# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1848 01 11_S74
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

...they distinguish themselves, down to the present day, not only from the antichristian Church of Rome, but also from all other sects. The dear men of old called it the evangelical apple of the eye, because, conscious of the justice of its cause, it may look everyone freely in the eye, but also because in it the true Spirit of Christ is unmistakably reflected, so that the false spirit could never endure the sharp gaze of this evangelical apple of the eye. For this reason the Zwinglians at Augsburg also kept themselves entirely hidden, and did not appear in public. Melanchthon wrote to Camerarius: "Capito of Strasbourg is here, but he keeps himself in secret"; and to Dietrich at Coburg: "Capito and Bucer do not admit everyone to themselves. They have asked me to come to them; I have not yet gone, nor do I consider it useful. They are said to speak of me in the most hostile terms. It seems to me that Bucer is only pretending for a while that he wishes to make peace. I suspect that he has been set on by those who are always striving to unite us with that party."

Meanwhile, however, Zwingli did submit his own confession during the Diet, and by this very act became the cause of the Emperor becoming all the more hostile and ill-disposed toward the whole evangelical cause.

But let us return again to the history of our Confession. The Lutherans had done their part; they had delivered their confession. Now it was for the other side either to refute the Confession with Holy Scripture, or to give honor to the divine truth. The former they could not do, and the latter they would not do. They therefore fell into no small embarrassment. Moreover, the Confession was composed in so mild and peaceable a spirit that even the opponents themselves were displeased by it, for so much the less could they raise objections against it. They therefore took refuge in cunning. They still hoped to entice something out of the Lutherans, by which they might catch them and condemn them with a greater semblance of right. They therefore put the question to the Protestants: whether they did not have still more articles to maintain than those recorded? To this they gave the cautious and modest answer: "In the confession they had set forth chiefly the principal articles which are necessary to be believed unto salvation, but had not intended to record all the individual abuses, but only to bring forward those that burden the conscience, so that the main matter might not thereby be forgotten or obscured; they wished, therefore, to abide by these articles, although they had not comprehended everything within them; though for the rest they by no means wished to decline, should a confession be submitted by their adversaries, to defend their opinion from God's Word on every single point."

Although many on the papal side voted for violent measures and wished to have the Lutheran heretics condemned without further ado, the opinion of the more moderate party finally prevailed: that the Confession should be refuted by theologians of Roman persuasion, and that the Emperor should thereafter pronounce judgment. A number of papist theologians were accordingly charged with this task, among whom, to be sure, were Luther's mortal enemies — an Eck, a Faber, a Cochlaeus, and others. For what a murderous and bloodthirsty disposition these theologians had was plain enough to see from their conduct hitherto. To cite but one example, Cochlaeus urged upon the conscience of the Cardinal of Magdeburg and all the authorities, that it was not enough to drive the Lutherans away, but that it would be better done to put them to death. "The Cardinal," he writes, "would have had good warrant and right to take from his Lutheran subjects, who would not desist from Lutheranism, not only all their goods and property, but also body and blood." Let one now judge whether a refutation grounded in God's Word, truth-loving and impartial, could be expected from such theologians!

When they had finished their Confutation or refutation, it was submitted on the 1st of August to the bishops, princes, and estates of the Empire for examination. The Emperor himself found it too harsh and long-winded; he therefore wanted it shortened and the invectives left out. Spalatin writes in his Annals: "At first there were fully 280 leaves, but His Imperial Majesty is said to have so pruned and trimmed it that no more than 12 leaves remained. This, as it is told, caused Eck especial anger and pain." On the 3rd of August this writing was read aloud before the Empire, in the German language, by the Emperor's secretary Alexander Schweis, in the same chamber of the episcopal palace. On this occasion the Emperor had it declared to the Protestants that this refutation, which he had caused to be drawn up, contained the opinion by which he intended to abide and stand; he therefore expected the princes to do the same; and should they not be willing to conform to it, then he, as protector of the Church, was not minded to tolerate any schism (division) in Germany. This was, to be sure, more than was fitting for the good Emperor, who would gladly have put an end to the discord in this way, and cared nothing for how the consciences of the Lutherans were to be dealt with in the process. The Lutherans, however, were by no means intimidated by this; they demanded a copy of the aforementioned Confutation, in order to defend themselves against it. To this just and fair request the Roman party would doubtless have yielded, had they not themselves felt how wretched and untenable their refutation was. Spalatin says in his Annals: "The other side has not wanted to bring its refutation to light, so far as one can tell. For I hear it is sheer rascality. For our adversary's refutation is so childish and clumsy that several great papist princes are themselves ashamed of it, so that we too have now for the first time become much more courageous. Though, by God's grace, we were also of good courage and undaunted before; yet we should still become Lutheran now, if we were not already, since we see plainly that God has so hardened and blinded his enemies. If they hand over to us their refutation, as is fair by every right, then it is their shame; if they do not hand it over, then it is their dishonor, and a sure sign that they are ashamed of their conduct." Now the Romans were indeed willing to let the Protestants have a copy of their refutation, if the latter would promise not to copy anything from it, nor to give it to others to read, nor to make it known through print; but the Lutherans would not agree to this condition. Meanwhile, they had taken down some notes during the reading of the Confutation, and Philip Melanchthon made use of these to set against the aforementioned papist writing another, which was indeed presented to the Emperor, but was not accepted. After a complete copy of the Confutation had later come into his hands, Melanchthon reworked this writing once more, and thus arose the outstanding work which, even now, under the name of the Apology (Defense) of the Augsburg Confession, holds a place among the symbolical books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

When the Roman Catholic estates perceived that the Protestants were by no means inclined to subject their consciences to the imperial command, they proceeded to amicable negotiations. First a larger committee convened, but since it could not come to agreement, the Emperor ordained a smaller committee, which on each side consisted of seven persons, namely two princes, two jurists, and three theologians. On the Roman side were: the Bishop of Augsburg, Christoph von Stadion, and Duke Henry of Brunswick, whose place, however, was soon taken over by Duke George of Saxony; further, the Chancellor of Cologne, Bernhard Hagen, and the Chancellor of Baden, Hieronymus Vehus, then the three theologians Eck, Wimpina, and Cochlaeus. On the Lutheran side were Margrave George of Brandenburg, the Electoral Prince of Saxony John Frederick, the two chancellors Dr. Brück and Dr. Sebastian Heller, and the three theologians Melanchthon, Brenz, and Schnepf. The negotiations began on the 16th of August and ended on the 21st of the same month, yet, as was to be foreseen, without success. For although the Protestants had conceded everything possible, so long as it did not prejudice the Gospel — indeed Melanchthon, out of excessive anxiety, had conceded too much — they could nevertheless reach no thorough agreement, either on the twenty-one doctrinal articles, or on the abuses censured by the Lutherans; indeed, on the latter the Romans were far more obstinate than on the doctrinal articles. Luther had already written to Melanchthon, before the beginning of these conciliation negotiations: "For my part, too much has already been conceded to them in the Apologia (that is, in the Augsburg Confession). If they will not accept it,