# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1848 04 18_S136
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Church News.

The "Deutscher Kirchenfreund" and the "Amerikanischer Botschafter" report from Berlin that several men of note have finally come, through the wretched confession of faith which the Prussian General Synod drew up in 1846 in the form of an ordination formula, to the realization of how baseless a foundation the Union-Evangelical Church is built upon, and that it is a delusion for a Lutheran to think he can be and remain a Lutheran in the midst of that Church. These men are, besides Archdeacon Kniewel of Danzig already mentioned in the Lutheraner, the Pomeranian preachers Nagel, Hollatz, Hardeke, and Meinhold, who in October of '47, together with a large part of their congregations, withdrew from the Union Church and joined the separated Lutherans. It is reported in particular of the congregation at Triglaff that the greater part of it followed its pastor Nagel and now holds its worship service in the house of Herr von Thadden. The "Amerikanischer Botschafter" says that the estate of Herr von Thadden has for many years been a center of Christian life and evangelical missionary activity for the whole surrounding region.

Pastor Ernst of Neudettelsau, Union Co., Ohio, received in the month of July of last year an urgent call from two Lutheran congregations near Marion, Marion Co., Ohio, which he did not dare decline. But since it was also a matter of conscience for him not to abandon the congregations he had served up to that time, he found himself obliged to have an assistant preacher assigned to him, whom he obtained in the person of Mr. Jakob Seidel of Walpenreuth in Upper Franconia. The latter, trained at the theological seminary at Fort Wayne, was duly called to this office by the congregations, was, at his own request, examined by the Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States according to its regulations, and, having passed well, was ordained as assistant preacher before the congregation at Neudettelsau by Dr. Sihler, with the assistance of Pastor Ernst. It turned out, however, that it would be more conducive to the flourishing of the congregations, which were far distant from one another, if they were divided into two separate parishes, especially since Pastor Ernst had also received the call to the town congregation at Marion. The congregations at Neudettelsau and Wittenberg (Franklin Co., Ohio) have therefore, on Pastor Ernst's proposal, called assistant preacher Seidel exclusively as their pastor, and have left the former [Neudettelsau's earlier arrangement] to the congregations in and near Marion. Pastor Seidel has now already been installed in his office by Pastor Ernst, on behalf of the President of the Synod.

Address: Rev. J. Seidel, Marysville P. O., Union Co., Ohio.

(Submitted.)
New Editions of Two Old but Not Outdated Writings.

1. Dr. M. Luther's Table Talk, edited by Dr. Förstemann, librarian in Halle, two volumes in large octavo, Leipzig, 1844. This new edition is a faithful reprint of the first edition prepared by Joh. Aurifaber in the year 1566, except that his worthwhile preface is missing from it, its place taken by another from the new editor, which certainly deserves far less thanks than the historical and other explanatory notes appended to the text.

2. Pastorale Lutheri, that is, useful and necessary instruction concerning the foremost matters belonging to the holy ministry, and correct answers to various important questions concerning difficult and dangerous cases, from Dr. Luther's writings, edited by M. Conr. Porta, from the year 1586; newly published at Nördlingen in 1842, with correction of the citations and improvement of sense-distorting printing errors. Unfortunately, however, so many printing errors have also crept into this new edition that the list of them takes up nearly two pages. The old spelling has been adapted to the present one, though allegedly without damage, as far as possible, to its distinctive character. On this matter, as well as on the "useless" material that has been omitted, more precise information shall be given later in this paper. Unfortunately the entire appendix, consisting of eight chapters, is also missing; nevertheless all ministers of the church are urgently advised to procure this work, which up to now has had no equal, and to make good use of it; the more diligently they do the latter, the more highly they will come to value this excellent work, and will learn to bear the lack of what is missing amid its rich gifts.

Both books (the former, bound, at $3.00) may be obtained from the Radde bookstore in New York, through Messrs. Stohlmann in Milwaukee, Franksen and Wesselhoeft in St. Louis, and Rademacher in Philadelphia. W. Keyl.

Mr. "Lichtfreund"

is presumably pleased to be joking when he declares the belief that nothing is impossible for God, and that God can therefore also "let a body rise into the air, even though it is heavier than air," to be an old-Lutheran narrow-mindedness. We at least consider it, in full earnest, to be madness to wish to deny God that power. This reminds us of the doubt of that schoolchild as to whether God had created the sun, since after all the sun stands much too far up there!

Mr. Lichtfreund had, as we have already reported, also asserted that the orthodox would regard the old fables about the birth of Mary and the like — which, to be sure, were already recognized and rejected as spurious in the earliest times — as true, and would believe them just as firmly and steadfastly as the other biblical accounts of miracles, if they found them in Holy Scripture. In this assertion we permitted ourselves to find a petitio principii. Mr. Lichtfreund is now indeed willing to concede this error, but only "after we have clearly shown that the fables recounted in the Gospels are less absurd than those in the Gospel of the Birth of Mary cited by Mr. Lichtfreund." Mr. L. is presumably joking again here as well, for he certainly knows that the orthodox do not accept the biblical accounts of miracles above others because they are less "absurd" than others, but because they are told by men who bear irrefutable marks that God himself spoke through them. Those fables, however, lack precisely this seal of their truth; had they possessed it, they would not be fables. Mr. L. therefore need not postpone his honest, and therefore honorable, admission until we have supplied that proof he is demanding of us.

Mr. Lichtfreund would, indeed, finally like, moved by feelings of gratitude, to also grant us the honor of having to confess a petitio principii, said to consist in the fact that in our faith we rest on the assumption of a supernatural revelation, without being able to justify it as such adequately. To this, however, let this serve as an answer: We Christians do not accept Holy Scripture as a divine revelation because this can be adequately justified before the reason of the natural man, but because Holy Scripture has justified itself as divine revelation within us, and still daily justifies itself, through the divine seal which it impresses upon all who give room to the Spirit of God — indeed, often even upon those who resist him against their will. To all those who would charge us with the unprovability of a supernatural revelation before the tribunal of natural reason, we therefore call out the word of Christ: "If anyone wills to do his will (who sent me), he shall know whether this teaching is from God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7:17.) We intend, therefore, to let the demanded justification of supernatural revelation rest, until Mr. Lichtfreund has credibly assured us that they have walked that path shown by Christ by which one comes to faith in revelation — namely, that they have done the will of him who sent Christ, which will is briefly described in John 6:40.

It grieves us, moreover, that Mr. Lichtfreund appears so evidently hostile toward us, since we, as all our readers know, have done everything within our power to bring to light the merits of Mr. Lichtfreund in the cause of enlightenment in the western primeval forests. Yet we must console ourselves with the old German proverb: "Ingratitude is the world's reward."

Registration of Communicants with the Pastor.

From the "Kirchenbote" we learn that the "Northern Conference" of the Pittsburgh Synod has recently resolved to recommend to the next synodical assembly: "to return again to the old custom of our forefathers, of reporting personally to the pastor before the celebration of the Lord's Supper, so that he may have an opportunity to become more precisely acquainted with the spiritual state of the communicants and to give them the proper comfort and instruction." We rejoice at this resolution, as also at a sign of striving toward what is better.

Received for the Mission on the Cass River:
514.00 from the congregation in Fort Wayne, 51.00 from Mr. Georg Raß in Pomeroy.
W. Hattstädt, pastor in Monroe.

Received
355.00 for the same mission from the congregation in Pomeroy. 51.00 from the Synodical Mission Fund, from an unknown donor.
For the congregation at Palmyra, Mo.:
54.00 from the congregation at Neudettelsau, Union Co., Ohio. 3.00 from the congregation at Wittenberg, Franklin Co., Ohio.
Paid.
For the 4th Volume. Messrs. Joh. Beckfeld, Carl Fleiner, Heinr. Gobbert, Georg Gründler, P. Hattstädt, Friedr. Haushalter, Friedr. Herion, Jacob Hügly, Friedr. Krucke, Geo. Kirchherr, Bernh. Krudop, P. Lücken, Wilh. Meier, Jakob Müller, Friedr. Niehaus, Heinr. Schune, Steph. Sauer, W. Scharf, A. Wagner, Peter Walter, M. Wessza.
Printed by Arthur Olshausen.
Publisher of the Anzeiger des Westens.