Fiery Cross, Volume 3, Number 36, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 July 1924 — Page 3

7:

-XT -i

Friday, July 4, 1924

TME FIERY CROSS

PAGE THREE

Martin Luther's Protestation Famous Document in Which Reformer Denies Power of Pope and Assails the Authority of the Vatican Sale of Indulgences Is Attacked by the World's First Protestant

"I, Martin Luther, Doctor of the Order of Monks at Wittemberg, desire to testify publicly that certain propositions against pontifical indulgences, as they call them, have been put forth by me. Now although, up to the present time, neither this most celebrated and renowned school of ours, nor any civil or ecclesiastical power has condemned me, yet there are, as I hear, some men of headlong and audacious spirit, who dare to pronounce me a heretic, as though the matter had been thoroughly looked into and studied.

But on my part, as I have often done before, so now too I implore all men, by the faith of

Christ, either to point out to1 me a better way, if such a way has been divinely revealed to any, or at least to submit their opinion to the judgment of God and of the church. For I am neither so rash as to wish that my sole opinion should be preferred to that of all other men, nor so senseless as to be willing that the word of God should be made to give place to fables, devised by human reason. "Would It not be most unnatural, If a fire were to break out In a city, and everyone were to keep still and let It burn on and on, whatever might be burnt, 6lmply because they had not the mayor's authority, or because the fire perhaps broke out at the mayor's house? Is not every

citizen bound In this case to rouse

and call in the rest? How much

more should this be done In the

spiritual city of Christ, if a fire of . offense breaks out, either at the T"pope's government or wherever It - may! The like happens If an enemy

attacks a town. The first to rouse

up the rest earns glory and thanks

Why then should not he earn glory that announces the coming of our enemies from hell, and rouses and

summons all Christians? "ot to Respect Pope's Power

the Turks, we should be wise In future, and remember that the German nation is more fitted to take

charge of It than the pope, seeing J

luad uiq uciiuau uauuu U y Its able to provide men enough, if the money is forthcoming. This matted of the annates is like many othej Romish pretexts." . i

"But as for their boasts of their

authority, that no one must oppose It, this is idle talk. No one In Christendom has any authority to do harm, or to forbid others to prevent harm toeing done. There is no authority

In the church but for reformation

Therefore, if the pope wished to use

his power to prevent the calling of

a free council, so as to prevent the reformation of the Church, wo must

not respect him or his power; and if he should begin to excommunicate and fulminate, we must despise this

as the ravings of a madman, and trusting in God, excommunicate and repel him, as best we may. For this his usurped power is nothing; he does not possess it, and he is at once overthrown by a text from the scriptures. For St. Paul says to the Corinthians, 'That God has given us authority for edification and not for destruction.' (2 Corinthians 10:8.) Who will set this text at naught? It is the power of the devil and of antichrist that prevents what would serve for the reformation of Christendom. Therefore we must not follow it, but oppose it with our body, our goods and all that we have. And even if a miracle were to happen In Javor of the pope, against the temporal power, or if some were to be stricken by a plague, as they sometimes boast has happened: all thl3 is to be held as having been done by the devil, for our want of faith

in God, as was foretold by Christ: 'There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect' (Matthew 24: 24) ; and St. Paul . tells the Thessalonlans that the coming of antichrist shall be 'after the working of satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders.' (2 Thessalonians 2:9.) i "Therefore let us hold fast to this: "that Christian power can do nothing against Christ, as St. Paul says: 'for we can do nothing against Christ, but for Christ.' (2 Corinthians 13:8.) Cut, if it does anything against Christ, it is the power of antichrist and the devil, even if it rained and hailed wonders and plagues. Wonders and plagues prove nothing.

eppccially In these latter evil days, of which false wonders are foretold in all the scriptures. Therefore we must hold fast to the words of God with an assured faith; then the devil will soon cease his -wonders. "And now I hope we have laid the false, lying spectre with whieh the romanista have - long terrified and stupefied our consciences. And we have shown that, like all the rest Of us, they are subject to the temporal sword; that they have no authority to Interpret the scriptures by force without skill; and that they have no power to prevent a council, or to pledge it in accordance with their pleasure, or to bind it beforehand, and deprive it of its freedom;

and that if they do this, they are

verily of the fellowship of antichrist and the devil, and have nothing of Christ but the name."

It is a distressing and terrible

thing to see that the head of Christ

tendoin, who boasts of being the

vicar of Christ and the successor of St. Peter, lives in a worldly pomp that no king or emperor can equal:

so that in him that calls himself most holy and most spiritual, there

is more worldliness than in the world

liseir. we wears a triple crown, whereas the mightiest kings only wear one crown. If this resembles the poverty of Christ and St. Peter.

it Is a new sort of resemblance. They

prate of its being heretical to object to this; nay, they will not even hear how unchristian and ungodly it Is.

Hut I thluk that if he should have

to pray to God with tears, he would

have to lay down his crowns; for

God will not endure any arrogance.

His office should be nothing else than to weep and pray constantly for

Christendom, and to be an example of all humility.

Pomp, a Stumbling Block "However this may be, this pomp Is a stumbling block, and the pope, for the very salvation of his soul.

ought to put it off; for St. Paul says: "Abstain from all appearance of evil' (1 Thessalonians 5:22); and again: 'Provide things honest in the

sight of all men.' (2 Corinthians 8:21.)

A simple mitre would be enough for tho pope: wisdom and sanctity should raise him above the rest; the crown of pride he should leave to antichrist, as his predecessors did for some hundreds of years. They say: He is the ruler of the world. This is false; for Christ, whose vicegerent and vicar he claims to be, said to Pilate: 'My kingdom is not

of this world.' (John 18:36.) But no vicegerent can have a wider dominion than his Lord. Nor is he a vicegerent of Christ In his glory, but of Christ crucified, as St. Paul says: 'For I am determined not to know anything among you. save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2); and (Philippians

5, 7): Let this mind be in you, which was also in Jesus Christ; who made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant." Again (1 Corinthians 1:23): 'We preach Christ crucified.' Now they make the pope a vicegerent of Christ exalted in heaven, and some have let the devil rule them so thoroughly that they have maintained that the pope is above the angels in heaven, and has power over them; which is precisely the true work of the true antichrist." "Whenever there is any pretense of fighting the Turks, they send out

some commission for collecting money, and often send out indulgences under the same pretext of fighting the Turks. They think we Germans will always remain such great and inveterate fools that we will go on giving money to satisfy

their unspeakable greed, though we see plainly that neither annates nor absolution money, nor any other not one farthing goes against the Turks, but all goes into the bottomless sack. They lie and deceive, form and make covenants with us of which they do not mean to keep one jot. Ttnd all this is done in the holy name of Christ and St. Peter. "This being so, the German nation, the bishops and their princes, should remember that they are Christians, and should defend the people, who are committed to their government and protection in temporal and spiritual affairs, from these ravenous wolves in sheep's clothing, that profess to be shepherds and rulers; and since annates are so shamefully abused, and the- covenants concerning them not carried out, they should

not suffer their lands and people to be so piteously and unrighteously flayed and ruined; but by an Impe

rial or a national law they should either retain the annates in the country, or abolish them altogether. For since they do not keep to the covenants, they have no right to the annates; therefore bishops and princes are bound to punish this thievery and robbery, or prevent it, as justice demands. And herein should we assist and strengthen the pope, who is perchance too weak to prevent this scandal by himself; or, If he wishes to protect or support it. restrain and oppose him as a wolf and tyrant; for he has no authority to do evil or to protect evildoers. Even if it were proposed to collect any such treasure for use against

ffl I B 1

Main 6009 Prices ara Right

I

PHONE YOUR ORDER 3 Cut Flowers and Funeral Flowers Our Specialty

GREENE'S

Main 6011 I Quality and Sarvic

FLOWER SHOP

We Deliver Aaywher

Experts in Oar Line

MERIDIAN AND OHIO ST8 INDIANAPOLIS, IND. Saturday Night Deliveries Not Op n Sunday

Unspeakable Greed "I have still to give a farewell greeting. These treasures, that would have satisfied three mighty kings, were not enough for this unspeakable greed, and so they have made over and sold their traffic to Fugger (the wealthiest man in Europe) at Augsburg, so that the lending and buying and selling sees and

benefices, and all this traffic in

ecclesiastical property, has in the end come into the right 'hands, and spiritual and temporal matters have now become one business. Now I

should like to know what the most

unning would devise for Romish Agreed to do that it has not done; except that Fugger might sell or pledge his two trades that have now become one. I think they must have come to the end of their devices. For what they -have stolen and yet steal in all countries by bulls of indulgences, letters of confession, letters

of dispensation and other confes-

sionalia, all this I think mere bungling work, and much like playing toss with a devil in hell. Not that they produce little, for a mighty king could support himself by them; but they are as nothing compared to the other streams of revenue mentioned above. I will not now consider what has become of that indulgence money; I shall inquire into

this another time; for campofiore

and belvedere (parts of the Vatican)

and some other places probably

know something about it.

"Meanwhile since this devilish

state of things is not only an open robbery, deceit and tyranny of the gates of hell, but also destroys Christianity, body and soul, we are bound

to use all our diligence to prevent this misery and destruction of Christendom. If we wish to fight the Turks, let us begin here, where they are worst. If we justly hang thieves and behead robbers, why do we leave the greed of Rome so unpunished, who is the greatest thief and robber

that has appeared or can appear on earth, and does all this in the holy name of Christ and St. Peter t Who can suffer this and be silent about it? Almost everything that he possesses has been stolen, or got by robbery, as we learn from all his

tories. Why, the pope never bought those great possessions, so as to be able to raise well nigh ten hundred thousand ducats from Ms ecclesiastical offices, without counting his gold mines described above, and his land. He did not inherit it from Christ and St. Peter; no one gave it or lent it him, he has not acquired

it by prescription. Tell me, where can he have got it? You can learn from this what their object is when they sent out legates to collect money to be" used against the Turk." "The Roman see must abolish the papal offices and diminish that crowd of crawling vermin at Rome, so that the pope's servants may be supported out of the pope's own pocket, and that his court may cease to surpass all royal courts in its pomp and extravagance; seeing that all this pomp has not only been of no service to the Christian faith, but has also kept them from study and

prayer, so that they themselves know hardly anything concerning matters of faith; as they proved clumsily enough at the last Roman council, where among many childishly trifling matters, they decided 'that the soul is immortal,' and that a priest is bound to pray once every month on pain of losing his benefice. How are men to rule Christendom and to decide matters of faith, who, callous and blinded by their greed, wealth, and worldly pomp, have only just decided that the soul is immortal? It is no slight shame to all Christendom that they should deal thus scandalously with the faith at Rome. If they had less wealth and lived in less pomp, they might be better able to study and pray, that they might become able and worthy to treat matters of belief, as they were once, when they were content to be bishops and not kings of kings." Should Expel Pope's Agents "First of all we should expel from all German lands the pope's legates with their faculties, which they sell to us for much money, though it is all knavery; as, for instance, their

taking money for making goods unlawfully acquired to be good, for

freeing from oaths, vows, and bonds,

thus destroying and teaching others

to destroy truth and faith mutually

piecigea; saying tne pope has authority to do so. It is the evil spirit that bids them talk thus, and so

they sell us the devil's teaching, and

take money for teaching us sins and

leading us to hell.

"If there were nothing else to show that the pope Is antichrist, this would

be enough. Dost thou hear" this, O pope! not the most holy, but the most sinful? Would that God would hurl thy chair headlong from heaven, and cast it down into the abyss of hell! Who gave you. the power to exalt yourself above your God? To break and to loose what He has commanded? To teach Christians, more especially Germans, who are of noble nature, and are famed in all histories for uprightness and truth, to be false, unfaithful, perjured, treacherous and wicked? God has commanded to keep faith and observe oaths even with enemies; you dare to cancel this "-eommand, laying it down In your heretical, antlchristlan decretals, that you have -power to do so; and through your mouth and your pen satan lies as

he never lied betore, teaching you to twist and pervert the scriptures according to your own arbitrary will. O Lord Christ! look down upon this, let Thy day of Judgment come and destroy the devil's lair at Rome. Behold him of whom St. Paul spoke (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4), that he should exalt himself above Thee and

sit in Thy Church, showing himself as-God the man of sin, and the child -of damnation. What else does the poperpower do bur teach and

strengthen sin and wickedness, leadtog souls to damnation in Thy name?

-me cnuaren or-Israel In old times kept the oath that they had sworn, in ignorance and error, to the Gibeonites, their enemies. And King Zedekiah was destroyed utterly with his people, because he broke the oath that he had sworn to the King of Babylon. And among us, a hundred years ago, the noble King Ladislaus V of Poland and Hungary was slain by the Turk with so many of his people, because he allowed himself

to be misled by papal legates and cardinals, and broke the good and useful treaty that he had made with the Turk. The pious Emperor Sigismond had no good fortune after the council of Constance, in which he allowed the knaves to violate the safe conduct that he had promised to John Huss and Jerome; from this has followed all the miserable strife between Bohemia and ourselves.

And in our own time, God helD us!

how much Christian blood has been

shed on account of the oath and bond which Pope Julius made and unmade between the Emperor Maximilian and King Louis of France! How can I tell all the misery the popes have caused by such devilish insolence, claiming the power of breaking oaths between great lords, causing a shameful scandal for the sake of money! I hope the day of judgment is at hand; things can not and will

not become worse than the dealings of the Roman chair. The pope treads God's commandments under

foot and exalts his own; if this is not antichrist I do not know what is. But of this and to more purpose

anotner time.

NORCROSS, GEORGIA, STAGES BIG EVENT Atlanta Minister Delivers Stirring Address Candidates Are Initiated

GEORGIA KLANSMEN IN GREAT PARADE

Open-Air Meeting, Ceremonial and Barbecue Held at Athens

Propagation of Sin and Error

- ine universities also require a

good, sound reformation. I must say

this, let it vex whom it may. The fact is that whatever the papacy has

ordered or instituted is only designed for the propagation of sin and error. Wrhat are the universities, as at present ordered, but as the Book of Maccabees says: 'Schools of Greek fashion' and 'heathenish manners' (2 Maccabees 4:12, 13); full of dissolute living, where very little is taught of the holy scriptures and of the Christian faith, and the blind heathen teacher, Aristotle, rules even

further than Christ. Now my advice would be that the books of Aristotle, the 'Physics,' the 'Metaphysics,' 'Of the Soul,' 'Ethics.' which have hitherto been considered the best, be altogether abolished, with all others that profess to treat of nature, though nothing can be learned from them, either of natural or spiritual things. BesiucS, r.o one

has been able to understand his! meaning, and much time has been wasted, and many noble souls vexed, ! with much useless labor, study, and expense. I venture to say that any potter has more knowledge of natural things than is to be found in these books. My heart is grieved to see how many of the best. Christians this accursed, proud, knavish heathen has fooled and led astray with his false words. God sent him as a plague for our sins. "Does not the wretched manu ka his best book, 'Of the Soul, teach

that the soul dies with the body; though many have tried to Bave him with vain words, as if we had not the holy scriptures to teach us fully of all things, of which Aristotle had had not the slightest perception? Yet this dead heathen has conquered,

and has hindered and almost sup

pressed the books of the living God;

so that, when I see all this misery.

I can not but think that the evil

spirit has introduced this study."

Others, however, far more shame

lessly, arrogate to the pope the power of making laws; arguing from

the words: 'Whatsoever thou shalt

bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt

loose on earth shall be loosed in

heaven.' (Matthew 16:19.) Christ

is speaking there of the binding and

loosing of sins, not of bringing the whole church into bondage and making laws to oppress it. Thus the

papal tyranny acts in all things on

its own false maxims; while it forcibly wrests and perverts the words of God. I admit indeed that

Christians must endure this accursed

tyranny, as they would any other

violence inflicted on them by the

world, according to the saying of

Christ: "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.' (Matthew 5:39.) But 1 complain of this, that wicked pontiffs boast that they have a rightful power to act thus, and' pretend that in this Babylon of theirs they are providing for the interests of Christendom; an idea which they have persuaded all men to adopt. If they did these things, in conscious and avowed impiety and tyranny, or if it were simple violence that we endured. We might meanwhile quietly reckon up the advantages thus afforded us for the mortification of this life and the fulfilment of baptism, and should retain the full right of glorying in conscience at the wrong done us. As it is, they desire so to ensnare our

consciences in the matter of liberty that we should believe all that thev

do to be well done, and should think

it unlawful to blame or complain of

their iniquitous actions. Being wolves, they wish to appear shep

herds; being antichrists, they wish to

be honored like Christ.

NORCROSS, Qa., June 28. The

biggest Klan demonstration as yet

staged in this city took place, last Friday evening, wh'en several hundred Klansmen participated in an epen-air ceremonial and barbecue

here. A. number of candidates were Initiated. An added feature of this

splendid affair was the display of fireworks, which was enjoyed by all present.

After taking part in the ceremonial, a well-known layman, member of an Atlanta Protestant church, delivered a stirring address on "The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan From a Layman's Standpoint." The speaker impressed his listeners with an exposition of the real facts that are obtainable in Klankraft and how much good it does a Klansman who lives by and practices the ideals and purposes of this noble order. Cardinal Principle

One of the cardinal principles of

the Klan, he said, is to believe in

the tenets of the Christian religion.

Therefore, all. Klansmen should at

tend some church every Sunday in the year and get closer to Him, to the end that they may live a better

life. The speech was interspersed

with applause.

Speaking further on the ideals of Klankraft, the speaker stressed the importance of Klansmen participat

ing in affairs that will make their

communities better places to live in

and God being our Father, Christ our Criterion, the Bible our Guide, the Cross our Inspiration, and the

Flag of our Country our Protection, we will march on to a triumphant victory for the principles of right in

the Ku Klux Klan.

DETROIT CHURCHES

HOLD BIBLE CLASSES

DETROIT, June 28. The Protestant churches of Detroit, through the Wayne county council of religious education, will hold a vacation Bible

soucol training institute in the Wood

ward Avenue Baptist Church Mon

day and Tuesday, June 30 and July 1

The sessions will begin at 10

o clock and continue until 4 n. m

All persons who are to be teachers

in the seventy-five vacation Bible schools to be held throughout the city, are urged to be present for both

days of special training.

was the crush and so much time con -sumed In-the initiation of the large class that it was determined expedient to begin serving the barbecue while the ceremony waa in progress on the hill.

ATHENS, Ga., June 28. The uptown streets of Athens were packed

ana jammed with Athenians of all

races, colors nd creeds last Thurs

day evening to witness an auto

mobile parade staged by 10.000

Klansmen, headed 4y the Imperial Drum and Bugle Corps.

From the assembling point, about

five miles out, on through the principal streets of the city to Lakewood

Park, the streets were lined with a solid wall of humanity. The parade was so long in" passing given points, that it was necessary, in order to keep on its schedule, for it to double

back and form a double line for a good part of the way toward the place of naturalization. The Klan band of Athens was stationed about midway of the parade and rendered

patriotic airsthroughout the march.

Large Ceremonial The parading Klansmeri"assembled

at Lakewood Park and staged a mammoth open-air ceremonial, in which more than five hundred can

didates were initiated. It was originally intended that the barbecue prepared for the 10,000 Klans

men should be served immediately m . , . . .

OFF FOR VACATIONLAND Where are you going this summer? We do not mean the mechanical you the you of feet and pocketbook, cares and responsibilities; but the real you the you .of thoughts and dreams and imagination. This real you has only to open a book to be carried oft to enchanted countries, to

sail the seven seas, visit old world cities, dig for buried treasures, and take part in adventurous quests.

The starting place for your journey is the nearest quiet corner,- from which you are wafted away on "The Imagination" and "The Interest," the largest ships that encircle the globe. Your passport is your library card, the fee depends on what you are willing to spend in effort. You may go wherever your inclination leads New York,' London, Paris, Spain, Italy, the Holy Land, the Orient, Africa or the islands of the South Seas. Stopovers are granted, long jumps are possible. Special side trips may be made under the masterly guidance of such men as William Beebe, Joseph Conrad, Theo dore Roosevelt and Marco Polo. The library wishes you Bon Voyage!

FOR QUICK RESULTS USE

after the ceremonial. But so great FIERY CROSS WANT ADS

The statue of Lafayette, the gift

to France of the American school

children, was unveiled in. Paris on

July 4, 1900. Lafayette has a brilliant Masonic record.

KLANSMEN!

We appeal to yon to patronize the persons and firms advertising In The Fiery Cross. True, not all such advertisers ore Klansmen. Yet, they are friendly to us, or they would not advertise In our publications. Some are not members because of our own restrictions as to nativity. We would not, If we knew it, accept an advertisement from any one who is barred by onr moral restrictions. Before making yonr next purchase scan the columns of The Fiery Cross and any other Klan publication that yon may bave at hand, and see if you can find what yon want advertised In The Fiery Cross. Then, when making yonr purchase, endeavor to let It be known to the advertiser where yon saw his advertisement, and thus show him that you appreciate his friendly Interest In oar organization, whether he is a Klansman or not.

It Is constantly drilled into ns through lessons it

Klankraft that we should "Return Good for Evil."

Let's do that, but, at the same time, let ns return good for good, and patronize those who patronize as.

Five Million to Harvard WASHINGTON, D. C, July 1. The magnificent gift of five million-dollars to Harvard University is widely acclaimed in educational circles, as another indication of the importance education Is coming to have in the eyes of big business and big business men. In making the gift, George F. Baker wrote to Bishop William Lawrence of Massachusetts, as follows: "As I told you, I am much impressed with the undertaking Harvard is making to raise a fund for enlarging and perfecting certain branches of its activities! I am especially impressed with the determination to make the graduate school of business admiaias tration of the yery first impor-

L tance In the country."

"r " ir.i- -i ir i mm,,,, -j. 1 'jjl till I

JUT

fife,

E: S. Wolfe Fireworks Company 326-328 Juliana St., Parkersburg, W. Va.

Biggest and Best Shooters of KLAN FIREWORKS IN AMERICA Flags of all descriptions. Report shells. Aerial report shells. Wire or write for representative who will call. GET THE BEST

AGENTS WANTED TO SELL The Original Fiery Cross

The Fiery Cross Publishing Co., 580 Century Building, Indianapolis, Indiana. - Gentlemen : Kindly give me particulars regarding my securing exclusive agency for The Fiery Cross. Name '. . . Street : City - State J . (Please print name)

1 '

'I "'PS

' 'SNSv V 1 T'