# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_April 1862_S121
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

New Literature.    121

nor been able to hold fast even to a fixed word of God in the word of Holy Scripture." Dieckhoff denies even logical consequence altogether to the man whom Dr. Stier once called the sharpest thinker among the Old Lutherans. Kahnis had put forward the thesis: "Without philosophy no theology." To this Dieckhoff makes the biting remark: "Well then, philosophy is indeed necessary for theology — if for no other reason than that so undisciplined a thinking as that in Dr. Kahnis's dogmatics should no longer be possible in the field of theological-scientific literature." Dr. Kahnis's dogmatics has also been subjected to a duly sharp critique by Dr. Hengstenberg. Kahnis, as we learn from a private letter, has at once written a work of defense in which he retreats, as to his last fortress, to the "fundamental principles of Protestantism" — a manner well known to be favored by all who wish to improve the doctrine of the church but are unwilling to give up the character of being faithful sons of it.

Small wonder, then, if papers like the "Lutheran and Missionary" (see the No. of Jan. 9) announced Kahnis's work with high delight, as a mighty testimony against all "exclusive" Lutherans. But it is sad indeed when papers wishing to be Lutheran at once exploit the defection of a scholarly theologian hitherto reckoned as Lutheran, so as to brand as "partisans" those who insist on purity of doctrine — while papers appearing in the very midst of the Union church, such as Hengstenberg's Ev. Kirchenzeitung, feel compelled to bear loud witness against that defection from Lutheran truth.

——

(Communicated.)
Honored Mr. Editor!

Whereas in the number of January 11 of the "Luth. Zeitschrift" of S. K. Brobst the pronouncement of a theologian in Germany concerning our periodicals was printed, in which the reproach is made against them by name that they give too many citations from the fathers, it was therefore resolved: *)

1. to express to the editorship of our papers our heartiest thanks that they could bring themselves not always to express the rich treasure of their own knowledge in their own words, but often in the words of our fathers, even at the risk of incurring precisely such reproaches as are made against them in the paper named above.

*) It is by no means to be implied by this that our brethren in the whole Missouri Synod are not of the same conviction which we express here. That the undersigned conference happened to pass these resolutions came about purely by chance, because it happened to be assembled just then for a special conference.