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Strangers to Sisters - Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library: Essays

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of church and ministry. 261 The list cites various articles in popular periodicals, symbolic<br />

references, essays in theological journals, dogmatics texts and his<strong>to</strong>rical studies. The list<br />

was so detailed that it <strong>to</strong>ok up an entire installment of the Clergy Bulletin!<br />

The Hanson bibliography further reveals the second noteworthy aspect of the<br />

study – a consciousness of his<strong>to</strong>ry. Hanson’s list connected the current debate <strong>to</strong> previous<br />

church and ministry debates, most notably the Walther-Grabau-Loehe ministry debate<br />

and the lay-preaching controversy among the Norwegians. The “his<strong>to</strong>rical consciousness”<br />

gave the ELS a clear view of the status controversae. In addition, it allowed them <strong>to</strong><br />

distinguish the past employment of dogmatic terminology in relation <strong>to</strong> its current usage.<br />

In other words, the attention <strong>to</strong> his<strong>to</strong>rical context guarded the ELS pas<strong>to</strong>r from taking the<br />

words of a revered father out of context or extend their meaning beyond what they had<br />

intended.<br />

This his<strong>to</strong>rical consciousness set the stage for the most important aspect of the<br />

ELS’ doctrinal study – Scripture alone establishes all article of doctrine (Sola Scriptura).<br />

In the discussions concerning the doctrines of church and ministry during the 40s and the<br />

50s, the ELS theologians and pas<strong>to</strong>rs made, time and again, a strong distinction between<br />

the opinions and expressions of the <strong>Lutheran</strong> fathers and the authoritative Word of God.<br />

To the ELS, no matter how respected a father’s writings were, be he Luther, Walther,<br />

Gerhardt or Koren, he was never <strong>to</strong> be put on the same plane as Scripture. This last aspect<br />

is most clearly demonstrated in the writings of Bethany <strong>Seminary</strong> Professor George<br />

Lillegard.<br />

261 Clarence Hanson, “Bibliography on the Ministerial Office & Ordination” Clergy Bulletin 5, no 4<br />

(December 1945), 1-3.<br />

140

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