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
SYNOD'S UN-LUTHERAN ATTITUDE CONTINUED.
66. Decades of Indifferentism.--After the abortive efforts at
establishing a union seminary and uniting with the Reformed organically,
and after her withdrawal from the General Synod in 1823, the
Pennsylvania Synod passed through a long period of indifferentism before
the spirit of Lutheran confessionalism once more began to manifest
itself, chiefly in consequence of influences from German Lutheran
immigrants and by the activity of such men as Drs. Krauth and Mann.
However, even till the middle of the nineteenth century the symptoms of
reviving Lutheranism in the Pennsylvania Synod were but relatively weak,
few, and far between. The Agenda of 1842 still contained the union
formula of distribution in the Lord's Supper and revealed a unionistic
and Reformed spirit everywhere. A form of Baptism savors of Pelagianism
and Rationalism. The Agenda does not contain a single clear and
unequivocal confession of the Lutheran doctrine of the real presence.
The second form for celebrating the Lord's Supper states: "As we are
sensual creatures, He [Christ] has appointed two external, visible
elements, bread and wine, as tokens (Pfaender), as it were, in order by
them to assure us that with, in, and under them (mit, bei und unter
denselben) we should become partakers of His body and blood, that is,
of His entire grace of atonement. As surely, therefore, as a penitent
communicant receives the blessed bread and the blessed cup, so surely
he, in a manner invisible, will also receive from his Savior a share in
His body and blood." (_Lutheraner_ 1844,47; 1846,61.81.) In 1848 Rev.
Weyl, of Baltimore, the arch-enemy of confessional Lutheranism and
unscrupulous slanderer of Wyneken, Reynolds, etc., declared in his
church-paper that within the whole Synod of Pennsylvania there were
hardly ten preachers who, in their faith and teaching regarding the
doctrine of the Lord's Supper, deviated from the views of the General
Synod. Dr. Walther remarked with respect to this statement, which he was
inclined to regard as mendacious: "Since the [Pennsylvania] Synod was
not ashamed to conclude its Centennial Jubilee by declaring this
miserable paper [of Weyl] its organ and thereby publishing to the world
its spiritual death [as a Lutheran Church], it serves her right to have
this man write her epitaph." (_L_. 1848, 31.) Concerning the new
hymn-book of the Pennsylvania Synod, Rev. Hoyer wrote in _Kirchliche
Mitteilungen:_ "After a closer inspection I found that this hymn-book
was compiled for three classes of people, Orthodox, Unionists, and
Supranaturalists. Here we find, besides 'Es ist das Heil uns kommen
her,' also 'Religion, von Gott gegeben,' as well as a hymn for the
national holiday, the 4th of July, imploring the Lord to give us the
spirit of Washington." (1850, 91; _L_. 7, 65.) _Der Lutherische Herold_,
which, edited by H. Ludwig, appeared since April, 1851, in New York,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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