# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1852 04 27_S138
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

138

readers, who carry the welfare of the Church upon your hearts, be moved by the testimony communicated, when you come before God with prayers and supplications for our holy Church, to remember also this company of young men, who have let themselves be enlisted by Christ, in order to carry before them, in the great, hot conflicts of this last afflicted time, the banner of His pure Word. —

But we go further. Our stay in Erlangen was prolonged so much, among other reasons, also because at this time we repeatedly received from other places also the most friendly invitations, which we could not but accept with thanks. In the first place, namely, it was the believing Lutheran city preachers at Nuremberg who several times induced us to appear in their midst, namely the Rev. Pastors Pürkhauer, Reuther, Vorbrugg, Heller, Steger, Friedlein, Merkel, Dietzel and Rüdel, with whom we, moreover, on various occasions found assembled a whole company of like-minded believing preachers from the surrounding country. We were requested to give an exact report concerning our church conditions here, and it was heard with the liveliest sympathy. In this connection there naturally came up also the disturbance of the brotherly relation of our Synod to the Bavarian Central Mission Society, which occurred some years ago, the committee of which, as is well known, has its seat in Nuremberg. With great joy we learned here that all necessary steps had been taken to place this society, which as an institution founded by the government and dependent upon it had indeed at first an undecided character and was composed of very heterogeneous (dissimilar) elements, upon a purely churchly foundation; yea, that this had in fact already been done, and that it needed only the approval and confirmation, already applied for in higher quarters and soon to be expected. But the more we rejoiced to find here so numerous a circle of believing Lutheran servants of the Church, the more grievous it was to us to learn that between these dear men also and Pastor Löhe there was no hearty understanding, but that the former rather did not wish altogether to approve of the steps recently taken by the latter in regard to the reformation of the Bavarian state church, although they all acknowledged the necessity that, e.g., the mixed communion fellowship and the Union practice otherwise crept in here and there should be done away; they were, however, all of the opinion that, since so many abuses had already by degrees, with the returning faith, partly fallen of themselves, partly been removed by the higher church authorities, one ought not to disturb by provocative steps the quiet and natural course of development already begun. Pastor Wyneken received the invitation to proclaim the Word of God publicly once in Nuremberg, to which he naturally also willingly complied. I cannot leave unmentioned here that in Nuremberg we also enjoyed besides, in several Christian families, a humbling kindness, especially in those of Messrs. Zeltner, Fabricius, Dr. Beck, Fleischmann. I intend to return to Mr. Catechist Bauer in the next number, where I shall make fuller mention of him.

A second place which we repeatedly visited during the time of our stay in Erlangen was Fürth, where in the house of the faithful and excellent Pastor Stirner (next to Mr. Catechist Bauer co-editor of the "Correspondenzblatt der Gesellschaft für innere Mission im Sinne der luth. Kirche") we found the friendliest brotherly reception and spent precious hours. Here we also took the opportunity to visit the other believing pastors of that place, Kraußold and Lehmus, who likewise met us with brotherly love. Being requested to do so by Pastor Stirner, I made here publicly, in the city church, before an audience as numerous as it was attentive, a confession of our faith.

(To be continued.)

(Communicated.)

Ueber den letzten Bericht der deutschen ev. luth. Synode von Pennsylvanien. *)

*) Unfortunately this essay, which was sent in a long time before the Editor's return, appears only in this number. The dear readers, together with the Sender, will please excuse this delay by the circumstances which could easily bring about such a disorder. D. R.

Unfortunately there are found in this latest report also again a multitude of proofs for the reproach, often raised but always remaining unheeded and unrefuted, that this Synod, in doctrine and practice, quite unmistakably contradicts its confession of the unaltered Augsburg Confession; for as the tree is known by its fruit, so is the doctrine known by the practice. As surely, now, as, for example, a man who curses and swears cannot possibly hallow the name of God in his heart, or he who cheats and overreaches his neighbor be a friend of righteousness; just so surely can those not abide by the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures and of the Augsburg Confession who in words approve something, or in works take part in something, which is directly contrary to this doctrine.

Above all, the Pennsylvania Synod, with regard to its "brotherly" relation to the Reformed, Unionists, Methodists and Moravians, stands in manifest contradiction to the Holy Scriptures. Thus, for example, St. Paul exhorts all Christians, 2 Corinth. 6, 14. 17: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; come out from among them, and be ye separate." If the work which the Reformed carry on is the same as what we carry on, and no strange one: why do we not also adopt the name, Reformed, or why do the Reformed not call themselves Lutheran; "Strange," however, as is well known, means that which does not belong to us, as this conception (strange yoke) is more closely determined by the following word "unbelieving." But by the unbelievers are not to be understood merely such people as have no faith at all, for otherwise the Christian Church would have had to hold fellowship from the beginning with all heretics, since most of them accepted most out of the Bible except certain parts. Rather, unbelievers in the strictest sense are all those who refuse to believe even one single part of the Bible, and consequently draw at a strange yoke. Whoever, e.g., will not believe that holy Baptism makes the little children truly as blessed as Peter and Paul were blessed; whoever will not believe that Christ, according to His words in the Holy Supper, gives also to the unworthy His body and blood to eat and to drink with the mouth, can he with right be called a believer? And where in all the world is the master to be found who could bring out of, or into, the command of the Holy Ghost: "Come out from among them, and be ye separate," the sense: "Go in unto them and make fellowship with them?"

The Augsburg Confession also does not profess such a "brotherly" relation, namely to the Reformed. Yea, the latter themselves have made such a relation impossible by this, that at the presentation of the Augsburg Confession they would not sign it with the rest and drew up a separate confession deviating from it, and then, six years later, again became unfaithful to the Concordia concluded with the Lutherans. And how is it possible to stand in brotherly fellowship with those of whom we confess in the tenth article of the unaltered Confession that we reject those who teach otherwise concerning the Holy Supper than is taught there! Should not the Reformed themselves have so much sense of honor as to demand that those who would stand to them as brethren must first take back such rejection? But what upright Lutheran could dare to do this?

So the Pennsylvania Synod has also once more received Reformed and Presbyterian preachers as advisory members (page 5.), in order thereby to pay a compliment to the synods of other confessions which do something similar, and by no means to appear harsh and repellent. For in earnest one certainly cannot, in church affairs, ask the counsel of those whose doctrine we must reject. Yea, the Synod has even received a Reformed preacher as such into the Lutheran ministerium (p. 40.) without demanding from him a recantation of his former confession and his decided assent to the unaltered Augsburg Confession.