# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_Januar 1860_S29
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

From the Norwegian Synod. 29

...papers, has certainly served many more to mislead than to enlighten
concerning what is right in this important question and what our own
opinion on it is: therefore we, all the pastors of the "Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America," have at our present gathering, in conference at
Koskonong, unanimously resolved to issue the following public declaration
of what we have considered, and have always considered, to be true and
right in this matter.

1. Thorough knowledge of the English language is, for the Norwegians who
have settled in this country and wish to become citizens here, not only
most useful for the advancement of their temporal welfare, but also puts
them in a better position to fulfill their civic duties, and gives them a
better opportunity to gain useful insight through association with their
new fellow countrymen and through their writings — which will also make
them more capable of judging the various religious opinions in this land.
It is therefore the duty of every Norwegian American to acquire this
knowledge as far as possible.

2. As one of the greatest advantages of the American Constitution we
regard the perfect religious liberty which permits us, like all other
inhabitants of this land, to hold and profess whatever religious faith we
ourselves consider right.

3. In accordance with this liberty which the laws of the land grant us, we
and our congregations intend to hold unshakably fast to the Evangelical
Lutheran faith, which according to our conviction contains the pure
biblical truth, and to retain the old Norwegian church order, which we
regard as the most edifying.

4. We therefore also regard it as our sacred duty toward God to raise our
children in the same faith, as parents and sponsors promised at these
children's baptism.

5. As long as most members of our congregations do not yet have
sufficient knowledge of the English language, and as long as the
Norwegian language remains almost everywhere among us the language of
the family, in which daily prayer and family devotions are most naturally
held, it is necessary that both our worship services and our religious
instruction be conducted in the Norwegian language.

6. Both for this reason and also because of the natural love which we all
still feel for our old homeland, we must for the present give our children
instruction in the Norwegian language; and since we, as Christians, regard
our religion as the most important of all knowledge, the language in which
it is communicated to us must also be more important than any other.

7. Nevertheless we are convinced that in general all children can very
easily gain, at the same time, both knowledge of religion — which must
still be taught in the Norwegian language — and English. Only if the
English school should prove to be an obstacle to religious instruction