The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1893, Page 38

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38 The Lutheran Pioneer. |

pel, the people at once began to sing ‘‘O God! |imately put them to death, and deprive them
look down from heav’n and see.’” Thus the] of their possessions, even if they do not cor-
of Lubeck with this simple hymn sung | rupt others; for they are blasphemers against
God and observers of a false faith, so that
they deserve more severe punishment than
those who are guilty of high treason or of coin-
ing false money.””? Bossuet, another Romish

great wonder, how deep a root these hymns At the Catholic Congress in Chicago speak-| writer, says: ‘‘I declare that I have always
have taken, which, coming in numbers from | ers of the Romish church spoke of their church | been of opinion that princes have the right to
Luther’s workshop, are now sung in all houses | as the advocate and defender of religious lib- | pass penal laws to compel heretics to conform
and shops, markets, streets, and country |erty. All that they said belies the history of|to the rites and observances of the Catholic
Janes.”’ ; the pope’s church in the past and present. church; and, secondly, that this doctrine is
~ At Brunswick, in the year 1527, the people | Our country is still, thank God, a Protestant |a standing one in the church, which has not
“met in one of the churches to do away with | country, and the Romish church in our coun- | only followed, but also requested from princes
the popish ceremonies. The town-council, | try pretends to be what she is not, in order to | the enaction of such ordinances.’’
who were of Romish opinions, had called to make herself popular. We must look at coun-| Such statements of Romish writers, recently
their aid a Doctor of theology from Magde- tries where the Romish church is mistress of | quoted in a London paper, clearly show the
burg. This Dr. Sprengle proudly promised the situation, to know what she really is, and | true spirit of the Roman church. La Fayette,
that, by three sermons, he would root out all what she will do in this country if she ever] the great friend of General Washington, was
‘‘Dutheran heresy” in Brunswick. He was re- gains the majority. Let none be deceived. | well aware of this spirit. He therefore said:
ceived in great pomp by the priests and monks In Protestant countries the church of Rome | ‘‘It is my opinion that, if ever the liberties of
and soon began to preach. But when, in the pretends to favor religious liberty ; but when- | this country — the United States of America —
middle of his sermon, he tried to prove from a | ever she has it in her power to do so, she stip-| are destroyed, it will be by the subtilty of the
passage in the New Testament that man could ulates the absolute exclusion of.Protestants. | Roman Catholic Jesuit priests, for they are
get salvation by good works, one of his hear- Avery distinguished French writer, mosthighly |the most crafty, dangerous enemies to ‘civil
ers rose up and cried out with a loud voice: approved at Rome, M. Louis Veuillot, said: | and religious liberty.’” ‘The day may not be
‘Doctor, you are misquoting the text; in the | “When there is a Protestant majority we claim | far distant when the Protestants of this land
Holy Scriptures it is written differently.’ Vis- religious liberty because such is their prin-| will have their eyes opened to the true spirit
ibly annoyed, the Doctor answered: ‘!Good| ciple; but when we are in majority we refuse | of the disloyal and scheming adherents of a
friend, you perhaps have a different transla-|it because that is ours.” Quite recently the | foreign power.
tion; in mine itis thus written.’ However, he | Present pope Leo XIII., when foolishly com- —
went on preaching and again said that every plaining to the whole world of the outrages Rome’s Blessings.
man can be saved by his own good works. An | to which he was subjected, mentioned, as the
honest citizen now cried out: ‘‘Priest, you | Worst of all, the erection of Protestant chapels| In his ‘¢Capitals of. Spanish America,’’
lie,’? and in a clear voice began to sing Lu- and the exercise of Protestant worship in the|Mr. W. E. Curtis says: ‘‘In Ecuador there
city of the popes. When, in 1815, the king is a Catholic Church for every 150 inhabitants.
of Holland granted to his realm a constitution Ten per cent of the population are priests,
according freedom of worship, the Romish monks and nuns. One-fourtl of all the prop-
bishops had it thrown out, because, they said, | erty in Ecuador belongs to the bishop. Two
this liberty is directly opposed to the prin- hundred and seventy-two days of the year are
ciples of the Roman church. In the agree- feast or fast days. The clerical party controls
ment made with Spain (1850), by the late pope | the government. The priests rule the country as
: Pius LX., one of the articles is as follows: absolutely as if the pope were king. Seventy-
The whole congregation at once joined in the | ‘The Catholic religion shall be maintained as five per cent of the children are born illegiti-
hymn. The words of the second verse, which | the exclusive religion of the realm, in such | mate. There is not a railroad nor a stage
speak of “lies of man’s invention not founded | sort that the practice of all other worship shall | coach in the entire country. They know noth-
on God’s word,”” were like heavy blows to the | be forbidden and prevented.”? “And, in fact, |ing but what the priests tell them. They have
Romish priest. Ashamed, he left the pulpit, | till the revolution of 1869, the Spanish Prot-|no amusements but cock-fights and bull-fights,
pressed his way through the crowd out of the} estants were condemned to prison. In the |no literature, no hope of political freedom
church, and went away crest-fallen. The con-|pope’s agreement with the republic of Ecua- under priestly leadership, no prospect of in-
gregation cheerfully separated. dor (1862), there is the following stipulation: | dustrial advancement, although the territory,
The same thing happened, twoyears later, at | ‘The Roman Catholic and Apostolic religion |in proportion to its area, is naturally one of
Lubeck. A poor blind man had sung Luther’s | is to continue to be the religion of the Repub- | the richest on the globe.”” This is a graphic
hymns before the houses, and was expelled |lic of Ecuador. Consequently, no other wor- picture of what Romanism does for a country.
from the town by the Roman Catholic Coun- | ship may be practiced or any other’sect tol- ee
cil, When, OME following Sunday, the chap-| erated in the republic.’”? When freedom of St. Paul ‘a Lutheran
lain of St. James’s Church, after the sermon, | worship was proclaimed in Mexico, the pope’s paca ‘
began the customary prayers for the dead, | letter of December 15th, 1856, denounced it] A Bishop of Augsburg found in an inn the
: ae ey re ibaa a cee. OSE hymn to the world as an abominable act destined | New Testament behind the table. Opening it,
BPsiiiic people tell on etic ona ee Ree ee men’s mind and te root out the] he noticed the words of St. Paul (Rom. 3, 28):
jemnly sang the hymn to the end crits ct holy religion, thatis, the pope’sreligion. The|‘*Therefore we conclude that a man is justi-
4 ° present pope strongly insists that St. Thom-
the first German hymn sung in the church at | as’s works should be the basis of Catholic in-

Reformation sung in by Luther’s Hymn.

Luther gave to the people not only the Bible | people
and the Catechism, but also a number of Gos- in the Reformation.
pel hymns which aided greatly in spreading the SS
work of the Reformation. A Spanish monk Rome and Religious Liberty.
writes of Luther’s hymns: ‘‘It is a matter of

ther’s hymn: ~ 3
«{Q God! look down from heav’n, and see

A sight that well may move Thee!

Thy saints, how few! How wretchedly
Forsaken we who love Thee!

Thy Word no.more shall have its right;

And faith itself is vanished quite
¥rom all this generation.’’

Having read this, he said: ‘See there, art thou

—_—— ~<a» oe

r to the Bible doctrines preached by Lu-
er. . Whenever a monk or a priest spoke
ything from the pulpit contrary to the Gos-

says on religious liberty: ‘‘If heretics did not
corrupt their fellows, they could, neverthe-} You can not repent too soon, because you
less, be suppressed. Secular justice can legit- | do not know how soon it may be too late.

fied by faith without the deeds of the law.’’.

From that hour the whole city went|struction. Here is what that Romish writer| also a Lutheran?” and threw down the book. ©