# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1851 10 28_S35
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

35

So far Brenz. Before we close these extracts, however, the following historical notice connected therewith, which Seckendorf (Historie des Lutherthums, p. 1532) has preserved for us, may find a little place. When, namely, in the year 1536 a concord (a bond of unity) came to pass, by God's grace, between Luther, in the name of the Lutheran Church, and Martin Bucer and Capito in the name of several Upper German cities that had formerly been of Reformed persuasion, the article on holy Baptism was also discussed among other things. Bucer, at Luther's desire, declared himself thereon as follows: "They contended faithfully against the Anabaptists, and held Baptism also by no means as an empty sign, but as the true bath of regeneration, which is administered and bestowed with the water, out of the work of God and the service of the minister. Some have stumbled solely at this, that one cannot say, namely, that faith comes in children out of the Word of God; such faith children cannot have; but where one would take faith to mean every surrender to God, one might also call the children believers; for they believe fully that thereby true regeneration and right sonship of God is imparted to the children, that the Holy Ghost works in them according to their measure, as one reads of John that he was full of the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb. But they cannot agree with those who pretend that the children understand the words of the Gospel when they are baptized, believe the same actu (with consciousness) and are thus saved. Luther answered: 'This (latter) is not his opinion, but as we, when we sleep, are nevertheless called and are believers, so there is a beginning of faith and a work of God in the children in their measure, which we do not know; that he calls faith, and would that one should not stir up much disputing, or venture to inquire how the work of God goes on in them.'"

(Submitted.)

Nature and Bible.

In a time when the enemies of the Christian religion boast of their knowledge of nature, especially of astronomy (and the less they understand of it, the louder), and pretend that nature is the sole source of all knowledge and wisdom, and that the same teaches men also that the Bible is not God's Word, yea, that there is no God — O abomination! — in such a time it will be welcome to the dear reader to hear some passages from the works of the greatest philosophers, naturalists and astronomers who have ever lived: from the works of men whose names stand in the highest esteem even with those enemies of God, and whom they exalt almost to the heavens, but of whom they would certainly speak quite small, if they had looked into their works, and knew how those men smite them on the mouth.

Those men are: Francis Bacon, one of the first and most gifted students of philosophy and the natural sciences in modern times, born 1560; Johann Kepler, the true founder of the new astronomy, born 1571; Robert Boyle, a distinguished English naturalist, born 1627; and Isaac Newton, the greatest genius in the physical and mathematical sciences, born 1642; concerning whose circumstances of life, literary activity and services to the sciences the reader, if it please him and he have the means, may inform himself further in a Conversations-Lexicon or other suitable book.

From the passages here to be cited from the works of those men the reader will see how, according to their judgment,

1. Nature must not be overestimated as a source of knowledge, if infinite harm is not to result.

2. How the intelligent and experienced student of nature is made humble and modest by the study of nature, and so is brought into the right frame of mind for the acceptance of revealed religion; and how nature leads to the Bible, in that the lesser revelation awakens a longing for the higher.

3. How astronomy is not in contradiction with the Bible.

4. How the greatest natural philosopher, with all his understanding and his knowledge, must lay himself at the feet of the Lord Christ.

Ad 1. Bacon, de augmentis scientiarum, lib. I, says: We must not imagine that we can fathom the divine mysteries by contemplation of nature. — If any one thinks that by the contemplation of sensible and material things he can be sufficiently enlightened to know God's nature and working, let him beware of the deceit of false philosophy. — Hence it comes that some very learned men have fallen into heresy, because they wished to soar up to the divine on the waxen wings of sensuous contemplation of nature.

And in the introduction to his Novum Organon he prays God that, by the brighter kindling of the natural light, by the cultivation of natural science, unbelief in the divine mysteries may not arise, but rather that the understanding, purified from vanity and fancies, may submit itself to revelation and give to faith what belongs to faith.

Ad 2. In Robert Boyle †) it is said: What inclines the experimental philosopher to accept Christianity consists in this: Since he is ever engaged in giving clear and sufficient explanations of the phenomena of nature, and ever sees where they fail, a great and unfeigned modesty is brought about in his mind; and in consequence of this virtue he becomes not only very inclined to desire and accept closer instruction about things which seem to him dark and hidden, but his courage also fails him to hold his mere and abstract reason for a true standard of truth. And although a pretended philosopher imagines that he understands everything, and that nothing can be true which does not agree with his philosophy, yet an intelligent and experienced student of nature, who knows what difficulties remain unresolved in the supposedly clear conceptions and explanations even of many corporeal things, will not suffer it to occur to him to hold his knowledge of supernatural things to be complete. And this frame of mind is precisely right for an inquirer into revealed religion. A diligent intercourse with the works of God affords an experienced observer of them opportunity to see that many things are possible or true which he, so long as he proceeded merely by the grounds of insufficiently instructed reason, believed to be false and impossible.

†) The Christian Virtuoso, showing that by being addicted to Experimental Philosophy a man is rather assisted than indisposed to be a good Christian.

And Johann Kepler closes one of his astronomical works (Harmonice mundi), after he has first said: It remains only that I at last lift eyes and hands from the table of demonstrations toward heaven, and devoutly and humbly implore the Father of lights — with the following prayer: O thou who by the light of nature awakenest in us the longing after the light of grace, that thou mayest by this translate us into the light of glory, I give thee thanks, Lord and Creator, that thou hast delighted me through thy creation, since I was ravished over the works of thy hands. Behold, here I have finished a work of my calling with as much strength of mind as thou hast given me; I have made known the glory of thy works to men who shall read these demonstrations, as much as a limited mind could comprehend of its infinity. My mind strove to philosophize as truly as possible; if anything has been brought forth by me, a worm born and grown up in sins, that is unworthy of thee, so teach thou me that I may amend it; if I have been led into presumption by the admirable beauty of thy works, or have sought my own honor among men in the making of a work destined to thy honor, so forgive me graciously and mercifully; finally, grant me the grace that this work may redound to thy glory and the salvation of souls, and never do harm.

Ad 3. Kepler, in another of his astronomical works (Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae), says: Astronomy discloses the causes of natural things, it investigates optical illusions, because its business brings this with it; the Holy Scripture, which treats of higher things, makes use of the common manner of speech in order to be understood; it speaks only quite incidentally of natural things according to how they appear, according to which the