# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1884_S187
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Fourth Delegate Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States. 1884.   187

contained in the word of Scripture, then we throw it away and trample it underfoot. — This error of the theologians, that they must erect and set up a proud edifice of doctrine in the sense of reason, is a most pernicious one. This delusion leaves not even the school untouched. Those caught up in this error consider it entirely superfluous for children to memorize individual verses; instead, the "whole of salvation history," which is supposedly gained by mediating between the individual verses, is what should be taught and impressed on children. But how? Is a Christian's faith, in the hour of trial, really strengthened and fortified by this "scriptural whole" (in the sense of reason)? Does not experience teach that a Christian, in hours of trial, and especially in the hour of his death, clings to individual verses of God's word, and by their strength wins the victory?

But, we are told, you really should not forget entirely the distinction that must be made between the reason of a reborn person and that of an unreborn one. It is true that the reason of the natural man, being as yet unenlightened, perceives nothing of the Spirit of God, whereas the reason of a Christian, being enlightened, perceives spiritual things quite well. So if a theologian is truly a Christian, he can, from this one sentence — "I am a Christian" — construct the entire edifice of doctrine. From the truth resting in his heart, he is, by virtue of his enlightened reason, well able to find all the other divine truths; for from truth only truth can come. One will be astonished to see how well what one has thus formed out of oneself agrees with the Bible, once one sets about comparing it with the Bible. — To this we say: this is a shameful abuse being made today of so-called enlightened reason. Enlightened reason is nothing other than the word of Scripture exercising its power in a person's understanding, so that his judgment conforms to the word of Scripture. It is not the case that, in regeneration, the Christian is given a reason of an entirely different kind than he had before — a reason capable, of itself, of seeing through the divine mysteries and judging them rightly. Rather, it is the case that the old reason — which, in man as he is by nature, is struck with blindness in divine things and full of errors — must be enlightened by the word of Scripture, by whose power the errors vanish. Human reason is enlightened only as long as, and only to the extent that, the word of Scripture exerts its power. As soon as the word of Scripture is let go, blindness and error at once return, and a reborn person, with respect to whatever doctrine he has let go of the relevant word of Scripture for, is no better off than a wholly unreborn person. Just as the earth is bright only where it is