52. Attitude toward Non-Lutherans.--In the _Lutheran Encyclopedia_ H.
E. Jacobs says in praise of Muhlenberg: "He knew how to combine width of
view and cordiality of friendship towards those of other communions,
with strict adherence to principle." (331.) Similar views had been
expressed by Dr. W. J. Mann at the First Free Lutheran Diet at
Philadelphia. In his "Theses on the Lutheranism of the Fathers of the
Church in This Country" he said: "Their Lutheranism did not differ from
the Lutheran orthodoxy of the preceding period, in the matter of
doctrine, but to an extent in the manner of applying it. It was
orthodoxy practically vitalized. They were less polemical and
theoretical. Whilst tolerant toward those of other convictions, they
were, however, neither indifferent nor unionistically inclined, and
never conformed Lutheranism to any other form of Christianity, though in
their days the pressure in this direction was heavy." (Spaeth, _C. P.
Krauth_, 1, 318.) However, though Muhlenberg's intentions undoubtedly
were to be and remain a Lutheran, his fraternal intercourse and intimate
fellowship with the Reformed, Episcopalians, Methodists, and other
denominations, was of a nature incompatible with true Lutheranism. He
evidently regarded the various Christian communions as sister churches,
who had practically the same divine right to exist and to propagate
their distinctive views as the Lutheran Church. Such was the principle
of indifferentism on which Muhlenberg based his practise of fraternal
recognition and fellowship. The natural and inevitable result of his
relations with the sects was that the free, open, and necessary
confession of Lutheran truth over against Reformed error was weakened
and muffled, and finally smothered and entirely silenced and omitted.
Nor can it be denied that Muhlenberg, by this unionism and
indifferentism, wasted and corrupted much of the rich blessings which
God bestowed, and purposed to bestow, on the American Lutheran Church
through him. Like Dr. Wrangel and the Swedes in Delaware generally,
Muhlenberg and his associates entertained the opinion that especially
the Lutherans and Episcopalians were not separated by any essential
doctrinal differences. Indeed, the Germans in Pennsylvania, like the
Swedes in Delaware, seem at times to have seriously considered a union
between the Episcopalians and the Lutherans. In brief, Muhlenberg's
attitude toward the Reformed and other sects was of a nature which
cannot be justified as Lutheran nor construed as non-unionistic in
character.
53. The Facts in the Case.--From the very beginning to the end of his
activity in America the practise of Muhlenberg was not free from
indifferentism and unionism. Already on his voyage across the ocean he
had conducted services according to the Book of Common Prayer. (G.,
322.) November 25, 1742, Muhlenberg had arrived in Philadelphia, and on
December 28th of the same year he wrote in his journal: "In the
afternoon I visited the English pastor of the Episcopal Church. He was
very cordial, and informed me that he had always been a good friend of
our Lutheran brethren, the Swedish missionaries, and desired to be on
friendly terms also with me." (267.) In 1743 Muhlenberg signified his
willingness to build a union church with the Reformed in case they were
willing to shoulder their part of the expenses. (272.) In 1751 he
reported from New York: "May 31, I visited Mr. Barclay, the most
prominent pastor of the Anglican Church, whom the Archbishop has
appointed commissioner of the province of New York. . . . The Dutch
Reformed have at present four pastors. I called on the oldest of them,
Mr. Du Bois, who received me cordially. Thereupon I visited the youngest
of the Dutch Reformed Ministerium. I visited also the third member of
this body, who, together with his wife, carried on a beautiful and
edifying conversation, so that I was truly delighted." (421.) "June 28,
I visited Mr. Pemberton, the pastor of the English Presbyterian
congregation, for the first time. He was much pleased with my short
call, and remarked that he had received a letter from Pastor Tennent in
Philadelphia, who had mentioned my name and advised him to cultivate my
company. Almost immediately he began to speak of the sainted Professor
Francke, saying that he had read several of his Latin works. Besides
this we had several other edifying conversations. Upon my departure he
asked me to visit him frequently." (422.) "July 22, my host and I drove
to the oldest Reformed pastor, who gave us a cordial reception. In the
afternoon we visited one of the elders of my congregation. In the
evening the younger Reformed pastor visited me." (425.) "On the 23d I
again preached in Dutch on the opening verses of the fifth chapter of
Matthew. The two Reformed pastors and a large number of people were
present." (425.) "August 17, I preached a penitential sermon and had
confession. The church was filled with Lutherans and Reformed, among
whom was also the younger pastor." (428.) "August 21, the members of
the congregation who live near by, several Reformed neighbors, and a
number of friends of New York assembled to hear my farewell sermon at
that place." (420.) "May 11, our Dutch congregation-members who live
near by, and some Reformed neighbors, were invited to attend an hour of
edification." (434.) "In the afternoon I bade farewell to the younger
Reformed pastor." (439.) "Early on Tuesday morning the Reformed Pastor
Schlatter came to my home and embraced me after the custom of our old
and unfeigned love." (439.) "In the evening I was called to the six
Reformed pastors who had arrived. I went and welcomed them with the
words: 'Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye
therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.' July 30, I was taken
to the pious English merchant, as he had some awakened souls with him.
They sang a psalm, read a chapter from a devotional book, and in
conclusion urged me to pray. After the dear souls had returned to their
homes, I remained with him and had a very delightful and edifying
conversation with him and his pious wife." (440.) Muhlenberg praises the
Episcopalian Richard Peters as a "moderate theologian," possessed of a
"catholic spirit," and reports in 1760: "On the ninth and tenth of
August Mr. Richard Peters, secretary of the province and president of
the Academy in Philadelphia, visited me in Providence. In the morning he
attended our German service, with which, he said, he was greatly
delighted. In the afternoon he himself delivered a very solid and
edifying sermon to a large audience." (516.) After his removal to
Philadelphia, in 1761, Muhlenberg wrote: "On Monday, March 16, I
intended quietly to leave the city. However, Provost Wrangel as well as
some of the elders accompanied me, the former as far as the home of
Pastor Schlatter, where we were hospitably received and entertained for
the night." (380.) On the services conducted at Barren Hill on Easter
Monday, 1762, Muhlenberg reports as follows: "After my sermon Pastor
Schlatter added a short admonition, impressing upon them what they had
already heard." (517.) "On Monday, May 25, I went out in the forenoon to
visit some English friends. As I happened to pass by the English High
Church at eleven o'clock, I was called into the manse, where I found a
numerous assembly of the honorable English missionaries, who were
conducting their annual meeting. They took me to church with them,
showed me unmerited honor, and permitted me to attend their session as a
friend and witness." (380.) May 21, 1762, Muhlenberg noted in his diary:
"At noon I was with Mr. R., who related with joy how he, Mr. D., and
Provost Wrangel, together with the new Swedish pastor, Mr. Wicksel, and
the Reformed pastor, Schlatter, had yesterday, on Ascension Day,
attended the new church, where they had heard two splendid and edifying
sermons in German and English delivered to two large audiences." (383.)
October 16, 1763, he wrote: "Pastor Handschuh was called upon to bury a
Reformed woman who died in childbirth; he delivered the sermon in the
old Reformed church." On October 18, 1763, during the sessions of Synod,
and at its request, Whitefield preached in the pulpit of Muhlenberg. In
1767 J. S. Gerock dedicated his new church in New York, "assisted by
different High German and English Protestant pastors and teachers," H.
M. Muhlenberg and Hartwick also preaching. (444.) When Muhlenberg
dedicated his new Zion Church in Philadelphia, on June 25, 1769, the
professors of the Academy as well as the Episcopalian and Presbyterian
pastors were invited. The report says: "The second English pastor, Mr.
Duchee, opened the services by reading the English prayers, the
Prorector of the Academy offered an appropriate prayer, and Commissioner
Peters delivered a splendid sermon on the song of the angels, Luke 2,
whereupon Rector Muhlenberg, in the name of the corporation and
congregation, thanked the honorable assembly, in English, for their
favor and kindness in honoring this newly erected church and conducting
a service there." May 27, 1770, Whitefield, upon invitation, also
preached in the new church. (518.) Without a word of censure on the part
of his father, or of protest on the part of Synod, Peter Muhlenberg, in
1772, at London, subscribed to the Thirty-nine Articles and received
Episcopal ordination, in order to be able to perform legal marriage
ceremonies within his congregations in Virginia. Invited by the
Presbyterian pastor, W. Tennent, Muhlenberg, Sr., preached in his church
on two occasions while at Charleston, in 1774. (578.) At Savannah he
preached in the union church of the Reformed Pastor Zuebli, and in the
Lutheran church at Savannah he enjoyed the sermon of a Methodist pastor.
(518.) At the church dedication in Pikestown, in 1775, he preached in
German, and an Episcopalian, Mr. Currie, in English, etc.
54. Whitefield in Muhlenberg's Pulpit.--"The pastors of the first
period of the Ministerium," says Dr. Jacobs, "were on friendly
relations with Whitefield. Dr. Wrangel interested himself in securing
for him an invitation to meet with the members of the Ministerium during
the sessions of 1763. In urging this proposition, Wrangel did not forget
the collections which Whitefield had made in Europe for the impoverished
Salzburgers. The presence of a man who had pleaded eloquently in English
pulpits for contributions to build Lutheran churches in Georgia, and
with that eminent success which Benjamin Franklin has noted in a
well-known passage in his autobiography, certainly deserved recognition,
even apart from Whitefield's services in awakening life in the Church of
England and in America. He was present at the examination of the
children of St. Michael's Church before the synod, made a fervent prayer
and an edifying address. On the next day he bade the synod farewell, and
requested the prayers of its members. The next year he was in attendance
at the funeral of Pastor Handschuh. In 1770 (May 27) he preached by
special invitation in Zion Church." (286.) In his report, dated October
15, 1763, on the synod of the same year, Muhlenberg himself says: "It
was also considered, whether we should not invite Mr. Whitefield and the
two well-disposed preachers of the Episcopal Church for Monday and
Tuesday, especially to the examination of the children. Among other
reasons Dr. Wrangel mentioned the fact that Whitefield had assisted our
poor suffering brethren in Georgia [Salzburgers] with collections. In
the evening Dr. Wrangel took me to Mr. Whitefield, and in the name of
the Ministerium we invited him together with the rector of the High
Church, who was present." October 16, Muhlenberg wrote: "After the
services Dr. Wrangel, Pastor Handschuh, and three trustees went to Mr.
Whitefield and asked him if on the morrow he would attend our
examination in the church, and speak a word of admonition to the
children. He answered: Yes, if his weakness permitted, and such were
God's gracious will." October 18, Muhlenberg wrote: "Mr. Whitefield
ascended the pulpit, and said a hearty and powerful prayer. Hereupon he
addressed himself to the children, delivering, with tears and deep
emotion, a condescending sermon about pious children of the Old and New
Testaments, together with some modern examples which he had himself
experienced, and finally enjoined upon parents their duties. After this
the children were examined by Dr. Wrangel, and then, in German, by me.
Whitefield, however, being very weak in body, and the church being very
crowded, we discontinued and closed with a piece of church music. The
pastors and other delegates, the elders and deacons took dinner in the
school, the old Mr. Tennent [Episcopalian], who was given the place of
honor, delighting us with edifying conversation." October 19, Muhlenberg
wrote: "At four o'clock Mr. George Whitefield visited our Ministerium in
the school, bidding us an affectionate farewell, and requesting us to
intercede for him before the throne of grace." Dr. Graebner remarks: "A
misstep as serious as this, admitting an errorist like Whitefield to the
pulpit of the local pastor and synodical president, such as was done at
this synodical meeting, had, at least, not been made before the time of
Wrangel." (383 ff.) Concerning his fellowship with Whitefield in 1770,
Muhlenberg made the following entries in his journal: "Friday, May 25...
Because I could not do otherwise, I wrote a few lines to Rev. Mr.
Whitefield, stating that if he would preach for me on next Sunday night
in Zion Church, it would be acceptable to me." "Sunday, May 27.... Early
in the evening Zion Church was filled with people of all sorts of
religion, both German and English. We two preachers went to Mr.
Whitefield's lodging and took him with us to the church, which was so
crowded that we had to take him in through the steeple-door.... He
complained of a cold contracted at the morning service, and consequent
hoarseness, but preached very acceptably from 2 Chron. 7, 1 on 'The
Outer and the Inner Glory of the House of God.' He introduced some
impressive remarks concerning our fathers--Francke and Ziegenhagen,
etc." (Jacobs, 287.) At the First Lutheran Diet, Dr. C. P. Krauth
explained: "Whitefield was an evangelist of forgotten or ignored
doctrines of the Gospel; a witness excluded from many pulpits of his own
church because of his earnestness in preaching the truth; in some sense
a martyr. This invested him with interest in the eyes of our fathers,
and his love to the Lutheran Church and his services to it made him very
dear." (287.)
55. Experiencing the Consequences.--From what has been said it is
evident that Muhlenberg's relations with the sects was not without
reprehensible unionism. Even where, in such fellowship, syncretism was
not directly practised, the proper confession of Lutheran truth was
omitted. As with the Swedes in Delaware, fraternal intercourse proceeded
on the silent understanding that the sore spot of doctrinal differences
must be carefully avoided. For Lutherans, however, this was tantamount
to a denial of the truth. Muhlenberg set an example the influence of
which was all the more pernicious by reason of the high esteem in which
he was held by the members of Synod, who revered him as a father. As
late as 1866 the Pennsylvania Synod defended its intercourse with the
Reformed Synod "as a measure introduced by the fathers in the time of
Muhlenberg and Schlatter." And the unionistic practises indulged in by
the General Synod throughout its history cannot but be viewed as the
fruits of the tree first planted by the Halle emissaries. Nor could they
fail to see the abyss into which such unionism must finally lead, as it
was apparent already in the history of the Swedes. That Muhlenberg had a
presentiment whither things were drifting appears from his warning in
1783 to J. L. Voigt not to open his pulpit to Methodist preachers.
(516.) Indeed, Muhlenberg himself lived to see the first bitter fruits
of his dalliance with the sects. Four months before his end, June 6,
1787, Franklin College, at Lancaster, was solemnly opened as a German
High School and a union theological seminary for Lutherans, Reformed,
and a number of other sects. H. E. Muhlenberg delivered the sermon at
the opening exercises, which were attended by the entire synod. The name
of the institution was chosen in view of the virtues and merits of
Benjamin Franklin, who had contributed 200 Pounds. The College had
forty-five trustees, consisting of 15 Lutherans, 15 Reformed, and 15
chosen from other communions. A director was to be chosen alternately
from the Lutheran and from the Reformed Church. Among the first trustees
were J. H. C. Helmuth and other Lutheran pastors. Two of the first four
teachers were Lutherans: Pastor H. E. Muhlenberg, the first director,
and Pastor F. W. Melsheimer. (515.) Dr. A. Spaeth, agreeing with W. J.
Mann, says: "Sooner or later the whole Lutheran Church of America should
and could unite on the position of Muhlenberg." (252.) We would not
detract from the merit of Muhlenberg. The slogan of the American
Lutheran Church, however, dare never be: "Back to Muhlenberg!" "Back to
Halle!" but "Back to Wittenberg!" "Back to Luther! Back to Lutheran
sincerity, determination, and consistency both in doctrine and
practise!"