# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1877_S19
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 19 —

truly no one that he should put his child there. Everything must perish that does not drive God's Word without ceasing. I have great fear that the high schools are great gates of hell, if they do not diligently practice and drive the Holy Scripture into the young people." (Erl. XXI, pp. 349, 350, 351.)

And likewise it says in the Instruction of the Visitors, corrected by Luther: "Some learn nothing at all from Holy Scripture, some teach the children nothing but Holy Scripture; neither of which is to be tolerated. For it is necessary to teach the children the beginning of a Christian and godly life. But there are also many reasons why other books should be put before them besides, from which they learn to speak." (Walch X, 1974.) Luther demands here truly nothing small, and wants all worldly sciences placed in the service of God and pursued to his honor. Therefore we too should be diligent in this glorious work and establish schools not only in all our congregations but also mission schools outside them. If this is done rightly in the middle and eastern states too, the General Council, and finally even the General Synod, must follow us, as the Unionists have had to do in many places in order to keep their members. And where possible all these schools should be free schools. That would be real mission work.

The question was now put to the Synodical Conference [*Synodalconferenz*] how the consciences of those congregation members should be advised who see well the blessing of parish schools and are ready to do everything in their power to obtain one for their children, but who nevertheless have no success in this effort, perhaps because their pastors do not support them either. Whether one can also make it a sin for such people, after they have done everything possible in vain to get Christian schools, if they send their children to the public schools.

To this the answer was given: Certainly! Such conditions are indeed greatly to be lamented, and the improvement must begin with the pastors. It must be made a matter of conscience for them to take care of such people and their children. But if that happened, the parents should also, for God's sake, content themselves with the pastors' modest achievements in instruction until, after confirmation, they could have their children further trained in worldly subjects.

If, however, the pastors could not or would not do their duty in this necessary matter, one must seek to help in another way, for example by sending the children to another place so that they receive Christian instruction there.

In general it is very dangerous to make a rule first and then immediately add exceptions to it. That is the practice of the Council, against which we must guard with all earnestness. For otherwise lazy preachers and stingy congregations at once look to the exceptions and think they fit their case exactly. Thereby the whole rule