# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1884_S53
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1884. 51

Now I could not at all explain to myself the word "thanksgiving." But I found in Gerhard that the early church called the Holy Supper "thanksgiving," as we call it "communion." Then my heart was full of joy that old Ignatius, a disciple of Paul, gave me such testimony, and I now believed myself quite certain of my case, and held it right, too, that one should oppose Zwingli earnestly. But that did not last long; doubts came to me again, namely whether the book had not been forged; I also heard at the university: with Ignatius' letters it is not all so clean! Then I turned to Luther. There at last I became certain, not because Luther said it, but because he proved it to me so clearly from God's Word that every doubt had to fall silent. Now I became divinely certain.

But finally it is also contrary to Scripture to want to ground matters of faith on the writings of the fathers and to bind consciences to their doctrinal decisions, because that is also

"contrary to the warnings contained in Scripture against trust in men, even in matters of faith, and against all doctrines of men, and likewise contrary to the exhortations contained therein to test everything."

The first point, then, is: it is contrary to the warnings contained in Scripture against trust in men, even in matters of faith.

Psalm 62:10 says: "But men are surely nothing, great men also fail." Not to rely on so-called small people is no great art, but it becomes hard to ask nothing of men when so-called "great men," who excel all others in knowledge, enlightenment and holiness, advance a particular doctrine. All too easily and quickly one falls in with these. But a Christian never obtains certainty that the doctrine is right by this road. Human authority gives his conscience no rest, even if ever such highly gifted men lead this or that doctrine. A true Christian must rather know that God himself says: "Great men also fail." Therefore it is most unchristian to quiet oneself with the thought that a great, renowned man, even if he had rendered the church ever such extraordinary services, teaches thus or thus. For no man is safe from error. Only the prophets and apostles had the privilege that they could not err when they taught in their calling, orally or in writing. If they had wanted to write down something erroneous, God would doubtless either have struck them down with thunderbolts or at least prevented them, as with Balaam when he wanted to curse the people of God. God has not only enlightened the holy writers but also sanctified them, so that they not only could not err, but also did not want to err and falsify God's Word. Hence Paul writes in 2 Cor. 4:2: "We do not walk in craftiness, nor falsify God's Word, but with