# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_Mai 1856_S159
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Miscellaneous Church News. 159

—of the inventory through use and time may be reckoned at $1000. The costs of the annual upkeep of the church therefore amount to $22,505, which is as much as $432.78 for a single Sunday. This sum could comfortably maintain 22 country churches or 8 city churches.

Revision of the English Bible. The new Baptist translation of the Bible occupies between thirty and forty scholars, variously distributed over this country and England. As regards the religious convictions of these scholars engaged in the revision, a large part of them are Baptists, while the list of names nevertheless shows one or more members from six different denominations; and although this undertaking is of Baptist origin, it is nevertheless disdained by perhaps more than half of that sect. The common English translation forms the basis of this revision, and every Greek word or phrase whose phraseology has undergone change in the translation of the common versions is to be carefully explained at every place where it occurs in the New Testament, and the reviser is to state his opinion as to the proper translation of every passage.

The Episcopalians. From the "Luth. Observer" we learn that a rather serious controversy is at present being carried on in the Episcopal Church as to how the words of the Apostles' Creed, "One holy catholic Church — the communion of saints," are to be punctuated. The majority hold, quite correctly, that a comma should be placed after the first clause and the words "the communion of saints" taken as an explanation of the concept "church," while a minority, however, hold that a colon should be placed after the first clause and what follows taken as a separate article of faith, according to which one confesses the communion of all Christians with the living and with the saints already departed. We Lutherans may rejoice that no such dispute can take place among us, since in Luther's Large Catechism the correct punctuation, and the doctrine resulting from it, has already been adopted, and thereby the papist interpretation of the Creed is rejected.

The Wearing of Beards by Ministers. A short time ago the "Apologete" reported that a Methodist congregation had found it very offensive in their minister that he let his beard grow under his chin. The paper makes the appropriate remark on this: "Where the true missionary spirit is present, one has more important things to do than to be implacable over trifles, and to bite and devour one another over matters of indifference."

The Tract Society has always declared itself bound to follow the principle "to print only such tracts and books as have received the approval of all evangelical Christians." By following this principle the Society has hitherto gotten through well enough as regards doctrine. Recently, however, it has come into conflict with this very principle — namely over the slavery question. The "evangelical Christians" of the South naturally wish, of course, to see the institution of slavery attacked by not a single word, while the "evangelical Christians" of the North make it a matter of conscience to keep silent about this, in their view, festering sore.

Saxony. Court Preacher in Dresden (in the place of Dr. v. Harleß!) has become Professor Dr. Th. A. Liebner of Leipzig. On November 26 of last year he entered upon his new offices at the Court Church, in the Privy Church Council, and in the Consistory. In the place of the (emeritus) Church Councillor Dr. Meißner, Dr. Otto Rob. Gilbert of Bautzen has entered office. The successor of Superintendent Dr. Heumann has become Dr. Kohlschütter of Glauchau.

Errata in the Previous Number.
Page 119, line 14 from the top, write instead 1550 — 1560.