# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1852 06 22_S175
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

175

Luther, for whose blood, while he was yet alive, they thirsted in vain, at least after his death in his good name, to burn, to break on the wheel, to behead, etc. But in order to be able to do this before the people with some show of right, they must of course represent Luther as a heretic who had not his equal in ungodliness. What do they do, therefore? Either they really set forth the pure evangelical doctrine of righteousness by faith alone, as Luther taught it. But because they can presuppose that most of their readers are spiritually blind men, like themselves, to whom this divine, blessed, holy doctrine is a stone of stumbling, they do as the enemies of Paul, the great preacher of faith and grace, did, of whom this dear holy Apostle writes: "As we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say, Let us do evil, that good may come;" but of whom he adds also: "Whose damnation is just." (Rom. 3, 8.) Or else the Papists falsify Luther's writings, cite them falsely, tear his words out of their connection, twist them, and so charge upon Luther doctrines which he himself abhorred. A master herein is the unfortunate editor of the Katholische Kirchenzeitung, now published in New York, formerly in Baltimore, Mr. Oertel. The same, as is well known, when he was once in bodily need, abjured the Lutheran faith for the sake of his dear belly* and has now bound and sold himself, body and soul, as a will-less tool of the Jesuits and a creature of the Pope, and now seeks his honor in defaming Luther (whose doctrine had once torn him by divine power out of his lost condition), while he is at pains to commend the most abominable idolatries and the most blasphemous superstition of Popery as mere holy relics.

* We do not here judge Mr. Oertel's heart; we have for our assertion proofs of fact.

For this time we will set before the reader an example from the last century, which shows how the Jesuits and their helpers are wont to cite Luther's writings. The man who relates this to us is the renowned, godly and highly experienced blessed Senior of the Ministerium at Frankfurt on the Main, J. Philipp Fresenius; and the man of whom he reports is the notorious Jesuit Peter Johann Jacob Scheffmacher, sometime controversial preacher at Strassburg, where in his time the Papists had established a chair of their own for the holding of controversial sermons, that is, of such sermons as are delivered solely for the defense of Popery and for the refutation of all other ecclesiastical communions, and which therefore ought to contain nothing but religious controversies. And this chair Father Scheffmacher occupied. The same stands indeed in high esteem among the Papists, and that even now, so that his old controversial catechism was reprinted by the Papists here only six years ago. But how far this Goliath, who had such a big mouth against Lutheranism, is to be trusted when he cites Luther, wherein he prides himself most of all, the following story shows. — Thus the above-named Fresenius relates in his book, which bears the title: "Anti-Weislingerus, or Thorough Refutation of a Libelous and Blasphemous Pamphlet Published by the Roman Catholic Priest Weislinger. 1731."

"I cannot here forbear to relate what once befell me when I was studying at Strassburg. I went on a certain Sunday to the controversial sermon, which I seldom missed, so that I know the polemical sermons of the Papists well. At that time Father Jacob Scheffmacher, a Jesuit, was preaching, who was accustomed to pour out the most horrible blasphemies against the blessed Luther, and who otherwise sometimes made himself quite merry in the pulpit. As I have indeed often seen, that when he brought forth a merry jest, he clapped his hands, moved his four-cornered cap to and fro upon his head, encouraged his hearers to laughter, and himself laughed loudly along.* In this sermon, then, he gave Luther such dreadful abusive names that many of his own hearers were horrified at it, but the others tickled themselves. Thereupon he said: 'Holla! Proof, proof here, that Martin Luder' (for so he drawled the innocent name of Luther) 'was such a heretical villain! Well then, I will prove it.' Here he took from Luther's writings the 7th volume of the Jena edition and cried: 'Hear, dear hearers! Thus speaks Martin Luder in the 6th Jena part, at the 369th leaf: "If thou art a whore and a knave, an adulterer, or otherwise a sinner, believest thou, so art thou in the way of salvation. When thou standest in the midst of sin at the highest, believest thou, so art thou in the midst of salvation. The Decalogue, or the ten commandments, belong on the town hall, not in the pulpit. All who deal with Moses must go to the devil; to the gallows with Moses!"' This the Jesuit read with an uncommon, harsh voice, then made his glosses upon it and said: 'One should now see what a devilish doctrine Lutherus teaches, and whether one does him wrong in reviling him with whatever one can revile.' I saw then that his hearers were quite indignant that Lutherus should have taught such a godless doctrine. But they did not know that the Father had deceived them; for the words read out contained the doctrine of the Antinomians or law-stormers. Lutherus had indeed cited their words at the place which the Jesuit quoted, but had also at the same time refuted them, and shown what an abominable doctrine the law-stormers held!*) This the Father suppressed and said: 'There it stands; the words are clear; they stand indeed in his writings; notwithstanding, who will deny them!' — This godless deceit and the revilings that followed went to my heart and moved me to go to Mr. Weislinger, whose book I am now refuting and who was well known to me from some private disputations which I had with him, and who at that time sat next to the pulpit in the Minster. I begged him that he would see to it that after the sermon I might get to see the book of Luther alleged by the Jesuit; for I held his allegation (citation of the words) to be absolutely false, because the law-stormers, and not Lutherus, had held such a godless doctrine, and it had been refuted by Luther on the contrary. Weislinger pretended as if this request of mine were very agreeable to him; sent at once (what I had not even requested) a Jesuit lad to the pulpit, and had the Jesuit asked to send the said book, because a Lutheran student would gladly see it. Either this was a great imprudence of Weislinger, or he thought to prostitute me publicly (to shame me), and thus to strengthen the mob so much the more in hatred against Lutherus and us Lutherans. To the Father, however, he did thereby no pleasure, who for this time would rather have kept his deceit to himself in the pulpit. Nevertheless he heard the lad and said thereupon: 'I have heard that one of the Lutheran gentlemen desires to see the book of Luther, out of which I read his words before; but he is kindly requested to stand a little longer in patience, because I shall need it again so soon.' After this he preached on again, and, that one should believe he had forgotten his promise, he acted as if he got a special zeal in the sermon. I listened a while longer; but when I perceived the intention of the Jesuit, I begged Mr. Weislinger again for permission to see the book. This one excused the Father: he had in truth

*) Mr. Oertel of the "Katholische Kirchenzeitung" seems to have taken the reverend Father Scheffmacher for his model, for that one also, despairing of the strength of his errors, seems likewise only to wish to keep the laughers on his side and at least to preserve the good-Catholic tipplers on the beer benches from falling away from the "holy Roman Catholic Church, the faithful mother of the lost children."

*) The words cited by the Jesuit are contained in Luther's work: "Refutation of the False and Seductive Doctrine of the Antinomians against the Law." Therein Luther says in the introduction: "That I may not be suspected as if I held these sayings (of the law-stormers) to be right by my silence, I have let them go out publicly through print, that I might make known to every man who will let himself be warned, that I have a great displeasure at such blasphemous fanaticism." Now follow the sayings of the law-stormers and thereupon six disputations, in which Luther refutes these shameful propositions with as great a fiery zeal for God's honor and the salvation of souls as with admirable knowledge of Scripture, depth of spirit and rich Christian experience. See Luther's Werke. Hall. Ausgabe. Tom. 20, page 2034. Altenburg. Ausg. Tom. 7. Folio 316.