Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1958, Page 15

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Lutheran Synodical Conference, 1958 15

THE DOCTRINAL ESSAY

The Relation of the Church’s Doctrine
to the Church’s Worldwide Task
Dr. ELMER C. KIESSLING

In the 19th chapter of the 19th book of The City of God St. Au-
gustine, speaking of the dress and habits of Christian people, sud-
denly injects one of those profound observations that make reading
him a kind of perpetual voyage of discovery. This is the passage
I refer to:

As to the three modes of life, the contemplative, the active, and

the composite, although, so long as a man’s faith is preserved, he

may choose any of them without detriment to his eternal inter-
ests, yet he must never overlook the claims of truth and duty. No
man has a right to lead such a life of contemplation as to forget

in his own ease the service due to his neighbor; nor has any man

a right to be so immersed in active life as to neglect the contem-

plation of God.

You will notice that, though Augustine speaks of three modes
of life, the last, or composite, is merely a combination of the other
two: the contemplative, representing the quest after truth, and
the active, representing the attention to duty. This twofold division
roughly covers that of our theme. Purity of doctrine would cor-
respond to truth; the church’s worldwide task, to duty. But when
these two are combined — as they always must be in the church —
to form the composite mode, certain tensions may arise, and the
tensions must also be considered, since they are responsible for
many of our troubles. ‘

Following Augustine’s categories, we have therefore divided
this paper into three parts. The first treats what he calls the con-
templative mode, the quest after divine truth, the concern for pu-
rity of doctrine, or theology. Our aim will be to show the glories
of that mode of life and also its pitfalls and to corroborate our
findings by some references to sacred and church history. In the
second part we shall speak of the glories of the active life, of the
church’s worldwide task in its many phases, but also try to show
how activism can overreach itself and fail, again enforcing our
conclusions with historical examples. In the third part we intend
to discuss some of the tensions that are bound to arise when the
church combines its two great commissions — to keep in constant
contact with the divine sources of its strength and yet to meet its
social obligations; to preserve the purity of its doctrines and yet
to fulfill its worldwide missionary task; to foster its theology and
yet to minister to the needs of its members; to keep its eyes turned
to the light of heaven and yet to be a light in the world.

I

THE CONTEMPLATIVE MODE OF LIFE

First, then, let me speak of the glory of the contemplative
mode of life, which sets its sights upon the Word of God and is
concerned chiefly with keeping that fountain of divine inspiration
bountiful and pure. About a century ago, soon after John Henry,