rs, Schmucker,
because of his "Appeal" written in 1831, was lauded by Dr. King of
Ireland as the "Father" of the Evangelical Alliance. The nine articles
adopted by the Alliance were regarded by Schmucker as a sufficient basis
for a union of Evangelical Christendom. They formed the standard
according to which he revised the Augsburg Confession in the Definite
Platform of 1855, which "alienated from him many former friends and
clouded the evening of his days." (_Luth. Cycl._, 433.) According to the
Memorial of the convention of the General Synod in 1875, Schmucker is to
be remembered as "the first professor of theology in the Theological
Seminary of the General Synod, a chair filled by him with distinguished
ability for nearly forty years; a man most successful in the work of
organization, whose wisdom, energy, and devotion to the Church
contributed most largely to the development of the General Synod, to the
founding of her literary and theological institutions, and the
organization of her benevolent societies." (41.)

77. Dr. Benjamin Kurtz.--Shoulder to shoulder with Schmucker stood B.
Kurtz (1795-1865). He studied theology under G. Lochman; was assistant
pastor to his uncle, J. Daniel Kurtz, at Baltimore in 1815; pastor at
Hagerstown, Md., from 1815 to 1831; at Chambersburg, Pa., from 1831 to
1833; editor of the _Lutheran Observer_ from 1833 to 1861. His book _Why
You Are a Lutheran_ had a wide circulation. In 1841, at Baltimore, Kurtz
was appointed by the General Synod to write a "judiciously written life
of Luther," which, however, though later committed to Reynolds, never
appeared. In most enthusiastic manner Kurtz pleaded the cause of the
General Synod, not only in America, but also in Europe, where he
succeeded in collecting $12,000 for the Gettysburg Seminary.
(_Proceedings_ 1827, 29.) In the _Observer_ of July 3, 1857, Kurtz made
the following confession: Originally he, too, had endeavored to teach
"on the benefit of the Sacrament" in complete accordance with the
symbolical books; later, when such was no longer possible to him, he had
explained his own faith into the Catechism; this becoming a burden to
his conscience, he had been on the point of joining the Presbyterians or
Methodists; his older colleagues, however, had held him back from taking
this step; they had advised him not to be troubled about such matters,
as the Lutheran Church was far too liberal mid generous to insist on
agreement with the symbols