Lehre und Wehre St. Louis, Missouri — Februar 1914, Seite 58

German transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

Cited in Eckhardt's Reallexikon (1907) under: Vereinigung 5

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58 Wird Einigkeit werden?

has been under attempted reconsideration, the General Synod has
appointed à superintendent of missions for Dakota, thus emphasiz-
ing a fraternal unity of sentiment and à bitter competition of deed
as à Keynote for the coming geneération. The General Council on
its part is in no frm position to preéss Church unity because of the
Synodical individualism in its synods, with the consequent probable
inability of itself to Propose, to stand for, to sacrifice, and loyally
support one common plan of action.“ Aber vornehmlich ist der Artikel
im Lutheran gegen die „Missourier“ gerichtet. Schon die Einleitung,
in der noch keine Namen genannt werden, hat hauptsächlich die Mis⸗
sourisynode im Auge, wie aus den späteren Ausführungen hervorgeht.
Die Einleitung lautet: „Our Church in America at this moment is
korgetting that the underlying preliminary to Church unity is not
Wholly doctrinal, nor practical, but spiritual. We must have one
faith, and also one spirit. Until the various Lutheran synods can
create and establish between each other aà deep confidence, aà con-
fidence as to motives and purposes, and as to unselfish quality of
the faith and love they offer, there will be very little result from
theé efforts now making for unity. If they have all faith, and have
not charity, it is nothing. So long as synods and leaders face each
other in a manner that betrays mistrust, or that begets suspicion,
agréeements in doctrine, and arrangements in practice, will be as
a tinkling eymbal and as sounding brass. Tne spirit in which ap-
proaches are made toward a union in faith and practice will deter-
mine tke preliminary stages of its suecess. When one synod con-
siders the opposité party as so many Samaritans, and acts as though
there was nothing that it has ever heard or read which should in-
duce it to abate its Jewish antipathy to the brethren who do not.
worship at its temple, there is little hope for unity. The synod's ovn
pretension of being always in the right, even though it be a fact,
will not serve any purpose in the cause of unity. The Jews were
right about the matter in dispute between them and the Samaritans.
Salvation is with the Jews. But this is never held out to us as
any justification of their behavior toward the Samaritans, and its
bare and nude assertion never brought unity.“ Dann fährt der
Luthieram mit spezieller Bezugnahme auf die Missourisynode fort:
„Tbhe synod which at this moment is most aggressively striving for
the unity of Lutherans in America is the synod that usually has been
considered the most narrow. But it is the largest and most power-
kul body in America. Many English readers of The Lutheran seem
néever to have heard of it, and practically ignore it, just as many
of its representatives practically ignoreé the Church of the General
Synod and the General Council. The ... Rev. Dr. F. Pieper, of
St. Louis, has issued A Plea for a United Lutheranism in America.
This pamphlet expreésses theé desire that theé entire American Lu-

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