# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1850 04 16_S131
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

131

a party) and the Emperor should decide in matters of religion. To this the faithful confessor replied: "We will abide steadfastly by the doctrine and confession which we, together with our father, and other princes and cities also, publicly delivered at Augsburg, and will sooner give up the electorate, land and people, yea, even our neck, than let ourselves be torn away from God's Word."

Ought not the so-called Lutheran General Synod of this country feel itself deeply ashamed in face of such a magnanimous and precious confession, that it indeed wishes to be Lutheran, that is, orthodox, and yet so loosely and frivolously does not confess itself honestly and sincerely even to this Augsburg Confession, to say nothing of the other confessional writings, but rejects the articles concerning the holy Sacraments, without being able to furnish the proof that they are not founded upon God's Word? Yea, has not lately the chief spokesman of these pseudo-Lutherans, Herr Dr. Schmucker, Professor of Theology at Gettysburg, in rare ignorance or impudence, not been ashamed to assert that the doctrine of the Confession concerning the bodily presence of Christ in the holy Supper is a remnant of the Roman Catholic Church?

No less faithful to the confession did John Frederick show himself on the occasion of the so-called Augsburg Interim. This was, namely, an order and form patched together at the Emperor's command by two Catholic and one so-called Lutheran theologian (Agricola), as to how matters of religion in the holy Roman Empire should be conducted in the meantime until the settlement of a general council. But this Interim was drawn up very cunningly, craftily and deceitfully; for although much was conceded therein to the Evangelicals, as for example the marriage of priests and communion in both kinds, yet even these concessions were regarded only as a kind of favor, until the decisions of the future council, and not as the good right of the Protestants; and besides, a multitude of papistical ceremonies were set up again as necessary, which had already fallen and been abolished in the evangelical territories. In sum, the whole papacy lay hidden again in substance in this Interim, and had the Evangelicals all accepted it, their confession and its public exercise in worship would have been at an end.

Now since the Emperor, who was at that time completely victorious and mighty, pressed the Lutherans unceasingly in all manner of ways, now with promises, now with threats, to accept this Interim, not a few fell away and only a few remained steadfast. But to these belonged the magnanimous Duke of Saxony, John Frederick.

Even before the patching together of the Interim the Emperor had him come before him at Munich and demanded of him, "that he should desist from his error and submit to the Council, then he would be his gracious lord and make good his sufferings, so that he should be content."

The Duke, whose courage of faith and fidelity to the confession had remained unshaken through all changes of outward circumstances until then, gave the Emperor here also an answer which bore a powerful witness to such a disposition. It was this: "Most gracious Emperor! I stand here before Your Imperial Majesty as a poor prisoner; I do not deny that I have confessed the truth and for its sake have forsaken goods and estate, wife and child, land and people, in short everything that God has given and granted me in this world, and have no more than this imprisoned body, which indeed is not in my power but in the power and might of Your Imperial Majesty; and since I stand bare before all the world and am also to forsake that which is eternal by my recantation, God forbid it, for I have set my highest comfort therein, that I know for certain, though I must lose this poor body together with life for it, that God will give me something better. It would also ill become me to lead many thousands of men into great offence by my wanton recantation, since I have so long confessed the truth and should at the last fall away from it. Therefore, most gracious Emperor, Your Imperial Majesty has me in your power; do with me as with a prisoner; but I will abide by the truth I have recognized and suffer for it as an example to others, whatever God and Your Imperial Majesty lay upon me."

The Emperor must also have felt the force of this speech and the nobleness in the whole bearing of the Duke; for he was not able to endure his gaze any longer, but turned away without answering him a syllable.

After the proclamation of the Interim at the Diet the Emperor sent his chief ministers with the commission to the Duke: "he should first accept this Interim himself in most humble obedience to His Imperial Majesty, and then also promote the same among his sons and procure that it be observed among their subjects."

The Imperial ministers pressed him with threats and promises to comply with the Emperor's command; but he remained insensible to both and declared to them repeatedly that he would not depart from the Augsburg Confession.

In order to be the more certain that they would report his true mind to the Emperor, he put his answer on paper in German and Latin and requested them to deliver it to the Emperor without fail. He says therein as follows: "Whereas Your Imperial Majesty has again earnestly caused request to be made of us to consent to the Interim, we must in most humble submission declare that we have been so instructed from our youth, and have also learned by diligent search of the prophetic and apostolic writings, and, as we testify before God, hold without any wavering in our conscience, that the articles of the Augsburg Confession, and what belongs thereto, are the true, Christian, pure doctrine, so grounded in Holy Scripture that nothing of weight can be brought against it; wherefore also our dear lord and father of blessed memory, together with us and others of the same Confession, appealed to a general, free, Christian council. Since, then, we are steadfastly convinced in our conscience of the imperishable truth of God, we are also bound to be obedient and thankful to God for such unspeakable grace, and not to fall away from it, as dear as the inheriting of eternal salvation is to us, and the avoiding of eternal damnation in hell."

"If we were to accept the Interim as Christian and godly, we would have to condemn deliberately against our conscience the Augsburg Confession and what we have hitherto believed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in many excellent articles upon which salvation depends, and approve with the mouth what we believed in the heart to be altogether contrary to Holy Scripture; and consequently miserably misuse and cruelly blaspheme the name of God, and also deceive with colored words both the high Majesty of God in heaven and our worldly authority on earth, which would be the right sin against the Holy Ghost, of which Christ has threatened that it should not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in that to come. Since we are thus held captive in our conscience, we pray in all submission that Your Imperial Majesty would not take it ill that we cannot consent to the Interim, but finally abide by the Augsburg Confession and look only to this, how after this miserable life we may become partakers of eternal joy. Herewith we testify before the face of God that we seek nothing else but the divine honor and how we may be received as an heir of eternal life. As to what concerns outward matters, we have always been desirous to render Your Imperial Majesty most humble obedience with all fidelity, as God knows, and also intend henceforth to keep inviolably what we have promised, vowed and sworn to Your Imperial Majesty."

The Imperial ministers, however, did not deliver this glorious confession to the Emperor, but gave him only an oral report that the Elector decidedly refused to recognize the Interim, without, however, as it seems, reporting to the Emperor at the same time the honorable grounds of his refusal and his otherwise humble submission and devotion. In consequence of this it happened that all his books, even the Bible, were taken from him; only the Psalter and Luther's Hauspostille he still retained, because one of his servants had hidden them. On this occasion he said quite calmly: "Although they take my books from me, they shall yet not take out of the