# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_Januar 1855_S31
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Excerpts as Contributions to Pastoral Casuistry. 31

would be objectionable if one baptized those whose parents are not of our religion, yet sincerely and without deceit seek the baptism of their children in our churches.”

“The second and third questions concern godparenthood and the burial of Calvinists: namely, whether Calvinists should be admitted as godparents at Holy Baptism and whether they should be buried with the customary ceremonies. We consider these questions together, since they can be answered with a single response. Now, although everything in the church should be done decently and in good order, and therefore it is incumbent upon the pastor to ensure that no disorder intrudes even into church ceremonies—which would happen if every person, including godless and depraved people, were admitted as a godparent and granted an honorable burial—we nevertheless hold that, as far as Calvinists are concerned, a distinction must be made. For some are utterly hardened: they not only assent to gross and monstrous errors but also stubbornly persist in them, lead others astray, and mock or revile our church and church services; or they are people who, although they do not concern themselves so zealously with doctrine, otherwise live godless and scandalous lives. Such people should not be admitted as godparents; nor, if they die thus unrepentant, should they be deemed worthy of an honorable burial. For just as there is no fellowship between Christ and Belial, so no true Christian should have such fellowship with such people as to choose them as godparents for his children. Indeed, St. Paul commands that we should not even eat with such a person who allows himself to be called a brother but is an idolater. 1 Corinthians 5. Scripture likewise deems such despisers of God and His Word unworthy of an honorable burial, but threatens that they shall be buried like donkeys (Jeremiah 22:18–19). With regard to these persons, therefore, the matter is clear and settled. But then there are some who, although they profess the Calvinist faith, have been led astray by others; they themselves, however, lead no one astray, but are rather prepared to yield to the truth when it is shown to them; moreover, they live otherwise without giving offense. Just as they are tolerated by the authorities in a city alongside others who adhere to the pure evangelical doctrine, so a pastor may also be patient with them. And although it would be better for parents to ask as godparents for their children those who fully adhere to their religion—and pastors may rightly urge them to do so—nevertheless, if such godparents had already been asked, they could not be excluded from the baptism without causing offense. Nor should they be denied an honorable burial, especially in places where this has previously been customary and cannot readily be avoided because of daily social intercourse, commerce, and business, and where its omission might give rise to great disorder and an uprising among the common people, as happens in large imperial cities where Lutherans, Papists, and Calvinists live alongside one another without offen-