LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University

PITTELKO: HERMANN SASSE REVIEW 79
individualism, conceives of the church’s confession as “I believe”. The
church’s confession to the modern believer is simply the amalgamation of
the individuals making a joint statement. Sasse understood the confession to
be a corporate confession of the entire church catholic. It is the whole
Christian church on earth making its confession of the Lord. Dr Winger
looks again at Sasse’s work during the period of National Socialism and his
impact on the “German Christians”, the Bethel Confession, and the Barmen
Declaration. But Sasse did not limit himself to concerns in Germany. As
Winger points out, Sasse took a keen interest in Lutheranism in North
America and in particular the Missouri Synod. Sasse was deeply
appreciative of the Missouri Synod as one of the few Lutheran bodies to
hold to the entire Book of Concord. He also appreciated that the Missouri
Synod had broken out of the provincialism of German Lutheranism and had
through its missionary zeal drawn all sorts and manner of people into the
church. However, Sasse’s comment on the state of the Confessions in the
Missouri Synod stands as a warning even today. “The Lutheran Confessions
no longer play the role in the life and in the theological thinking of the
Missouri Synod, in fact, of all American Lutheranism by far which they
played during the 19 th century.”
Did natural theology or natural law play any part in Sasse’s theology
That question is addressed by one of his closest associates, Dr Tom G. A.
Hardt of Sweden (155-66). Sasse understood that in the orders of creation,
through which God sustains His creation, something remains in the mind of
fallen man. There is a “hunch of God’s existence, which lives in all
religions, and a final knowledge about eternal norms.” It was this conviction
that made Sasse protest against Karl Barth’s denial of natural theology.
Sasse turned, surprisingly to “feeling” as a defence of natural theology.
Indeed Franz Pieper, Luther, and the Lutheran Confessions all referred to it
in their defence of natural theology. However, Hardt asks the question,
“Why are ‘feelings’ more exempt from the curse of sin than ‘reason’”
Sasse’s answer is that trust in reason leading us to the source of our
existence, that is as a knowledge of the law, seemed impossible because of
its historical connection with paganism. Yet Sasse saw the absolute
necessity of upholding the defence of natural theology in some way and left
open the emergency exit of “feeling” or “heart”. Hardt’s judgement is that
this in no way diminishes the theological stature of one of the greatest
theologians of our century.
Professor Kurt E. Marquart, who knew Hermann Sasse in Australia,
also gives personal insights (167-93). Dr Sasse was an old man coming to
the end of his career as a young Pastor Marquart was beginning his.
Marquart in his chapter reflects on Hermann Sasse and the mystery of the
Sacred Scriptures. Sasse played a key role in the Lutheran union that was
consummated during his time in Australia. One of the key issues in union