# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1851 09 15_S10
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

10

But if we now look out into other parts of the Lutheran Church here in this country, we find still more occasion for Christian anxiety and sadness. For there we see, alas, no better conditions than there were last year; indeed here and there things look still worse, so that, alas, it cannot yet be a matter of heart and conscience for us to enter into churchly and brotherly fellowship with the other Lutheran Synods, with one single exception, however much this forced standing alone grieves us and pains us, and indeed carries its dangers with it; for what would we rather do than be of one heart and one soul with all Lutheran Synods, to confess, strive and suffer in one faith with them, to carry on the works of God in one love with them, and in the same hope to hold fast the future glory and the consummation of the Church triumphant; but, God be pitied, however sweet and lovely such unanimous believing, confessing, contending, working, suffering and hoping would be to our hearts, and however much we long for such true union, yet at present, alas, it is not yet possible,

For now as before the so-called Lutheran General Synod persists in partly Reformed doctrine, Methodistic practice, and unionistic dissolution;†) and its spokesmen pretend to themselves and to others that the more recent so-called scientific theology in Germany has made such advances also in respect to doctrine of faith that it has left the age of the Reformation far behind it, with whose most important teachers they are, moreover, after the manner of the country in frivolity and superficiality, hardly acquainted.

†) It is, for example, nothing rare that they hold the Holy Communion with Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians.

This juggling they now promote with their accustomed talkativeness and sham wisdom, in that they diligently appeal to common sense (sound human understanding) as a source of knowledge, bringing it to light through their periodical, the lutheran observer; and, alas, the Lutheran Standard, the English organ of the Lutheran Synod of Ohio, although it does not lack good confessional will, lacks nevertheless partly a thorough earnestness of disposition faithful to the Confessions and a vigorous manliness of character, partly spirit, gifts and knowledge, to point out those jugglings and delusions of the false brethren as such, and to show up to English readers their hollow, vain nature, in the shame of their nakedness; for with respect to the actual body of truth of the Scripture-true doctrine of faith of the Lutheran Church there has hardly been in the three centuries since the Reformation a so-called "further development," with which word the teaching masters of the General Synod puff out their cheeks and fill their mouths, without understanding its meaning; and there can never be such a development in this matter as they pretend to themselves and to others, so that the supposed progress and the so-called higher stage of development should bring to light an essentially new truth which was not already contained, as a germ, in the shortest, simplest article of faith, resting, naturally, on God's clear Word alone.†) Or even, as if it were so, as they further pretend, that such a doctrine of faith (as they wantonly charge the Lutheran doctrine of the nature of the Holy Communion to be) is essential error, out of which, however, through the activity of the Calvinists and their brethren, the General Synodists, developing out of common sense, the surprising, far-shining truth is begotten, that also in the Holy Communion bread is bread and wine is wine.

†) Thus, for example, in the 2nd Article of the Apostles' Creed the detailed confession of the Formula of Concord "on the Person of Christ," yes, even the deep and acute treatise of Martin Chemnitz "on the two natures in Christ," etc., is already included, according to the germ; and this is a true development.

O what a white dove has been developed and hatched out of the old-Lutheran serpent's egg! —

Let us now turn our eyes to the oldest and most numerous Lutheran Synod of this country, namely to the German Lutheran Synod of Pennsylvania; here, the longer the more, there seems to be fulfilled what was already predicted to it seven years ago in the Lutherische Kirchenzeitung, namely that it would incline the longer the more toward these anti-Lutheran Lutherans of the General Synod.

Instead of turning away from such as cause division and offense contrary to the right doctrine, instead of avoiding heretical men after they have been admonished once and again, the Synod of Pennsylvania does the very opposite. For years it has stood in mission fellowship with the erring, unionistic General Synod, and now it is also about to publish jointly with it a new edition of its "Liturgie und Kirchen-Agende," so that the formal union no longer seems far off.

To be sure, there may well be individuals in this churchly body who have a certain piety (pious reverence) toward the unabridged and unfalsified Confession of the Lutheran Church in its symbolical books; but from the synodical reports and other information it cannot be seen that the pure Confession of the Fathers has become life and power in them, so that they would have to testify from the innermost ground of their hearts against the prevailing confessional deadness and unionistic indifference, against churchly fellowship with the false-believing General Synod, against the serving of so many well-to-do congregations by single preachers, against the neglect of churchly parochial schools, against the secularization and farming of this and that servant of the Church. For even if perhaps in this or that individual the conscience wakes to health, so that he for his own part begins differently and better, yet, alas, the man-pleasing and obsequiousness with which the whole American church life is eaten through are for the most part too strong for him openly to come forward as a courageous witness of faith against corrupt prevailing conditions.

As for the Ohio Synod, our neighbor, we had formerly, after it had declared itself openly and decidedly for the churchly Confessions, indeed good hope of being able to enter into living churchly fellowship with it, which would have been no small joy to us.

But alas, since its confessional declaration we have not been able to gain the conviction that its renewed confessing of the churchly Symbols is a thorough earnestness and honest matter; for partly it has not abolished, by decided synodical resolutions and the vigorous carrying out of them, the abuses contrary to the Confessions in its churchly manner of procedure, of which mention was lately made again in the Sihler-Lehmann dispute, partly it has received very unwillingly the friendly summons to such abolition and the Christian, well-meant rebuke which it got only lately through the columns of the "Lutheraner," on account of its unjust and partisan practice in the Gockelen-Heid affair. Probably in consequence of this it declared itself lately at its assembly at Canton not only against the "luther. Kirchenbote" as too "undecided," but also against the "Lutheraner" as too "harsh"; and since it would indeed come out rather awkwardly that its congregations should read such and similar rebukes of the Reverend Synod, it has, as is fair, resolved to recommend to its congregations the "lutherischen Herold,"†) which appeared in the course of this year, as the one which has hit the right mean between those two extremes. Whether it has acted herein from man-pleasing regard to for and against, or to the best of its knowledge and conscience, and is really of the opinion that the "lutherische Herold" on the whole is not merely for itself, after the American taste, more varied and entertaining, but also for its congregations, which

†) We too are heartily sorry that Mr. Ludwig did not accept the proposal of Prof. Walther to publish a political periodical supervised by the Christian spirit and directed in disposition thereby, of which there is a total want, since almost all are decidedly godless and antichristian. By that he would certainly have done a great service to all God-fearing Germans, also from other churches. For as to his performance as editor of a churchly paper, we are by no means in the foolish clerical conceit that only a servant of the Church can write a good churchly paper; but in the motley miscellany of the "luth. Herold" we have, with the best will, not yet been able to discover any proper plan, partly in respect to the circle of readers, partly in respect to the reception and arrangement of the reading matter suited to it. It seems that herein Mr. L. follows more his personal taste and lets be printed what is interesting and piquant to him from old and new times, than that he thoroughly supplies therein a need present among Lutheran teachers or hearers and not duly satisfied by the "Lutheraner."