# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_April 1864_S124
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

124 Church and Contemporary History.

—of the instruments to thwart some of their ambitious plans, or envy (?) toward those whom they thought stood in their way, had a great share in the change of their doctrinal standpoint. They began a systematic persecution (?) of the most prominent men of the General Synod. To carry out their plans, they began courting the favor of the German symbolists (?). They succeeded in adding a tenfold bitterness (?) to the prejudice and suspicion in the hearts of the strangers, until at last an almost insurmountable gulf between the foreign high-church party and our General Synod seems to have become fixed." — So much for the correspondence. At this the "Observer" must, to be sure, raise its great lament and make the wise remark: "What countless evils have arisen from the estrangement between the European and American Lutherans! Every Lutheran of this country should have taken pains to bring our foreign brethren over to the General Synod, showing them that the pure, spiritual Lutheranism of this country is so much better than the leather-bound symbolism of the Bavarian autocrat, just as our political institutions are better than those of the old fatherland. But instead of this work of love, our befuddled symbolists have strengthened the prejudices of the strangers by telling them that the Lutheranism of the General Synod is a pseudo-Lutheranism." Just as though these people had not long since known that!

E.

Peace Proposals of the "Observer" to Its Own Party and to That of the "Missionary and Lutheran". The "Observer" states in its number of February 26: since the end of the conflict, as it has hitherto been waged by both parties, is not in sight, nor is there any likelihood that it will meet with better success than heretofore, the leaders of the two contending forces ought to call a halt and weigh the following proposals: "1) If it be possible under the present state of affairs, let an unconditional truce be concluded for fifteen years. Let at least the older part of the ministers and laity, whose hearts have been filled quite enough with prejudice and confusion by these agitating controversies, go to their rest in peace, and let those who are to be their successors remain unentangled by the dispute, so that they may pass an impartial judgment on the determination of the future character of the church. 2) Supposing this proposal cannot be carried out, let a definite plan of discussion be adopted. Let the disputed questions be precisely fixed, let those be named and made known who are to appear on the field of battle, and let the Holy Scripture alone be acknowledged as the touchstone of truth" (as if Lutherans had first to acknowledge this, and had not, simply because they are Lutherans, long since acknowledged it). "Let the symbolical books or the fathers of the church not even once be named by the parties" (as if this followed from what precedes). "Let these richly flowing sources of pride and prejudice, with all their blinding influence, remain untouched (sic!). Let Luther and Melanchthon be set aside, while all listen only to what Jesus Christ and the apostles say. Let the history of the church and its present-day belief be wholly excluded, and at every point let the only question asked be what, according to God's Word, is the truth. 3) But if the position and temper of the parties be such that they cannot agree upon a plan of discussion, then let them separate. Unity can never be forced; hostility often grows weaker when it is acknowledged. If we cannot be united as brothers of the same religious fellowship, then let us at least respect one another enough to determine the differences between us, and accordingly enter into such relations toward one another as those differences entail. The worst state of things, and the one that brings with it the worst tendencies, is when between parties there reigns neither the mutual trust of friends nor the mutual forbearance of enemies." — From these proposals it may plainly be seen in how painful a position the men of the "Observer" party already find themselves. E.

"The Reformed Watchman." This is the title of a theological quarterly which, published by the "German Ev. Ref. Book Society," appears in Cleveland, O. At the head of the enterprise the editor appears