Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 39:156 (Oct 1882)
Article: Dr. Dorner’s Position With Regard To Probation After Death
Author: William Henry Cobb

BSac 39:156 (Oct 1882) p. 751

Dr. Dorner’s Position With Regard To Probation After Death1

Rev. WM. Henry Cobb

The book whose title appears below will without doubt be widely studied in America; for there is no living German theologian whose works are oftener seen in our public and private libraries than those of Dr. Dorner. We are greatly indebted to European scholars for the enrichment of many departments of theology; but it should not be forgotten that the doctrine of future punishment has been worked out more consistently and thoroughly here than in any other country. Discussions on this subject seem indigenous to the soil of America, and are multiplied from year to year. Nor is this strange; for no “state church” has given our people the impression that their salvation was secured at birth or baptism. Every man not an open sceptic stands in full

BSac 39:156 (Oct 1882) p. 752

view of eternity, to work out his own salvation according to the best light he can gain. Not only pulpits and theological journals, but every “corner-store “and “local paper,” every parlor and cottage have a share in the agitation. Whatever is uttered concerning the retributions of the future life finds at once an immense audience and an intelligent verdict. Thus, though it may be excusable in a German divine to ignore the best works on this theme which come from across the sea, yet if we neglect them ourselves, and go to Europe for our eschatology, we resemble the well-known type of American travellers, who can talk glibly of Rome and Berlin, but never visited Niagara or the White Mountains. Still, the high reputation of Dr. Dorner will give weight and currency to his opinions, and these should therefore be thoroughly examined.

The present review has been prepared on the basis of the original German, but while it was in progress the English translation of the closing volumes appeared; hence, for the sake of convenience, the citations of this Article are made from the latter. In general, the translators seem to have conveyed the author’s meaning correctly, though their language adheres too closely to the German idiom (as in the sentence beginning at the foot of p. 216), and there are occasional errors, sometimes quite amusing ones. In the single instance in which President Edwards is quoted (p. 214, n. 1) he figures as “the distinguished President, Dr. John Edwards, sen.” “John “should have remembered brother Jonathan better, not to add that the elder Edwards was never doctored. An example of mistranslations which affect the argument is the very singular insertion of the article before the word κρίσις (p. 410), which reverses the force of the original.

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