Distinctive Doctrines and Usages OF TEfE Evangelical Letfieran Church BX 8065 .D5 1914 1 The distinctive doctrines an d usa ges of the general Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2009 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/distinctivedoctr1914phil The Distinctive Doctrines and Usages JAN 2 9 1915 h OF THE GENERAL BODIES OF TH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES FOURTH EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED PHILADELPHIA, PA.: THE LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY Copyright, 1914, by THE LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY INTRODUCTION THE former volume of ^'Distinctive Doctrines AND Usages'' was published more than twenty years ago. It was favorably received by the Luth- eran Church in America, and passed through three editions. Its purpose was to give in brief compass the history, doctrinal teachings, and valuable statis- tics of a number of the largest Lutheran Bodies in this country. Some of its material has long since been out of date, and, therefore, misleading to present readers. This new volume is in reality more than an edi- tion of the old one. Only one article stands as in the former editions, while four are thoroughly revised, one entirely rewritten, and four new ones added. The present work more than fills to-day the place the old one filled when it was given to the Church. It is not a book of statistics or of creedal statements merely. It is rather a history of the rise and prog- ress of the Church of the Reformation in America, from its beginning to the present time. It furnishes all Lutherans reliable information with respect to the Bodies herein represented. These writers speak for themselves. But they 2 INTRODUCTION also Speak for their respective General Bodies. They have been selected to do this work because of their standing in their ov^n Synods. They are men of recognized piety and scholarly attainments. They write with authority, for they are familiar with the history of our entire Church, and especially of that particular branch to which each belongs. A perusal of the volume will reveal the fact that there is no attempt to shade off doctrinal and prac- tical differences. There have been differences, and they still exist. The authors, with customary Luth- eran frankness, seek to be absolutely true to the his- torical development of their portion of the Lutheran household, believing that by this method alone will we come to understand each other better. We may not be able to see eye to eye with our brethren, but we must and do respect their convictions, and are encouraged by the recital of their worthy achieve- ments. It is with a sense of genuine pleasure that we offer this volume to our beloved Church. We believe we are justified in the hope that its appearance will be very generally welcomed. And shall we not devoutly pray that, as the stories of the life and works of our several Lutheran Bodies are here brought together and bound up in one vol- ume, so also shall these Bodies themselves gradually be drawn closer to one another, until they become a unit in name and faith and practical endeavor ? CONTENTS 1. The Joint Synod of Ohio — By Rev. Prof. M. Loy, D. D 5 2. The General Sy>:od — By Pres. J. A. Singmaster, D. D 36 3. The German Iowa Synod — By Rev. Prof. S. Fritschel, D. D 69 4. The General Council — By Rev. Prof. H. E. Jacobs, D. D., LL.D 93 5. The Synodical Conference — By Rev, Prof. F. Pieper 127 6. The United Synod in the South — By Rev. Prof. A. G. Voigt, D. D., LL.D 175 7. The United Norwegian Church of America — By Rev. Prof. F. A. Schmidt, D. D., and Rev. J. C. Roseland 205 8. The Lutheran Free Church — By Prof. John O. Evjen, Ph. D 246 9. The Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in America — By Rev. Prof. P. S. Vig 21^2 The Joint Synod of Ohio By REV. PROF. M. LOY, D. D. IN the early years of the present century a few self-denying Lutheran ministers, imbued with the true missionary spirit, crossed the Allegheny Mountains to break the bread of life to their breth- ren scattered in the Western wilds. Feeling the need of mutual counsel and encouragement, the little company in 1812 formed a special Conference, which subsequently developed into the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio and Adjacent States. As such it was organized in 18 18 with 15 ministers and about 3500 communicants. The members en- countered many difficulties, but by the blessing of God upon their zealous labors their numbers in- creased and their work prospered. In course of time it was deemed necessary to divide the Synod into districts, of which there are now twelve. These hold meetings annually, while every two years they all meet in joint convention. The whole body is usually called the Joint Synod of Ohio, which now numbers 612 ministers, 1160 congregations and mis- sions and 135,000 communicant members. From the beginning the pastors and congrega- tions thus united were intent on preserving and (5) 6 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES propagating the pure Lutheran faith, as with their limited opportunities they were able to apprehend and maintain it, and many were their conflicts with men who endeavored to lead their people astray by teaching otherwise than God's Word teaches. The Confessions of the Church were held in high esteem, and appeals to them were frequent, although it was not until 1847 that the symbolical books were formally declared to be the confessional basis of Synod, and all candidates for the ministry were required to subscribe to them. This position has been firmly maintained until the present hour, and in this all that is distinctive of the Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States has its root and its ex- planation. In pursuance of her settled purpose by the grace of her Lord to be found faithful to the pure gospel as He mercifully restored it to His people in the glorious Reformation of the sixteenth century, she will not be enticed or goaded into any position or movement by which the saving truth set forth in the Confessions of the Evangelical Luth- eran Church is compromised. In taking this ground it never entered the minds of our pastors or people to place the Confessions of the Church on an equality with the Holy Scriptures. These are the very word of God in matter and in form. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 7 the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly fur- nished unto all good works." 2 Tim. iii. i6, 17. In the Scriptures the Sovereign Lord of all has revealed His righteous and His gracious will in His own words. They are the only source of our knowledge of saving truth, and the only ultimate rule of faith and life. Their decision is final, and from them no appeal can be allowed. The symbols occupy a different place and serve a different pur- pose. They are not inspired writings. They set forth the faith which men have derived from the Holy Scriptures as the infallible source of saving faith. The Lutheran Church believes and there- fore speaks. A doctrine does not become divine by her act of confessing it, and no one is bound to believe it because she confesses it. She confesses it because on the authority of God's Word she be- lieves it, and she asks others to believe it, and then with her to confess it, because the Scriptures teach it. We have the rule "that the Word of God should frame articles of faith, otherwise no one, not even an angel." (Snialc. Art. H, 2, 15.) From that rule we can under no circumstances depart, because under no circumstances could we consent to the subject's usurpation of authority which belongs only to the Sovereign. Such usurpation is a mark of the antichrist, whose abominations the Refor- mation has taught us to shun as an offense against God and man. Our Confessions claim no authority 8 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES over the souls of men, but simply declare the faith which lives in our souls and which clings to the word of the living God. '*He is the Lord; that is His name; and His glory will He not give to another." But when He speaks His people hear; and when they hear the good tidings which are for all people, how can they otherwise than publish them and bear witness to them for the glory of their Saviour and the good of their fellow-men? Those who have not the faith which the Lutheran Church confesses are not expected to confess it ; but she be- lieves, and therefore speaks. In the nature of things this could not be without effect in her church life and practice. By the grace of God the Christians united in the Evangelical Lutheran Church have known and believed the Evangelical truth which is set forth in their con- fession ; and on that basis her congregations are or- ganized, her ministry is called, and her discipline is administered. It is this faith that gives her the distinctive character by which she is known as the Evangelical Lutheran Church. If some are not prepared to accept her Confessions and enter into fellowship with her on these terms, they are mani- festly not prepared to enter into fellowship with her at all. From the beginning she recognized no other terms, and could recognize no other without abandoning her faith and, with it, her life as the Evangelical Church of the Reformation. She OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 9 came into being as a visible organization by con- fessing the truth of the gospel which God in mercy restored to His people through the instru- mentality of His chosen servant, and she continues in being by maintaining that blessed truth as the basis upon which her membership stands united. The Joint Synod of Ohio recognizes the fact that the Evangelical Lutheran Church had her settled faith and her distinctive character when she wit- nessed her good confession at Augsburg in 1530, as she had declared it before in the universally ac- cepted catechisms prepared by Dr. Luther, and in all her public teaching and preaching. Those who sin- cerely adopt these confessions as the expression of their faith are in accord with her. Of pastors and teachers it is required indeed that they accept the entire Concordia of 1580. But this is only because a more thorough and a more extensive knowledge of revealed truth is expected of those who are called to teach it, not because agreement in the faith as set foi:th in the Catechism and the Augustana is insufficient for the unity of the Church. What we are concerned about is the faith once delivered to the saints, which we are in con- science bound to hold fast and perpetuate, and which is the same in all our symbols. Our con- troversy with those who reject a portion of them has its ground in the conviction that such rejec- tion betrays a dissent from the Evangelical doctrine lO DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES set forth in the Augsburg Confession, whose true import and meaning the later symbols develop and defend. ''Unto the true unity of the Church it is suffi- cient to agree concerning the doctrines of the Gos- pel and the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, rites, or cere- monies instituted by men should be alike every- where: as St. Paul says, 'One faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.' Eph. iv. 5, 6." (Augs- burg Confession, Art. VII.) That is the principle to which the Joint Synod is pledged, and by which her practice is governed. She loves the old ways of our fathers, and the beautiful forms in which they worshiped the Lord. She recognizes the benefits of uniformity in the ceremonies and usages of the churches, and heartily seeks to pro- mote it. She desires, even in externals, to walk in the old paths and manifest her historical con- nection with the old Church. But she never fails to distinguish between that which is necessary and that which is free. What the Lord has not re- quired, the servant of the Lord has no right to require as a condition of membership in His Church. He alone is Master, all we are brethren, who have no authority to impose and no obliga- tion to bear any yoke of bondage. Diversity in matters merely human does not interfere with the unity of the Church, because the Lord Himself OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO II has given His people liberty to arrange them as in the varying circumstances of congregations they think best. Ceremonies instituted by men form no part of the service of God, and can never be of divine obHgation. ''We beheve, teach and confess that the Church of God of every place and every time has the power, according to its circumstances, to change such ceremonies in such manner as may be most useful and edifying to the Church of God; nevertheless, that herein all inconsiderateness and offense should be avoided, and especial care should be taken to exercise forbearance to the weak in faith: i Cor. viii. 9; Rom. xiv. 13." {Form. Cone, Part I, ch. x. 4, 5.) Human ordinances are not divine laws. But when the Lord speaks all alike must bow to His authority. What He requires is necessary. From His word there can be no appeal to human thoughts of expediency and human tastes and preferences. In what He teaches and requires there must be agreement among His disciples. And those who are called Lutherans have heard His voice, have believed His Word, and according to His will have confessed their faith in their symbols. Their Confession is the expression of their agreement concerning the doc- trine of the Gospel. It contains only what is necessary "unto the true unity of the Church." On this ground they have united, and only on this ground can others unite with them. 12 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES The Joint Synod of Ohio, assured that the Evan- gehcal Lutheran Confession sets forth the pure faith of the gospel, dihgently teaches it as well as confesses it with the Church of the glorious times of the Reformation, and earnestly maintains the necessity of its acceptance as a condition of recep- tion into her congregations and communion at her altars. Accordingly she teaches her members to bring their children to Christ in Holy Baptism, that they may share the great salvation which He has secured for our whole fallen race, and to recognize the obligation laid upon them to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and to this end to maintain parochial schools, that the word of Christ may dwell in them richly in all wisdom. She does not grow weary of plying the Cate- chism and inculcating the precious truth unto salvation which it declares in a form as simple as it is profound in contents. She teaches her cate- chumens to know the Saviour, to confess Him be- fore the world, and to walk worthy of Him who has purchased them with His blood, and called them into His kingdom. She is glad to number them among her communicants when they are ready to make the requisite confession and promise, but not until, by the blessing of God, this end has been accomplished. As the Church is the congre- gation of believers, she spares no effort to lead those OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO I3 committed to her instruction to an explicit faith before she leads them to a public confession. She insists on agreement concerning the doctrine of the Gospel in all cases as a condition of fellowship in the Holy Supper, and therefore insists upon the acceptance of the Lutheran Confession. She does this, not because she presumes that every particular visible Church has a divine right to organize on any basis that may be agreed on by the persons concerned, and then to insist on the acceptance of this basis as a condition of member- ship, simply because these are the original terms of the compact. That would be true of a society that is purely human and pretends to be nothing else. But it is not true of the Christian Church, Avhich is not an association of men for purposes which they have chosen and with means which they have devised according to their own wisdom or pleasure. Men may form societies and lay down their own terms of admission and membership as they think best. But there is no such right to do what men please in the kingdom of Christ. In that He is Lord, and only those who are willingly sub- ject to Him as He speaks in His Word are entitled to a place in it. To be a congregation of believers the members must accept the faith de- clared in the Gospel, and in order to have unity they must agree in that faith. 'Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye con- 14 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES tinue in my word, then are ye my disciples in- deed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John viii. 31, 2^2. ''Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the founda- tion of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord." Eph. ii. 19-21. Those who believe in the Saviour are His disciples, and they confess His name, declare His truth, and show forth His praise. The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, **The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart; that is, the Word of faith which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salva- tion." Rom. X. 8-10. By this confession Chris- tians know each other as disciples of the same Lord, and on the ground of this they join to- gether for the accomplishment of His gracious will. These confessing believers are exhorted to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 1 5 thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." i Cor. i. lo. Christians are such because they beHeve in the heavenly truth which is revealed for our salvation. That is the one thing needful in church organization. Holding and confessing this, they may, in the ex- ercise of their liberty, arrange as they deem ex- pedient what the Master has not ordained, but left to their own wisdom. Congregations, as visible associations, may make their own regulations in regard to matters of indifference, but they are Christian congregations in virtue of their Christian faith and its confession, not in virtue of their human regulations. There can be no legitimate basis of union in the Church but that which the Lord lays down, and there can be no necessary conditions of membership and fellowship in the Church but those which the Lord prescribes. The question of union, as the Joint Synod of Ohio sees it, is not one of mere expediency and courtesy. We cannot admit that the Evangelical Lutheran Church erred in her creed, and that from the start she sinned by uniting on that founda- tion and declining to unite with such as professed a different faith. She was not guilty of making needless divisions by her evangelical confession. She insisted only on the truth which the Scriptures teach and required only what the Lord requires 1 6 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES as conditions of membership. She cannot alter these conditions now, because they are not of her making, and are not subject to her wisdom or her pleasure. They are obligatory upon her and upon all men by the authority of Him who is King in Zion. For this reason we are constrained to stand aloof from all church unions founded on any other basis than that of the truth revealed in God's Word and confessed in our symbols, and from all move- ments and demonstrations of a unionistic character, participating in which would imply the admission that the distinctive doctrines of the Evangelical Lutheran Church are no part of the faith once de- livered to the saints, but are merely human opinions, and therefore have no divine right in Christendom, and are not binding upon Christian people. We heartily desire the union of Christians and of churches, but can see neither fidelity nor expediency in a pretence of union where there is no agreement concerning the doctrine of the gospel and the ad- ministration of the sacraments. The only Script- ural way to labor for union is to labor for unity in the faith and agreement in its confession. That is divinely required and therefore essential. It is this that has prevented our organic connec- tion even with other bodies that bear the Lutheran name. Of right this name stands for the historic Church of the Reformation with its incomparable Augsburg Confession. But unhappily not all who OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 1 7 adopt the name adopt also that which it imphes. Hence it comes that the Joint Synod of Ohio stands alone, notwithstanding that general Lutheran or- ganizations have been formed around her, and not- withstanding her earnest desire that there should be no divisions among us. There have been, and there still are, some who accept the Augsburg Confession as their own, but who were not and are not willing to declare the faith which it sets forth to be truly and really the one faith of the gospel, which God would have all men to receive, and agreement in which is neces- sary unto the true imity of the Church. In their own convictions they are in accord with the doc- trines there confessed, or at least find no other con- fession that seems to them a more adequate ex- pression of their beliefs. Many of them love the Lutheran name and its historic associations. But even those among them who defend the distinctive doctrines of our Confession usually regard them as opinions which at most have equal rights with the opinions proclaimed by other denominations, rather than as the truth of God which must be held fast at all hazards and at every cost, because this is the Master's will. In the exercise of what they deem charity, they therefore overlook the requirements of faith. The prevailing spirit among them has accordingly always been that of accommodation to the beliefs and practices of churches that have l8 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES gained the ascendency among the American people. Some have even allowed themselves to be largely governed by the thought that what the great mass of professed Christans around them believe and do must be true and right, and that the creed and practice of the Lutheran Church should be shaped accordingly, as if she lived and could live only by their sufferance. Therefore evasive formulas were resorted to in adopting the Confession, and servile concessions were made to popular churches which are not in sympathy with the faith and spirit of the Church of the Reformation. The Joint Synod of Ohio, sincere in her confession of the old faith, could not and cannot, by word or act, accept the consent of other denominations as the test of gospel truth, and could not and cannot form an organic union with a body in which, notwithstanding the Lutheran name, men could make open assaults upon the doctrines confessed in the Catechism and Augsburg Confession without any fear of being called to account and subjected to discipline. These doctrines are taught in God's Word, and agreement concerning them is necessary unto the true unity of the Church, though thousands of pro- fessing Christians think proper to dispute them, and think themselves justifiable in setting forth a differ- ent creed and organizing churches on a different basis. Even the formal acceptance of the Lutheran OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO IQ Confession may leave room for legitimate doubt whether the agreement exists which is necessary for union. Circumstances may be such as to force upon us the inquiry, whether such professed accept- ance is meant as implying that Romanists and Re- formed parties, secretists and chiliasts, shall not be admitted to our altars and churches. Important dif- ferences in this regard between us and others were brought to view in the controversy respecting the so-called ''four points." Convinced from their own publications of the antichristian character and tendency of such asso- ciations, the Joint Synod of Ohio declares : ''The rule among us must be, and ever remain, that mem- bers of secret societies cannot be received as mem- bers of our congregations, nor may they continue their membership or be admitted to the Holy Sup- per an indefinite length of time." The ground of this rule is not merely the appearance of evil that lies in their shunning the light, although the element of secrecy is on this ground a serious objection. It awakens just suspicion, to which a Christian should not willingly make himself subject. But the evil is of a more dire and dangerous nature. When a society, such as that of the Free Masons, Odd Fel- lows, and those of similar character, inculcates rationalistic principles subversive of Christianity, destroying souls by leading them to trust in another righteousness than that of Christ, and to engage in 20 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES another worship than that of the triune God, while at the same time it abuses the sacred oath and teaches and practices a so-called charity that is not in harmony with the gospel, we cannot regard its adherents, whatever their professions or their inten- tions may be, as in a proper condition for member- ship in the Christian Church and communion at her altar. They may not all be aware that their societies operate against the truth in Jesus, as many persons are not aware that in their natural state they are children of wrath, and with- out Christ can do nothing. But this does not change the fact. And it is the Church's calling to teach : where sin is not seen she must expose it, and where the saving truth is not known she must im- part it. This our pastors are willing to do with all patience and with all allowance for circumstances; but they are not willing first to receive secretists into church fellowship and afterwards endeavor to do the work necessary to qualify them for it. While all secret societies are not in the same degree in conflict with Christian faith and love, and a differ- ence will therefore be made in dealing with them, they are all objectionable, and the watchman on Zion's walls must warn against them and seek to rescue souls from their evil influence. With those who are willing to do nothing against these anti- christian powers, and say nothing while souls com- mitted to their charge are led to ruin by secretism, OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 21 we are not agreed, and cannot have fellowship. As regards chiliasm, the doctrine that Christ shall return to reign a thousand years upon earth prior to the final judgment, the Lutheran confessors at Augsburg in 1530 declared, that "they condemn others also who now scatter Jewish opinions, that before the resurrection of the dead the godly shall occupy the kingdom of the world, the wicked being everywhere suppressed." (Augsb. Conf., Art. XVII.) The kingdom of our Lord is not of this world, but is a kingdom of grace in which believers are prepared for the kingdom of glory. According to the Apostles' Creed, which our children learn and confess before they are admitted to holy com- munion, Christ shall come at the last day, as the Scriptures teach, "to judge the quick and the dead," not to establish a temporal kingdom which would be essentially different from that which is already established, and in which He reigns by His word and sacraments as His blessed means of grace unto salvation. This is still the voice of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and with this we are in complete and hearty accord. We ask only that earnest account be made of the truth confessed, and that accordingly no doctrine be sanctioned, not even by the consent implied in silence, which conflicts with that confession. In the eyes of the Joint Synod, admitting minis- ters of other churches and of a different confession 22 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES to our pulpits is inconsistent with her profession and her duty. Notwithstanding all the abuse heaped upon us for entertaining this conviction, we must persist in holding it and ordering our practice ac- cordingly. Both faith and charity require it. We do not teach that ministers of other churches have no valid call to preach the Word and administer the sacraments, or that their ministrations are without efficacy. Nothing of that sort is taught in the Scriptures, and nothing of that sort appears in our Confessions. The Lord requires that ministers be rightly called by the Church, to which He has en- trusted the means of grace, but does not command the rite of ordination to make the call valid, and least of all does He make the efficacy of the Word and sacrament dependent on such ordination or any other ecclesiastical rites. As far as any hindrances arising from such questions are concerned, pastors of other churches would be cheerfully welcomed to our pulpits. But the Lutheran Church would betray the insincerity of her confession if she permitted men to teach in her congregations who do not even profess to believe her doctrines, and who, as regards the distinctive articles of her faith, avow their dis- sent from her teaching. Fully assured that what she confesses is the truth, which God requires her to teach for the glory of His name and the salvation of souls purchased by His blood, she cannot entrust the work of teaching in her churches and schools OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 2^ to men who do not agree with her concerning the doctrine of the gospel which she pubHcIy proclaims in her symbols. Even if preachers of other de- nominations would, in order to gain access to our pulpits, give satisfactory assurances that they will teach nothing at variance with our faith, they could not, as long as they declare their adherence to a different confession, be permitted to preach to our congregations. That act of pulpit fellowship itself would be understood as a declaration on our part that the differences between their churches and ours are not of such a nature as to necessitate separate organizations, and therefore as an admis- sion that we are maintaining divisions which have no ground in faith and conscience, and for that reason are sinful. The Lutheran Church is sincere in her confession, and therefore cannot consent, by any voluntary act of hers, to make the impression that in her estimation her distinctive doctrines are not of God and are not necessary unto the true unity of the Church. Her rule is ''Mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them." Rom. xvi. 17. Those who believe what is written by inspiration of God for their learning, and from their hearts confess what they believe because it is the very truth of God, will readily understand why no considerations of courtesy are permitted to move us in opposition to the requirements of faith. 24 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES The same rule applies to the other question of altar fellowship. Admitting members of other de- nominations to communion in our churches would be practically declaring that the differences between them and us do not pertain to the faith, but are mere matters of human opinion which belong to the sphere of liberty; that therefore the Lutheran Church has grievously erred in putting her dis- tinctive doctrines into her Confession as a part of the Christian Creed; and that by asserting agree- ment in these, as well in the other parts of her Con- fession, to be requisite to true unity, and therefore a necessary condition of membership and fellow- ship, she has made needless divisions in the Church. The Joint Synod sincerely accepts the Lutheran Confession, and therefore cannot do this. She cannot admit that the Lutheran Church sets forth human opinions as articles of faith, and thus seeks to bind human ordinances on the consciences of Christ's free people. In her eyes such an admis- sion would undermine her confessional foundation and brand the great Church of the Reformation as an unevangelical sect, which before God has no right to live. Such doctrines as those taught in our Catechism and Augsburg Confession concern- ing Absolution, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, for example, are not products of human reason, or opinions that rest on rational probabilities. They belong to our faith. We believe them because OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 25 God's Word teaches them, and we confess them be- cause we beheve them. If others do not beHeve them, we deplore it and wish it were otherwise, but that cannot be allowed to shake or disturb our faith. Their conduct is not our rule or stand- ard. We abide by the Holy Scriptures, whatever attitude others may assume towards tl:e doctrines which they teach us. Meantime it does not enter our hearts to think or say that all other denomina- tions are not churches, or that their members are not Christians. The imputation to us of such opinions is sheer uncharitableness. There is noth- ing to warrant and nothing to justify it. We hold no such opinions, and maintain nothing from which they could be justly inferred. There are churches that err. They are churches notwith- standing their errors, and they would not be churches if there were no Christian believers among them. But we could not answer for it on the judgment day if by word or act we gave our sanction to their error. Who shall blame us for leaving the responsibility for it to those who make divisions contrary to the doctrine which we have learned, and for abiding by the truth of the gospel, notwithstanding their obstinate persistence in error and consequent refusal to join us in confessing that truth? Erring denominations may still retain enough of the heavenly doctrine to lead souls to Christ, the onlv and the all-sufficient Saviour of 26 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES men, and may thus have the children of God among them who properly constitute the Church. But that does not render their errors harmless. On the contrary, these are a source of constant danger to the spiritual life of the individual and of the con- gregation. "Shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness; and their word will eat as doth a canker." 2 Tim. ii. 16, 17. Error spreads; the little leaven permitted to work, in course of time leavens the whole lump. When the Church becomes indifferent to the purity of the faith, Satan uses his opportunity of banish- ing the truth revealed for our salvation and urging men to flee for refuge to their own natural re- sources which cannot save. The subject is one of such serious moment, involving the glory of our blessed Redeemer and the salvation of millions of our ruined race, that thoughtful minds and loving hearts must look with amazement upon the sad and strange spectacle of Christian men condemning the firm adherence of other Christian men to the saving truth which they have learned from the Scriptures, and for which, according to the divine command, they earnestly contend, even if such contention result in the separation of those who will not accept it. If some will not join us in con- fessing the truth, we certainly cannot join them in confessing their error. Neither can we admit such human error to be ultimately as good and as or THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 27 effectual for salvation as the good tidings revealed for our enlightenment from heaven. We cannot, in our loyalty to our Lord, do otherwise than de- cline to have fellowship at the altar of the Lord with those who teach and confess otherwise than the Word of God teaches. As to whether those who present themselves for communion are really Christians or not, that is, as to whether they be- lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ unto the saving of the soul or not, that is altogether a different mat- ter. It is well for all to bear in mind that under no circumstances is it man's calling or business to judge the heart. That is God's prerogative. If a person is not wilHng to accept the truth which the Church believes and confesses, we can only say that he is not yet prepared to meet the conditions of church fellowship. Of that the Church must judge, and nothing more. Our pastors are ready to teach the truth which by the grace of God she possesses. If anyone will not accept instruction, or being in- structed will not accept the doctrine of the gospel, agreement concerning wdiich is necessary to the true unity of the Church, he must answer for it, as we must answer for our teaching and confession: God is his judge, as He is ours. In view of that judgment we cannot abandon our Scriptural faith and confession and make other terms of fellowship to suit his dissenting opinions. The Joint Synod of Ohio has always been willing 28 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES to make due allowance for hindrances put into the way of consistent Lutheran practice by customs handed down from times of relaxed vigilance. She is well aware that where unionism and secretism have held sway for years they cannot be eradicated in a day. She does not expect this. She advo- cates no rash and revolutionary measures. But with her Lutheran Confession she insists that agreement concerning the doctrine of the gospel is a necessary condition of union and communion in the Church; that the doctrine of the gospel, concern- ing wdiich agreement is necessary, is set forth in her confession of faith; and that she could not be faithful if she admitted that in any case such agree- ment is not necessary. When the confessional principle is once accepted and the teaching is fully and faithfully conformed to it as the regulative of Church practice, she can patiently wait while the Word of God is doing its work in the congrega- tions. She has had need for patience in her own congregations, and has need for patience still. But slie can allow no exceptions to the rule that those who preach in her pulpits and commune at her altars must agree in the faith which the gospel teaches and which the Evangelical Lutheran Church confesses. There are individuals whose weakness demands great tenderness of treatment and whose previous training pleads for patience ; there may be instances in which it is difficult to decide whether OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 29 the necessary conditions of fellowship have been met, and which leave room for a difference of judg- ment in this regard; but these, like all other cases, must be treated under the rule that agreement con- cerning the doctrine of the gospel is necessary to the true unity of the Church, not as exceptions that justify a violation of the confessional principle. To candid minds it must be apparent, that when a body claiming to be Lutheran finds our honest adherence to the Lutheran faith and confession, in doctrine and in practice, a valid ground for estab- lishing opposition congregations on a professedly more liberal basis, to the great detriment of sound evangelical doctrine and discipline, its professions of agreement with us cannot be accepted with un- questioning confidence. Even when the Confes- sions of the Lutheran Church are formally adopted, there is still an essential disagreement between those w^ho hold the doctrines there set forth to be the eternal truth of God, agreement in which is neces- sary to the true unity of the Church, and those who, while they profess to accept them, still re- gard them merely as the expression of human opin- ions which we have not even the right, much less the duty, to enforce in Church organization and dis- cipline, and disagreement concerning which can, therefore, form no barrier to Church fellowship. If that which our Augsburg Confession publishes as the pure Christian faith is the very truth of the ^O DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES gospel, given by inspiration of God in the Scriptures for all men and all times, we can only insist on its maintenance, whether men, call themselves what they may, accept it and go with us, or reject it and turn away from us; if it be not the blessed truth revealed from heaven for our learning and the saving of our sinful souls, there can be no more grievous sin than that of attempting to lay it as a yoke upon the necks of God's people, and making and maintaining divisions on account of it. The Lutheran Church believes the truth which God has made known to her by the gospel, and therefore cannot think of relinquishing it, or any part of it, for the accommodation of those who de- cline to believe it. That is the position of the Joint Synod. On the subject of predestination, which has been much mooted in recent years, she maintains the same fidelity to the precious truth of the gospel. Practically the Lutheran Church has always been a unit in the rejection of those gloomy errors which center in the theory of absolute election to faith and irresistible grace for a chosen few. While she never swerved from the fundamental truth that salvation is by grace alone, she just as firmly main- tained the other fundamental truth that salvation is by faith alone, as the only means by which the soul can appropriate the merits of Christ. Nor was she ever moved by the reasoning of Reformed OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 3I churches, plausible as it is sometimes made to ap- pear, that if faith has any influence on the saving of the soul, man's power and merit must have some share in effecting the salvation. The plain teach- ing of the Bible, that all is due to God's grace, not- withstanding that faith is indispensable, proves such reasoning false. *'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." Eph. ii. 8. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John iii. i6. The Holy Spirit knows better than man in his pride of reason what is requisite that all may be ascribed to grace and all the glory may be given to God. Salvation is by grace alone, and all the glory of it belongs to God ; and yet the rule is clearly revealed that *'he that believeth shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." Faith is necessary to salva- tion. For human thought there is unquestionably a difficulty in the doctrine. H it depends wholly on God's will who shall be saved, it is not easy to see how, since the Scriptures declare that the will of God is the salvation of all, any soul should be lost ; if it depends in any degree on man, it is not easy to see how, since the Scriptures declare that all are dead in trespasses and sins, any soul should be saved. To overcome the difficulty, Calvinists assume that God makes a difference by electing 32 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES some and not electing others, by His sovereign right choosing some persons whom He pleases to save, and by His sovereign might accomplishing His pleasure in the chosen few, while all the others are passed by and left to perish in their helplessness. The dreadful solution satisfies the reason of many, though it may shock their hearts, and in these latter evil days even some of the Lutheran name have been induced to adopt it in its main features, arguing indeed that salvation is thus still by faith, because God always makes believers of those whom He elects to salvation, but overlooking the fact that in the same sense salvation is by good works, since He always leads His people heavenward in the paths of holiness. No reasoning could induce the Joint Synod of Ohio to turn away from the comforting truth of the gospel for which the Lutheran Church contended during the past centuries of her history, and to exchange it for Calvinistic errors which her teachers have again and again exposed and refuted from, the Holy Scriptures. But she does not on that account adopt the other solution which reason suggests of the problem. Salvation is by faith, but it is not by man's power and merit. Faith is the gift of God, but it is not forced upon any man; and it has no merit of its own, but appropriates Christ's merit. Salvation is all a work of God's grace, and all the praise belongs to Him. But when He calls men by the gospel OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 33 it is His will that not only an elect portion of the called, but that all should believe it and be saved, and He offers to all of them the grace needful to this end. If any to wliom the Word of this salvation is sent are not saved, it is only because the will of God, which in the domain of grace never works irresistibly and never coerces the human will, was wilfully resisted. "How often would I," says our merciful Saviour, *'have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not." Matt. xxii. 2>7- "That, however," says our Confession, "many are called and few are chosen, does not mean that God is unwilling that all should be saved ; but the reason is that they do not at all hear God's Word, but wil- fully despise it, close their ears and harden their hearts, and in this way foreclose the ordinary way to the Holy Ghost, so that He cannot effect His work in them; or when it is heard, they consider it of no account and do not heed it." {Form. Cone. 526, II.) By this we abide. So far as the Joint Synod of Ohio is concerned, it is utterly vain to argue that after all our explanations there are still difficulties in our doctrine of conversion wdiich would be escaped by adopting the Calvinistic sys- tem. It is vain, because she builds her faith on Holy Scripture, not on man's speculative ability or his success in solving theological or psychological problems. Whatever may be the explanation of 3 34 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES the mystery encountered in the doctrine of human conversion by divine grace, wg are quite sure that it is not to be found in the unscriptural assumption that with God there is respect of persons, and that He saves some because He wills it and elects them to faith and salvation, and does not save others because He had not the will to elect them. He would have all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth, and is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to re- pentance." 2 Pet. iii. 9. The responsibility of choos- ing death rather than life rests wholly upon the un- believing sinner, in no respect and in no degree upon our blessed Lord, who left nothing undone that His grace could do to effect the salvation of all alike. The doctrine of an absolute election, in which no reference is had to the soul's relation to Christ by faith, solves difficulties only at the ex- pense of gospel grace and truth and comfort, and in fidelity to Christ and the Church we can only reject it. The Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States stands alone, not because she closes her eyes to the importance of uniting Synods and churches, and not because she has any special theological or ecclesiastical tendencies to maintain, or any peculiar phase of Lutheranism to advocate, but simply because she believes the sacred truth which the Evangelical Lutheran Church confesses. OF THE JOINT SYNOD OF OHIO 35 holds it to be the doctrine of the gospel concerning which agreement is necessary to the true unity of the Church, and can therefore unite with others on no other basis, hearing and heeding what the Spirit saith unto the churches : ''Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." The General Synod. By PRESIDENT J. A. SINGMASTER, D. D. IN order to make clear the ^'distinctive" character of the General Synod, a brief sketch of its his- tory is required. The General Synod is the earliest and most con- spicuous example of the effort to unite all the Luth- eran Synods in America in one general body. The prime mover in its organization "was the Ministe- rium of Pennsylvania, which at a meeting in Har- risburg, in 1818, expressed the conviction that it was "desirable that the different Evangelical Luth- eran Synods in the United States should in some way or other stand in closer connection with each other." These Synods, five in number, included the Ministerium of Pennsylvania and that of New York and the Synods of North Carolina, Ohio and Maryland. Their total membership was about 35,- 000, of whom more than half belonged to the Min- isterium of Pennsylvania. The hopes of the Ministerium were realized in the founding of the General Synod at Hagerstown, Md., October 22d, 1820. The above-named Synods were represented by delegates, with the exception of the Ohio Svnod, which refused to unite in the (36) J OF THE GENERAL SYNOD 37 movement for fear that its rights would not be properly conserved. The Tennessee Synod, which was formed in July, 1820, by withdrawing from the North Carolina Synod, sent no delegates. At the second meeting of the General Synod, held at Frederick, Md., October, 1823, the Ministerium of Pennsylvania was not represented, having been constrained to abandon the new project on account of the prejudices of many of its congregations and the fears of some of its ministers who dreaded centralization of power in a general body. 'The recession of the parent Synod, which constituted more than one-half of the Church, spread a gloom over the proceedings and produced the impression that the General Synod would prove a failure. The hopes which had been cherished for the improve- ment of our Zion seemed blasted, and many were disposed to abandon the project of a union. The following resolution was offered and unanimously adopted : Resolved, That it is with feelings of the deepest regret that we learn from the minutes of the Synod of Pennsylvania that they were induced by peculiar circumstances for the present to recede from an institution which they aided in establishing and which they still profess to regard as proper and highly beneficial to the interests of the Church, but that this Synod entertains the highest confidence in their brethren of Penn- sylvania, and confidently trusts that they will resume their connection with the General Synod* * Evangelical Review, Vol. V, 244. 38 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES The return of the Ministerium was delayed for thirty years, until 1853. In the meantime the Gen- eral Synod went bravely on, founding its schools and firmly establishing its work. The direct in- fluence, therefore, of the Ministerium on the con- fessional and the practical development of the Gen- eral Synod could not have been large during the first generation of its history. In the decade following 1853, its influence was considerable, but by no means dominating. Indirectly, the two bodies in- fluenced each other, for there was no contention between them. Moreover, many of the men who became prominent in the Ministerium and the Gen- eral Council received their theological training at the General Synod Seminary. From the feeble beginnings of 1820 and 1823, the General Synod grew to be a relatively large body. In i860, when it attained its greatest comparative strength, it embraced 864 out of 13 13 ministers, and 164,000 out of 245,000 communicants, or about 66 per cent, of the entire Lutheran Church in America. This proportion has not been reached by any other body, though the General Synod is now outnum- bered by the Synodical Conference and the General Council. Between the years i860 and 1866, the General Synod lost over 70,000 members through the with- drawal of the Southern Synods on account of the Civil War, and the withdrawal of those which later OF THE GENERAL SYNOD 39 formed the General Council. The departure of the latter was precipitated by a parliamentary ruling at the convention of the General Synod at Fort Wayne, in 1866, the separation, however, being inevitable on other grounds, confessional, practical, and per- sonal. In spite of these lamentable losses, such has been the recuperative power of the General Synod that at present (1913) it numbers 1366 ministers and 330,000 confirmed members. The growth of the entire Lutheran Church in the meantime has been phenomenal; it numbers now 2,321,000 mem- bers. Though the General Synod has not in all respects realized the hopes of its founders, it has certainly proved the wisdom of its organization by the service it has rendered to Lutheranism and to Christianity. The fathers who founded it were wise and good men, but they were not provided with superhuman foresight, which alone could have calculated on the mighty changes which took place in Church and State during the last century. Even had the events been foreknown, it is hardly conceivable that any general organization could have been made strong enough and also flexible enough to embrace the di- verse tongues and the varied shades of doctrinal interpretation of our great Lutheran Church. The formation of the General Synod was an event of surpassing importance in the history of American Lutheranism, both from a practical and 40 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES a doctrinal standpoint. It preserved at that time the identity of the Lutheran Church on this con- tinent. ''The General Synod must be regarded as a very important forward movement, and its influence as beneficial. It necessarily v^as not without the weaknesses that characterized the Lutheran Church at that time. One who ignores the entire historical development will find much to criticise and con- demn, when examined from the standpoint of what is demanded by consistency with accurate theologi- cal definitions and clear conceptions of church pol- ity. But he will find just as much that incurs the same judgment in the proceedings of the Synods that united to form it. The faults peculiar to each Synod were lost while only the common faults of all of them remained. The General Synod was a protest against the Socinianizing tendency in New York and the schemes of a union with the Re- formed in Pennsylvania, and with the Episcopalians in North Carolina. It stood for the independent existence of the Lutheran Church in America, and the clear and unequivocal confession of a positive Lutheran faith. It was not ready yet, as these Synods were not ready, to return to the foundations laid by Muhlenberg and his associates, from which there had been a general recession from twenty-five to thirty years before. Lament defects as we may, the General Synod saved the Church, as it became anglicized, from the calamity of the type of doctrine OF THE GENERAL SYNOD 4I which within the New York Ministerium had been introduced with the Enghsh language. It had an outlook that included in its sweep the entire Church in all its interests, as the reports on the state of the Lutheran Church, in the various Synods of the country and throughout the world, appended to its minutes, show."* "The impartial historian must readily concede that the General Synod, widi great courage and de- termination, undertook to give a standing and recog- nition to the Lutheran Church in America, such as she had not enjoyed before ; that it was a 'holy ex- periment, concentrating the resources of the Church to effect purposes to which no individual Synod would have been competent,' and that it succeeded in organizing the educational and missionary work of the Church. The establishment of the Theologi- cal Seminary; the sending of a delegation to Ger- many to rouse the sympathies of the Fatherland, and to collect contributions for the Lutheran Church in America; the formation of the Parent Education Society to assist indigent, pious young men in their preparation for the gospel ministry; the Central Missionary Society, with special reference to do- mestic missions: the Foreign Missionary Society for the preaching of the gospel among the Telugus in India ; the establishment of a Pastors' Fund ; the attention given to Church literature and a Book * Jacobs' History of the Bv. Luth. Church, 361 f. 42 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES Company — all these were measures of the highest importance, looking to the vital interests of the Lutheran Church in her new western home."* The confessional history of the General Synod has probably never been fully written from a sym- pathetic and yet objective standpoint. It may be too late and quite needless to do so now; at all events we shall not here undertake the task. It must be a matter of surprise to the cursory reader of our American Lutheran history that in spite of prevailing confessional laxity, the General Synod found the paths of the fathers very early in its career, and that, as a body, it never strayed far from these paths. Let us consider for a moment the confessional situation in our Lutheran Synods at the time of the founding, and during the early years of the General Synod. The saintly Muhlenberg had, in a measure, restored the faith of our Church and incorporated into the original constitution of the Ministerium (1748) a recognition of the Confessions. "In 1787 the patriarch was called to his rest, and in 1792 the Ministerium of Pennsylvania adopted a new con- stitution, omitting all reference to the Confession of the Lutheran Church. This changed constitu- tion formed the basis of that adopted by the Min- isterium of New York. A few years afterward in the latter Synod that famous resolution was * Spaeth's Life of Krauth, Vol. I, 330. OF THE GENERAL SYNOD 43 passed: *That on account of the intimate relation existing between the EngHsh Episcopahan and Lutheran Churches, the identity of their doctrine, and the near approach of their Church discipHne, this consistory will never acknowledge a newly erected Church in places where the members may partake of the services of the said English Episco- pal Church.'"* Dr. Quitman, President of the Ministerium of New York for twenty-one years, published in 1814, "with the consent and approba- tion of the Synod," a catechism w^hich denied the deity of Christ. A similar catechism had been pub- lished before this for the congregations in North Carolina by Dr. Velthusen. In 1794 the Lutheran ministers in North Carolina ordained a Scotchman and pledged him to the rules, ordinances and cus- toms of the Protestant Episcopal Church. "Under this pledge Mr. Miller was pastor of Lutheran con- gregations for twenty-seven years. In 18 10 Gott- lieb Schober, to the end of his life professing to be also a Moravian, was ordained by the North Caro- lina Synod. "t As late as 1818 the Ministerium of Pennsylvania was negotiating with the German Re- formed Church with a view to the establishing of a joint theological seminary. The Ohio Synod, in 1839, "was still \yilling to unite with the Reformed * Spaeth's Life of Krauth, Vol. I, 3i9- t Jacobs' History, 319. 44 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES Synod."* Everywhere, except in the Httle Synod of Tennessee, there was the greatest neglect of the Lutheran Confession and the most hearty union- ism. The first constitution of the General Synod makes no mention of the Confessions of the Lutheran Church. This is not surprising, as none of its con- stituents did so. Nevertheless, the confessions are certainly alluded to by implication in the conditions laid down for admission to the General Synod: *'A11 regularly constituted Lutheran Synods, hold- ing the fundamental doctrines of the Bible as taught by our Church, not now in connection with the Gen- eral Synod, may, at any time, become associated with it by adopting this constitution, and sending delegates to its convention according to the ratio specified.'' (Art. Ill, sec. 3.) At the establishment, however, of the Theological Seminary, in 1825, the General Synod demanded of the professors subscription to the Augsburg Con- fession and Luther's Smaller Catechism. This re- quirement was introduced by Prof. S. S. Schmucker, the first chairman of the faculty, and for nearly forty years a teacher in the Seminary. When Mr. Schmucker was barely of age, such was the clear- ness of his views, that he expressed the conviction that all Lutheran ministers should be pledged to the Augustana. In a letter dated "Princeton, February * Neve's Brief History of the Lutheran Church, 141. OF THE GENERAL SYNOD 45 17th, 1820," addressed to his father, in giving an ac- count of a recent visit to his friend, the Rev. F. C. Schaeffer, pastor in New York City, he writes: **We promised each other that in rehance on God, we would do everything possible to promote the fol- lowing objects: In general to labor for the welfare of our Church, that a rule may be established, ac- cording to which every applicant must be examined in regard to his personal Christianity, that the Augsburg Confession should again be brought up out of the dust, and everyone must subscribe to the twenty-one articles, and declare before God, by his subscription, that it corresponds with the Bible, not quantum, but quia; and we promised to do every- thing possible to promote learning among us/'* For many years Dr. Schmucker was the most con- spicuous Lutheran in America, and the Lutheran Church owes much to his native ability, culture and self-denying and efficient work. From the prelim- inary meeting in 18 19 until 1870 he was present as a delegate or visitor at every convention of the Gen- eral Synod. In the dark days of 1823, when the mother Synod failed to appear, Schmucker's influ- ence helped to save the General Synod from dis- solution.f It is with regret that we remember that * Anstadt's Life and Times of Rev. S. S. Schmucker, D, D., 63. ilbid. 122 f. 46 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES his convictions in regard to the Augustana seem to have grown lax with advancing years. In 1829 the General Synod adopted a form of constitution for the government of district Synods, in which candidates for ordination were asked the following question : "Do you believe that the funda- mental doctrines of the Word of God are taught in a manner substantially correct in the doctrinal articles of the Augsburg Confession?" The consti- tution was framed by Dr. S. S. Schmucker. As far as we know this quasi recognition of the Augsburg Confession was acceptable to all con- cerned, but for binding force it falls far behind the obligation required of the professors in the Semi- nary. The words "substantially correct" connote a mere qiiateniis subscription, and left the way open for the most latitudinarian interpretations. The time for a clear apprehension and full appreciation of the confessions had not arrived. This is appa- rent in an article published in the Evangelical Re- view as late as October, 1853, written by one of the editors, either Dr. Krauth, Sr., or Dr. Reynolds — probably the latter, for he was present at the con- vention of 1839, to which the article refers: "The feeling seemed to prevail [in 1839] that it was not the province of the General Synod to estab- lish any theological basis, or to propose any test of Lutheran orthodoxy : that it was merely an advisory council of the Church, and that however men might OF THE GENERAL SYNOD 47 differ upon points that were regarded as non-essen- tial, they could still meet together in this General Convention to deliberate on the means best calcu- lated to promote the general interest of the Church. It is not the business of the General Synod to in- quire in reference to any Synod applying for its ad- mission into its connection whether it gives only a qualified assent to the Augsburg Confession, or whether it subscribes to every sentiment contained in the Symbolical Books. From the very beginning it was understood that no such touchstone should be applied. We have no sympathy with that illiberal, exclusive spirit manifested in some quarters. We look with no favor upon proscriptive intolerance, whether found in those who represent what is called the Old Lutheran System, or those who question the orthodoxy of all who do not chime in with their doctrinal views, or subscribe to their theological basis."* The year 1853 marks an era in the history of the General Synod, and gives a fair idea of the situa- tion of the Lutheran Church from a confessional standpoint. At the convention held in May, at Winchester, the Synod of Pennsylvania returned to the General Synod, and three other Synods were ad- mitted. "Although there was not much business transacted at this meeting, yet all the delegates in attendance seemed to feel that its influence upon the * Bvangelical Review, Vol. V, 260. 48 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES Church would be salutary. The kindest feeling and the greatest harmony prevailed."* The confessional position of the General Synod, therefore, was not called in question by any of its constituents. Evidently the Synod of Pennsylvania was satisfied therewith, or it would not have re- united w^ith the General Synod. At the meeting of the latter body, held in April, 1853, at Lancaster, Pa., Dr. C. F. Schaeffer presented a report on 'The Confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church," which concluded with the resolution: 'That when this Synod employs the phrase 'Confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church,' it employs it in such a sense as to correspond to the uniform usage of the Church, namely, implying that the doctrinal system of the Church is that system, whole and en- tire, which is taught in (i) the three ancient or Ecumenical Symbols; (2) the Augsburg Confes- sion; (3) the Apology; (4) the Smalcald Articles; (5) the Large and the Small Catechisms, and (6) the Formula of Concord." Dr. Schaeffer, in com- menting on this matter, says : 'The Synod declined to adopt it in this form, as several members entertained an apprehension that the consciences of some might feel oppressed by a formal recognition of its terms, without any further explanations and relaxations." Listead of the above resolution the Synod adopted the following preamble and resolutions : * Evangelical Review, Vol. V, 278. OF THE GENERAL SYNOD 49 "Whereas, (i) The Evangelical Lutheran Church has of late arrived at clearer views of its doctrinal and other dis- tinctive features, and, whereas (2) we are justified in ex- pecting that both the internal and the external welfare of our Church will be thereby essentially promoted, and, whereas (3) we recognize the importance of a historical and confessional basis for the Church ; therefore, "i. Resolved, That we also with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of our fathers, acknowledge the collective body of the Symbolical Books, as the historical and confessional writings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and that we also, like the Lutheran Church of former times, accord to the unal- tered Augsburg Confession and Luther's Small Catechism an especial importance among our Symbolical Books generally. "2. Resolved, That we enjoin it upon all the ministers and candidates of our Church, as their duty, to make themselves better and more thoroughly acquainted with these venerable documents of the faith of our fathers than has hitherto been the case with many. "3. Resolved. That it is not by any means our intention hereby to diminish the absolute authority of the Holy Scrip- tures, but much rather to place it in the clearest light possible, and that we by no means design through these symbols to place constraint upon the consciences of any, but much rather through them to bind the conscience to the Holy Scriptures as the divine source of truth." Concerning these resolutions, Dr. Schaeffer re- marks : ''Some may possibly regard them as quite stringent, others may find them a somewhat weak infusion, it is true, but still, perhaps, best suited to a state of convalescence, and a flattering indication that the Apostle's 'strong meat' can soon be safely substituted for 'milk.' "* *Ev. Rev., Vol. V, 212 f. 50 DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINES AND USAGES In its application for readmission into the Gen- eral Synod, in i