# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1896_S11
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1896. 11

A person's conduct, too, insofar as it is a consequence of his inner attitude toward a matter, insofar as it rests on a decision of the will, is a function, a work. When one therefore says: "Admittedly not through works, but through our conduct God lets Himself be moved to work our salvation," one has in fact said this: "Not through our works, but through our works God lets Himself be moved." For this conduct is precisely a work. Therefore the conduct, the stand taken toward a church question, is certainly included in the concept of function, whereas on the other hand the inner attitude does not belong to practice but to the subject which exercises this practice; it is a quality of the acting subject, by virtue of which the activity then acquires a certain character, like the fruit of the tree.

The choice of the words "institution and function" [Einrichtung und Verrichtung], and their position in the wording of the thesis, has the purpose of bringing under the thesis also such matters as no longer denote a πρασσειν, a performing, but an existing, a duration without continuous activity. For example, the institution of announcement for communion [Beichtanmeldung]. When on Thursday 75 persons come and announce themselves for the Holy Supper, that is a function, the announcement. But then the announcement is also an institution, something that has been introduced and has now become established, an institute. That belongs to practice too, even if not everyone carefully acts in accordance with it. When an institution exists but many do not act in accordance with it, then the not-acting-in-accordance is a piece of practice, and the institute is another piece, for it exists on the ground that it has been brought into being and set up as a lasting institute by the church or fellowship in whose midst it exists. Since, however, the establishing (as performing) of the institution precedes the lasting thing, this arrangement of the words in the thesis was preferred. They could also be transposed without essential change of meaning. It should not appear as though the function took place afterward because the institution is there. We do not hold to the announcement for communion because we have instituted it, but we introduce it in order to hold to it afterward. Because it was good that we introduced it, and for the same reason for which we introduced it, we keep it now, not the reverse.

Finally it was remarked that church practice can under certain circumstances also consist in the omission of certain measures; for what someone effects and brings about can happen through doing or through leaving undone. In doing what is right and omitting what is wrong consists right-doing; in doing what is wrong and omitting what is right consists wrong-doing. Someone can become a murderer without himself having drawn the dagger or fired the shot