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Those who have
researched this in St. Louis know that the young women suffered a syphilis
outbreak due to Bishop Stephan. The pastors overlooked his abandonment of his
family, his consorting with young women for years. I agree with the theory that
he doomed several young women to misery and death, and that made extreme punitive
measures seem to be justified. It also removed the continuing scandal of the
bishop’s harem. Objective Justification covers a multitude of sin, because
everyone is born forgiven, in that Halle-based scheme.
The Syphilis Story Is Known, But Kept Underwraps
The person who has done a lot of research on
Lutheran and Biblical topics sent this comment from LCMS Synod President
Matthew Harrison:
Even
by 1817, the University of Wittenberg, by that reformation, or nearly so, was
the seat of Lutheran orthodoxy, still enduring in Germany. What did the Prussian
king do? He closed it. Combined it with Halle University. The university built
by the Prussian kings; the university where, by 1800, one of the guys who was
bringing about a revival, by the name of [Johann Ephraim] Scheibel, was the
teacher of one Martin Stephan, who was the teacher of one C.F.W. Walther.
Scheibel said, “In 1750, Halle was known for its deep piety. In 1800, it’s
known for syphilis.” So there’s a bit of the story.[1]
In 1996, Pastor X named
August Suelflow as the source – that Stephan had syphilis. My researcher wrote
this,
It
[Stephan’s syphilis] was common knowledge among pastors around St. Louis and
those involved in the Concordia Historical Institute, and of course down in the
settlement south of St. Louis made famous by the book Zion on the
Mississippi. However, there's nothing in print, all word of mouth, so he
and a small group confronted Sueflow about it. Sueflow confirmed it, saying
there were historical documents in CHI that never sees the light of day and is
in a secure location of CHI.[2]
[1] “Challenges
to Lutheranism: Unionism.” Issues, Etc. Radio Conversation with Matthew
Harrison, October 28, 2015.
