# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1916_S47
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1916. 47

citizens a political struggle, which is forced upon us by Rome through its political aspirations. But let us take care that as citizens also we use no false and unlawful means! Let us guard with all diligence against mixing religion into this struggle! There are, as is well known, in our country a whole series of newspapers which have made the fight against Rome their task, the *Menace*, *American Citizen* and the like. All sorts of associations have formed for this purpose; the best known among them are the "Guardians of Liberty" and the "Knights of Luther." These all want, as they say, to wage not a religious but a political struggle against Rome, in order to protect our country against the encroachments of Rome in the field of the state and to open their fellow citizens' eyes to this great danger. They want to fight not against the Roman Church as such, but against the Roman papacy insofar as it is a political institution. But they fight with perverse weapons. Their weapons are chiefly the lodges and the public schools of the land. They thereby bring religious elements into the struggle. The lodge religion of works, which at bottom is the same as the religion of the papacy, which they also strive to bring into the public schools, this is to be the means with which the papacy is to be overcome. Let us beware of these associations! We cannot stand side by side with them in this struggle, even as citizens. We Christians must wage this struggle with a clear conscience also as citizens.

But however important and serious this political struggle is, which our country has to wage against Rome as a political power, we must nevertheless not forget that it is not the struggle which we have to fight as Christians, as citizens in the kingdom of our King Jesus Christ. This political struggle can perhaps, if it is waged with earnestness and emphasis, preserve our country from the encroachments of Rome in the civil field, but by such means one cannot break the spiritual power of the Pope, by such means one cannot free consciences from his false, soul-endangering human doctrine and work-righteousness. That is the real struggle that we as the Church, as Christians have to wage against the Antichrist, and which is fundamentally different from the political struggle against this enemy. Let us be careful, then, not to mix these different kinds of struggle! Let us guard with all diligence against bringing the Church into politics, against meddling as a Church in matters that belong to the state, that lie in its domain! The danger is great, precisely because the Roman Church does this again and again. Let us guard against following it in this, against doing ourselves what we must reject in it. The boundary lines here are often very finely drawn and can easily be overstepped. Especially pastors, too, must act very cautiously here; they may not