John Moldstad, Bishop Martin Stephan, and CFW Walther: Co-Inky Dinks

John Moldstad became the Professor of New Testament
at Bethany Lutheran Seminary without a college degree.
He finished one when some turmoil erupted.

Bishop Martin Stephan left the university without completing a degree.
His Pietistic congregation in Dresden was able to give him
a call because they had a special, independent status.

CFW Walther, Stephan's toady and enforcer,
only had a university degree,
but Synodical Conference salesmen consider him the
ultimate interpreter of all doctrinal and Biblical matters,
Lutheran doctrine, even social issues.

John Moldstad was a parish pastor when he became a seminary professor at Bethany Lutheran College, the Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie. News got out that he did not even have a bachelor's degree, so he finished that up. The ELS wanted to be able to brag, "All our seminary professors have graduated from college!"

Some pastor not approved by the WELS faction in the Little Sect became synod VP, so the WELS faction voted him out and made Moldstad the new VP. SP-for-Life Orvick finally retired and the VP was upgraded to SP. Thus someone too lazy to finish college became an ELS seminary professor, synod VP, and Synod President.

If anyone suspects Bethany Lutheran Seminary of Lutheran scholarship, or the ELS of Lutheran leadership, that should quash the rumor, the hope, the nostalgia.

• The Lord's Supper in the Theology of Martin Chemnitz - BjarneTeigen
• Jack and Robert Preus teaching there?
• Ylvisaker?

Here are all the students at Bethany Lutheran Seminary,
three classes, two per class.

Call for Nominations: Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary 
Pursuant to the guidelines of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod for calling a professor to the seminary (cf. Guidelines for Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary II.A.2), the Board of Regents of Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary, Mankato, Minnesota, herewith issues to the congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod a call for nominations to a professorship. The nominees must be ordained clergymen of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod or of its fellowship (WELS). Nominees are to be qualified primarily to teach Old Testament, which requires expertise in the Hebrew language. They shall have a secondary qualification in Symbolics (Confessions of the church - so forget WELS for that one) and Church History (or the Glories of Walther, which is enough). In addition to this, they (sic - how many? one call means "he") will serve as the supervisor of the Senior Research Project program. The individual called will begin teaching fall 2017. Nominations are to reach the undersigned by June 1, 2016, so we can blackball anyone suspected of Lutheran doctrine.

That is pretty sad - when a call for nominations cannot even get simple grammar correct. One can only guess how low the teaching has descended since someone like Moldstad could fast-track to SP on a high school graduation diploma.

The Pietists love titles but hate higher education. Martin Stephan had to be bishop for life, and Walther went along with that and signed the document. Walther infallibilists try to deny this, but the document is in the archives.

Walther aspired to be pope of all Lutherdom, America and Europe, on the strength of his BA from Leipzig and his role in robbing and kidnapping the bishop he swore allegiance to, a few months before.

The ELS punished Bjarne Teigen for writing an excellent work on the theology of the Lord's Supper, which exposed the Synodical Conference rejection of the efficacy of the Word.

The Little Sect should hire Jay Webber as their new seminary professor. As Luther says, false teachers are God's punishment against those who are not faithful to His Word. No one else is so completely clueless about Lutheran doctrine or so intoxicated with his own opinions. As John Shep says, Jay makes fun of the ELS leaders all the time, until he is within 100 miles of Mankato, when he becomes a humble servant.

In Other News
The Little Sect is taking back Lawson and Brockdorf, little black sheep who ran away from the ELS during the great rending of the sect by Rolf, son of Robert, son of Governor Jacob, son of Norway.

The two men threw themselves on Moldstad's neck, weeping, hoping the terms of reconciliation would not be too harsh. As they explained, leaving and being against did not mean what people thought it meant. After all, they were just as hysterical for UOJ and Pope John Hisself.

Frozen out - but just for a time - Brockdorf.

Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door!

I don't care
What they're going to say
Let the storm rage on,
The cold never bothered me anyway!

It's funny how some distance
Makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me
Can't get to me at all!

It's time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me I'm free!

Let it go, let it go
I am one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go
You'll never see me cry!

Here I stand
And here I'll stay
Let the storm rage on!

Here I stand
In the light of day
Let the storm rage on,
The cold never bothered me anyway!

(I did not rewrite this as satire, because the song is already doggerel.)