Dear Dr. Jackson:
WELS vs. "old Missouri" (NOT modern LCMS)--who is right? Walther vs. Loehe--who is right? Does CTSFW teach that ONLY pastors can forgive ALL sins; that Christ gave the Keys NOT to the Church, but to the disciples and their "successors" the pastors; can a layperson ONLY forgive sins commited against themself and otherwise can ONLY "announce" that God forgives sins, while ONLY the pastor can say "-I- forgive you your sins...;" does a pastor "become Christ" to his congregation; can a layman NEVER, under ANY circumstances, EVEN with the permission of his pastor and congregation, administer the Sacrament of the Altar in the absence of the/a pastor, because he doesn't have an AC XIV call, BUT a pastor on the "clergy roster" who ALSO DOESN'T have an AC XIV call to a congregation CAN administer the Sacrament there. Thanks for your consideration! -- Warren
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GJ - Some use the term Hyper-European Lutheran, which is ambiguous. The orthodox fathers are good to read, but not unless one has immersed himself in Luther and his work in Biblical exposition. Apparently many clergy, and some professors, thought the answer to Fuller Seminary Enthusiasm was Roman Enthusiasm. That is like curing alcoholism with drug addiction.
Romanism
The two Concordia seminaries are dominated by Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox factions. The pastors who ran the Matt Harrison election campaign are also Romanists. WELS is not lacking in the same gullibility. They also promoted the papal three-year lectionary and the gay-friendly liturgical colors. The church year named have been dumbed down. Why? Because Rome says so.
WELS, Missouri, and the Little Sect on the Prairie owe far more to Rome than to Luther. They emulate the infallible papacy, the rewards for venerating their popes, the punishments due dissenters. The thought police never rest. As someone pointed out to me, fellowship is defined by how one approaches certain verses.
In the good old days of Photoshopped memories, the three Pietistic sects of the SynConference mixed the WELS and Missouri models, as Professor Fredrich of Mequon (RIP) observed. He was one of two Lutherans on the faculty when I was there.
Loehe, Stephan, Walther
The Missouri position is that the congregation is the only divine form of the church. Looking at the founding of Missouri by Loehe, Bishop Stephan, and Pope Walther, I wonder how they discovered that insight. Stephan and Walther demanded absolute obedience. Loehe operated as a one-man synod, creating various world missions and seminaries.
Today, Loehe is the boogey-man for some because the Romanists use him as their hero. As jaded as I am by Lutheran apostasy, I still gasp at the open promotion of the papacy, the adoration of Pope Benedict, and the constant promotion of the Roman Catholic way of ordering the church.
I doubt whether the Loehe fan club could withstand a scrutiny of their claims. But they are no different from the Fuller boys, using a fad to promote apostasy and to grab power for their mutual fiends.
Dogmatism
The Lutheran sects are suffering from a terminal case of dogmatism and Scriptural dishonesty.
The dogmatism is evidenced by their eagerness to define what the Word of God says without any Biblical exposition. Find a faction and parrot their words - that is the approach. They have their labels, which replace honest discussion. Actual Biblical study is too much work. That is why they fear any challenges.
Bishop
The LCA began with changing titles. There are many with the title but few serving as bishops in the Biblical sense. The DPs and CPs are no different. I think they like the secular translation - overseer - like Simon Legree holding his lash and threatening the slaves on the Lutheran plantation.
Some Episcopalian bishops have shamed the Lutherans by standing up to their popish dictator and fighting her in court when necessary.