# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1846 10 13_S22
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

(Submitted.)

Since I love our precious Lutheran church of the pure confession precisely for the sake of the full truth, and am truly hostile to the sects, factions, pseudo-Lutherans, etc., precisely because they take only fragments of the wholesome truth and then supplement them with their own additions in such a way that something entirely new and perverse results, it is naturally my earnest concern, in all matters touching the church, to have the full truth. I was therefore almost alarmed when, in the marginal glosses found in the previous issue on the article entitled "The Michigan Synod and Its Mission to the Heathen," I found, right at the outset, the remark that it still needed supplementing in order to be entirely true. But my alarm soon resolved itself — first into a smile, since I found "supplements" that in fact supplemented nothing — then into sorrow, since I had to notice the sidelong, envious glance at Pastor Hattstädt — and finally into bitter pain, when I read the ugly blasphemy concerning unreserved commitment and a purely churchly standpoint.

As for the supplements, we must earnestly protest against all such contrived interpretation, since it is insinuated to us that if we had wished to say

"When Pastor H. was called to the Lutheran congregation of Monroe, he was compelled — whether by the congregation or by the Synod — to enter into membership with the latter" —

we would have expressed this in the words: "through his call to that congregation, H. came to membership participation in the said Synod."

No, we are plain-spoken, and we say things straight to our opponent's face, without casting suspicion upon him in veiled fashion. Had we wished to express more by our words than they say — namely, "by occasion of that call," etc., etc. — we certainly would not have held back behind the bush. — Likewise the sentence

"Large sums of money were also sent by the Franconian Lutherans to support this mission,"

naturally does not, in some underhanded way, mean as much as: "The people in Ann Arbor — after they had, to be sure, not fulfilled the obligations they had entered into, but rather had, for conscience's sake, driven us to withdraw from their Synod — also acted so dishonestly as to keep back that money" —

but rather is and remains a harmless historical fact, which can be demonstrated to everyone from documentary correspondence. — Finally, since we are concerned only with an unreserved commitment to all the symbolical books of our church, and do not consider ourselves, in conscience, entitled to acknowledge any other alongside it, we have naturally made

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no mention at all of the Dumser comedy of commitment, which we were obliged, with regret, to witness. So little do we allow the conclusions to stand which the rationalist draws from the Bible on his own authority against all honest scriptural interpretation, just as little do we allow it when our symbols are interpreted according to subjective pleasure — for instance thus: at the end of chapter 11 of the Formula of Concord it indeed says:

"From which our declaration friend and foe, and thus everyone, may clearly gather that we have not resolved, for the sake of temporal peace, quiet, and unity, to yield anything of the eternal, unchangeable truth of God (as indeed it does not lie in our power to do so), which peace and unity — being intended against the truth and for the suppression of it — would in any case have no permanence; still less are we minded to adorn and cover over the falsification of pure doctrine and publicly condemned error; but rather we bear a heartfelt desire and love for such unity, and are, for our part, inclined and eager from the heart to promote it to our utmost ability — whereby God's honor may remain unimpaired, nothing of the divine truth of the holy Gospel be surrendered, not the least room given to error, poor sinners brought to true and genuine repentance, raised up through faith, strengthened in new obedience, and thus, through the sole merit of Christ, made righteous and eternally blessed —"

but the pious men did not mean this so seriously. They say, indeed, with their mouths, that they are not minded to give up anything of the eternal truth of God for the sake of temporal peace; indeed, they confess that this does not even lie within their power, and that, for all their love of unity, they could only accept a unity in which not the least room is given to error, etc.; but — so the false prophets of love of this evil age of ours slander — in their hearts they were, after all, quite differently and well unionistically disposed, just like us, and animated by that same broad love which even loves error. — Such sugar-sweet sentimental little Christians can, of course, not pray with David: "I hate them that regard lying vanities," nor admonish with St. Paul: "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision!" but they know how to help themselves: they simply say it is not meant as strictly and unlovingly as you, narrow-minded Lutheran, interpret it — you who always believe the Word exactly according to the Word. —

Yet with all this all-embracing love, at bottom they really only love the brethren — that is to say, their dear fellow unionists — and rail venomously against every honest man who will not run with them into that same disorderly business, as they are here doing to Pastor H. And yet all sincere Lutherans could rejoice most heartily over the pure, scripturally sound sermon on the Lord's Supper which H. delivered at this year's synodical convention in one place, where, immediately afterward, purely Reformed communion ceremonies publicly mocked the Lutheran character. He has also, in all the sessions, consistently voted for Lutheranism and against the opposing party's unionistic mingling of religions, thereby proving to everyone that he is indeed capable of distinguishing between the Lutheran character and unionistic-pietistic leaven. We therefore ask, instead of spiteful side-blows, for good reasons that prove the contrary just as squarely as we can prove with facts what has been said about the unreserved commitment of the missionary Mr. Auch and about his purely churchly standpoint.

We appeal, namely, first of all, to public incidents at this year's synodical convention, where the unreservedly committed missionary Auch stood by the missionary Dumser — who did not want to be unreservedly committed — so loyally, that even Pastor Cronenwett, a member of that Synod, burst out with the words:

"What do you want, then, Brother Auch — you are indeed committed, are you not?"

Auch: "Nothing is said of that in the notice of my ordination, etc., published in the Lutherische Kirchen-Zeitung."

Cronenw.: "But surely it is stated in your ordination certificate?"

Auch: "It is not explicitly stated there either."

Cronenw.: "Yes, it is stated in it; it must be stated in it, and in any case it certainly came up orally at your ordination, etc."

Quite recently, however, we heard from the mouth of a member of the Mission Committee that Auch had inquired whether he should not go to the Quarterly Meeting of the Indian Methodists on the Flint River; the missionary there, who is said to be such a very dear man and who had offered to carry on the mission work among the Cake Indians together with him, had invited him in a most friendly way.

We do not begrudge such friendship, but say, for our part, in all earnestness: "He that is not with me is against me," and we want no Lutherans who are unwilling to be sincerely Lutheran. Let one for once be honest, and, after having thrown away the Lutheran kernel, let one also lay aside the Lutheran shell — that is, the name — so that one may not be taken for something one is not.

This is offered as a contribution to the full truth, with the remark that we never thought we should have to be so long-winded, since we spoke straightforwardly and made no secret at all of our disposition, which briefly and in conclusion runs thus:

"God save and preserve us in his grace from false Lutherans." A. C.

(Submitted.)

Dear esteemed friend, beloved brother in Christ!

I kindly ask you to grant a little space in your greatly esteemed paper to the letter given below.