# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_December 1862_S377
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Church and Contemporary History. 377

sublime confession are embodied, is destined to become the most
orthodox in doctrine, the most zealous in divine worship, the holiest in
practical (Christianity), the most spiritual in experience, the most active
in undertakings, and the most generous in charity, of any Lutheran
church that the world has ever seen in any age or in any land." In
another article in the same issue, "Our Church," it further says: "Our
European brethren must, of course, have preaching in their own
language for a few years, but the sooner they adopt the English, the
better for them and their children. The history of our church in the
eastern states has clearly shown how important it is to adopt English.
With the adoption of the language follows the adoption of the forms
and customs and manners of the American people. The churches which
are established here should also be made uniform with the church in
America. All the European churches should, as goes without saying,
unite with our General Synod. If that does not happen, we shall after a
while have as many Lutheran churches here as there are nationalities. If
something in the General Synod is not right, let our European brethren
come in and help us correct that wrong." (Naturally the writer means
that the notion that "something is not right" in the General Synod is a
pure delusion of the Europeans; but, he thinks, should they nonetheless
come with reforming ambitions, it is to be hoped they would soon
recognize that it was rather among themselves that "something" had
not been right, and that they would therefore reform themselves.) "We
should have only one Lutheran church in America, and we should all
be able to call it ''our church.''" (How true! But who is to blame that
this is not the case? Those who abide by the doctrine of our church, or
those who want the freedom to depart from it?) "We should have only
one confession, one catechism, and one hymnbook in each language,
and there should be only one Lutheran church in the world." (There is
indeed only one! — The gentleman writer no doubt means that all who
call themselves Lutheran should recognize themselves as one coherent
body and represent this unity as far as possible.) "As enlightened
Lutherans we should permit our brethren to think for themselves and
grant one another the same freedom that we ourselves claim." (Here
the American-Lutheran, that is, unionistic, theology comes to light,
which wants one confession, to be sure, but freedom of belief against
the confession.) "Since our confession must be subordinated to the
Bible, let us have ''unity in essentials, freedom in non-essentials, and
love in all things.''' Then our church would soon be ''fair as the moon,
clear as the sun, terrible as an army with banners.'" (The old song: let
us unite ourselves outwardly into one church, and we shall be
invincible against our many enemies. But what is that? — Making flesh
one's arm!)

Politics in the Pulpit. To touch on this subject once more, we are
moved by an article in the Lutheran and Missionary of Philadelphia, in
the issue of November 20. It says there, among other things: "We hold
that the pulpit has kept too much peace during this struggle, which
shakes not only our own land but the world. Were the prophets of
antiquity shy of politics? Did they avoid the great civic questions of
their time and their country? Does not every page of their writings
show them in the character of warm patriots, whose heavenly
inspiration heightened their love of country? They were not partisans,
but political preachers. Their writings come down to us still full of the
fire of life. Now then, when the fate of millions of human beings
depends, not only in our own fatherland but across the globe, on the
terrible events that press for decision upon our people, we believe the
pulpit cannot rightly keep silent. Shall this mighty instrument for good
be mute as in death, when our people need so much moral instruction
concerning the duties they have toward mankind, toward the state, and
one toward another?" — By such talk, alas, American "theologians"
think they have completely justified politicking in the pulpit; but by
this they only prove how little they recognize their calling. Yes, indeed,
the pulpit should not be silent when the whole land is in such fearful
danger as