# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1882_S66
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 66 —

Tenth Session.
Tuesday morning, October 10.

This wording, drawn up by the committee and later accepted by the Conference, reads as follows:

"The expression that election took place 'in view of faith' was indeed originally introduced to explain the mystery of election more closely. A real explanation, however, is gained with that expression only if one makes faith a cause of election and thus something good in man, which moved God to elect him. This is contrary both to God's Word and to the confession of our church, and indeed even to our dear Catechism, in which we confess: 'I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, and sanctified and kept me in the true faith.' Therefore the Synodical Conference confesses itself in agreement with the judgment of the Hon. Wisconsin and Minnesota Synods."

Before this wording could be adopted, the following debate arose, occupying the whole morning.

Pastor Muus declares: "Here the whole matter is to be settled with a single vote. Is it the intention to maintain here that, if the dogmaticians of the Lutheran Church in the last 300 years used the "intuitu fidei" in their presentation of the doctrine of election of grace, they did not merely understand it to mean that faith is a cause of election, but that they thereby made something good in man, and indeed something good that comes from natural powers, a cause of election?"

The answer given was: "No one would think of such a thing."

Pastor Muus continued: "Well, then, what is it? I understood it earlier, and still understand it, that if the dogmaticians presented the matter so: something good in man is the cause of election, — then that is plainly Pelagianism. Now, this doctrine was not used by the dogmaticians merely in passing, but, to my knowledge, was hung out as a banner and always used against the Calvinists in order to distinguish themselves from them. This is precisely the dividing wall which they erected,