Luther's Theological Testament: The Schmalkald Articles [Hardcover]

William R. Russell (Author), Martin Luther (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1995

"This study fills a gap in the research of the Lutheran Confessions. It shows how Luther's theological testament is part of a confessional movement that wants to be evangelical and catholic."--Eric W. Gritsch, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Fortress Pr; 1St Edition edition (December 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800626605
• ISBN-13: 978-0800626600
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,600,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to the Smalcald Articles, November 26, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Luther's Theological Testament: The Schmalkald Articles (Hardcover)

Of the various confessional documents contained in the Book of Concord, the Smalcald Articles has been the most neglected in scholarly studies. William Russell, campus pastor at North Dakota State University, offers the first book-length study of the SA available in English.
Russell's central thesis is that the SA represents Luther at his most essential. Russell provides ample evidence, both from internal and external sources, that Luther considered the SA to be an extremely important statement of his theology. Luther wrote this document at a time when he was convinced that his death was near. He was having severe problems with kidney stones and apparently also had experienced heart attacks. Elector John Frederick, who ordered the preparation of this document, was also aware of Luther's poor health and wrote: "It will be highly necessary for Dr. Mar-tin to prepare his basis and opinion with the divine scriptures, indicating all the articles upon which he has written, preached and taught. He should do this for the sake of the council, but also in view of his final departure from this world to the almighty judg-ment of God. He should indicate what he thinks, maintains, and where he remains in order not to offend the divine majesty-the points we must maintain without regard to body or possessions, peace or conflict" (p. 36-37).
The Elector was anxious to have something for the church council that was ex-pected to be held in Mantua in 1537. As we know, a church council did not meet until the year 1545, in Trent, and lasted until 1564. As far as Luther himself was concerned, the council was fast approaching and the Lutherans needed something to take with them, upon which they could stand, and from which they could argue their case be-fore the Pope and the Roman Catholic theologians. Luther therefore prepared this document for a meeting of the German estates in the city of Smalcald that was held in February of 1537.
In light of the above, it is interesting to note that the SA was not adopted by the various German estates that had gathered in Smalcald. Russell offers three reasons why this was so. First, Luther's health prevented him from attending the meeting and thus he was unable to present the document himself. Russell speculates that had Luther at-tended, the articles would have been discussed. Second, Elector John Frederick consid-ered the SA to be a theological statement, not a statement of political rulers, as was the AC which was presented to the Emperor at the meeting of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire in 1530. Third, Russell feels that since the Smalcald gathering decided not to attend a church council, they did not consider the SA necessary to take up. However, Luther it seems was totally unaware that his articles had not been adopted, for in 1538 he was still operating under the incorrect assumption that the SA had been formally adopted by the political states in Smalcald. Russell sides with Friedrich Bente who as-serts in his historical introduction that the SA was adopted de facto since the majority of the theologians gathered at Smalcald did subscribe to the SA, and the SA did reflect the views of the majority of the political rulers at Smalcald. The SA was not actually published until the Spring of 1538 after Luther had prepared a longer preface, and made some changes to the text proper. It was incorporated into the 1563 Brunswick Corpus Doctrinae, and then later made a part of the Book of Concord in 1580.
Russell provides an ongoing dialogue with Volz's and Ulbrich's Urkunden und Aktenstücke zur Geschichte von Martin Luthers Schmalkaldischen Artikeln and in many respects this book is a reaction, both in agreement and disagreement, to this work. The footnotes reveal that Russell has engaged in a thorough study of pertinent secondary sources, impressing the reader with Russell's desire to anchor his comments within the stream of scholarship on the various issues that are raised in the SA. He walks through the SA, noting the key theological concepts Luther raises and providing appropriate references from secondary sources that illuminate the points he is making.
Russell's discussion of Luther's assertion in the SA that the pope is the anti-Christ is objective, and therefore useful. Russell refrains from grinding an ecumenical ax at this point, and thus permits Luther's position on this matter to stand without intrusive editorial commentary. Russell disagrees with the commonly expressed view that the SA merely reflects Luther in a pugnacious mood. Of course, the state of Lu-ther's health can be used to support the position that his polemical tone in the SA is not to be taken too seriously. Russell however states that even if the harsh remarks made by Luther about the pope do reflect some personal emotional frustrations with the progress of the German Reformation, simply to dismiss Luther's comments about the pope as anti-Christ "risks missing what Luther (and those closest to him) thought to be the main issue at stake in their efforts to reform the church. For Luther, the gos-pel of the forgiveness of sin by grace alone, apart from works of the law, is the distinc-tive feature of the Christian proclamation. Any theology (be it Roman Catholic, Ana-baptist, Reformed, or Evangelical) that violated this sine qua non of the church's mes-sage was open to the charge of being labeled by Luther as "anti-Christian" (p. 95).
Russell is careful to observe that Luther's discussion on the Lord's Supper was purposefully concrete. Luther's realistic description that "the bread and wine in the supper are the true body and blood of Christ" was controversial (p. 104). By doing this, Luther moved a step beyond the language of the Wittenberg Concord of 1536, an agreement that had been signed by representatives from both southern and northern Germany. Russell indicates that the WC was meant to be a compromise statement, noting that the WC was "rather ambiguous at the very point it was supposed to clarify" (p. 105). Luther purposefully avoids the slippery word "with" when discussing the bread/wine and body/blood connection in the Lord's Supper, choosing instead to re-main with the much stronger copulative verb "is" - our Lord's language. Luther's wording apparently did not please Melanchthon, who was afraid that this matter would cause controversy at Smalcald. He went so far as to recommend that the estates pledge themselves to "the Augsburg Confession and the Wittenberg Concord" (p. 106). We see here a clear foreshadowing of Melanchthon's later compromising position on the Lord's Supper, which took full form only after Luther's death. In light of the impending ecumenical agreements between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a number of Reformed churches, Luther's position in the SA are all more relevant to our present day and age. Will Luther have the last word in the largest Lu-theran church in America on the subject of our Lord's presence in the eucharistic bread wine, or will Melanchthon and his heirs?
Russell's book is actually quite brief, with the text proper taking up only 116 pages. The rest of the book is devoted to three appendices. Appendix A is Russell's translation of the Smalcald Articles. This reviewer is given to understand that Russell's translation, with editorial modifications, will be used in the new Book of Concord translation now in progress. Appendix B is a list of names and terms from the age of the Lutheran Reformation. Appendix C is a topical index to Luther's Works and Lu-theran Confessional writings, indicating where an interested reader might find other Luther documents on a wide range of theological topics.
In light of the fact that this book is the only one in English devoted to the SA, one hesitates to be critical. But it needs to be said that the book is somewhat disjointed and repetitive. Key themes and concepts are repeated within a short amount of space. This is probably due in part to the genesis of the book as a series of lectures to students at Luther Northwestern Seminary as part of a regular gathering called, "Friends of the Lutheran Confessions." It is unclear if this book is

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Book on the Smalcald Articles, June 17, 1999

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Staysun "staysun" (Downers Grove, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Luther's Theological Testament: The Schmalkald Articles (Hardcover)

This is an excellent (and rare) exploration of the Smalcald Articles of the Lutheran Confessions. The author makes the case that these articles offer key insight into the mind of Luther because Luther thought his death might be imminent and the Smalcald Articles reveal what was most important to him. For example, Luther's thoughts on the Lord's Supper indicate that he was not close to the Reformed camp on communion but remained convinced of the "Real Presence" doctrine to the end. Mr. Russell deserves credit for an interesting work on this key neglected Lutheran Confessional document.