# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1898_S33
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1898. 33

wants to carry on in his house, a Christian should not rent out his house. In such a business a Christian should not be involved as an interested party, say as a shareholder (stock-holder), for in that case he makes himself a partaker of other men's sins. Although he does nothing himself in it, he still defiles himself with the same sins with which the active sinners sin; for he has a share in it, also as one who has an interest, as one who either with his means, or with his gifts, or in any way through support contributes to these sinful businesses being carried on.

To this belong, further, the occupations which in themselves do not indeed offend against the love of God and of the neighbor, but whose practice, in the form in which, or under the circumstances under which, they are carried on, is unavoidably bound up with violations of the love of God or of the neighbor. To this belongs the occupation of a false-believing preacher or of the pastor of a false-believing congregation. This has become, through the circumstance that he is a false believer, or serves a false-believing congregation as its pastor in its sense, a reprehensible thing, a sinful calling in which a Christian who has recognized this cannot remain. Whoever becomes pastor of a false-believing congregation which presents itself as such strikes the church life together of the orthodox congregations among one another in the face; he breaks through, again, a boundary which God, the LORD, has set; and a congregation which would now permit this, which perhaps allowed its pastor, while he is a Lutheran preacher, also to be pastor of a Methodist congregation, in order in this way to improve his salary, or in the mistaken opinion that he could thereby in time perhaps still build a Lutheran congregation, if for the time being he took on and served it as a Methodist congregation, a congregation which tolerated this and did not put the pastor under discipline would thereby again, insofar as Christian church discipline represents a sign and expression of church solidarity, sin against this principle by virtue of which it is a sister of other sisters.

Such a reprehensible business is also that of the editor of an unbelieving or false-believing periodical. The editor of a paper through which unbelief is spread or false doctrine brought among the people lives in a sinful business, with which he at the same time continually violates love toward God and toward the neighbor; and a congregation which has such an editor of a godless or false-believing periodical in its midst should put him under discipline and treat him as one who is continually engaged in sinful doing, and make that clear to him, with all patience and teaching, but also with all earnestness. Such a sinful occupation is further that of an organist or choir singer in a false-believing church. Playing the organ and helping to render choral song is not in itself a reprehensible thing; but if someone