# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1894_S50
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

50 Proceedings of the fifteenth convention

the Christian consciousness lies at the basis of the system, as with Schleiermacher; but it is developed from it not only with philosophically guided reflection but much more consciously and expressly with philosophical aids (Rothe, Dorner, Nitzsch, Ullmann); or the system is built from a definite basic article of the doctrine of faith (Liebner, Kähler, Thomasius); or the system is built predominantly with definite philosophical principles, for example from the unity, expressed in some form, of the spirit and all its knowledge, whether the principles belong to a definite philosophy or not (Biedermann, Weiss, De Wette, Schwarz, Marheineke, Daub). The aim here is: either the right form of the doctrine of Scripture, and thus also the truly satisfying knowledge of Scripture, is to be gained through the systematic construction; or there is to be gained, according to the principle of the perfectibility of the doctrine of Scripture and of Scripture-believing Christianity, the absolutely only satisfying religious knowledge, that is, the knowledge in which reason, revelation, faith, knowledge, Scripture and philosophy agree. —

As examples we cite first Thomasius, who otherwise rightly has a good name in the Church, but with his attempt to explain "He emptied himself" (Phil. 2) has fallen badly into system-enthusiasm. In his system of Christ's Person and Work he wanted to draw a Christ with a presentation of the youth of Jesus satisfying to reason, showing how it developed humanly. The difficulties which our old men would have found in it, and which must be overcome by childlike faith, are said not to be present. The youth of Jesus must correspond to the laws of human development. To say of Jesus now that even as a child he was omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent and merely did not always use these divine attributes communicated to his human nature — this ancient Christian doctrine of the Church would not correspond to the natural truth of a child. But that is easily remedied by thinking of the deity united in Christ with humanity without these attributes of omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence. But how? According to Scripture the whole fullness of the Godhead is to dwell in Christ bodily, Col. 2:9. Quite right, says Prof. Thomasius. For that very reason one must make a good system of theology and speak already at the beginning of the essence of the Godhead in such a way that it fits this doctrine of Christ's God-manhood. And so Prof. Thomasius does, and teaches such a Godhead as is to remain a true Godhead in essence even if one cuts off from it the attributes of omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. So with Thomasius the system-making of the kind in which, starting from one article of faith, namely the doctrine of Christ, the whole of theology is to be built up, leads to the doctrine of such a God as is not one single and