# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1854 03 28_S123
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

123

Countless other things he has made up and lied and told as true; yes, I venture to assert that almost every word he spoke was a lie. The difference between lie and truth had altogether gone from his conscience; he had so got into the way of lying that he lied about the most useless things, lied even where he could expect no advantage from it, merely to brag, to be interesting, to have something to say; yes, he lied in the Bible hours which he held regularly, amid prayer and singing, about his great wealth, his journey to Jerusalem, his persecutions, etc., so that one must be astonished how it was possible for him, and just then, when he caused such vehement declamations against lying and deceiving to resound."

When Mr. P. Gräber, after he had received that report from Frankfurt, now made earnest representation to him about his dreadful lying, he at first tried to talk his way out of this and that point. When this did not succeed, "he had to be silent *)" and had not a single word to bring forward for justification in any point whatever."

*) The same silence ensued also when Mr. Köstering afterward, here, in the presence of our own and his own elders, laid his dreadful lying before him, whereby finally the eyes of his adherents here were opened about him.

When Mr. P. Gräber now with sharp and earnest words laid before him the dreadful corruption of his heart, in order to bring him to penitent acknowledgment, he nevertheless remained cold and obdurate, and only when he learned that his work and earnings in Meiderich and Mühlheim were quite at an end, did he weep tears of belly-care, beg pardon, and promise to do all that P. Gräber should require, in order to regain his confidence. P. Gräber then required of him that he should disclose himself openly and honestly to a man in the congregation who possessed the confidence of both of them, by the name of Joh. Bechmann, and hand him in three weeks his life history.

"He has done — so it runs further in the letter — neither the one nor the other, proof enough that his seeming repentance was only new hypocrisy."

He was naturally sent away, and drifted about in the neighborhood, where he now and then "played the penitent and contrite."

At last, however, in order probably to be rid of him altogether out of Germany, they agreed with his former teacher, the Jewish missionary Poper in Frankfurt, who furnished most of the money for it, to dispatch this lying fellow to America, which, alas, God have mercy, is also Germany's cloaca and must swallow its uncleanness in brain-burnt demagogues, God-denying newspaper writers, corrupt lawyers, drunken students, deserters, thieves, deceivers, etc., so that it would be only a slight retribution for these excellent articles if the Americans would send over to Germany a few shiploads of rattlesnakes.

But since the conscience of the benefactors and senders of Strauß must surely have smitten them, lest he might after his removal take up again with great eagerness his former role as spiritual play-actor and speech-maker upon the holy ground of the church, they hit, strangely enough, upon the half-measure of having him give the following Revers (certificate): "that he will apply this money (50 Thlr. Prussian Cour.) in no other way than for the journey to America, that he will not himself seek to procure any service in the vineyard of the LORD, and if he should be encouraged or requested from any quarter to accept such a service, that he will at once confess openly and honestly to the authority having the service to give" (to be sure, a strange unacquaintance with the church conditions here) "how unfaithful he has been" (hard to presume of a Strauß,) "that he will make an open confession at the first opportunity to the clergyman of the city or region where he stays, or in case a Jewish missionary is near, to him, and submit to his spiritual counsel; that he will write to me at least every 3 months and in his first letter name to me the clergyman or missionary to whom he has disclosed himself." To the inquiry of Strauß whether he might not enter a theological seminary, P. Gräber answered, "that he might not, because that would be the beginning of his seeking a service in the vineyard of the LORD."

So Strauß traveled to America with Köstering, who however knew nothing of this Revers, the latter with the fixed intention of going to the seminary at Fort Wayne, where a friend and countryman of his was studying. But on arriving in New York he let himself be persuaded by P. Stohlmann to go to the seminary at Columbus, whither Strauß accompanied him; and Prof. Lehmann received them, without scruple, at once into the seminary.

Strauß thus broke thereby his solemn promise, "with a handshake in P. Gräber's hands, as before the face of God, sealed," which he had given in that Revers written and signed with his own hand, by no means to take a step to enter the service of the church.

When we, P. Husmann and I, had now received that testimony from Germany about Strauß (in which, among other things, it also stood that it was P. Gräber's "firm resolve to give Strauß no rest in America and, if he had entered the ministry, to cause a public warning against him to be issued in the German church papers"), the first step naturally was this, that we read it publicly after the service to our congregations.

Naturally the adherents of Strauß could not remain indifferent about it, and those in the city demanded the writing, which I, however, did not find good to give out of my hands, but declared instead that I would come to them in company of my church council, read it to them and allow them inspection of it, and also show the official seals, that they might then, in view of this testimony, call Mr. Strauß to account. This my proposal was accepted; but when we met at the appointed place, the elders of the Straußites said that all sorts of loose people had also come and that disturbance was to be feared. I therefore proposed that the assembly be held in our schoolhouse, upon which, however, they did not enter, but wished to take up the matter on another day, which, however, has not come yet. The other step which took place was this, to send a word-for-word copy of this testimony against Strauß to the president of the Western District Synod, Prof. Lehmann, with the request at least at once to institute an investigation against Strauß, in that I at the same time set him in the clear about the historical course of this whole affair and what all had been done to hold the man back from the work of injustice.

To this communication came the answer that he (the president) could do nothing, but must put off the examination of the matter until the next meeting of the Western District of the Synod of Ohio (falling something over 2 months thereafter); to himself "it was not possible to tear himself away, in order to investigate on the spot a matter to the decision of which he was not competent, according to their Ministerial Order; besides, P. P. Gräber and Wortmann were not known to him, wherefore their testimony should first be duly and maturely weighed."

This answer, as every sensible, church-minded reader will feel with me and perceive, was very regrettable and let little good be hoped from the later decision of the Synod.

For from this answer it follows indeed undeniably:

1. that this affair seemed rather insignificant to the Mr. President; for if he could not really come himself, he could still have commissioned neighboring brethren in office, with the addition of the local English Lutheran pastor, who indeed also belongs to the Synod of Ohio, to undertake a speedy investigation on the spot and to inquire into the nature of our (P. Husmann's and my) complaint and to confront us with Strauß and his people, to which we would have been ready in every way; for what was the Synod at last to do, without such a preceding investigation, since complainants