# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1852 09 28_S22
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

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still more through the fifth, in which admission and exclusion, and the rights and duties of the members are treated, and indeed in very decided language. And because their enemies (or rather the Tr—b—s gang), who are almost all members of that society, swore most horribly on the public street and in the vilest beer and brandy shops to ruin them once more, it found it necessary to take into the constitution a clause which, with God's help, secures and protects it against its enemies, namely Article V., §2: "Provided that no one can be a member of this congregation who belongs to any secret society." The congregation adopted this clause by 66 votes to 6, but drew upon itself thereby not only the hatred of the world and of the open enemies of the church, but sometimes also the hatred of those who call themselves friends of the pure and sound Evangelical Lutheran confession, yea, even of Evangelical Lutheran preachers. Of this one could fully convince himself who attended the proceedings of the Western District of the Synod of Ohio and heard how it went in answering the question which was brought in writing (not without reasons) before this Reverend body by Mr. Pastor Lasar, of Marion, Marion County, Ohio, namely: "How does the Synod stand toward its members with respect to the secret societies?" For there proposals were first made that one should guard against this "firebrand" and lay the whole matter on the table, etc. As this would not do, the paper submitted was handed to a committee, which then also, though rather lamely, reported upon it. Here the uproar then began: one secret brother wanted it so, the other wanted it differently. And with regret I must say that only "few" took part earnestly in this important matter from the Christian standpoint; but it also seemed almost impossible to rise above the din and the jesting of the secret brothers. The reader will find the rest in the proceedings of the Western District Synod of Ohio, held in Dayton, Ohio, from the 5th to the 10th of June, 1852.

Quite especially, however, a Freemason distinguished himself, Mr. Pastor Henkel, of Germantown, Montgomery County, Ohio. He sought always to turn this important question into ridicule, by presuming in a silly manner to represent holy matrimony as a similar secret society; by Mr. Pastor Schladermundt, however, he was caught in his own snare and duly rebuffed. That he thereby intended to paralyze the sincere friends of the church and bring them to yield, and to celebrate a victory for himself and his "order," hardly needs mention; for he confessed openly before the whole Synod and the congregation members present: "I am a Mason, yet for all that an Evangelical Lutheran preacher, who means it as faithfully and sincerely with the church as anyone." Had the old man only thought of 1 Cor. 8, 13., he could not have expressed himself so before such an assembly. Probably he also forgot that as a speaker for the "Masons" he cannot be a preacher of the Evangelical Lutheran Church; for "no man can serve two masters." Matth. 6, 24. To be sure, I too am a mason, but a stonemason, and that is my calling, by which I support myself with God's blessing.

If Freemasons, Hermann's Brethren, Odd Fellows, Druids, and whatever they are all called, mean so sincerely by the "true" (that is, purely Evangelical Lutheran) church of the Lord, then I cannot understand at all why they bring the members of it out of their churches acquired in the sweat of their face. For precisely the said brethren of the orders, in united power, were those who brought the local (Dayton) congregation out of its church and now carry on rationalistic mischief in it. Mr. Herzsch, the present speaker of these apostate people, denies not only the Godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also teaches that one cannot sin against God; for thus he preached on the 5th Sunday in Lent: "One can much sooner sin against one's neighbor than against God; yea, against God one cannot really sin, since one does not see Him as one sees one's neighbor." On the 6th Sunday after Trinity he asked a child whom he was confirming: "Is the Holy Ghost also a person in the Godhead?" "No," answered the child instructed by Hertzsch. "No," he said, adding, "for otherwise eleven Holy Ghosts must have been present at the outpouring of the Holy Ghost,—but it was only God's Spirit."

Now, Mr. Colleague, what do you say to the doings of this man, who, so far as I know, is also a good "brother of the order"? I also beg you, dear Mr. Colleague, not to wish to deceive me any more; for you will not succeed in it, and everyone who boasts of being a Christian, be he layman or preacher, and enters into a connection, and a secret one at that, with open deniers of God and of Christ, who, in my view, have made it their chief purpose to rob the still believing Christians of their hard-earned church property, in order thus to destroy the church and to rebuild heathen altars unhindered, as here in Dayton, I must declare to be a "hypocrite," who, in order only to work properly for his order, or for the sake of material reasons, still preaches, or goes to church.

May the triune God strengthen His church, that it may fight with all earnestness against these idolatrous intrigues. Would that all periodicals calling themselves Christian, especially those belonging to the purely Evangelical Lutheran Church, would raise their voices against it with holy earnestness and zeal.

Ties also, Mr. Colleague Henkel, are my views, demanded of you on the 10th of June of this year, on the secret societies that boast so greatly of their benevolence; and would to God that they were yours also, yea, those of all men.

Dayton.

Johannes Bundenthal.

Grabauiana.

The readers know that the Grabauist gentlemen have ceaselessly cried out: Produce proofs! Produce proofs that we have banned unjustly and acted tyrannically! Now it had previously become known to us that these gentlemen, through their unchristian, abominable conduct, had already lost all confidence among Christian-minded people, so that, for instance, even those in Germany who agreed with them in the false doctrine were ashamed of them, namely on account of the "abominable" spirit which the gentlemen had betrayed in their conflict. We had therefore resolved, if at all possible, not to communicate also, to the public scandal of the church and the world, the scandalous stories of unjust ban and the like which had occurred in the Grabauist party. In response to that challenging Goliath's cry, however, and after Pastor Grabau had also refused the last proposal of our whole Synod for a verbal discussion,*) we have at last had to declare that we were then compelled by the gentlemen themselves to publish the offensive occurrences and in particular to speak henceforth in another tone with a man like Pastor Grabau.

*) Pastor Grabau, to be sure, probably because the matter now, upon calm reflection, seems to himself too disgraceful, will not have it said that he refused the conference; this man has the effrontery, moreover, in proof that it is not so, to have the letter in which he refuses it printed. We hope, however, that at least our readers of the Lutheraner have so much understanding that they see that he refuses a conference for the purpose of settling disputes who demands beforehand that the one with whom the negotiations are to be undertaken must first plead guilty. — But this is the judgment, that those who let themselves be tyrannized over by a false teacher at last sacrifice to him also their sound reason and must worship even the maddest assertions and edicts as great wisdom and holiness (2 Cor. 11, 19, 20.) — While, by the way, Pastor Grabau has hitherto always insisted on doctrine as the first and the chief thing and set the life of it behind, he now begins, where it concerns our life and conduct, to propose a different order of things. It is, namely, to be a matter here of: "1. proper reconciliation and putting away of the public wrong, 2. restoration of all churchly Christian righteousness, 3. and when that has been done, a pure blessed ground of the heart is prepared, on which the holy and blessed unity in spirit and in doctrine can be sought and established without hindrance." That we readily believe, if we had already laid ourselves at Pastor Grabau's feet and had given him right in everything, then we should also find grace before his eyes for a conversation about doctrine, that is, for a kindly instruction to be received. — These are fine foundations for a Reformation!

What do the gentlemen do now? You, dear reader, will think they will now at last-