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308
MEDDELANDEN’ OCH AKTSTYCKEN
ments, the works of Luther, Tracts published by this Society or by
preceeding Societies, such as " Come to Jesus," by Newman Hall,
" The Anxious Inquirer," and others.
It has at present twenty-six colporteurs going about this large
country, with the Word of God in their hands and on their lips. This
is a great work, when we consider the poverty of our country and its
small population, and we must call it " a work of God." We had a
year ago, five or six colporteurs, and we have now tventy-six. This
the Lord has done through the means of the Institution; and when
formerly it happened that colporteurs were driven away with their
precious store, because they were looked upon with fear and dread, and
suspected to be Baptists or Mormons, they are now received gladly
because they have a certificate from the Evangelical Fatherland
Institution, signed by persons whose names are a guaranty to the otherwise
prejudiced clergymen or officers of justice, that his books do not
contain any dangerous errors.
Such was the aim of the Institution, when it enacted for itself
the rule to act in full agreement with the doctrines and confession of
the Lutheran church, and only choose such members in our committee
as hold these views. Most of these members, however, (perhaps with
three or four exceptions,) are fully persuaded that believing Baptists
and members of other denominations are our brethren in Christ, and
consequently brethren for eternity. We hold, therefore, the principles
of the Evangelical Alliance, but we look to the great rule for all good
works, the law of laws, love, or the rule, "Do as much good as possible
to all men, wise and unwise." There we see that as Christians we have
the duty to remove every hindrance which can keep any prejudiced or
unwise person from that word of God which is necessary for the
salvation of his soul. We have the example of the apostle Paul in i Cor.
9: 20—22, when he says " Unto the Jezvs I became as a Jew, that I
might gain the Jezvs." Then we consider it rightly translated into
Swedish, when we act so that unto Lutherans we are as Lutherans, so that
we may gain them.
I wished to explain this our view, because I can understand that
in the free country, America, it must be difficult to understand the
considerations that we have acted upon. It is worthy of remark, at the
same time, that there are many in our land who wish to see a more
liberal spirit in all Christian works, who act more on the principles of
the Evangelical Alliance; and they have also an Institution or Tract
Society, which consists of Lutherans and Baptists together, like the
Religious Tract Society of London, while our Evangelical Fatherland
Institution most resembles the English Society for the Promotion of
Christian Knowledge. Both the Societies have mostly the same Tracts
and preach the same doctrines.
So much for the first rise and aims of our Society. Any assistance
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