AC V has left a new comment on your post "Review of J. P. Meyer - Ministers of Christ, Revi...":
Here's the "enlightened" answer, Brett. The Book of Concord authors were ignorant:
"Our Lutheran Confessions have no separate article on Objective Justification; the closest we can come to a paragraph of formulation for this doctrine is in Article IX of the Formula of Concord, under the doctrine of election. But even that is not really sufficient or suitable for stating the orthodox position in a clear and unequivocal manner. For our Fathers it was not difficult at all to consider objective and subjective justification under the same heading, and they were apparently unaware of any need to separate them or distinguish between them. But such was and remained the case only so long as the orthodox had a clear understanding of the nature of faith; once that understanding was gone, it became necessary (at the end of the last century) to begin making such as (sic) distinction."
Daniel Deutschlander, 1977.
Missouri Myth Machine
I was chuckling through a Christian News account of one Walther book. Walther took two clergy to court for slandering him. He put a high price on his good name, so they apologized quickly and repudiated their accusations. Walther was a hero!
But - Walther was above the law when he slandered Bishop Stephan. First of all, he had to know about Stephan's adultery before the Society left for America. Stephan was under house arrest until their departure, with court depositions taken about his multiple intimacies. The women were taught that, since Stephan had charge of their spiritual well being, he was also in control of their bodies.
Walther changed ships to leave quickly, because he had kidnapped his niece and nephew from his father's parsonage, hiding the children from the police, who had warrants out for his arrest. The children were later smuggled to America, with the help of his felonious lawyers, the great Marbach and Vehse, who are also treated as heroic figures.
The American Luther did not go to Stephan when he "found out" about the adultery in their new home of Missouri. Was Walther not suspicious that the mistress, known from the previous court actions, lived on the floor above the bishop in St. Louis? I find Walther's innocence impossible to believe.
Walther ran to his friends to discuss the double adultery, the double confessions, and the money matters. There had been struggles over the issue of money. There often is with parachurch groups, as there was recently with Thoughts of Faith. WELS replayed the scene too, with $8 million disappearing and the treasurer accused in public of mismanaging the funds when he was the one who put his foot down about designated funds being taken.
Doubtless the clergy and lay leaders knew their enterprise would blow up if people saw wider responsibility for the cult activities of their leader, whom they swore to follow as bishop for life.
Walther stealthily took away the Society's grant of 40 acres of land from the bishop. He organized St. Louis and Perry County opposition, leading the mob to threaten Stephan's life, rob him of all his possessions and money, forcing him out of his house and across the Mississippi River. Holding someone by force, threatening his life, and forcing him into another state - all are felonies.
Walther's earlier kidnapping of his niece and nephew should put him lower than the Casey Anthony family in the esteem of American Lutherans, but Walther's earlier crime is conveniently forgotten. The orphaned children died in America rather than being the comfort of their grandparents.
Please remember this - the group did not go to America for doctrinal reasons, although that is often claimed. They did not go to find religious freedom. The great enterprise was launched for one reason only, to follow Bishop Stephan to America. He was their abusive cult leader, un-mourned by the Pietistic congregation he left behind.
Walther's thievery did not end with the mob deposing and robbing Stephan, who already lost 40 acres of land, from The American Luther changing the title behind his back. (Can you name a recent LCMS DP who changed a will, illegally, and still rose to the synod presidency?) Walther also talked Stephan's son into giving up the 80 acres that his father bought with his own money. According to the Stephan family accounts, Walther also made persistent attempts to undermine Stephan's son, who became a minister in the growing cult.
Thus today, the Lutheran Tetzels--Special Giving Counselors--have elderly people grant them Irrevocable Gifts, "to help the church and provide big bucks for your retirement," only to turn their backs on the givers when the money is poorly invested and the promised income evaporates.
History Turned into Lies
The Missouri Synod does admit that Loehe organized the denomination and invited the Perry County/St. Louis mob to join with his pastors. Of course, the official account is far more delicate. Half the original LMCS pastors were Loehe men, and Loehe set up a practical seminary in Ft. Wayne (which moved to Springfield and back again).
Walther alienated Loehe, so Loehe is largely forgotten by the LCMS, erased by the myth machine. Walther had to be the top dog in all discussions, so every official LCMS account has Walther the Hero defeating the dark forces of false doctrine. Every Missouri fetish in doctrine and practice has to be correct because it came from Walther or his chosen disciples - Pieper and Stoeckhardt.
Missouri's Hybrid Doctrine
The Missouri Synod, the Wisconsin Sect, and the Little Sect on the Prairie share in Walther's hybrid doctrine, due to educational influence and the ceaseless efforts of the excommunicators. St. Louis trained the Wauwatosa Seminary gang and dominated the ELS until the Syn Conference broke up.
Universal Objective Justification as the timeless truth of the Christian Church is pure baloney. Walther got it from the Pietist Knapp, the influential gas-bag from Halle University, mother ship of Pietism. Knapp's double justification scheme, promoted by Walther, did not become official in the Missouri Synod until the 1932 Brief Statement.
Two Forms
The Little Sect on the Prairie loves to glorify their split with the Big Norwegians, when they parted over the concept of two different forms being adopted by the merging but fractious Norwegians.
But WELS and Missouri have had two forms of justification all along, with no mention being made of the contradictions until exposed on this blog.
UOJ slowly came to dominate WELS and Missouri, but justification by faith was being taught the entire time. No better proof--impossible to deny--is offered by a catechism. The Gausewitz catechism is instructive because he was a Wisconsin Synod leader and also a Synodical Conference leader. The Gausewitz catechism was used decade after decade, until the Shrinkers replaced it with the Kuske UOJ catechism.
Likewise, Missouri has no sharper weapon than "he denies UOJ," but they still produce a KJV catechism with no mention of UOJ. I bought one from Pope Paul the Unlearned, who has a divine call to blog about CPH books.
I am not sure where the ELS pastors are. They fear Pope John the Malefactors laser-equipped crosier. They are free to communicate with pen names on this blog. I suggest not using such names "Norge" or "Koren" or "PreussianUnion."
Hagiography Is Not History
The Catholic Church made a name for itself by inventing saints and investing them with supernatural powers and innocence beyond all human understanding. The St. Theresa movie came out when I was at Notre Dame. One student would say, "She was a sick chick." The ex-nun professor would say, "No she was not." The Christian Brother student would counter, "Sick chick."
The Lutheran Church harms people when an abusive cult leader like Walther is treated as the great hero of the American church. That treatment has enabled Syn Conference pastors to serve as dictators who can do whatever they want, teach whatever they want, as long as they press the Walther macro button at the right time. And Walther is so handy for getting rid of people. The template has not changed - attack people behind their backs, promote Enthusiasm in the name of orthodoxy, and devour the money of widows and orphans.
