St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-15
IT MUST Be 0BEYED. !
Lutherans Have a Warm Dis
cuSSiOn on a VeXed Prob
lem Of the Day.
Christians Bound to Obey
Government Even Though .
1t Be Tyrannical. n
~
Anarchists, Romanists and
Rationalists Roasted to
a Turn. ia
Supt. Porter Decides That Alb
sentees Shall Be Enumer- J.
ated in the Recount. IS

The greatest synodical body of Luz
therans in America, the so-called syn :
odical conference, is assembled in
convention at st. Paul. The conference
embraces the synods of Missouri, Wis
cOnSln and Minnesota and the English
conference. The number of ministers
belonging to the several synods is about
1926; that of parochial school teachers,
about $50, and that of communicate
members, about 410,800.
The conference was opened Wednes-
day forenoon by service in which
the Rev. 81. Sickert, of New York city
preached from Matt. ", 1916, on the
calling of the Lutheran church. In the
afternoon the conference was called to
order by the president. Rev. j. Bading.
OF Milwaukee. 1t was found that 122
delegates were present. The result of
the election was: Rev. j. Bading,
president; Rev. NJ. Tirmenstein, of st.
Paul, vice president, and Rev. Charles
Fink, of Grand Rapids, Mich, secre-
tary.
Yesterday forenoon set of PROPOSE
tons on the doctrine of civil govern
ment was presented for discussion by
Prof. A. Ernst, of WatertoWn, Wis.
They are as follows:
First-Civil government is Instituted
of God, and therefore Divine ordi-
nance, whatever its particular form
may be.
Second-The Office of government eX-
tends only over temporal affairs, not
over spiritual things and over con-
science.
Third-The government is to be
guided in its office by the natural law
Yet it is not forthwith to be looked upon
as disregarding the divine law if, under
given circumstances, it suffers to go I'M
punished one sin or another, in order to
avoid greater evil.
Fourth-We Christians are bound to
be obedient to the government, even
though it be tyraDnic and cruel. pro-
vided in the first place. that it remains
that it commands nothing contrary to
the divine law and conscience.
Fifth-lf the government does wrong.
it is the duty of Christians, especially
of the called ministers of the Gospel, to-
rebuke the same.
Sixth-The object for which God has
instituted civil governments is the glory
of God, the safety of citizens, and the
protection of the church.
The first proposition was subjected to-
lengthy discussion and the following
scriptural passages were expounded:i
Rom. xiii II, John xix:1l, Pet. ii:13-17,
Prov. Wills, Dan. ii 80, Eek. iX:20,
2 Chron. xix:6, 1 Cor. xv:24. 1t was
shown that wherever there is a govern
ment in authority, such government is
divineIy instituted and must be eyed.
The question is not to be raised, how
the government has acquired power;
but it is simply, whether the govern
ment is in possession of power, be 1T
democracy, an ,aristocracy or mon
archy.l After this, the views of anarcii-
lists, Romanists and rationalists were
held up. Anarchists spurn every form
of government. Romanists render
obedience, first, to foreign potentate,
and, then, to their own country. Ra-
tionalists consider government a human
invention, and hold that they are at
liberty to institute and abolish govern
mentS.