# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1860_S21
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 21 —

...call, powerfully to testify to the grace of God in Christ. In
particular, may God grant grace to our institutions, that from there
only faithful heralds of the Gospel go forth. If Luther remains, and
increasingly becomes, the chief teacher, then, under God's blessing,
there will be no lack of such men.

I cannot close this point without reminding the Reverend Synod, as
before so also now, of the duty to care faithfully for the poor,
scattered Germans, especially here in the West, and to provide for
them through proper traveling preachers, evangelists, or whatever one
wishes to call them. Thanks be to the Lord, a small attempt has now
indeed been made in Minnesota, Iowa, and California. Whether the
matter would not require further discussion, and in particular whether
regard should be had to the practice — unfortunately still occurring —
of giving every single small congregation its own pastor at its
request, whenever one happens to be available, I leave to the judgment
of the Reverend Synod.

As for the third point to which Chemnitz points — that we should
also fight bravely, earnestly, and forcefully, and he warns against a
certain softness — I believe that even our worst enemy must grant us
this testimony: that we have not shied away from the fight. I also
believe that our polemics have nowhere lacked the earnestness and
force required. God grant to preserve in us a brave courage, and let
us learn ever better the right manner of the fight. Up to now the
fight has mostly been turned against those who, under the name
Lutheran, actually aim to destroy true Lutheran doctrine and defense
[Lehre und Wehre], which, given the boundless ignorance that now reigns
everywhere, and the shameless impudence with which they offer Roman or
Reformed mica for real, genuine gold out of the Lutheran mine, mostly
succeeds all too well for them. But we should not forget our
hereditary enemy. The Roman harlot has again stepped out onto the
street, freshly painted and adorned, and seeks with lofty and fine
speeches to draw the people once more into her seductive nets — and,
oh the shame, professors and preachers called Lutheran hasten to kiss
her train, to cover the antichristian abomination and finery with
pretty little patches, and to take from the people the fear and dread
they still have of this spawn of hell. Who would not be astonished,
alarmed, and ashamed to see with what zeal, with what skill and
certainty of victory the Roman church takes the field against
"Protestantism," and how wretchedly even Lutherans are put to
embarrassment when "Protestantism" is attacked by the Romanists?

Beloved brothers, we all know and confess together that the pope is
the true Antichrist, and that the papacy at Rome was founded by the
devil. The more the gracious and merciful Lord leads us into the
doctrine of justification, the more surely will hatred also stir
against him who, under the mask of a special holiness and piety, as a
true creature of Satan, carries on the truly diabolical work of
concealing God's grace and mercy, of making salvation uncertain for
the poor, lost sinner, of taking from him all true comfort, and, so
far as it lies in his power, of plunging him into everlasting ruin.
For it is not