# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_September 1858_S266
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

266 The Church of Norway.

treatment of various questions in the fields of historical, systematic, and practical theology, through the communication of important developments in the field of theological literature and of church life, as well as through communications, in translation or in excerpt, of literary developments abroad.

The "Norwegian Kirchenzeitung" — begun in 1856 — intends, according to its chief purpose, to report on events, developments, and struggles in the church, chiefly in Norway, but abroad as well. It stands firm on the Lutheran confession and wishes to see it kept intact, and accordingly takes the field both against Grundtvigianism and against Baptism, Methodism, Quakerism, and other sectarianism, as well as against encroaching Romanism; it counsels caution in the use and spread of edifying writings — for example, Reformed writings (in reviewing the churchly doctrinal statements of Krummacher) — "because the Reformed confession is not that of the Lutheran church," while nevertheless not failing to recognize the usefulness of such writings, and having no hesitation, for example, in recommending Monod's writings. With regard to the internal questions of the church, it stands on the side of the free movement within the church, of the rights of the laity. Its theological standpoint, for all its faithfulness to the confession and Lutheran orthodoxy, is that of Spener, Rambach, etc. As firmly as it holds to its standpoint, it nevertheless opens its columns also to differing views. It aligns itself with those who desire a revival of the church through suitable means, including church discipline. That a periodical begun by young men (the editors are three candidates) should have its weaknesses in its early years is natural; but it is to be hoped that these will fade with time, and that the Kirchenzeitung still has a future before it. Despite the manifold opposition the paper encountered, its number of subscribers had risen to the, for Norway, not inconsiderable sum of 700. Alongside these two periodicals there also appears a whole number of small popular papers, and tract societies exist in the same manner as in Germany. A bookseller in Christiania has devoted himself exclusively to the publishing and distribution of Christian books. In several places, for instance in Christiansand and Stavanger, printing houses occupy themselves chiefly with the printing of religious books. A large part of this literature consists of translations from the German, Swedish, English, and French. If we cast a glance at the book market of recent years, we find a fairly varied mixture of different publications. Among newer German works, for example, the following have been translated: Fr. W. Krummacher's Kirchliche Lehrstimme; Löhe's Reflections on the Passion History; Westermeier's Church History; Hofacker's Sermons (printed in three different places); G. Thomasius's Sermons; Gerlach's Bible Commentary; Gossner's The Way to Salvation and his Treasure Chest; Oster's Letter on Infant Baptism; Monod's Lucile; and various works of the