# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1847 02 23_S74
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Lutheran Zion's congregation: Adam Liebrich, Joh. P. Brück, Conrad Schmidt, Adam Guthmann, Peter Schlosser, W. Klein.

Hamilton, Butler Co., Ohio, February 4, 1847.

N.B. We ask all editors of Christian and ecclesiastical periodicals to include this vindication.

The aforesaid church council.

Lutheran Resolutions.

With great joy we share with our readers the following resolutions of the ninth session of the "Eastern District of the Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of Ohio*) and the Adjacent States," which we take from the "Lutheran Standard."

"Whereas the so-called General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States has, in a letter (dated Gettysburg, November 10, 1845, and addressed to the mother church in Germany), made the open confession: 'That Luther's particular view of the bodily presence of the Lord in the holy Lord's Supper has long since been abandoned by the great majority of our ministers;'

"And whereas, further, the Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of Ohio, at its last session at Lancaster, Ohio, has postponed to the next session the final decision of the question: 'Shall those who are hereafter ordained by the Ohio Synod be sworn to the symbolical books of our Church?' — therefore be it:

"Resolved: That in our opinion the time has come when it is altogether necessary, for the preservation of the biblical doctrines of the true Lutheran Church in the United States, that those who are hereafter to be ordained be sworn to the symbolical writings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

"Whereas we believe that those preachers who pay homage to the 'New Measures' not only introduce innovations into public worship which conflict with the apostolic admonition, 1 Cor. 14:40, 'Let all things be done decently,' but also reject the doctrines of the symbolical books of the Lutheran Church, namely those concerning the Sacraments, and likewise deny that we are born again in holy Baptism through water and the Spirit, and that in the Lord's Supper we receive the true body and the true blood of Jesus Christ, and whereas, for these well-founded reasons, we cannot recognize such men as genuine Lutheran ministers; therefore be it:

"Resolved: That an English translation of the Book of Concord has long been regarded by us as an urgent need, and as a means of preserving the original, pure doctrine of the Lutheran Church, and that we therefore rejoice that Dr. S. G. Henkel has resolved to undertake this difficult work, and we wish him God's rich blessing thereto.

*) This General Synod is not to be confused with the apostate "General Synod of the United States."

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"Resolved: That the edition of Dr. Luther's Church Postil, or sermons on the Gospels for all Sundays and the principal festivals of the whole year (prepared by Mr. Ludwig in New York), is a source of great joy to the Synod, and that we recommend with all our hearts to all members of our Church that they procure a copy for themselves."

We cannot say with what heartfelt joy we welcome these resolutions. They awaken in us — and certainly, along with us, in many of our readers — new and great hopes for our dear Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States. We do not doubt that the example thus given will have the most blessed effect, and that many more ecclesiastical bodies will yet follow it. It will become evident that God has still left remaining for Himself, in the Lutheran Church of this land, many a faithful servant who has not bowed his knees to the Baal of the false doctrine that has crept in, or who has at last returned from error to the truth. God will also grant grace for an ever more intimate union of all those who here wish to hold fast to the jewel of pure doctrine given to the Lutheran Church by God. With such resolutions as those cited, the right foundation for true unity is indeed laid. Upon such a foundation all upright Lutherans will and must be willing and ready to join hands and build together. Should a considerable diversity still remain among them regarding practice, outward customs, and the like, this can do no injury to true unity, since, according to Article 7 of the Augsburg Confession, it is "enough for the true unity of the Christian churches that the Gospel be preached therein harmoniously, according to a pure understanding of it, and the Sacraments be administered in conformity with the divine Word."

The "Important Disclosure."

Under this heading, Mr. Weyl reports in his "Hirtenstimme" [Shepherd's Voice] that he has kindly been sent by Pastor Passavant a book under the following title: "An Open Letter to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, especially in Wisconsin, Missouri, Prussia, and Saxony, by Ernst Moritz Bürger, Evangelical Lutheran preacher in Buffalo, N.Y. — printed in Leipzig." Mr. Weyl promises, with evident pleasure, to communicate to his readers some excerpts from this book, in order, as he says, "that his readers may recognize what the sect of the Old Lutherans was and still is."

We have, to be sure, not yet had occasion to see the book referred to; but if in it the nature and the sins of Stephanism are actually presented in accordance with the truth, then the book contains at the very least no "disclosure" of a matter that had been concealed up to now, for we who were involved have already, seven years ago, disclosed the so-called secret of Stephanism and all that is connected with it, partly privately in letters, partly publicly from the pulpit and through print, without sparing ourselves. We have also already, in the "Lutheraner" (Volume I, No. 20), taken the opportunity to make known publicly our own views concerning Stephanism, and, on account of the offense given, have humbly and penitently asked the Church for forgiveness — and this, as we know, not without effect among many upright children of God. If, then, Mr. Weyl's retelling of the old story of Stephanism can serve to warn perhaps still others against similar aberrations, and to show them where, following Stephan's example, willful grieving of the Holy Spirit, and, following the example of his followers, idolatrous trust in a man and a false conscience, finally lead, then we — who unfortunately once let ourselves be deceived by Stephan — can only rejoice over it. But should Mr. Weyl use his find not only to disgrace us, who through God's grace have ourselves recognized Stephanism, have already publicly condemned it ourselves, and have penitently turned to the Lutheran, that is, to the biblical, truth, but also to fling the mud of the same at old Lutheranism itself and at all who adhere to it and who never had anything to do with Stephanism, then let him answer for that on his own conscience. All the slanders against the truth and against our Church that arise from this — however deeply they pain us who are guilty, and however much they will again humble us before God — these Mr. Weyl, and not we, will then have to answer for before God. If he says that old Lutheranism is Stephanism, then he lies against his own conscience in saying so, for it was only through a thorough conversion from our former Stephanism that we at last, by God's grace, came to the eternally old Lutheran truth.

To the Readers of the "Lutheraner."

Many complain that they have not received the "Lutheraner" in recent months. We assure them that the fault does not lie with our dispatcher, who has sent out the paper with the greatest care even in recent months as well. The cause lies without doubt in the deficiencies of the postal service here, since at present complaints are coming in from all quarters concerning the non-arrival of the political papers as well. Those readers to whom the third volume could not be sent from the first numbers on, because these had soon become out of print owing to the unexpected increase in readers, will be credited with as many numbers of the fourth volume as could not be sent to them of the third.

Paid:

Volume 3: Mr. P. Hattstädt (2 copies).
1st half of vol. 3: Messrs. A. Hofstädter, Ch. Heise.
2nd half of vol. 3: Mr. Möhlenkamp.

Received for the Lutheran mission to the heathen in Michigan, from two unnamed [donors], $82.00.

Printed by Weber and Olshausen.