In the age of the Reformation, Luther had obligated himself to the entire Romish system, yea, had at the receipt of his Doctorate, taken an oath to obey the Church of Rome, and not to teach any doctrines condemned by her [Note 2] But having been enlightened by the study of the Bible, which providentially fell into his hands, he saw his errors, and wisely judging that an oath to do any criminal deed ceases to be obligatory after the sinfulness of the contemplated act is seen, he renounced those errors one after another, as fast as the light of truth illumined his mind. This work he commenced in 1517, and continued from year to year till near the close of his life. In 1530, eleven years after, he began the work of reform, and sixteen before his death, he approved the Augsburg confession, as drawn up by Melancthon, although he told him in a letter during the diet, that he had yielded too much to the papists, as will be seen in the sequel. But Luther never signed any confession of faith; nor was a pledge to the Augsburg confession or to any other symbol required of the ministers of the church during his lifetime; although the Augsburg confession was regarded as the exponent of the prevalent views of the Protestant churches in Germany. It was not until a quarter of a century after Luther had left the church militant, and not until the Lutheran church had been established in Germany for full half a century, that the so-called symbolic system was regularly and generally introduced by the civil authorities of the major portion of Protestant Germany. Now it is in regard to the import of this Confession of Augsburg, published before the middle of Luther's labors as a reformer, that some differences of opinion have been entertained. To ascertain the true sense of such passages according to the most impartial and just principle of exegesis, is one principal object of our investigations in the following pages.
It has often been affirmed by some, who have not examined the history of that eventful diet with particular care, that the Augsburg Confession was prepared under the most favorable circumstances for an impartial and full exhibition of all the views of the confessors, both of positive truth and papal errors. The contrary was, however, the case, as will be distinctly shown in the sequel. But we will first reply to the General Observations of the Plea of our esteemed brother, the Rev. Mr. Mann. Let it be remembered, however, that whatever may be the import of this and other creeds, they have all been formed since the age of inspiration, they are all uninspired and therefore fallible. Hence, it is equally the duty of the church, in every generation, to test her existing creed by the word of God, and to correct and improve it, if found unscriptural in any of its teachings, or if experience has taught that it is too brief or too extended, successfully to accomplish the legitimate purposes of such documents. The idea of the infallibility of any human creed, or even its semi-inspiration, is philosophically unreasonable, and either a remnant of Romish superstition, or an amiable weakness of judgment. Melancthon himself did not regard his Confession as perfect, for he made sundry alterations in it in his successive editions. And even at Augsburg, after the confession had been sent to Luther, at Coburg, and returned with his approbation on the 16th of May, Melancthon, in a letter to him, dated six days later, (May 22,) employs the following language: "In the Apology, (which was the name first intended for the Augsburg Confession,) I daily make many changes. The section concerning 'Vows,' which was too meagre, I have stricken out, and have treated the subject more fully. I am now doing the name with the section concerning 'The Keys.' I wish you could have reviewed the doctrinal articles," (namely, as now amended,) "and then, if you found nothing defective in them, I would discuss the remaining articles as well as may be. _For, in Articles of faith, some change must be made, from time to time, and they must be adapted to the occasions." [Note 3] Here is anything else than the idea of the immaculate and unalterable nature of the Augsburg Confession for all after times.
Note 1. In 1529, whilst Melancthon was attending the Conferences at Spire, this great and good man made a little excursion to Bretton, to visit his mother. During their interview, she asked him what she should believe amid so many disputes, and repeated to him her prayers, which were free from superstition. "Go on, mother," said he, "to believe and to pray as you have done, and never trouble yourself about religious controversies."
Note 2. As this oath is a literary curiosity, we subjoin it, in the original, for the gratification of our learned readers: Ego juro Domino Decano et Magistris Facultatis Theologiae obedientiam et reverentiam debitam, et in quocunque statu utilitatem universitatis, et maxime Facultatis Theologicae, pro virili mea procurabo, et omnes actus theologicos exercebo in mitra, (nisi fuerit religiosus) vanas, peregrinas doctrinas, ab ecclesia damnatas, et piarum aurium offensivas non dogmatisabo, sed dogmatisantem Dn. Decano denunciabo intra octendium, et manutenebo consuetudines, libertates et privilegia Theologicae Facultatis pro virili mea, ut me Deus adjuvet, et Sanctorum evangeliorum conditores. Juro etiam Romanae ecclesiae obedientiam, et procurabo pacem inter Magistros et Scholasticos seculares et religiosos, et biretum in nullo alio gymnasio recipiam." Lib. Statutorum facultatis theol. Academiae Wittemberg. Cap. 7.
Note 3. An der Apologie (Confession) aendere ich taeglich Vieles. Den Abschnitt von den Geluebden, der zu mager war, habe ich gestrichen und den Gegenstand ausfuehrlicher abgehandelt. Eben so verfahre ich jetzo mit dem Abschnitt von "den Schluesseln." Ich wuenschte, du haettest die "Glaubensartikel" ueberblickt, wo ich dann, wenn du nichts fehlerhaftes darin gefunden, das uebrige, so gut es gehen will, abhandeln werde. Denn es musz zum oeftern an den Glaubensartikeln abgeaendert werden, und man musz sie den Gelegenheiten anbequemen. In the Latin: Vellem percurisses articulos fidei, in quibus si nihil putaveris esse vitii, reliqua utcunque tractabimus. "Subinde enim, mutandi stint atque ad occasiones accommodandi." Christian Niemeyer's Philip Melancthon, im Jahre der Augsburgischen Confession, pp. 13, 14.
CHAPTER II. REPLY TO THE GENERAL OBSERVATIONS OF THE PLEA.
In replying to the general observations, which constitute the introduction of the Plea, we shall pursue the order of their occurrence.
"We shall, in this short tract," says the author, "not speak of the objections, which in the Definite Platform are set forth against some errors, contained in some other symbolical books of the Lutheran Church, but we shall confine ourselves exclusively to the errors pointed out in the Augsburg Confession, the work of Luther and Melancthon themselves, and the only one of our Confessions which was universally received as such, by the whole Lutheran Church in all parts of the world," p. 4. This concession is no less honorable to the reverend author, than the fact itself is important in the discussion of the subject before us. As the contrary has frequently been asserted in this country, in the face of history, it seems proper to advert to its details. The facts in the case are the following:
The Form of Concord was rejected in Denmark, Sweden, Hessia, Pommerania, Holstein, Anhalt, and the cities of Strasburg, Frankfurt a. m. Speier, Worms, Nuerenberg, Magdeburg, Bremen, Dantzig, &c. For particulars see Koellner's Symbolik, Vol. I, pp. 575-77.
The Smalcald Articles were rejected by Sweden and Denmark.