72. "Untimely Synod" of 1819.--The leaders of the North Carolina
Synod, Stork, Shober, Jacob Scherer, Daniel Scherer, Miller, and others,
cherished a sanguine hope of uniting all churches into a national
American Church, despite doctrinal differences. What could be more
delightful, and what in all the world could be more desired, they
declared in 1820, than "to bring about a general union of all religious
parties throughout the entire land, that the glorious prophecy might be
fulfilled: that they might all be one flock who are all under one
Shepherd." (_Tennessee Report_ 1820, 25.) The scheme also of organizing
a Lutheran General Synod (for which purpose the Pennsylvania Synod had
invited all other Lutheran bodies to attend its meetings at Baltimore
in 1819 in order to discuss plans for this projected Pan-Lutheran
union) was exultantly hailed as a step in this direction by leaders of
the North Carolina Synod, notably by Shober. Accordingly, in order to
enable the North Carolina Synod to take part in the meeting at
Baltimore, the officers of Synod autocratically convened that body five
weeks before the time fixed by the constitution. Shober was sent to
Baltimore as delegate, and took a prominent part in drawing up the
"Planentwurf," the tentative constitution for the organization of a
General Synod. This irregular meeting of the North Carolina Synod was
later on known as the "Untimely Synod." It provoked much ill feeling and
led to the organization of the Tennessee Synod in 1820. (_Tenn. Rep_.
1820, 49.) At this "Untimely Synod" David Henkel was charged with
teaching transubstantiation, because he had preached the Lutheran
doctrine of the Lord's Supper to his congregations. Synod found him
guilty, and degraded him to the rank of catechist for a period of six
months. Says the Report of the Tennessee Synod, 1820: "David Henkel was
to be entitled to his former rank in office only when, after a period of
six months, sufficient written evidence should have been submitted to
the President that peace obtained in his congregations, and that no
important accusation was lodged against him by others, especially by the
Reformed [Presbyterians], whereupon the President would be empowered to
confer on him the privileges of a candidate until the next synod." (18.)
The following statement of the same Report characterizes the doctrinal
attitude of President Stork and other leaders of Synod: "We [the
Henkels] have written evidence that, when a paper was read at said
'Untimely Synod' containing the statement that the human nature of Jesus
Christ had been received into the divine nature (dass die Menschheit
Jesu Christi in die Gottheit sei aufgenommen worden), and that therefore
He possessed all the divine attributes, the President [Stork] declared
that he could not believe this. And when it was said that such was the
teaching of the Bible, he answered: 'Even if five hundred Bibles should
say so, he would not believe it!' And to our knowledge he was never
called to account for this statement." (20.) The autocratic actions of
the leaders of the North Carolina Synod and their adherents virtually
resulted in a rupture of Synod in the same year. For the dissatisfied
party held a synod of their own at Buffalo Creek, at the time specified
by the constitution, and ordained Bell and David Henkel.
73. "Synod of Strife" (Streitsynode).--The meeting at Lincolnton, N.
C., 1820, which followed the "Untimely Synod," was marked by painful
scenes and altercations and the final breach between the majority, who
were resolved to unite with the General Synod, and the minority, who
opposed the union and accused the leader not only of high-handed,
autocratic procedure and usurpation of power in contravention of the
constitution, but also of false doctrine, and publicly refused to
recognize them as Lutherans. On Sunday, May 28, Synod was opened with a
service in which Stork preached German and Bell English. Monday morning
the preachers, delegates, and a great multitude of people from the
neighborhood returned to the church. They found it occupied by Pastors
Paul Henkel, Philip Henkel, David Henkel, and Bell, who refused
admission to the rest. After some parliamenteering, written and verbal,
both parties entered the church. The Henkels report as follows: "They
[the opponents] took their stand on the fact that the majority was on
their side and according to it everything should be decided.
Accordingly, before they came to us in the church, they first delegated
one of their preachers with two questions directed to one of our
preachers. The first was: 'Whether he intended to separate from the
North Carolina Synod?' The second: 'Whether he was willing to be
governed by a majority of preachers and delegates in the matters
disputed?' He, giving him no decisive answer, came to the rest of us and
told us. We answered in writing: 'That we neither intend to separate
ourselves from Synod, nor would suffer ourselves to be governed by a
majority; but that we wanted everything investigated and decided
according to the doctrine of the Augsburg Confession and according to
the constitution or order of our church, nothing else.' In the mean time
the minister delegated came to us where we were gathered and demanded a
verbal answer to the same questions. We then gave this answer also
verbally, whereupon he said with an arrogant gesture and autocratic
tone: 'That is not the point; I only ask, Do you want to, or do you not
want to?' We answered: 'We did not want to.' He declared, 'That is all I
desire to know'; and saying which he rapidly turned about and hastily
ran away from us. In the mean time the multitude of our opponents moved
toward us, proposing the same questions. We answered as before. The
leaders among them endeavored to maintain that, in order to decide the
dispute, we were not bound to the constitution, but only to the majority
of the votes of the preachers and delegates, which majority they had;
and that it was reasonable and fair for us to act according to it in
this dispute. But we thought that the doctrine of the Augsburg
Confession (being assured, as we were, that it can be proved by the
doctrine of the Bible) should be of a greater weight to us than the
voice of a majority of men who are opposed to the doctrine and order of
our Church. After a brief altercation of this kind they went into the
church, and we followed. Here the President [Stork], in a long speech in
German, endeavored to prove what he had asserted before. The Secretary
[Shober] made a still longer speech in English, in which he endeavored
to prove that we were not at all bound to act according to the
constitution or order of our Church; although he himself, with the
approval of Synod, had written the constitution and had it printed, this
was not done with the intention of making it a rule or norm by which we,
as members of Synod, were to be guided in our transactions; it was
merely a sort of draft or model according to which, in course of time,
one might formulate a good constitution, if in the future such should
become necessary. However, it was proved [by the Henkels] from the
constitution itself that it had been received as just such an [official]
document, sanctioned, after previous examination and approval by several
ministers, by Synod and ordered to be printed. To this he [Shober]
answered that such had not been the intention of Synod. Haste and lack
of time had caused him to write it thus without previous careful
consideration; therefore, now everything had to be governed and judged
according to the majority. But we were of the opinion that it would
prove to be a very unreasonable action to reject a constitution which a
few years ago, according to a resolution of Synod, had been printed and
bound in 1,500 copies, the money being taken from the synodical
treasury, and sold at 75 cts. a copy." (_Tenn. Rep_. 1820, 24.) The
question concerning the violation of the constitution would, no doubt,
have been settled in favor of the Henkels, if they had not opposed the
leaders in their union schemes and charged them with false doctrine and
apostasy from the Lutheran Church. Says the aforementioned Tennessee
Report: "Even though the officers with their adherents (die alten Herrn
Beamten mit ihrem Zugehoer) could perhaps themselves have thought so far
[as to realize the arbitrariness of their procedure with reference to
the 'Untimely Synod'], yet the desire to organize the General Synod and
to bring about a union with all religious bodies, especially with the
Presbyterians, was so strong as to outweigh everything else" [even an
imminent breach]. The leaders finally admitted that both parties had
erred, and declared their willingness to pardon everything if the
minority would reunite with them. The Henkels, however, declared that
they could have no fellowship with people who were addicted to false
doctrines concerning Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and rejected the
doctrine of the Augsburg Confession. They also declared their impatience
with the contemplated "general union of all religious denominations,"
saying that such a union was no more possible than to bring together as
one peaceful flock into one fold "sheep, goats, lambs, cows, oxen,
horses, bears, wolves, wild cats, foxes, and swine." At this juncture
one of the officers, dissolving the meeting and leaving the church,
exclaimed: "Whoever is a _true Lutheran_, may he come with us to the
hotel of J. H.; there we will begin our Synod!" The minority answered:
"Whoever wants to be a true fanatic (Schwaermer), may he go along; for
you are no real Lutheran preachers: you are fanatics (Schwaermer) and
to them you belong!" A young teacher added: "According to the testimony
of Holy Scripture, it is impossible for us to regard you as anything but
false teachers." Then one of the old ministers, turning toward the
assembly, said: "Now you yourselves have heard the boldness and
impertinence of this young man, who charges us, old and respectable
ministers that we are, with false doctrine." Similar utterances were
made by others. The report concludes: "However, they left the church
without defending themselves against such accusations, except that one
of the old ministers said at the exit of the church that he was much
astonished. But we could not help that." (_Tenn. Report_ 1820, 27.) As
Bell joined the Shober party, his ordination at Buffalo Creek was
declared constitutional and ratified as valid. Shober now reported on
his cordial reception by the Pennsylvania Synod and on the transaction
which led to the adoption of the "Planentwurf" for the contemplated
organization of the General Synod. The document, after its individual
paragraphs had been read and discussed, was adopted by the North
Carolina Synod by a majority of 15 to 6--a result which Shober had
forestalled in a letter to the Pennsylvania Synod assembled at
Lancaster, stating "that the greatest part of the members of the North
Carolina Synod had adopted the so-called Planentwurf," and expressing
the hope that the General Synod might be established. After adopting the
"Planentwurf," the North Carolina Synod elected Pastors Shober and Peter
Schmucker delegates to the convention of the General Synod, which was to
convene at Hagerstown, Md., October 22, 1820. Only a few ministers from
Tennessee being present, the Henkels resolved not to transact any
business at this time. (27.)
74. Doctrinal Dispute at Lincolnton.--The points disputed at
Lincolnton did not only refer to the autocratic actions of the leaders
of the Synod and their union schemes, but also to the doctrines of
Baptism and the Lord's Supper, regarding which the minority charged
Stork, Shober, and their followers with holding un-Lutheran and
anticonfessional views. The discussions on these doctrines caused James
Hill, a Methodist preacher who was present, to address a letter to
Synod in which he said: "For almost thirteen years which I have spent in
this county [Lincoln Co., N.C., where David Henkel preached], I have
understood that the greatest number of your preachers in the county have
taught that the baptism of water effects regeneration, and that the body
and blood of Christ is received bodily with the bread and wine in the
Lord's Supper, so that these doctrines, being so generally taught and
confessedly believed, confirmed me in the conviction that they are the
orthodox doctrines of the Lutheran Church. Last Monday [at the
discussion on floor of Synod], however, I discovered, or believed to
discover, that some members of your Rev. Synod entertained different
views. . . . Now, in order that I may know how to conduct myself in the
future toward so respectable a part of the Church of Christ [North
Carolina Synod], I request the opinion of your Synod on the above
points." The answer, formulated by R. J. Miller and Peter Schmucker, and
approved of by the ministerium, was: "We do not say that all who are
baptized with water are regenerated and converted to God, so that they
are saved without the operation of the Holy Spirit, or in other words,
without faith in Christ." "We do not believe and teach that the body and
blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are bodily received with the bread and
wine in the Holy Supper, but that the true believer receives and enjoys
it spiritually together with all saving gifts of His suffering and
death, by faith in Jesus Christ." (681.) According to the report of the
Henkels, the doctrine of predestination as taught by the Presbyterians
was also touched upon, for in it we read: "One of the members declared,
and sought to maintain, that it was impossible for a man to fall from
the grace of God after he had once been truly converted. Another denied
the doctrine of Baptism as laid down in our catechism and in the Second
and Ninth Articles of the Augsburg Confession. The offer was made to a
third to prove to him from his own handwriting that he denied the
doctrine of the Lord's Supper as set forth in the Tenth Article [of the
Augsburg Confession]. They offered to have the letter read; but our
opponents did not agree to this. A book was placed before him and a
passage was pointed out to him, in order that he might read what Luther,
of blessed memory, himself teaches on this question. He closed it
angrily and pushed it away. A fourth put the question: 'Can I not be a
[Presbyterian] predestinarian and also a Lutheran?' For he believed that
the [Presbyterian] doctrine of predestination could be proven from the
Bible. He received the answer: 'If he believed as the Predestinarians
believe, then he belonged to them, and might go to them, it did not
concern us.'--For these reasons we believed to be all the more certain
that they were not true Evangelical Lutheran preachers, and this we also
told them without reservation." (_Tenn. Rep_. 1820, 24 f.) In connection
with the doctrine of regeneration by Baptism, the Henkels also referred
to the error of the enthusiasts, gaining ground increasingly within the
North Carolina Synod, _viz_., that conversion and regeneration was
effected by anxious shrieking, united praying, and the exertion of all
powers of the body and soul. (32 f.) The rupture, then, was inevitable:
the doctrinal and spiritual gap between Shober and his compeers on the
one hand and the Henkels and their adherents on the other hand being
just as wide and insurmountable as that between Zwingli and Luther at
Marburg 1529. The leaders of the North Carolina Synod were not only
unionistic, but, in more than one respect, Reformed theologians. The
ministers who soon after united in organizing the Tennessee Synod
declared with respect to the North Carolina Synod: "If they would adopt
the name of what we believe they really are, and in this way withdraw
from us, then we and other people would know what our relation was
toward them. But if they intend to remain in our household, they shall
also submit to its authority [Augsburg Confession], or we will have
nothing to do with them." (31.)