of their faith--the Bible. Accordingly, both regard the Gospel
as their exclusive rule of faith and practise, and are forever opposed
to all violations of the liberty of conscience." (76.) "All enlightened
and intelligent preachers of both churches agree that there is much in
the former Symbolical Books that must be stricken out as antiquated and
contrary to common sense, and be made conformable with the Bible, and
that we have no right to pledge ourselves to the mere human opinions of
Luther, or Calvin, or Zwingli, and that we have but one Master, Christ.
Nor is any evangelical Christian bound to the interpretations which
Luther, or Calvin, or any other person may place on the words of Christ;
but each one has the right to interpret them according to the dictates
of his own conscience." (80.) "Inasmuch as all educated ministers of the
Lutheran and Reformed churches now entertain more reasonable and more
Scriptural views on those doctrines which were formerly the subjects of
controversy, what necessity is there of a continued separation?" (81.)

SYNOD'S UN-LUTHERAN ATTITUDE CONTINUED.

66. Decades of Indifferentism.--After the abortive efforts at
establishing a union seminary and uniting with the Reformed organically,
and after her withdrawal from the General Synod in 1823, the
Pennsylvania Synod passed through a long period of indifferentism before
the spirit of Lutheran confessionalism once more began to manifest
itself, chiefly in consequence of influences from German Lutheran
immigrants and by the activity of such men as Drs. Krauth and Mann.
However, even till the middle of the nineteenth century the symptoms of
reviving Lutheranism in the Pennsylvania Synod were but relatively weak,
few, and far between. The Agenda of 1842 still contained the union
formula of distribution in the Lord's Supper and revealed a unionistic
and Reformed spirit everywhere. A form of Baptism savors of Pelagianism
and Rationalism. The Agenda does not contain a single clear and
unequivocal confession of the Lutheran doctrine of the real presence.
The second form for celebrating the Lord's Supper states: "As we are
sensual creatures, He [Christ] has appointed two external, visible
elements, bread and wine, as tokens (Pfaender), as it were, in order by
them to assure us that with, in, and under them (mit, bei und unter
denselben) we should become partakers of His body and blood, that is,
of His entire grace of atonement. As surely, therefo