# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_August 1864_S249
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

249

Church-Contemporary Affairs.

—.—

I. America.

The Buffalo Synod. That this synod, or rather Pastor Grabau, belongs
among the conscious opponents of the doctrine of Luther and his faithful
followers, they have already shown openly in many ways. A new proof of
this is found in the "Informatorium" of June 1 of this year. In it a
"survey of Gerhard's Locus on the Church" is given, but in a footnote to
Gerhard's presentation of the doctrine of the catholic church it says:
"This presentation (which recurs several times in J. Gerhard) does in the
end, under § 2, come out at what is correct. But in itself it mixes what
is correct and what is incorrect side by side. It is correct that
believers, and hence also the elect, on earth, together with their Head
Christ, are the personal substance of the holy catholic church. But it is
incorrect that the apostolic symbol — I believe in a holy Christian
church — confesses this, that is, the church's substance, only as
invisible! With such artifices the apostolic symbol has the least to do
of any.... The apostolic symbol means no invisible holy church, but
rather 'the one holy Christian church,' which is both externa and
'interna societas' (outer and inner Christian commonwealth), as our
symbols call it. And these alone are right, and pay no respect to any
theologian's artifices of dividing and separating into manifold respects
and considerations, all of which are after all only abstract paths of
logic and the art of thinking." Fortunately Gerhard has long since ceased
to be among the living, otherwise he would doubtless not escape the fate
of being anathematized by Pastor Grabau, with the assent of his entire
synod, as a Missourian will-o'-the-wisp.

Methodism. As we learn from the Apologete of July 4, the Methodist
General Conference has already taken steps to celebrate, in the year
1866, the centennial jubilee of Methodism in America. In the program it
issued it says, among other things: "After mature deliberation we hold it
right to demand and expect at least two million dollars, in order to
perform deeds worthy of our great and esteemed church." — Strange
indeed! — In order to perform deeds worthy of their church, these
gentlemen demand two million dollars! — More gratifying is the
resolution passed by the General Conference, according to the report of
the "Lutheran," that henceforth the Lord's Prayer shall be used by the
preacher at every public worship service and repeated aloud by the whole
congregation. — Further resolutions of this conference were as follows:
"There is now a German-speaking population of nearly five million souls
in this country, and this number is being increased by the tens of
thousands who come over to us yearly from the land of Huss, Luther, and
Nast(!!) These vast throngs stream to our shores with a language
different from our own, with entirely different sympathies, and with
sharply marked rationalistic systems and organized societies. If these
are now to be saved from sin, they must be met with the Gospel of peace,
proclaimed in their own language, which language will remain the bearer
of thought as long as Germany sends its streaming thousands over to us.
To meet these thousands, and to lead them to Christ, appears to be the
special task of the German Methodist Church in this country. To achieve
this purpose requires a concentration of forces, an increase of education
and activity, as well as deep piety." On this the "Lutheran" makes the
remark: "In reading this proceeding of the Methodist Conference, the
words of Job forced themselves upon our soul: Indeed, you are the
people, and wisdom will die with you (12:2). May the church organizations
watch against the sin of Lucifer!" That the Conference calls Germany
"the band of Huss, Luther, and — Nast," is, to put it mildly, an
American-theological naivety fit to provoke laughter.