# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1916_S52
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

52 Proceedings of the twenty-sixth convention

which everything lies on its knees. What science says, what it gives out as the unobjectionable results of its researches, the crowd accepts without examination, it counts as irrefutable truth. Every hypothesis of some scholar, however wild, which in a short time disappears again, counts as gospel. Woe to him who will not join in worshiping this idol, but wants also to preserve his freedom of thought against the presumptions of false science! And science, or what is today so called, has long since made a clean sweep of the Bible, has set it aside as the exposition of a long-outdated world view. Especially the Gospel, that Christ, the Son of God, has redeemed men by the shedding of his blood, that we are saved by faith in him alone, counts for this science as child's play, as folly and foolishness. Whoever still holds to it, whoever still confesses it as truth and reality, on him it looks down with superior disdain; one simply drops him as a backward person whose doings one cannot comprehend, and goes on over him to the order of the day. It is not quite easy to bear the contempt of all those who count for something in scientific respects. The outward church has long since bowed before this idol, has made it all sorts of concessions at the expense of divine truth, indeed, on its account has in part given up the whole Gospel. And when the Church does rouse herself once to a testimony against false science, this often happens with many compliments and bows which weaken the testimony again. One simply does not want in any case to be regarded as unscientific, as an ignoramus. We too are in danger of growing weak here. Our flesh too is unwilling to bear the reproach of Christ. If we once begin to make concessions to science, to twist and quibble at the Word for its sake, then we shall soon lose the Gospel, then it is also all over with the right struggle against Rome. Let us guard against this danger! It is indeed nothing new that human wisdom and scientific pretension storm against the Gospel.

A further grave danger that threatens us is the indifferentism now prevailing in outward Christendom, the indifference toward doctrine, and the unionism resulting from it, the false union spirit. People cry for union of at least the Protestant churches. There is no lack of those who want to include even the Roman Church in this union, indeed also Mohammedans, Jews, Hindus, etc., all who still believe in a higher being. In the chief matters, they say, we are after all one; doctrinal differences do not matter much, one can quietly let them stand as differences of opinion and reach one another the hand of brotherhood across them. This doing is gladly adorned with the cloak of Christian love. Whoever will not join in here is regarded as a loveless, fanatical,