American Lutheranism, Volume 1: Early History of American Lutheranism and the Tennessee SynodBente, F. (Friedrich)
History
American Lutheranism, Volume 1: Early History of American Lutheranism and the Tennessee Synod
Bente, F. (Friedrich)
Lutheran Church -- Tennessee -- History; Lutheran Church -- United States -- History
75. Harbors Reformed Views on Lord's Supper.--The charges against
David Henkel as to his teaching the Romish doctrine of
transubstantiation, referred to above, had been lodged with Pastor
Shober, then secretary of the North Carolina Synod. When David Henkel
complained that his accusers were not named, Shober, who had never
forsaken his Moravian views, wrote him a letter, dated October 20, 1818,
which at the same time reveals that, as to the Lord's Supper, his were
the views of the Reformed. For here we read: "Your very long epistle,
proving that Christ is with His body every where present, is excellent
on paper, but not so in the pulpit, where seven-eighths of the hearers
will gaze at the profound erudition and one-eighth of such as reason
will shake heads at a thing to be believed, but not explainable, and to
none will it effect conviction of the necessity of spiritual
regeneration and of adopting Him as their God and Savior crucified." "I
must assure you that creditable people of our Church and the Reformed
have not only heard you advance that whosoever is baptized and partakes
of the Supper wants no other and further repentance, but also that
whosoever teaches other doctrine, he is a false teacher. This, my dear
sir, is making people secure in forms and not in realities. How easy is
it to go to heaven, for an adulterous heart to be absolved by Mr.
Henkel, and as a seal to receive from Mr. Henkel the Sacrament, who by
his few words made bread body and wine blood--and such a holy divine
body, without limitation of space, as is compelled to enter into all
substances and beings, whether they will or not, so that a Belial, when
he receives it, must thereby be made an heir of heaven. No, no, I cannot
believe in such theories, and as I told you once at my home when you
returned from Virginia and asked me on that subject, so I think yet, and
say that when Mr. Henkel consecrates bread and wine, it is the body and
blood of our Savior to such with whom He can unite; but to those who are
not of pure heart and yet partake, and that with reverence, the
spirituality of the true essence does not unite with their souls; they
eat bread and wine, for they have not such a faith, love, and humility
as enables them to possess the divine essence. And those that partake
without reverence, light-minded, and during the ceremony disdain the
simplicity of the institution, mock and deride it, they bring judgment
upon themselves for eating and drinking the consecrated elements, but
not for partaking [the] body and blood of Jesus, for they have not
partaken thereof. God and Belial cannot unite. Do, pray, reflect deeply
on the subject, and assure to all peace in heart, and those of contrite
spirit that the Lord in the Sacrament will unite with them spiritually
and seal their heavenly inheritance. But invite them all to come and
partake that revere the Savior as God, and assure them that, if they
approach with reverence, it may be made the means of viewing the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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