im that it must be permitted to teach a new
faith from a chair which the old faith had set up, and from a mouth to
which the old faith gives food. LXXI. Reason, turned head, goes about in
the Lutheran church: it tears Christianity from the altar, casts God's
works out of the pulpit, throws dirt into the baptismal water, receives
all kinds of people as godfathers, hisses the priests; and all the
people follow its example, and have done so for a long time. And yet it
is not bound. On the contrary, this is thought to be the genuine
doctrine of Luther, and not of Carlstadt. LXXIV. The assertion that we
are more advanced and enlightened can surely not be proved by the
present ignorance as regards true Christianity. Many thousands can
declare, as did once the disciples of John, 'We have not so much as
heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.' LXXV. Like a poor maid, they
would not enrich the Lutheran church by a marriage. Do not perform it
over Luther's bones! He will thereby be recalled to life, and then--wo
to you! LXXVII. To say that time has taken away the wall of separation
between Lutherans and Reformed is not a clear speech. LXXXII. Just as
reason has prevented the Reformed from finishing their church and
reducing it to unity, so the reception of reason into the Lutheran
church would cause nothing but confusion and destruction. XCII. The
Evangelical Catholic church is a glorious church; she holds and forms
herself preeminently by the Sacrament. XCIII. The Evangelical Reformed
church is a glorious church; she holds and forms herself by the Word of
God. XCIV. More glorious than either is the Evangelical Lutheran church;
she holds and forms herself both by the Sacrament and the Word of
God."[54]

The appearance of the _Theses_ of Harms created a great sensation. At a
time when the union of the two churches became so desirable to many,
they seemed to be a firebrand of destruction. Plainly, it would be best
to return to the faith of the Reformers, but some of the most
evangelical men claimed that the speediest method of return was through
the Union. There appeared replies to the _Theses_ from all quarters of
the country, almost every theologian of distinction assuming the
character of the controversialist. As many as two hundred works appeared
on the subject, the most of them bearing strongly against Harms. In Kiel
and Holstein, where he was best known, the excitement was intense. Even
churches and clubs were divided, and the