CHRISTIAN NEWS ENCYCLOPEDIA, edited by Herman Otten , Missourian Publishing Co., Washington, Missouri, 1982, 2 volumes, 1775 pp.; soft cover $24.95, plus $3.50 postage; hard cover $31.95, plus $4.00 postage. Order from Christian Encyclopedia, Box 168, New Haven, Missouri 63068.

In his Anatomy of an Explosion, the definitive account of the remarkable return of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod to its confessional moorings , Kurt E. Marquart observed that “it seems at least doubtful whether events would or could have taken this course without the long and lonely years of courageous idol-smashing carried on by Pastor Herman Otten’s Lutheran News (1962), which became the weekly Christian News in 1968. It has been a remarkable phenomenon. Feared, ridiculed, hated, and condemned it was; but ignored, hardly ever. Always independent, no matter who was in power synodically, Christian News pursued its own prophetic mission without fear or favor” (p. 94). In its more than 20-year crusade for orthodoxy this religious publication has gained a unique position. An editorial in Guidelines For Today, a Mennonite publication, paid it this tribute: “Of all the religious papers and publications I receive, I rank Christian News among the very finest. Herman Otten is an apologist of our time the like of which is difficult to find. In a day when leaders and writers like to say smooth things or speak on subjects that simply give voice to the public conscience without offending anyone in particular, Otten takes direct issue with the man and ideas that run counter to the historic Christian faith. He is a fearless defender of the faith but does it without rancor, though he has been criticized at times for the wrong approach . . . I find the magazine a pithy one, full of many kinds of articles, and demonstrating faithful reporting and evaluation of religious and other news . . . . Of all religious publications coming to my desk I generally find myself turning to this one among the first, and I would commend it to anyone inside or outside the Lutheran (Missouri Synod) constituency”(Christian News Sept. 5. p. 4).

The paper’s even–handed fairness is the more remarkable in the light of the fact that its originator and editor has all of these years been denied denominational recognition of his ordination as pastor of the church which he serves. This was at first denied because at that time Liberal St. Louis seminary refused to give the required recommendation because of his persistent protest against professors’ Liberalism. After the denomination’s swing back to orthodoxy, such recognition has still been denied because of a demand of some of the new conservative leadership that he now cease his independent publication. An editorial in the Sept. 5 issue states the case for continuing the paper mildly but well. “Conservative as well as liberal denominations need an orthodox voice which is not controlled in any way by denominational officials. Even some of the best orthodox officials can have ‘a little of the pope in them’ as Luther would say. The trend toward centralization must be carefully watched within all denominations. At times even good leaders get too dictatorial.” And so one of the most influential pastors in the denomination is still unacknowledged by it. To face over two decades of personal injustice without bitterness and to preserve the mild fairness the paper continues to show reveals an extraordinary measure of Divine grace.

The “Encyclopedia” which is now issued consists of two massive ( 11 x 16 1/2 inch) volumes totalling 1775 pages of especially significant articles on a variety of subjects most of which were published in the last ten years. The subjects are arranged alphabetically. Each article is listed under its subject in a nine page table of contents at the beginning and there is an index of subjects and of names at the end . It is indeed an “encyclopedia” of material that has been catching the attention of the religious world ranging from “Abortion” to “Zion.” It should be a very valuable source of information on a wide variety of matters. The paper’s willingness to let extremely hostile critics bluntly express their opinions and to counter them with its own evaluations from its orthodox (Lutheran) point of view makes it the more useful. Church libraries might find it a good investment. The weekly Christian News may also be ordered at a special introductory price of $12.00 for a year’s subscription. Facing the same wide–ranging problems of promoting and maintaining the Christian faith and life when they are being undermined and subverted, we may profit enormously by getting better acquainted with the efforts of our Lutheran brothers and sisters in the faith.