The same
charge would equally lie against the greater part of our best
ministers during the last half century, _and against the founders of
the General Synod themselves_.
With this occasional disclaimer of these errors, American Lutherans
have hitherto been satisfied, nor would the question of officially
adopting a new creed have been raised at this time, had not the
Ultra-Lutherans of our land, of late become animated by a new zeal to
disseminate their symbolic errors, and to denounce as not Lutherans,
all who do not receive them. When the adoption of a new creed was thus
forced upon them, a number of the brethren advocated the formation of
one entirely new; but others believing it best to retain the venerable
mother symbol of Protestantism, as far as we could regard her
teachings as Scriptural, proposed the omission of the few disputed
points, and the adoption of the residue unaltered, thus retaining
nearly the whole of the doctrinal articles. The suggestion was
adopted, as being more respectful to the venerable symbol of our
church, we were urged to prepare the work for the consideration of
some of the Western Synods; and thus the American Recension of the
Augsburg Confession originated from respect for that creed, rather
than the want of it. The talk about sacrilege, &c., would sound more
natural among Romanists than Protestants; and the idea of deception
is utterly unfounded, because the very name adopted, "American
Recension," is a constant notification to the reader of some change.
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