration, then the demand for equal rights, finally the use of the eccclesiastical machinery for the disfranchisement and suppression of the dissident orthodox minority." 1650 words.
Thanks to Carl Anton for the donation of a complete set of the American edition of Luther's Works! Piepkorn usually cited the Weimar edition and did much of his writing before the American edition came out. This set will enable me to provide cross references to the American edition.
Links to Piepkorn writings have now been posted
on the "Links to Downloadable/Printable Files" page to the following:
"Christ Today: His Presence in the Sacraments," Lutheran World, 1963. Also in The Church, 1993.
The Conduct of the Service, revised 1965 edition
The Survival of the Historic Vestments in the Lutheran Church after 1555 second edition, 1958.
"The Gospel and All Its Articles" was printed in the Fall 2005 issue of Lutheran Forum. Ronald Bagnall should be commended for his efforts to convert its Chicago Style Manual footnotes to the LF style. I am receiving a lot of positive reactions to the article on a MS blog and by email. I will email a slightly revised 9-11-05 version (done after the earlier version was at the printers) to anyone who requests it from me at xxpseckerxx@xsnet.net (remove the x's). I will also post this version on this website at some point. More below.
Did you know that Piepkorn recommended an informal worship service for what we would call "seekers"? It was a separate service, not the regular service, with Holy Communion, for members. More on this is on the "Worship" page.
"The Gospel and All Its Articles" is in the Fall 2005 issue of Lutheran Forum. One peer reviewer calls it "a watershed article" that contains "a very, very important discovery." A Missouri Synod District President calls it "a great bombshell." A retired LSTC professor calls it a "fine article" and recommends people read it. A scond calls it a "very compelling essay." A third says it is "good" article. A Lutheran University professor of note calls it a "nice article."
"The Third Temptation" -- St. Matthew 4:8-11
This remarkably relevant sermon from 1968 on ecumenics was printed in Lutheran Forum, 39 (Easter/Spring 2005), pp. 9-11. Digitized by Philip and Karna Secker. Errata: P. 10, Col. A, 10th line from the bottom should read: "The temptation lies in absolutizing ...." In the 11th line of Col. B "face" should, of course, be "fact."
An article about Piepkorn's understanding of surd evil (tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.) was printed in the March 2005 issue of the Forum Letter. (There is a "dam" typo in the article--sorry!) The article is posted in its original form on the "Printable Files" page. See also the Tsunamis and Surd Evil page. For Lutheran Forum/Forum Letter subscription information click on "Lutheran Forum" below. If you call Donna at ALPB she may let you begin your subscription two issues back so you can get earlier articles about Piepkorn.
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2004
A draft of this article that was shared with key participants in the July 2004 Missouri Synod Convention may have played a role in the most important action taken by that Convention: namely, defeating a motion from the floor to require District Presidents to enforce doctrinal statements adopted by Synodical Conventions. By doing that the Convention in effect reversed notorious Resolutions 3-01 and 3-09 of the 1973 New Orleans Convention. The former made "A Statement of Biblical and Confessional Principles" binding on consciences. The latter declared the faculty majority guilty of teaching "false doctrines not to be tolerated in the Church of God" for not teaching in accord with A Statement.
After the 1973 Convention Piepkorn said that the Synod he had known was "dead" and "gone forever." Thirty-one years later, by the grace of God, the 2004 Convention took a step back in the direction of evangelical catholicity!
I have posted three new articles on the Center Website. Two are by me and are on the Printable Files page (one on who may distribute the Body and Blood in Holy Communion, and one on surd evil). The third posting is a 155 word meditational "gem" by Piepkorn. It is posted on the "Piepkorn Sermons" page.
A new page on "Law and Gospel" has been added. At this point the only item on the page is a marvelous statement about the Gospel that Piepkorn made in an unpublished essay in October 1960. It is eminently usable in a Bible Class, Adult Instruction Class, or even (with a few edits) in a sermon, or just for meditation. I am working on an article on Piepkorn's understanding of Law, Gospel, and Justifiction.
The "Lost 'Legal Brief'" is not by Piepkorn, but by his son-in-law, Richard Hoffmann. See details on the page by that name.
If you know the whereabouts of the Piepkorn/Halter triptych, please click on The Lost Triptych below.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: There is a serious omission in "Arthur Carl Piepkorn, Confessor" (Lutheran Forum, Fall 2004). By haplography, on page 35 I omitted the words in red font in the following quotation:
"Pres[ident Jacob A. O.] Preus himself has written, Saving faith does not come from or rest upon convincing evidence for the inerrancy of the Bible. Faith in the Gospel is not a by-product or a derivative from a prior view of the Bible. Lutherans believe the Bible because we believe the Gospel; it is not Lutheran to say we believe the Gospel because we believe the Bible. (Lutheran Witness, Jan. 28, 1973. p. 29.)
Also an associate editor of Lutheran Forum made substantive changes in the article without my knowledge. For example, "Symbols" was changed to "doctrinal statements," despite the fact that the distinction between the two is a major theme of the article. Material that was in endnotes and was not appropriate for the text was also put into the text in an obtrusive way. For a complete errata or to download a copy of the 7200 word, 16 page original final draft, or a copy showing all of the changes Lutheran Forum made in the original, go to the "Publications Errata" page. The happlography referred to above has been corrected in the original MS, which can also be downloaded from the Center Publications page.
The October 2004 issue of Lutheran Forum contains:
"Arthur Carl Piepkorn, Confessor" (see below for a description of its content)
The first complete printing of Piepkorn's Personal Confession of Faith (part was omitted by the printer's haplography in the 1973 Faithful to Our Calling)
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