LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University

52 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW IX
act of religious devotion, it proved to be also, as Holl readily points out, a
pioneering step toward modern biblical scholarship. Luther’s prefaces are
thus more than simply popular introductions for lay readers. They reveal
a theological position of christocentricity which inevitably affects his
understanding of the New Testament canon. 4
Note the explicit claim that Luther’s comments on James enunciate his
understanding of Scripture. Note also the implicit claim that Hebrews,
James, Jude, and Revelation are books of secondary rank within Scripture
and within the canon. Note further the implicit claim that Luther operated
with a Christocentric principle as a canon within the canon, distinguishing,
on the one hand, between that within Scripture which is God’s Word and, on
the other hand, that within Scripture which is not God’s Word. These three
claims advance the notion that not everything in Scripture is truly canonical,
and that not everything in Scripture is truly God’s Word. All three of these
claims are demonstrably false. With the fall of these three claims, the
additional implicit claim, that Luther is the father of modern historical
criticism, also falls.
4. LUTHER’S ATTITUDE: THE RIGHT PLACE TO START
The appropriate starting-point for a consideration of the question of
Luther’s attitude to the canon, specifically with reference to the Letter of
James, is not the statement in Luther’s Preface to the Epistles of St James
and St Jude, to which most commentators appeal, but to the prior statement
in his “Preface to the Epistle to the Hebrews”. The September Testament
includes a “Preface to the New Testament”, which serves as an introduction
to all four Gospels. This is followed by a “Preface to the Acts of the
Apostles”. This, in turn, is followed by a lengthy “Preface to St Paul’s
Epistle to the Romans”, which Luther intended as a general introduction to
the second part of the New Testament, matching the earlier introduction to
the Gospels. 5 This is followed by much shorter Prefaces to First Corinthians,
Second Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, First Thessalonians,
Second Thessalonians, First Timothy, Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon,
First Peter, Second Peter, and then a “Preface to the Three Epistles of St
John”.
At this point, at the end of the list of the books numbered in the Weimar
Edition, a significant change takes place. The “Preface to the Epistle to the
Hebrews” is obviously intended as an introduction to all the books that
follow:
4 AE 35:231f.
5 AE 35:365 n. 15.