Wednesday, October 04, 2006

What's your favorite translation/edition of the Concordia (and why)? The McCain Reader's Edition? Tappert? Kolb-Wengert? The Triglotta? I think that Jacobs was available at the CTSFW bookstore when I was a student; I don't know if it is still there. How about the Henkel edition of the Book of Concord; are there still copies of this edition out there?

When you read the Concordia, what format do you prefer? Do you prefer to read it electronically - either on-line (I think Triglotta is the version available at bookofconcord.org) or electronically (Tappert and Kolb-Wengert are available on CD) or do you like the feel of a book in your hands?

6 comments:

reader said...

Thanks for your reply -

There are many points I like about the McCain edition, so I'm waiting to see what comes out of the revision process - and hopefully an electronic edition will be made available as well.

I do like the fact that KW includes the Baptismal booklet and the Marriage booklet with the Small Catechism, yet after hearing Professor Ziegler's critique of KW, I tend to shy away from it.

When working on the computer, Tappert came with my Libronix package, and so I mainly make use of that edition. When traveling, I tend to grab a copy of Tappert and/or McCain. (Sometimes also the Bekenntnisschriften, depending on the company I'm planning to keep :)

Anonymous said...

Fr. Higgins,

I still lean toward the Triglotta. Sure, it has some drawbacks, but it is an excellent resource for rendering heretics unconscious (out of Christian love and an aversion to violence, I will not say how the Triglotta will do this--draw your own conclusions). Plus, if you really like the feel of a book in your hands, which I do, you get a whole lot of book with the Triglotta. Plus, carrying it around builds your muscles. The print could stand to be a bit bigger however. I believe it alone is responisble for the constantly increasing intensity of my eyeglass prescriptions.

I tried KW, but that gender inclusive language just rubs me the wrong way. McCain is pretty decent if you just want to read and I use it for my Confessions study with the laity. We still need a good critical edition in English, methinks.

Fr. Cota

reader said...

:)

I agree with Fr Cota that the Triglotta builds muscle. My wife's grandfather gave me his copy - a hefty volume for sure.

The gender inclusive language in KW really makes it an altered BOC that has a better fit with the theology of a church body which has traded in the apostolic teaching about "only males in the pastoral office" for... whatever.

There was much that I liked about the unaltered McCain edition. (I will reference your comment about rendering heretics unconscious and leave it at that.) I do agree with DR that it could be improved by marking the difference between the confessional texts and the editorial notes. Version 2 is scheduled to come out at the beginning of next year (and I am hoping CPH will hold the $20 price; their website is not allowing pre-orders yet).

As far as a good critical edition in English goes, Aardvark Alley suggested a translation of one of the extent copies from 1580. Paul McCain recently noted that the only English translation of the entire German edition of the Book of Concord (although I'm not sure if he meant the entire German edition from 1580...) is the Henkel edition - now 150 years old. (It is available online - see the links.)

Anonymous said...

I do believe someone is working on making the Henkel edition available in print. I believe it is Repristination Press.

Fr. Cota

Anonymous said...

By the way, Fr. Higgins, this is a great blog. It is very useful. I have saved all your entries on preaching in the Confessions. They have been very helpful.

Fr. Cota

reader said...

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll continue to see what I can find.