# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1848 02 08_S95
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

have already gained considerable influence. 6,000 Indians are said to have already been baptized by the Jesuits.*

Should this fact deter us from doing mission work in Oregon? By no means. Not only do we see from this that the Roman Church has recognized the importance of Oregon for the future; we also find in it a shaming reminder of the debt which the poor Indians have to demand from us Lutherans as well; and besides, the well-founded prospect of the expected emigration of Germans to Oregon compels us to undertake a mission there. Who would have thought that here in the far West, in so short a time, so considerable a number of German Evangelical Lutheran congregations would form? May we not, accordingly, expect that the stream of German emigration will pour still further westward? How many Germans may already be in Oregon? To bring the Word of life to them, our fellow believers, as well as to the Indians, is our most sacred duty.

May, therefore, men and youths gather around our pure confession, and, under the guidance of an accredited missionary, go to Oregon in order to spread the kingdom of God there.

The cause of our mission is warmly commended to all Lutherans for prayer, deliberation, and action.

Whoever possesses more precise information about the condition of the Indians in Oregon is requested to communicate it in Der Lutheraner.

Hermann Fick.

To Oregon!

Go forth, you swift messengers,
go forth to Oregon,
and awaken the spiritually dead
with the mighty sound of the Word.
Go forth, you dear brothers,
far, to the quiet sea;
cast down the mute idols
and proclaim the honor of Christ.

Ah, have mercy on the heathen,
ease their bitter torment;
for the misery they suffer
is without measure and without number.
Given over without comfort,
without hope, without light,
without God and without life,
they know not peace.

Jesus, you who have risen,
comfort and star of all the heathen,
let all the heathen, near and far,
come to your light.
Sun of grace, shine, gleam!
Stretch forth your sword of rays,
that even to the farthest border
all may turn to you.

*) The "Herald of Religious Liberty" writes in its issue of November 25 of last year: "They (the Jesuits) have crossed the Rocky Mountains and have planted their churches and institutes in Oregon. In Oregon they have about 30 missionaries; 1,500 Roman Catholics have gone out from Canada to work with them. They have a college and two academies there. They have 14 churches; 6,000 Indians have already sworn allegiance to the Pope. The society for the propagation of the (Roman) faith has, during the past year, spent about $20,000 in support of the Jesuits in Oregon." — Hear this, Lutherans! — and how? — Will you fold your hands in your lap? — The Editor.

Arm yourselves, you holy hosts,
joyfully for the Lord's war;
defy the dangers cheerfully,
for the victory is the Lord's.

He who has broken a path through the seas,
who stills the raging of the storms,
has promised you his protection,
is the shelter and shield of his own.

Rejoice, you distant lands,
and you seas, exult, sing praise!
For to your distant shore
the kingdom of God, full of grace, presses on.
Yes! God will soon accomplish
what he has solemnly promised;
he will send his messengers,
that morning may soon dawn for you.

So go forth, you dear brothers,
far, to the quiet sea;
cast down the mute idols
and proclaim the honor of Christ.
Awaken the spiritually dead
with the mighty sound of the Word;
go forth, you swift messengers,
go forth to Oregon.

*

THE MISSIONARY.

This is the title of a new Lutheran mission paper in the English language, of which the first, as a specimen issue, lies before us. It, in a form only slightly smaller than "Der Lutheraner," is henceforth to appear monthly; the next issue at the end of February, provided that by then as many cash-paying subscribers are found as are needed to cover the necessary costs. The price is 50 cents per year, payable in advance; the publisher is the Reverend Pastor W. A. Passavant of Pittsburgh, Pa., to whom all letters concerning "The Missionary" are to be addressed. As for the character of the paper, Mr. Passavant himself writes, among other things: "This paper, as its name indicates, will by its character concern itself with matters of mission. It will therefore not interfere with the existing periodicals devoted to general interests. The plan, briefly, is this: The field is the world. That portion of it which has been occupied by the Lutheran Church, and those portions which have not yet been occupied by other Christian churches, will form the field of our particular attention." The content of the paper will encompass three areas: 1. the "inner mission," that is, what takes place, and should take place, within the church itself for its edification in every respect; 2. the "home mission," that is, what is done to provide the Gospel for those here in America who lack spiritual care; and 3. the "foreign mission"; in this section, the official reports of the American Lutheran missionaries in India will appear first. Mr. P. declares that "The Missionary" is the organ "of neither a synod, nor a party, nor a society"; may it faithfully serve the church to which it professes allegiance, namely the Lutheran, so that it will serve no human party, but the congregation which Christ Himself founded, which is spread over the whole earth and lies hidden under all names, and which throughout all centuries has confessed nothing but the pure and clear Word of its Lord; to whom be honor forever. Amen.

H. Fick.

"Verily I say unto you: Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."
Matt. 25:40, 45.

Johannes Heß (died 1547), the first Lutheran preacher in Silesia, could no longer bear to see beggars, cripples, and the infirm lying in all the streets and before all the churches in Breslau. He therefore delivered several public admonitions from the pulpit to the authorities, but no provision for the poor was established in the congregations. Then Heß ceased preaching for several Sundays in a row. This gave the magistrate and the congregation much to think about, since he otherwise always ascended the pulpit with great cheerfulness. Finally they resolved to ask him the reason.

The answer was: "My Lord Jesus lies in his members before all the church doors. I cannot step over him. If he is not to be removed, then I will not preach either!" — This saying made the deepest impression generally. At once relief for the poor was deliberated upon, unauthorized beggars were set right, and in one day about 500 persons were housed in hospitals established for this purpose.

The Apologist, in its latest issue (474), denies the fact which we reported in Der Lutheraner, Volume IV, No. 1, page 2, note — namely, that a man testified before us himself that he had been shamefully deceived about the state of his grace at a Methodist camp meeting. The Apologist denies this all the more shamelessly since the unfortunate man, led astray in his faith, of whom we reported (a former Reformed man from the Lippe region), has nevertheless finally let himself be drawn into the snares of Methodism, and now states that he "can recall nothing coherent" of the conversation held with us. We have nothing to answer to this except that denial is not the same as clearing oneself, that the capture of that unfortunate man only documents how truly powerful the errors of the Methodists are (2 Thess. 2:11), that everything we have written agrees perfectly with the testimony given before us, and finally, that we have kept silent about much else in this matter that weighs against the Methodists. Mr. Friedrich Schneller of this place (not a member of our congregation), who was present, is our witness. — We must, moreover, confess that it disgusts us to continue disputing with the Methodist gentlemen, after such experiences as