The Missouri Synod, under the dark despotic reign of Matt the Fatt, did far more to recognize the anniversary of Walther's birth than they did to honor the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Concordia Publishing House did their best to dishonor the Reformation, by selling such gee-gaws as Reformation dog collars, dog shirts, and Here I Stand socks.
Tired of the fables, I am putting together the truth of CFW Walther's dogma and personality.
Someone is already miffed at the draft material I am posting. "How could someone like Stephan be born a Pietist?" The answer is - Stephan's Moravian Pietism, his training in Pietism, his study at Halle, the Mothership of Pietism, and his call to a Moravian Pietist congregation that owed its existence to Count Zinzendorf, the promoter of Moravian Pietism. Stephan's symbol was a hat, and that most likely reflects Z's Herrnhut, but I will let that go for now.
Biographical efforts are extremely complicated. It is fun to research the topic but difficult to explain the results. As one first-time book writer said to me, in frustration, "Every idea must be defined and the definitions need defining." I welcomed her to the club.
The big picture, as Mischke liked to say (so creative), is Walther the Pietist in Pietist circles under the guidance of one Pietist master for 10 years, then under Pietist Stephan until CFW kidnapped him and stole all the bishop owned.
 |
| This is an excellent book, but I had to photoshop the cover to keep the story honest. |
Calling Walther the Second Luther is cunning but utterly false. So the problem is getting the material assembled so people can have a look at the documented truth. If successful, people will do more reading on their own and not imagine, as the LutherQueasies say, that "Walther answers all questions."
Walther should be treated according to the facts rather than the mendacious PR releases of the Missouri Synod.
