orrectly set forth in the
Confession. She does not mean that some of the doctrines set forth in
the Confession are non-fundamental, and, therefore, may be accepted or
rejected; she means that they are all fundamental, and their exhibition
in the Confession is to be accepted by those who subscribe to the
Confession." This interpretation placed on the York Amendment by the
resolution of 1901 was unknown to the General Synod and her theologians
before as well as after its adoption in 1864. As shown above, the phrase
"fundamental doctrines" of the York Amendment, historically interpreted,
has but one meaning, _viz._, that some of the doctrines of the Augsburg
Confession are fundamental, while others are not. Besides, while it is
certainly correct to regard all doctrines of the Augustana as Scriptural
and binding, it is theologically false to declare all of them, _e.g._,
the doctrine of the Sunday, fundamental doctrines.--Thirdly: The
convention at Richmond adopted the statement: "While the General Synod's
formula of confessional subscription mentions only the Augsburg
Confession, without specifying the terms 'altered' or 'unaltered,' yet
it is a historical fact that the General Synod has never subscribed to
any edition of the Confession save the 'unaltered' form, and does not
now subscribe to any other edition." (56.) If this means that the
General Synod ever subscribed, _e.g._, to the rejection in the Tenth
Article, an essential feature in the unaltered edition, but omitted in
the edition of 1540, the statement is not borne out by the facts.
--Fourthly: The resolution of 1909, by stating that every member may
accept the Secondary Symbols "in strict accordance with the Lutheran
regulating principle of justifying faith" (60), insinuates that these
symbols are in need of such an interpretation, thus placing them below
par. The self-evident fact that the Secondary Symbols should be tried
also according to the Augsburg Confession and the doctrine of
justification did not justify a limitation, which could be interpreted
as a justification, _e.g._, of the professors in Gettysburg Seminary,
who, from Schmucker down to Richard, maintained that the Secondary
Symbols were not in agreement with the Augsburg Confession.

RESTATEMENT OF BASIS.

93. Atchison Amendments.--The resolutions of 1891 to 1909 were not
submitted to the District Synods for adoption, nor subsequently embodied
in the constitution of the General Synod. Instead, t