PHILLIPBURG, N. J.,

REFORMATION DAY, 1907.




LUTHER'S PREFACE


_Martin Luther to all faithful and godly Pastors and Preachers: Grace,
Mercy and Peace, in Jesus Christ, our Lord!_

The deplorable condition in which I found religious affairs during a
recent visitation of the congregations, has impelled me to publish this
Catechism, or statement of the Christian doctrine, after having prepared
it in very brief and simple terms. Alas! what misery I beheld! The
people, especially those who live in the villages, seem to have no
knowledge whatever of Christian doctrine, and many of the pastors are
ignorant and incompetent teachers. And, nevertheless, they all maintain
that they are Christians, that they have been baptized, and that they
have received the Lord's Supper. Yet they cannot recite the Lord's
Prayer, the Creed, or the Ten Commandments; they live as if they were
irrational creatures, and now that the Gospel has come to them, they
grossly abuse their Christian liberty.

Ye bishops! what answer will ye give to Christ for having so shamefully
neglected the people, and paid no attention to the duties of your
office? I invoke no evil on your heads. But you withhold the cup in the