# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1852 11 23_S54
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

54

the poor blind heathen and to bring them the message of peace? Whence would we have the tidings of salvation? And had there not, in particular, always been Christians who with great earnestness insisted on purity of doctrine and unadulteratedness of worship, who unmasked and rebuked false teachers and gathered orthodox congregations: where would pure doctrine now be, and whither would it at last have come with the sects? — Certainly, as holy a duty as it therefore is for all true Christians to be concerned for their own salvation and for the salvation of their neighbor, for the welfare of the whole Church and for the rescue of the whole lost world, so holy a duty have they therefore also to join themselves to those who abide faithfully by God's Word and confess the true faith purely and sincerely. As incontrovertibly true, therefore, as it also is that the true Church of Christ is properly invisible and scattered over the whole world, should and can this belief, accordingly, lead anyone astray to forsake the orthodox visible Church? Never! —

You, therefore, who cannot deny that in our Evangelical Lutheran Church God's Word is taught pure and clear and the holy Sacraments are administered according to Christ's institution, and who nevertheless hold with heterodox communions or withdraw obstinately and will hold with nobody: you can by no means comfort yourselves with the thought that the true Church is invisible; that it is therefore enough if only you were members of this invisible communion. I repeat it: as little as he is a true Christian who knowingly and wilfully sins against God's commandment, and who knowingly and wilfully puts himself in danger of his soul and does not use the means which God has ordained for him for the attainment of salvation: so little are you members of the true invisible congregation of the believers and saints, you who knowingly and wilfully, contrary to God's prohibition, have fellowship with the heterodox and, contrary to God's commandment, flee the fellowship of the orthodox. Of you it is said in our text: "For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us."

But you who are earnestly concerned to belong to the invisible congregation of the children of God, forget never then: the right way to come into this invisible congregation and to remain in it is precisely this, that you hold yourselves to those, and with them not only believe but also confess, assemble, labor and work, strive and suffer, who abide faithfully by God's Word and confess the right faith purely and sincerely.

Up then, you dear Lutheran fellow Christians, to whom God has given open eyes to perceive that our dear Lutheran Zion is built upon the pure, eternal, unchangeable foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone: rejoice indeed heartily that Christ has a hidden seed of His believers everywhere, but thank Him also with your whole heart that He has bestowed upon you the unspeakable grace to stand in a communion in which the light of His Word shines bright and clear upon you. Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Be not ashamed, even in these last sorrowful times, of your Savior and of His Word and of His true confessors, but confess your Savior and His unadulterated truth with them here before men in disgrace and persecution, and He, the faithful Savior, will also confess you one day, with all His own, before His heavenly Father and all His holy angels in eternal honor and glory. Yea, be faithful unto death, and the LORD will give you the crown of life. Amen.

Grabauiana.

Having in the last number of the "Lutheraner" made a holiday for ourselves with regard to the "Informatorium," which was surely to be granted us, it will nevertheless be necessary that we not be altogether unmindful of the said paper, which so diligently, though not honorably, remembers us. So let the dear reader hear some of the contents of the most recently appeared number of the aforementioned Informatorium, of the 1st of November.

1. The first article found therein is a communication sent in under the heading: "On the Doctrine of the Church, as Professor Walther sets it forth in 9 Theses as the doctrine of the Synod of Missouri." Indeed, this article is not yet finished; the conclusion is to appear in a following number; but even from this beginning the just conclusion may be drawn that the good man who sent it in suffers from a disregard of the rule, already recommended by us to the Informatorium: Qui bene distinguit, bene docet, that is, He who distinguishes well teaches well. Indeed, we are almost inclined to think that to the writer of the article, as to other laborers on the Informatorium, Neumeister's judgment on Johann Arnd also applies: "The dear man, through oversight and ignorance, gave occasion to much strife and discord. The dear man had not had time at universities to lay a firm foundation in theology." (See: Pastor Grabau's second Synodalbrief, pp. 49, 50.) Since we shall shed light upon the false doctrine of the Buffalo people concerning the Church more fully later, we shall not dwell on it further here.

2. The second article is a so-called "Christian Meditation" by Pastor Grabau himself, in which he seeks to prove, when he demands of his parishioners "obedience in all churchly things which are not contrary to God's Word," that he is doing right in this. The gentleman writer indeed cannot refrain (since this polemic seems to have become second nature to him) from honoring the editor of the "Lutheraner" in the article with the title: "The Notorious Slanderer at St. Louis"; but since he says at the same time that our assertions are either "a naked malice or a gross lack of understanding," it seems almost that Pastor Grabau is beginning to become polite, for through the latter addition with his "or" the titles given to us become, in the mouth of Pastor Grabau, a veritable flattery. Concerning Pastor Grabau's doctrine of obedience toward the parish pastors, too, we intend, however, to speak out later, when we shall set forth and judge his whole system of doctrine(?).

3. The third article is the continuation of the "Contributions to Communications from and about North America" by Pastor Winkler in Detroit, likewise in the well-known Buffalo manner. Therein he asserts first, that even pastors of our Synod have admitted to him "that for years it has been held in their Synod" (of Missouri, etc.) "as a settled matter that the Buffalo Synod must be brought to ruin, cost what it may, etc., and that especially the younger pastors were only drawn into the affair by Walther." To this we answer: if preachers of our Synod have really said this, then they are either such as once held this conviction but are now convinced of something better, and then of course their statement has no probative force; or they are still of the same conviction and neither protest nor separate from us, what then would be thought of their character and what credit given to their testimony?*) — Moreover, a comparative cursory glance at the "Informatorium" and at the "Lutheraner" teaches that it is not we who are bent on bringing the Buffalo Synod to ruin, but that this one rather sets everything in motion to destroy the Missouri Synod and to spoil the divine blessing hitherto granted it. In particular Mr. Winkler shows himself a master in twisting and turning old stories and larding them with wanton judgments about our disposition in such a way that he may hold himself assured of attaining his purpose, to disgrace our Synod.

*) We cannot, however, by any means believe that there are preachers of the second kind in our Synod. Be that as it may, in any case only a base character publishes what was told him in confidence; we can only pity the brethren whose confidence Mr. Winkler so indiscreetly abuses.

Mr. Pastor Winkler further accuses Dr. Sihler of a sinful course of action in the affairs of Mr. Pastor Schmidt in Cleveland. To this we reply nothing, since perhaps soon the necessary light will be brought upon this matter from another, better informed quarter.

Finally the person named makes a lengthy excursus in which he takes occasion to