| Summary: | GUDMUNDSON v. THINGVALLA LUTHERAN CHURCH 327 to the confessions and the Holy Scripture. . . . The people from Iceland, of course, would know how these confessional documents were interpreted in the Church of Iceland. . . . That it was the same Christianity taught. I am not aware of any disharmony at the present time between the Icelandic Lutheran Synod and the Norwegian Synod. I know that Rev. Bjaranson contended before our synod was organized that there were certain fundamental doctrinal differences between the Church of Iceland and the Norwegian Synod, and the difference was that the Norwegian Synod was not so liberal in doctrinal matters as the Church of Iceland; that he thought the Norwegian Synod was too orthodox Rev. Bjaranson was very liberal in doctrinal matters when he first came to this country. There has been a change since those early days in the position of Bjaranson in the direction of be coming more spiritual, more faithful to the word of God and to the confessions of the Lutheran Church from my point of view. . . . I think that in this controversy with my brother he contended that he himself represented correctly the position of the Church of Iceland, and that my brother was the representative of the Norwegian Synod. I could not say whether there has been any material change in the Church of Iceland on the doctrine of inspiration since 1906, but I can say this, that liberalism in Iceland has been growing more and more as represented by Lutherans in Iceland, by the bishop and the professor at the university." On redirect examination, witness testifies : "As I have looked upon it, there is a difference in the Church of Ice land now on the doctrine of inspiration and its position on that point twenty-five years ago liberalism has been growing. I would say that a great change has taken place on this point in the last ten or fifteen years principally." Rev. Jonsson was then recalled by the plaintiffs for the third time, and testifies that in 1885 Bjaranson, as witness understood him, "held very strictly to the full inspiration of all of the Bible," and the witness testifies to substantially the same as Rev. Thorlackson, that Bergman's "conception of inspiration as given in Via testimony, as I understand it, is different from the accepted doc trine of inspiration, or inspiration as I have ever heard it presented by any theologian or know of its being presented by any theologians of the Lutheran Church. The mere declaration on the part of the indi vidual to the effect that he entertains and believes in the right of private
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