This continues from Part AG11a (Table of Contents in Part AG1a) in a series presenting Walther's essays to the Western District that supported his theme "That Only Through the Doctrine of the Lutheran Church is All Glory Given to God Alone". — This segment concludes the essay from the 1886 Western District convention. Even though Walther's biblical teaching shows how far today's American society has strayed from God's Word, yet he charges his own times with the same charges that we face today! — From pages 45-58:
Notable Quotes:
[Women, wives]
45: Thesis II: "the woman 1. according to God's Word is bound in conscience to be subject to her husband"
45: "The spirit of independence, which has now taken hold of almost all peoples, is now also rampant among women" [Walther called this out even 140 years ago! Who can deny this now?]
45: "In the church, however, such women do not want to be mere listeners, as the apostle clearly and unambiguously demands, but they also seek to take control of the pulpit"
46: "Those women who are addicted to innovation now say, of course, that this Bible verse applies only to barbaric times, but not to ours"
46: "The Lutheran Church alone is so simple-minded that it submits unconditionally to the word of the apostles and prophets.…Woe, therefore, to those whom God has led into this [Lutheran] church and who leave it as apostates!" [E.g. Dr. Jaroslav Pelikan, "Father" Richard John Neuhaus, Ed. Preuss, etc.]
48: "Where can we find women today who speak of their husbands as their lords?" [Luther's Gen. 3:16]
48: "…but the parents are mostly to blame. They have experience, should know better, and should never allow marriage to such a worldly man.
49: "in this sense marriage represents a kind of kingship, not popular rule"
50: "2. the husband has neither the right nor the power to rule over the faith and conscience of his wife"
51: "One should therefore not marry an unbelieving person in the hope of converting them."
52: "A wife is not under the rod like a child, but should be her husband's helper."
[Household servants]
52: Thesis III: "household servants… 1. are bound by God's Word to honor their masters …to faithfully carry out the orders given to them in accordance with the agreement made"
53: "It is a shameful principle that the Communists put forward that all people should be equal. God's Word says the opposite. Rich and poor, high and low, masters and servants must be among themselves."
54: Genesis 31:38-41: "Jacob put up with all of Laban's injustice [unlike Communists] and waited for the day of retribution." [Genesis 31:38-41]
54: "one can also employ ungodly people, but one should not take them into the family, as one does when one makes them servants or maids"
54: "In Luther's time, slavery was already virtually abolished in Germany"
54-55: "For from the authority of parents flows and spreads all other authority."
55: "servants and maids should see to it that they… also honor them as their own fathers and mothers"
55: "Those shameful people [Communists] who engage in agitation want to eat bread, but it is against their honor to help out as farmhands."
56: "2. those who are in charge of the household have neither the right nor the power to rule over the faith and conscience of their servants."
56: "since most of the servants mentioned in Scripture were slaves, it is very difficult to cite passages that are appropriate to our circumstances." [But Walther's deep Scriptural understanding finds 2 of them!]
57: "However, a householder must ensure that his unbelieving and papist servants are instructed in the true faith…But they are not to be forced to convert"
Now I present my English translation of the full complete essay. It includes missing portions restored, all emphasized wording retained, wording sometimes closer to Walther's, and hyperlinks for reference and navigation. All references to Luther's writings are linked to English versions:
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