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| Cell group leader, adulterer, syphilitic - Martin Stephan. |
Chapter 4 – Stephan’s Halle Pietism Became Walther’s UOJ
The
official history of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is full of deliberate,
bald-faced lies about its origin. Central to the deception is the C. F. W.
Walther mythology, tales and claims that portray him as the American Luther,
when he was really the American Pope, a treacherous and criminal usurper, a
divisive figure who forced his imprint upon the Synodical Conference. The
often-told story is familiar to most conservative Lutherans. The Saxon
immigrants came over to America with Bishop Stephan leading them. They suddenly
discovered he was an adulterer and forced him out, with the brave and noble
Walther taking over and leading them until his death. Although Stephan is
always called a false teacher and Walther a champion of Lutheran orthodoxy,
with details too murky to decipher, the truth is unsettling.
Many
will portray the facts about Walther as a personal attack, but the truth needs
to come out, to set the so-called conservative Lutherans free from the yoke of
synod worship and Walther mythology. For too long the statements of Walther
have been used to define Scriptural interpretation. His writings have usurped
the Book of Concord in the same way that he usurped the position of the bishop he
swore to support, the documents he swore to follow in case of a dispute.
Walther also set up minions who would repeat his opinions post-mortem until
they were established as canon law, best exemplified in the position of UOJ in
the Synodical Conference today.[1]
Martin Stephan
Saga, Pietism and Syphilis
Martin
Stephan had a difficult early life, which prepared him for future hardships and
the leadership of a Pietistic congregation. He was born in Moravia in 1777, and
Moravia was a center of Pietism. His pastoral sponsor was a Pietist, and so
were his parents. He had to get by on his own for years, but he enrolled at
Halle University for two years, 1802-04 and finished at Leipzig in 1809. The
disruption was caused by the Napoleonic wars. He served one congregation for a
year and began his ministry at St. John’s in Dresden in 1810.
St.
John’s was a Pietistic congregation with a special charter to continue cell
groups or conventicles when they had become suspect. The land for the church
came from Count Zinzendorf, one of the superstars of Lutheran Pietism.[2]
Stephan gloried in his cell groups, which are the essence of Pietism.[3]
Stephan was not a rationist. At
the time, the two major parties were the rationalists and Pietists. Since the
Pietists emphasized Bible study and prayer, they attracted those who found no
solace in human reason. Thus anyone who mentioned faith was accused of being a
Pietist or a mystic.
Unfortunately, cell group
leaders often become bewitched by their power over others. Stephan was unusually
successful and well known. In court, testimony from his main mistress, Louis
Guenther, a daughter of his friend, stated that he felt he had control over the
souls of the people in his charge - and also over their bodies. Although some
of his troubles came from his position as a successful Pietist, his other
trials came from his immoral behavior. Accusations came at an early date in his
ministry.
The book about Martin Stephan
is honest about his problems with adultery, providing a considerable amount of
evidence, which was known long before Stephan led 700 people to America “in
pursuit of religious freedom.” He obviously wanted more than religious freedom,
because he took his mistress, Louise Guenther,
and his healthy son to America and left his wife at home – with all the
sick children.
Even in this age of hedonism,
Stephan’s liberties were outrageous and well known. He was often caught taking
evening walks with various women. He was investigated by the justice system
numerous times. He installed a young woman in the parsonage attic and told his
long-suffering wife it was none of her business – he was the master of the
house.[4]
When he took the cure at the spa, his mistress Louise lived with him. When his
wife came to help, she was sent away and walked 20 miles home. The spa and the
walks were excused because of his health, but why did he suffer so many chronic
complaints?
Martin Stephan suffered from
syphilis. He gave it to his wife, and passed it on to some of his children.
Syphilis is the great pretender, mimicking one disorder and then another. A
sore may appear at the first outbreak, but it goes away, giving false hopes of
a cure. The carrier is still contagious even if his symptoms are difficult to
discern at any given moment. Anyone with questions about this disorder should
consult a physician and read the extensive information (with photos) on the
Net. Reading the Stephan book and the Web sources will lead readers to an
obvious conclusion.
Previous researchers have come
to the same conclusion, but no one wants to admit that Walther and the other
pioneers of Missouri Synod followed an obvious adulterer and covert syphilitic
to America. The evidence demands this conclusion:
- Primary
syphilis erupts with a single lesion, painless and non-itchy, which goes
away in about three months. Stephan could have contracted the disorder and
passed it to his wife while thinking (or hoping) it was nothing.
- Secondary
syphilis shows itself with rashes, a major problem for Stephan. The rashes
made him go for long evening walks and visit the spa for its comforting
waters. Syphilitic rashes are very ugly indeed. The disease may become latent, with the rashes going away.
- Tertiary
syphilis means obvious neurological and cardiac problems, possible open
sores in various parts of the body and on the skin. These lesions are
hideous.
- Congenital
syphilis is passed from the pregnant mother to the unborn child. Stephan’s
wife was sickly and died before he did. Three of their daughters were deaf
and had to be institutionalized. Deafness is one symptom of congenital
syphilis. Newborns have many obvious symptoms, perhaps another reason for
Stephan to leave his innocent children behind – their deformed bodies were
a tragic testimony to his misdeeds.[5]
- The
violence of the upheaval against Stephan is not explained by a sudden
revelation of adultery by two women, one of them his long-standing
mistress, Louise. Historians concede that the colonists did not need to
violate the confessional. Instead, it was likely the spread of syphilis in
the colony that enraged the men and justified everyone in their violence
and criminal actions. [6]
- Stephan’s
subsequent decline after sleeping outside one night is another indication
of his STD. Exposure would have lowered his fragile immune system and
brought on the symptoms with new force. Louise Guenther, moved to Illinois
to live with him and help him recover. He did not live much longer.
C. F. W. Walther
the Pietist
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| The spooky, kitschy Walther shrine needs more cowbell. |
[1] The Synodical Conference officially broke up, but
the three synods work together with the ELCA through Thrivent. Their dramatic
loss of members and the decline of their schools will soon force some type of
merger, although it may be dressed up in different clothes.
[2] Zinzendorf’s furtive trip to America (under a
false name) caused Lutherans to send Henry M. Muhlenberg to America (from
Halle) to serve them. Zinzendorf, who gave us the “Come Lord Jesus” table grace
and two hymns, was controversial but also extremely influential. He was the
bridge to Wesley and Methodism, a major influence on the pioneers of the
Swedish Augustana Synod.
[3] Cell groups are Pietism, just as
yoga exercises are Hinduism. The cell group is the real church, according to
Pietists, a rejection of the Means of Grace. “There is also a family oral
tradition about the hat drawn in the seal. It was believed that the hat
represented the hat that Martin used when he preached. This preaching hat may
have represented Herrnhut, which translated into English means ‘the hat of the
Lord.’ Herrnhut was always an important place in the Pietist tradition. It was
in Herrnhut where two families of Moravian Brethren came to live on the estate
of Nicholas Ludwig, called Count von Zinzendorf. The count donated the land for
their community that grew and then they built a church on the donated property
that was near Dresden…Zinzendorf was born in 1790 only seventy miles from
Dresden. He had a profound influence on the ‘awakening’ movement, on Pastor
Stephan, and on the Bohemian founds of St. John’s Church in Dresden.”
#31, IPRF. p. 64.
[4] His wife kicked the girl out and locked the attic,
keeping the key. Stephan broke the lock and re-installed the girl. Sad to say,
many church officials imagine they also have the same rights and duties today,
and their clergy pals look the other way.
[5] Hutchinson's
triad
Hutchinson's triad is a common pattern of presentation
for congenital syphilis. It consists of:
1. Interstitial keratitis, 2. Hutchinson incisors, 3.
Eighth nerve deafness. Hutchinson's triad is named after Sir Jonathan
Hutchinson (1828-1913). http://classictriads.com/hutchinsons-triad
[6] The neurological damage might have made Stephan
less capable of dealing with the incredible tensions around him. At least one
writer seemed puzzled that someone once so aware found himself uninformed and
unaware.
