# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1916_S46
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

46 Proceedings of the twenty-sixth convention

justified and necessary, indeed highly necessary, if we want to keep our beautiful country free of papist tyranny. And this struggle does not remain without fruit. It is truly not without benefit when the masses of our citizens (who often care little about such matters, and to whom the papacy with its aims is presented quite falsely from the Roman side) have set before their eyes the tendencies of the papacy that endanger the state, and indeed from the declarations of the Popes themselves, the grave moral dangers and harms of so many papist orders and institutions. It is not without blessing and benefit for our country when the political machinations of the Roman priests, societies, etc., are laid bare, when the citizens are warned against them and exhorted to make use of their rights at the ballot box in order to ward off these dangerous enemies and to preserve for our country its political and its religious liberty. We Christians also take part in this struggle. We Christians are indeed citizens of two separate, fundamentally different realms. We are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, subjects of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has acquired us with his blood as his own possession, and as such we conduct quite another, the real struggle with the Pope. But we are also citizens of the worldly realm and country in which we live. And as worldly citizens we have a great interest in preserving our country from the political aspirations of the papacy; indeed, we have also the obligation to do so. We Christians are to seek the welfare of the city and country whither God has led us. To us Lutherans in particular God has laid a great responsibility in this respect also. He has given us a clear knowledge of the spiritual corruption of the papacy, its dangers for the soul and salvation of men. And this knowledge brings with it that we can also recognize the dangerous machinations of the Roman Church in the political and social and civil field so much the better and judge them so much the more surely. We too should in this respect fulfil our duty toward our country, should open the eyes of our fellow citizens, show them the great dangers which threaten our institutions from this side, should ourselves always be on guard and also encourage our fellow citizens to constant watchfulness against this enemy. We shall, as citizens together with other citizens, consider well what means and ways are at our disposal to resist the encroachments of the Roman Church in the field of the state; we shall keep a watchful eye on our officials and legislatures, who so gladly flirt with Rome for the sake of political advantages, and on the press of our country, which does the same. We shall make our influence felt especially also through our vote. In a word, we shall apply all lawful, legitimate means to protect our dear fatherland from this dangerous enemy. In doing so we are not mixing religion into politics. We fight as