# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_Februar 1861_S63
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Church and Contemporary Notes. 63

"...that the accused is guilty of a press offense and, punishable by a fine of 30 thalers, to be commuted, in case of inability to pay, into fourteen days' imprisonment, and liable for the costs of the investigation. By law." The Royal Court of Appeals has simply confirmed this judgment of the Royal City Court. The case, Hengstenberg writes under October 13 of last year, now goes before the Royal Supreme Tribunal.

Würzburg. Here a Carmelite monk, Franz Ammer (his monastic name was Natalis), a native of Munich, procurator and thereby librarian of the monastery, by reading the writings of Luther that he found there, broke through, in the midst of papal darkness, to the light, and thereupon went over to the Lutheran Church. The ultramontane papers pour venom and gall on the good man; he has for the time being chosen "Krischna" near Basel as his refuge [almost certainly the Chrischona mission house near Basel; "Krischna" is printed as set].

Denmark. From Copenhagen it is written to the Allg. K.-Z. under September 26: The Grundtvigian party is at present the most active and influential in the Church; its adherents are favored in a striking manner through promotions. It is usually the Minister's only concern that some sort of "life" be stirred up, and such life these born demagogues certainly do bring with them into the congregations they lead. Naturally, alongside the religious, the political, democratic-national demagoguery is not neglected either.

Hungary. Here, on December 19 of last year, there took place a so-called "fraternization festival" between Christians (?) and Jews, at which Superintendent Török presided and, glass in hand, in a rousing speech, traced the fraternization "back to Abraham."

Mühlhausen. Here a public celebration was recently held of the hundredth birthday of the well-known rationalist superintendent Demme, whose rationalist hymns had been taken up in large numbers into the Mühlhausen hymnal. One of the clergy of our city had been asked to deliver the festival address. The programs had already been distributed, and the assembled celebrants awaited the eulogy. Then the festival speaker opened his mouth and declared that, while he had not wished to decline the invitation to give this address, he must, as a servant of the Word of God, be true to the truth, and could therefore not refrain from stating that the man being honored had held a position long since overcome in theology, that he had been a rationalist, and that his hymns must therefore be rejected, and that the hymnal he had edited would in the long run not be able to withstand the demands of the new age; and that he, the speaker, differed from him on principle and did not wish to be identified with him. He added to this a few notes on the man's life and activity, and although he duly acknowledged the man's possible merits toward our city — chiefly, the separation of the town school from the Gymnasium — the overwhelming impression of his confession could not thereby be erased. The speaker who followed him, a teacher at the Gymnasium, made every effort to cast the geniality and harmlessness of Demme's era, in which there had as yet been no theological controversies, and the character of the "highly honored" celebrant, in an enviable light, but was nevertheless unable to restore the disturbed mood of the assembled company. (N. Pr. Z.)

From London a correspondent of the Allgem. Kirchenzeitung of Darmstadt writes under September 20: "We see a liberalism emerging here, which now asserts itself under the name of the broad Church, according to which someone may, so to speak, take all dogmas in the widest sense, that is, rationalistically. Puseyism is greatly on the decline, and in its place rationalism is now stepping in, or is to step in." That is quite in order. Puseyism, however much it at first seemed to some to incline toward Lutheran objectivity, was a false objectivity and a false churchliness. It carried the seeds of Romanism within itself, but so feebly that it was bound to turn into rationalism.

The Gustavus Adolphus Society of Westphalia held its annual meeting in July of last year. Even a member of the society complains about the attitude the society displays toward Lutherans. He writes, in a report we find in the Allgem. Kirch.-Z.: It makes a distressing impression when, year after year, one must listen to reckless polemicizing against the "exclusively confessional." The writer does not count himself among the ranks of the latter, but he can in no way consider it profitable for the cause of the society when even men who do not count themselves among the committed Unionists join in, more or less clearly, in such a tone. Although not many, there are usually a few delegates of confessionally Lutheran leaning present; we could truly not blame them if they did not come again, conscious that "we do not belong here," and if they arranged their activity on behalf of the scattered fellow believers in some other form. Indeed, at last year's,