# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_December 1858_S353
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Lehre und Wehre.

Volume IV.    December 1858.    No. 12.

Kraußold and the Doctrine of the Ministry.

"Amt und Gemeinde in der ev.-luth. Kirche [Office and Congregation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church]. A Contribution toward the Final Resolution of the Question of the Ministry on the Basis of the Lutheran Symbols. By Dr. L. Kraußold, Consistorial Councillor and Chief Preacher at Bayreuth, Erlangen 1858. Published by Andr. Deichert." 8vo. VIII, 104 pp.

When we draw attention to this little work, we do so by no means in the conviction that "the final resolution of the question of the ministry" can really be brought about through it; rather we must testify that in it error contends repeatedly with error, and that only a very small part of the pamphlet represents the cause of truth. This part, however, is nevertheless of such value that the pamphlet will hopefully not be devoid of all usefulness for the Church. The antithesis in which the little book is written is the theory of the late Prof. Höfling, which, as is well known, identifies the public office with the general spiritual priesthood of all Christians,*) and with respect to this antithesis Kraußold's brochure accomplishes much that is worthy of all recognition. Kraußold himself states the status controversiae in the preface as follows: "According to this, the chief point of difference for us is not whether a distinction between office and estate exists, as against the view of the Catholic Church, nor whether the spiritual office exists jure divino (by divine right) in some way originally in the congregation, but rather whether the spiritual office is originally identical with the general priesthood, and the congregation only afterward set apart a special office from itself and gave itself this constitution of office, or whether rather the Lord, from the very beginning and principaliter, instituted in his congregation an office set apart from the general priesthood, and whether the spiritual office accordingly exists jure divino in the proper sense, or only jure divino in an improper and derived sense." Although Kraußold, without doubt, in his

*) Höfling writes, for example, that "the duly appointed common office arises, in a manner willed and appointed by God, out of inner necessity, without there being any need to claim for it an outward ceremonial-legal necessity, or any special divine institution distinct from that of the general office of all Christians." See Grundsätze evangelisch-lutherischer Kirchenverfassung [Principles of Evangelical Lutheran Church Constitution]. 3rd ed. Erlangen. 1853. Page 63.