# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1850 04 30_S138
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

138

tones, Scipiones, and all thy forefathers who have died in the faith, etc.

This stands in his little book, which (as said) is to be the golden and very best little book, made shortly before his end. Say now, whoever wants to be a Christian, what need is there of Baptism, Sacrament, Christ, the Gospel, or the Prophets and Holy Scripture, if such godless heathen, Socrates, Aristides, yea the abominable Numa, who first established at Rome all idolatry, by the devil's revelation, as St. Augustine writes in de civitate DEI, and Scipio the Epicurean, are blessed and holy, with the Patriarchs, Prophets and Apostles in heaven, though they knew nothing of God, Scripture, Gospel, Christ, Baptism, Sacrament, or the Christian faith? What else can such a writer, preacher and teacher believe concerning the Christian faith, than that it is equal to every sort of faith, and that each one can be saved in his own faith, even an idolater and Epicurean, such as Numa and Scipio.

Now since in this little book Zwingli has not only fallen away from the Marburg agreement (indeed, never meant it in earnest), but has become much worse and altogether a heathen, and yet the fanatics, his companions, praise and honor this little book (in which there are also many more abominations), I have also let go all my hope of their amendment, and have so wholly given them up that I have not even wished to write against this little book, nor to pray any more for them, since I saw that all my former writings and admonition, together with my Christian love and faithfulness shown at Marburg, had to be so ill bestowed and so shamefully lost.

Now if from the rumor of that agreement, or otherwise, anyone has heard or been persuaded that I held with the fanatics, and that we were at one in the matter, I beg him sincerely for God's sake not to believe it by any means. God preserve me from it, as He has hitherto, that I should knowingly cover or strengthen with my name the very least article of the fanatics. For even at Marburg we did not come over to them in a single article, but they came over to us in all the articles, except the article of the Sacrament (as the printed paper shows), which (as said) stuck fast, in hope that it too should finally follow. But how this hope has turned out, you have now heard. Much rather, I say, would I let myself be torn in pieces a hundred times, or burned, than be of one mind or will with Stenkfeld, Zwingli, Carlstadt, Oecolampadius, and whoever else they are, the wretched fanatics, or consent to their doctrine.

For I remember well, and it still stands in their books, how exceedingly shamefully they blasphemed our dear Lord and Savior, called Him a baked God, a bready God, a winy God, a roasted God, etc. Us they call flesh-eaters, blood-drinkers, Anthropophagos*), Capernaites, Thyestas**), etc., though they knew that they wilfully did wrong to the Lord and to us, in the most blasphemous manner, and fabricated shameful lies about us; which was surely a certain sign that no good spirit could be in them. Now we let it all pass and go at Marburg, in the hope that they would and should wholly amend. For they knew very well that we had never taught or believed such a thing, except that they, to their own glory and our shame before the rabble, would gladly have created the delusion that we were such mad, senseless, raving people who held Christ in the Sacrament localiter†), and devoured Him piecemeal, as wolves a sheep, and drank blood as a cow drinks water. Well they knew (I say) that in this they called us flesh-eaters and blood-drinkers with manifest, shameless lies, out of the devil's prompting; for even the papists never taught such a thing, as they also well knew, except that they wanted to hurt us also with the name papists, these holy spiritual people.

*) Man-eaters.

**) Who eat their own children.

†) Enclosed in space.

For thus it has been taught under the papacy, as we too retain and still teach, as the right old Christian Church has held for 1500 years (for the Pope did not institute or invent the Sacrament, which the fanatics themselves must also attest, however much they want to make it papistical): when thou receivest the bread from the altar, thou dost not tear an arm from the Lord's body, or bite off His nose, or a finger, but thou receivest the whole body of the Lord; the next, who follows thee, likewise the same whole body, so the third, and thousand upon thousand for ever and ever. Likewise, when thou drinkest the cup or wine, thou drinkest not a drop of blood from His finger or foot, but drinkest His whole blood, and so also he who follows thee, even to a thousand times a thousand, as the words of Christ plainly say: "Take, eat, this is my body." He does not say: Peter, devour thou my finger, Andrew, devour thou my nose, John, devour thou my ears, etc., but, it is my body, take and eat it, etc. Each one for himself, undivided.

No, God be praised, we are not such coarse louts, nor is the holy Church under the papacy, as the evil spirit through the fanatics would gladly have imagined to the people, to our great vexation and discredit, with such desperate lies, in order to adorn their heresy. For they knew that their mouth was in this a lying mouth, also because they had without doubt often themselves sung and read the Masses of the holy Corpus Christi (as it was called), in which among much else it plainly stands: Sumit vnus, sumunt mille, quantum iste, tantum ille, nec sumptus absumitur††). Therefore they knew well that we were no flesh-eaters, blood-drinkers, Thyestes, Capernaites, nor Localists, and that our God could not be a baked God, etc. Yet we had to hear such wilful, acknowledged blasphemy of theirs, and whoever will not leave it alone still blasphemes thus with them; for they read it in their books.

††) See the 6th verse of the hymn: Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele.

Yet we let it all pass (as said) at Marburg, in order that we might show abundant Christian love. For (God help us!) how we had to hear that we had no Christian love, despised the servants of Christ, grieved and confused the churches, etc. And there were no sinners on earth but we alone, and no saints in heaven but the fanatics alone, with whom was nothing but fire of love, with us only ice of unmercifulness; for we were flesh-eaters, they were altogether clean, pure, unmixed, the very Spirit Himself.

But what has such superabundant love and humility profited us? Except that thereby everything has become worse, and our good hope has miserably failed: for love will and must be deceived, since it believeth all things and trusteth, 1 Cor. 13:4. But faith cannot fail, for "God is not a man, that he should lie," as man does. 1 Sam. 15:29.

How should and could I now lay upon my poor conscience such unbridled blasphemy of the impenitent fanatics and blasphemers, as I should have to do if I engaged with them, with books, writings or words, as Stenkefeld now demands of me. St. John says, 2 John, v. 10: "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." Here thou hearest who the Man is that bids me neither hear nor see the fanatics, but shun and condemn them, as I said above also from St. Paul, Titus 3:10: "a heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject," etc.

And if per impossibile*) it were true, and they were right that there were mere bread and wine in the Supper, should one therefore rage and thunder so against us, with such horrid blasphemies: baked God, bready God, etc.? Should they not spare the holy words of Christ (which we have not invented), "this is my body," in which He plainly calls the bread that is offered His body? In like manner they might also blaspheme Him as a clothy or clothed, woven-in, sewn-in God, because He went about in coat and clothes, sewn and woven; likewise, a watery God, because He was baptized in Jordan, a clouded-in God, because He ascended into heaven in clouds.

*) In spite of the impossibility.

I too could well know how to name their god after their fashion, and would still gladly do it, if I did not spare the name of God, and give them also their right name, that they are not merely bread-eaters and wine-drinkers, but soul-eaters and soul-murderers, and have an incarnate-devilled, thoroughly-devilled, over-devilled, blasphemous heart and lying mouth; and would therewith