<> Ask the Pastor The Rev. Walter P. Snyder Q: The only Bible commentaries by Luther I can find on the Internet are Romans and Galatians. Where can I order a copy of Luther's complete Bible commentary, so I can see what he said about the other books of the Bible? Also have you ever heard of Schleimer Werkes or something like that? I am not quite sure how it is written? Also when was the translation of the Hebrew Old testament finally completed and closed? I am a little bit confused as to why the deuterocanonical books were not taken out until the 1800s. Why would it take God 1800 years to get it right? Also, what did the church do for the first 400 years if it is Sola Scriptura? Are these too many questions? A: Martin Luther was so occupied with the entirety of the Reformation that he never attempted a complete commentary. Also, his area of expertise was in Old Testament Theology, wherein he lectured for most of his adult life. What we have today are mainly classroom lectures and compiled sermons. Some were done earlier in his life and are less "Lutheran" than later writings. As far as I am concerned, his single greatest work outside his Catechisms (and, perhaps, the Smalcald Articles) is his second commentary on Galatians. It is in the American Edition of Luther's Works, volumes 26 and 27. As befits his Old Testament training, his Genesis commentary spans eight volumes. His Psalm commentaries are also extensive. You can search online for "luther" at cphmall.com or look at amazon.com under "luther's works". As for the other reference, I'm not sure what you mean, unless it is the Weimar Edition. This is a huge compilation of his writings in their original German and Latin. It is the main source for most modern translations and may grow as research continues. "Canon" refers to the books commonly accepted as part of the Scriptures. There is no one "canonizing" authority and what should be included varies among churches, confessions, denominations, and individual Christians. "Deuterocanonical" means Second Canon. In Roman Catholicism, it refers basically to what much of the rest of Christendom calls the "Apocrypha" (Gk. for "hidden"). Among Palestinian Jews, the Council of Jamnia, AD 90, set the standard for what they would include in the Hebrew Scriptures. A few quotes or references to these books appear in the New Testament. This doesn't mean that they should be automatically accepted and used as the revealed Word of God. Paul quotes pagan philosophers and the Gospels (and Genesis and Job) directly quote Satan. It could be that they were used to illustrate divine points by using commonly understood references. Early Church Fathers were divided as to how these books should be used. They were included in many early Bibles and were affirmed as part of the Roman Catholic canon by the Council of Trent in 1546, based on what had been included in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Old Testament. For Roman Catholics, the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament are Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, Tobit, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and additions to Esther and Daniel. The Orthodox church rejects the Book of Baruch and tends to include a third book of Maccabees and a 151st Psalm that appear in some manuscripts of the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Roman Catholics reserve "Apocrypha" for those books that are not in the Deuterocanon. Also, they haven't all been "taken out" of the Bible. You can still buy Bibles that include the Apocrypha. While I don't think that these books are on a par with the sixty-six books commonly included in Christian Bibles, there is much to be learned from them. I'm not quite sure what you mean by your question on Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone). The Church had all the Hebrew Scriptures that are available to us. They preached and taught from them, using them especially to point out that Jesus was the promised Messiah. As other, post-resurrection, writings were composed, those of definite apostolic origin were more quickly accepted as "Scriptural" and spread throughout the Church. Other books were included or excluded based upon authorship and the agreement of their messages with the unified message of Scripture; that is, God promising and fulfilling his promise of the Messiah who would save people from their sins. That's it for now. You can submit questions by mail to "Ask the Pastor," PO Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; E-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or just stop me on the street. Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches in Jasper and Woodville, Texas and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1999 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.