# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_Juni 1857_S188
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

188 The present state and prospects of the Evangelical Lutheran territorial churches in Germany.

hold of the church-ship. Those at a distance saw only the pennants of the Gospel flying merrily from the high masts, and the sails of faith-glad preaching, driven by God's Spirit of grace, sailing cheerfully along; therefore they were so exceedingly astonished when, unexpectedly, by the Bavarian Upper Consistory general decrees the bilge-water was stirred up, was thrown into fermentation by the ship's violent motion, and spread its stench far and wide. To us seamen it was nothing surprising; we knew well what ballast we were carrying with us in the lower hold, and how the filth still forced its way up here and there onto the deck as well; and we know that it looks just the same in all the other ships flying the same flag; only that we in our Bavarian ship are once again called upon to lead the dance. We have already heard of an echo of our uproar in Saxony; we shall probably hear of it from several quarters more; perhaps there will soon be an echoing like that of thunder in mountain gorges. This is certain: the church question is a chief task of this year, and probably of many another year after it. How it will be solved, who can say? Only one thing do I believe I can assert with certainty: our next general synod will not solve it.

But even though no one can say with certainty how and when it will be solved, still everyone may have his thoughts about it, and probably everyone may also say them. I, Freimund, will at least not let myself be robbed of the right to bring mine somewhat to light; then let everyone judge what they may be worth and count for. Either, then (so I think), the question in question solves itself, or it will be solved; unsolved it cannot remain much longer. If it has to solve itself, then the bilge-water will remain in the hold, will of course keep increasing and fall into fermentation or putrefaction, and so at last the ship's bottom too will rot and spring a mighty leak. Then, to be sure, the bilge-water will run out into the sea, but the water will also press into the ship, and then the cry will be: sauve, qui peut! (that is, save himself who can!) Or people will think they can still make something of the bilge-water and will pile it up in heaps on the deck; guano it will scarcely become thereby. Then perhaps it will even press up to the helm, will spatter into the crow's nests and onto the yards, and there remain sitting in place of the sailors; then all other ships will flee far off from the pestilential stench, and whoever on the ship has still been given a human heart, so that he has not himself turned into bilge-water, will climb into the lifeboat and row away in sorrow. But the abandoned ship will drift about until it is dashed to pieces on the reefs. In either way, of course, nothing is helped. Therefore I see nothing else but this: if the ship of the territorial churches is to be kept seaworthy any longer, then the seamen must be given freer movement, inwardly and outwardly. Formerly the territorial churches needed this less, one may say; for their position