# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1852 03 02_S107
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

107

read Word of God, for since the use of the public ministry of preaching is the orderly way prescribed by God Himself, in which God would convert men and preserve them in faith, he indeed will not be converted, but will only become ever more blinded and hardened, who will know nothing of the ministry of preaching and will only read God’s Word himself; yet this does not come, they said, from the read Word of God not also having the power to convert, but from this: that those readers of the Word are haughty, spiritually proud despisers of a divine order, that they will not go the way in which God, in the orderly manner, would convert us and make us blessed, and that they thus wilfully resist the Holy Spirit, who is a Spirit of order, discipline and humility Vain was, as said, this our testimony; some of our opponents stood by the principle which they had expressed; yes, one of the schoolteachers present thought to bring the matter to clearness by this comparison: It is with the preached Word as with the Sacraments; as, for instance, the baptismal word avails nothing if the elementary water does not come to it, so also the written Word can convert no one unless — he knew not how to express it better — “the soul-water of the preacher come to it!” — After such and similar utterances we could not but solemnly declare that, if such principles had really taken root among the dear brethren in office, we evidently did not stand with them upon One ground of faith, but were separated from them by so wide a gulf that one could no longer reach the brother’s hand across it, for what doctrine could belong more necessarily to the foundation of our evangelical faith than the doctrine of the power of the Word? To be sure, none of the pastors present now took under protection the expressions used by the said schoolteacher, yet there still remained between us and a part of the conference a not inconsiderable difference. Yet that very schoolteacher, a zealous, upright and well-informed man, was among those from whom we parted here after the close of the second conference with the conviction of hearty brotherly unity. From later reports we have learned that the dear brethren in the Muldenthal are seeking with great zeal to become clear about the points discussed, and have held new conferences for the repeated common discussion of the same. May God give His blessing to this, that all of them, who in that region have so important a calling and influence, may become united in the eternal truth.

Since I was now in the immediate neighborhood of my dear birthplace, Langenchursdorf, where one of my sisters at present lives, I could not but call there for a few hours. But great as my joy was on the one side to see again the lovely valley with its old, well-known cottages and fields and gardens and brooks and paths, the dear few relatives remaining to me and so many a dear old friend of my youth: the joy was almost ready to turn wholly into sadness; for both parents had meanwhile gone home (probably also after the shedding of many a hot tear over the children who had gone far away, beyond the sea), and so nothing was left to me on my return to my native land but to visit their graves. From here I made also a short visit to the little village of Breunsdorf, where fifteen years ago I entered upon the pastoral office, which, however, after I had administered it only two years, I thereupon resigned out of an erring conscience. To be sure, I was greeted again here by all whom I met with the most hearty joy, partly with tears, but that here also the pain outweighed in me the joy of seeing them again needs hardly any mention. It was especially painful to me to hear that my successor in office at Breunsdorf is no member of the conference of decided Lutheran preachers existing in that region. This fell upon my heart the more heavily because I had to fear that the evil fruits of the false Roman principles of Church and Ministry, which we Saxon preachers, who emigrated thirteen years ago, held at that time with the sternest insistence on pure Lutheranism, and in consequence of which we laid down our offices and left Germany as a lost land, in order to be able to save our souls here in the true visible Church, have made many a one doubtful of our dear Evangelical Lutheran Church and have also made the right zeal for it suspected.*)

*) If many would consider this, it would not surprise them that we Saxon Lutheran preachers here now direct our fight in particular against the hierarchical principles of Church and Ministry that are springing up here. We know, alas! from our own sad experience how dangerous and ruinous such principles are. — We regard it, moreover, as nothing else than a grace that God counts us worthy now to suffer reproach for the defense of the truth which we ourselves once, in our ignorance, helped to suppress.

In this region I also had opportunity to see and speak with two former members of congregations whom I had served here in America with Word and Sacrament, and who had returned to Germany. With joy I perceived that the one member, Fr. N., still stood in the old zeal of faith and of love, and the other, L. K., who alas! had grown fond of the world again, had just come to himself again and now testified with hot tears his deep repentance and hearty conversion. God help both to persevere unto the end! —

On Friday the 26th of September we left the Muldenthal again. As we intended first to make a side trip to Dresden, our way led us once more to Leipzig, where we spent the evening of the said day in a numerous company of believing Lutherans of the city, at which, besides those already named above, there were present also the gentlemen Dr. Schütz †), Deacon Tempel, school director Mehlhorn of Merana and others, in mutual interchange.

†) He who, as a member of the committee of the “Lutherstiftung” at Leipzig, is the zealous editor of small writings of Luther.

On the next day we then traveled to Dresden. We hoped on the Sunday following to be able to hear Oberhofprediger Dr. Harless preach; but he customarily preaches only every second Sunday, and to our regret we had struck precisely the Sunday on which the pulpit of the Court Church was occupied by nothing less than a Harless. Yes, in the whole great residence city, with its numerous and in part large and magnificent churches, there was on this day no preaching of the pure divine Word to be heard, except in a small sick-house chapel; and of this very thing we received word only when it was too late. We had to content ourselves, therefore, with speaking privately with the Herr Oberhofprediger, who had already sent us an invitation to this effect to Leipzig. We did so, and although Herr Dr. Harless (as Oberhofprediger, as Vice-President of the Upper Consistory, as adviser of the Ministry of Public Worship, as examiner and church visitor) is so overloaded with the most important business that he is able to carry it out only with the greatest exertions, he nevertheless devoted to us daily, during the time of our stay in Dresden, so many hours that we could not only sketch for him a lively picture of our conditions here, but also speak more fully with him about that which was just then moving us. With the greatest interest he heard our report, expressed the most joyful hopes concerning our American Lutheran Church for the Church in general, assured us precisely in the points now called in question and become matters of dispute of his agreement with the doctrine represented and held fast by us, and expressed the wish that from now on a more lively intercourse might be established and maintained between the Church on this side and on that side of the ocean. We came to know in the Herr Oberhofprediger a man whose whole appearance filled us alike with the most heartfelt reverence and with the fullest unreserved confidence. We found in him, with that thorough learning, of which it of course cannot enter our minds to bear witness, true Christian simplicity; with a dexterity so necessary to his high and peculiar position, German straightforwardness and true honesty; with great power and energy, an admirable mildness and patience; and, what with quite special joy