Comm2: Two causes for lectures; omitted section restored (Prologue 1)

      This continues from Part 1 (Table of Contents in Part 1), a series presenting a new translation of C.F.W. Walther's Communism and Socialism from 1878. — In this installment we meet with the first portion that was omitted by the 1947 former translation by the "Lutheran Research Society". It is highlighted in light pink and darker pink.  I was quite puzzled as to why Walther's statement, that these lectures were not about politics at all but about religion, would be omitted.  Certainly it would not be for a Lutheran reason!  I became more determined to present this book as it was presented to the original German language congregation, and not be changed by later editors with an agenda different from Walther's.  These lectures were only about spiritual matters.  As such, they are much more effective than any politically motivated writing. — Now we will allow Walther to open our eyes to see "the flash from afar".

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Translation of Walther's 1878 Communismus und Socialismus by BackToLuther primarily using DeepL online translation service; highlighting and bolding are my emphases, red text within square brackets [] are my comments, underlining is Walther's emphasis. Red highlight indicates omitted in 1947 translation.

C.F.W. Walther's Communism and Socialism, (Part 2, p. 5-8)

Lecture I. [Prologue]

O God, Thou once created man good and blessed, and gave him a place to dwell in Paradise; but alas! man has fallen away from Thee, and thus has become a poor, unhappy creature, and his short life on earth is a life full of toil and misery.

But instead of man accusing himself for this and invoking Thy grace, he accuses Thee, denies Thy gracious providence and government and despairs of Thee, or pronounces in his heart the terrible word, “There is no God!”

Alas, protect us from such great blindness and sin, and enlighten our minds, that in the distress of this earth we may in deepest humility recognize the fruit of our apostasy, and rule our hearts, that we may not quarrel with Thee, our gracious Creator, but humble ourselves under Thy mighty hand in our toil and need, patiently awaiting Thy help, and comforting us with it, that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy of the glory which shall be revealed there in Thine.

Alas, have mercy on all suffering humanity, draw it to Thee through Thy Word, and then help it out of all bodily and spiritual distress and finally put it in the eternal kingdom of your joy and glory. Yea, do this for the sake of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.  Amen.

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It is a twofold cause, as the dear congregation knows, which has brought us together here today. The first reason was the appearance of a daily newspaper here in St. Louis, which wants to be the organ of the workers, and which has therefore also been chosen by some, especially younger, members of our congregation. The other reason was the emergence of so-called labor unions, which want to represent the interests of the workers to their employers.

Now would that newspaper really be an organ of the workers, which legitimately represented the interests of the workers, — who then could say a [page 6] word against it, if some worker made it his own and preferred it to other secular newspapers? And if the labor unions were basically nothing other than [1947-16] what the fraternities, guilds, trade unions and clubs were in Germany, — then who could make anyone feel it a matter of conscience about joining such a society? For the Apostle Paul tells us expressly that if Christians did not want to bind themselves at all, not even in business and civil matters, to the children of this world, they would have to leave the world altogether. But unfortunately! neither one nor the other is the case. First of all, this newspaper is not an organ for the workers alone, but it has set itself the goal of bringing the newer Communist ideas to the people and to realize them, if possible in peace, but if not, also by force, even by fire and sword. As far as the labor unions are concerned, it is well known that they were planned and set up by the Communists or Socialists, and that according to their meaning they are nothing other than a preschool for Communism and Socialism.

In order that no one might think that this was an empty statement, I had some issues of that newspaper, the so-called Volksstimme des Westens  [People's Voice of the West], sent to me, without asking which number would most accurately express the character of the newspaper. Nevertheless, I got my hands on the issues which clearly show this. In the December 24, 1877 issue, there is the continuation of an novella written by the editor of this newspaper, Dr. A. Otto-Walster [Walker?], in which it says the following:

“We will be particularly keen to prove that man with his claims to material well-being does not need to be dependent on another world, that he can and should find it here on earth, and here we recall the verses from Heinrich Heine's “A Winter's Tale”:

A song that’s new and truthful too,

Dear friends, I will indite for you—

A song of heaven here on earth,

Claimed by right of human birth.

We would be happy here below,

Nor longer suffer want and woe!

The lazy belly shall not spoil 

What faithful hands have won by toil.

On earth there grows enough of bread;

For all mankind the table’s spread; [1947-17]

Where rose and myrtle spring to please,

Why see, there too grow sugar peas.

Aye, sugar peas for best and worst,

As soon the pregnant pods may burst;

Celestial joys we leave indeed 

To angels and the sparrow breed.” [from Rev. C.T. Steck, 1879] [page 7]

I think one only has to wonder, when one hears only one such passage, how a Christian who believes the Holy Scriptures to be the Word of God, believes in the Savior and hopes for eternal life, could support such a paper. Certainly, dear brethren, politics does not concern us theologians at all; also, as far as the economic conditions of the human society are concerned, we have nothing to say about them, and it does not occur to us to want to do so. One reads our church publications, and one will soon find that we do not interfere in these matters at all. It is not our office and calling. But if those who pretend to be politicians do interfere in Religion, then we cannot remain silent, or we will become traitors to the truth. And we shall not be such wretched cowards, who know how these people in their assemblies are fit to judge Christianity, that we should fear to illuminate here also with God's Word and to judge what they speak against God's Word in their assemblies and write in their papers! He would be a despicable man who called himself a Christian and was afraid to bear witness when his eternal divine Master was attacked and the reason for his hope ridiculed. Everyone sees that this paper is an atheistic one, whose editor believes neither in God nor in eternal life, but makes a mockery of both. If he says that he does believe in God and also in a hereafter, this is not our concern. We ask about what he writes in his newspaper. He must let himself be judged by that. But this, his newspaper, is an atheistic Communist newspaper.

That it is Communist, there is another testimony. If I had taken the trouble to look through the whole volume, I could have given many more testimonies, but even these few are perfectly adequate for our purpose. So it says in the number of December 15:

“Fire, water, air and earth are the four so-called elements of nature, of which the Deity gave as much to one person as to another. Who will, who can deny it? Therefore, you see, Doctor,” (it is an essay against a certain Dr. Holland), “that this Communism, commanded by our ‘Lord Jesus Christ’ to his disciples and followers is simultaneous with the creation of the world and man.”

So our dear Lord JEsus Christ is to be made the supreme Communist! It goes on:

“An all-wise and beneficent God, Himself the author, and ‘Christ’, the Son, asserts only that which ‘God the Father’ has from the beginning ordered and decreed.”

Christ, by the way, is cited here with quotation marks, also the words God, the Father. With this the writer [1947-18] wants to show his opponent: I [page 8] speak now in your sense; of course I do not believe in any Christ, and I do not believe in any God the Father. But I want to fight with your own weapons for once. You want to be a servant of the written word, as you call it, well, I will beat you out of your own word of God, and show you that if you want to be a true believer in the Bible, you must also become a Communist. That is the point. — It goes on to say: “This is God's command and Christ's teaching” Furthermore: 

“The workers of America do not think of putting themselves under the wheels of this so-called civilization, which is nothing other than barbarism, and being crushed to death, seeing their little ones condemned to eternal poverty and to perpetual misery, so that a few select people may remain rich and lazy. They will no longer kiss the hands of those who beat them. They will no longer caress the chains that bind them. They will rise, they are rising up already, in the majesty of their power and manhood to crush this vile and terrible monster, to defend their rights as men and to become free and happy.”

This is yet very moderate talk here. But anyone who knows the story knows where this is leading. It is the flash from afar before the terrible thunderstorm which these men intend to conjure up on the present generation. If they cannot achieve their ends in peace, well, they will use violence, and bloody violence at that. They want to crush this giant they think they have trampled underfoot.
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