# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1853 04 12_S105
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Der Lutheraner.
"God's Word and Luther's doctrine pass away now and nevermore."
Published by the German Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio and other States.
Edited by C. F. W. Walther.
Volume 9.  St. Louis, Mo., April 12, 1853.  No. 17.
Terms: Der Lutheraner appears once every two weeks, at the yearly subscription price of One Dollar for subscribers out of town, who are to pay the same in advance and bear the postage. — In St. Louis each single number is sold for 5 cents.
Only those letters which contain communications for the paper are to be sent to the Editor; all others, however, which contain business matters, orders, cancellations, money, etc., are to be sent hither under the address Mr. F. W. Barthel, care of C. F. W. Walther, St. Louis, Mo.

Abridged Tabular Survey

of some manifest errors of Pastor Grabau, laid before the reader in his own words and compared with the false Roman as well as with the pure Lutheran doctrine.

Doctrines of Pastor Grabau.

II.

Of the Church.

19. "That it is permitted, however, to Christian members of the church of all estates, in Christian order," (the word "permitted" Grabau also had printed in spaced type, to indicate that even this, which he here would concede, is no proper right of Christians, but a favor granted to them) "to take part in discussions and questions out of God's Word, to listen, to ask questions, and to have them resolved by God's Word, and accordingly as co-deliberating witnesses" (thus not as co-judging and deciding assessors of the Synod) "to serve the conferring and synodizing faithfulness of the ministerial office" (the gentlemen preachers are therefore properly alone the "synodizers") "and with the same, out of Christian conviction, to deem something good, that is certain from Acts 15, v. 1-21. Therefore the Pastoral Letter says quite rightly" (so Grabau himself adds), "the congregation should not pronounce the (public) judgment, but should first turn in writing through the church elders to one or more pastors of the church and lay the matter before them in accordance with the truth (Acts 15.); these shall then question the accused pastor, etc. You shall therefore leave the judging of doctrine to those to whom it belongs according to the 28th Article of the Augsburg Confession." (Second Synodal Letter. p. 111. 142.)

20. "It is erroneous that they assert that in cases of conscience, when the application of God's Word to certain cases is doubtful, the decision belongs to the congregation . . Thus

Doctrine of the Roman Church.

II.

Of the Church.

19. The papal theologian Herding writes against the Protestants: "Would you then have this, that the common people be admitted to the general councils? And who, then, belongs to the people according to you? Perhaps innkeepers and cobblers, fiddlers and pipers, such folk as your church servants are? What in all the world are these poor wretches to do there? For there one neither drinks, nor snuffles about, nor fiddles, nor pipes." (Confut. Apolog. part. 6. c. 8. div. 3.)

So Bellarmine writes further: "To decide in councils what is to be believed and done is the proper office of the pastors. For to feed is properly to teach, and indeed to teach so that others are bound to believe. Jer. 3. Eph. 4. But the laymen are surely no pastors!" (Lib. I. de concil. c. 15.)

So writes further the Cardinal de Turrecremata (Torquemada): "Learned men, whether they be seculars or members of orders, who are not church prelates, are called to the council . . those learned men (however), who do not administer the episcopal office, have only an advisory voice, but the bishops alone a deciding voice." (Lib. 3. eccles. c. 14.)

20. "We have shown that the judge of controversies is not the Scripture, not the secular princes, not private persons, however pious and learned they may be, but the

Doctrine of the Lutheran Church, which Pastor Grabau calls the Missourian.

II.

Of the Church.

19. So writes John Gerhard: "Not only the bishops and church prelates have the right to decide in councils, but from every estate of men godly instructed persons can be chosen, whom one may send to the council and who there freely give their judgment . . This our opinion we confirm 1. from the form of the apostolic council at Jerusalem. Acts 15, 6. 22., from which it is concluded that not only the apostles, but also the presbyters were present at this council, yea, that the whole congregation with the apostles and presbyters had the deciding voice . . . 2. From the nature of a council. A general council represents the whole church. Therefore there should be present in it some from every class and from every estate of men . . 3. From the bounden duty of godly Christians. The cause of the faith is common to all Christians and concerns all . . 4. From the example of the ancient councils. At the councils which were held in the early church there were present not merely presbyters, but also princes, senators, judges and other laymen, and not only this, but they also gave their judgment, signed, and decided with them." (Confess. cath. fol. 682. 83.)

20. "Christ gives the highest and last judgment to the church, when he says: Tell it to the church, Matth. 18, 17." (Smalcald Articles, Appendix.) "When Christ commands that the controversies which among and between private persons