Excerpt from A History of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States<br><br>IF the principle be correct that the biography of a man cannot be properly written Without tracing his ancestry and examining the influences that have contributed, long before his birth, to the formation of his character, it is no less true that the past history and the present condition Of the various Christian denominations of America cannot be rightly understood unless we recur to their sources in Europe and analyze the individual factors that have eu tered into their life before they reached this country. AS no communion can be absolutely sundered from its past history, the historical standpoint must always be the basis of all enduring practical work. We cannot deal success fully with men unless we know who they are, and whence they came, and What they mean. The historical ante cedents and relations and development must be appreciated and recognized before any results can be expected from the kindly feeling and earnest efforts of even the warmest advocates of Christian union. A candid and discriminating View of its precise historical situation on the part Of those upon Whom rests the responsibility for leadership is an indispensable prerequisite to all progress Within a Church.<br><br>Even where there are the best Of reasons for abandoning, in some directions, the past development, it must be done intelligently, or far more may be lost than is gained. The Lutheran Church in America cannot be understood, there fore, without an acquaintance with the Lutheran Church in the centers from which it has originated. The history Of the Lutheran Church in America actually begins with the Reformation.<br><br>Lutheranism is a specific form of Christian life. The propriety Of the name as a designation of that form Of life is not for us to determine. Apart from our willingness or unwillingness to assume it, it has become a fixed term for a definite and well-known object. AS religion is not mere intellectualism, or mere sentiment, or mere activity, SO Lutheranism, as a form of the only true religion, Christian ity, is far more than a system of doctrines, or a mode Of worship, or a form of Church organization. The Spirit Of a church is always greater and deeper than its expression; its faith is always greater than its confession. Lutheran ism is a mode Of viewing and receiving and living the truths of Christianity; or rather of viewing and receiving and living in mystical union with Him Who is the begin ning and end of all these truths. The peculiarities which mark its relation to Christ determine peculiarities With respect to other Objects. The principles underlying the doctrinal position reappear in the Spheres Of ethics and liturgics, of homiletics and church government. Even the faith Of a great sculptor or a great musical composer will express itself in a different way according to the peculiar ities of the confession by which his religious life has been nourished and trained. Everything that enters into the religious life, or that proceeds from it, is molded and C01 ored by the specific form which that life assumes.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.