Strangers to Sisters - Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library: Essays

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deny that such a promise had been given, even though every other WELS, ELS, and LCMS official at the 1949 meeting confirmed that such a promise was indeed made. 305 To add insult to injury, President Gamber, in a letter to Gullerud, went so far as to defend the actions of Our Savior’s in starting a Boy Scout troop, citing that this matter has not yet been settled in the Missouri Synod. Gamber completely ignores that it was specifically promised by the members of Our Savior’s not to have a Boy Scout troop. Throughout the rest of the year, correspondence shows a backpedaling by Gamber, in an attempt to justify Fehner’s actions. ELS President Gullerud hammers Gamber again and again at his total lack of understanding of the Mankato situation. At the same time, the correspondence between Gullerud and Naumann shows just how close the two synods had become as a result of this battle. The protests (by both ELS and WELS officials) against Our Savior’s would continue into 1953. One attempt to mediate the situation took place on July 22, 1953, at Concordia College, St. Paul. In attendance were the Presidia of both Wisconsin and Missouri Minnesota Districts, the pastors and representatives of Immanuel as well as Pastor Fehner and members of Our Savior’s. It is of note that during the meeting Pastor Fehner admitted that all the charges that were leveled against him and Our Savior’s were true. They further admitted that their action was contrary to numerous Bible passages. Yet, instead of repenting, they justified their actions “according to a higher law, namely the law of love; therefore they would not admit that they had sinned in such disorderly manner of receiving members from a sister congregation, nor would they promise to 305 B.W. Teigen to Otto Brauer, letter, January 6, 1954, ELS Presidential Files: 1950s. Evangelical Lutheran Synod Archives, Mankato, MN. 164
cease such offensive practice.” 306 What was even more disturbing was the fact that this line of argumentation received the support of the Missouri’s Minnesota District Presidium! But Fehner had one more salvo to make in his Mankato war. In the fall of 1953, he contacted all the LCMS students then attending Bethany by way of letter. In the letter, he not only invited all the students to make Our Savior’s their church home, but also invited the students to share with him personally any statements made against the Missouri Synod by any BLC professor or student, I regret that there are students at Bethany, and also some faculty members, who make it a point to criticize and fault our Missouri Synod in the presence of our students. They inject doubt into young minds, try to confuse them, and seek to alienate our Missouri Synod students from the Synod to which they belong. When such unwarranted activity comes to your attention, please report it to me; and do not permit yourselves to be influenced by such unholy fault-finding… 307 This was too much for the faculty both of the college and the seminary to take. As soon as the Fehner letter came to the attention of the faculty of the college and the seminary, it was immediately addressed both in a statement, drafted by B.W. Teigen, read before the faculty and student body as well by a letter to Pastor Fehner drafted by Dean Norman Madson of Bethany Seminary. The statement drafted by B.W. Teigen, president of Bethany, shows the ELS not only standing up for herself, but also coming to the defense of her larger sister, the WELS. First Teigen rejects the notion that the Bethany College or Seminary faculty has 306 George Barthels to the Church Council of Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church, letter, September 1953, ELS Presidential Files: 1950s – the Fehner Case. Evangelical Lutheran Synod Archives, Mankato, MN. 307 Alvin Fehner to LCMS students attending Bethany Lutheran College, letter, October 1, 1953, ELS Presidential Files: 1950s – the Fehner Case. Evangelical Lutheran Synod Archives, Mankato, MN. 165
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WISCONSIN LUTHERAN SEMINARY STRANGE
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to gra
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Yet, the Norwegian Synod suffered h
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constitution, the reference to the
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Minnesota had reservations about th
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these two synods into closer contac
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Part I: Getting to know the Scriptu
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strengthening and encouraging the f
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University of Leipzig. 18 His main
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voice, as in an ecstasy, breathed t
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unbelief, in recent times such men
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So will we cling fast to the Lord m
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Koren sees Kierkegaard as a one who
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We acknowledge with gratitude towar
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Of the founders of the Norwegian Sy
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The Election Controversy was really
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ule or judge in matters of faith, n
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The Norwegian Synod lived its motto
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are sitting, like ourselves, theore
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we do? Why stand aloof against a cu
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that poor, unscriptural hermeneutic
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congregation, not us listeners.”
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elieve for them, such as is the cas
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Chapter 2 The Wauwatosa Theology Th
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Hoenecke developed and passed on to
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Third, one dare not limit this auth
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For Hoenecke, the way we let Script
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It may never be forgotten, that the
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inging unity to the various Luthera
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A fuller analysis of the Wauwatosa
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One of the chief terms used by orth
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None of this is to say the Wauwatos
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the church unperverted. It thus has
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synods over the years. But as will
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We believe it best to wait until 19
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Finally, the doctrinal controversie
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E.B. Schluetter, and delivered the
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students. Ylvisaker had resigned hi
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teaching English, Norse, Latin, Alg
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Waltonite, and scare ‘em into ret
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DMLC were fraternal visitors at the
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accepted a call to serve his sister
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experiment never really took off, p
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point. Bethany had not been entrust
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the internal shake-up at Bethany an
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growing tense, not only among those
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ehind the back of the Wisconsin Syn
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With such deep sentiments and histo
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weight around, intruded upon a very
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Tjernagel contends vehemently that
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of the ELS, as well as her wariness
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Paul, MN the possibility Ohio and I
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Take for instance the procedure ado
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meeting has lapsed, I am forced in
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Dear Gullixson! I had just sat down
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to them what they should speak and
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Page 115 and 116: Chapter 2 Relations confirmed and s
Page 117 and 118: sent out by a Chicago group, I shal
Page 119 and 120: have good reasons to refrain for ex
Page 121 and 122: Tjernagel: Today conditions have be
Page 123 and 124: At the Synodical Conference convent
Page 125 and 126: The ELS, in her desire to mediate a
Page 127 and 128: Such remarks are telling not only o
Page 129 and 130: America, Elling Eielsen. Eielsen in
Page 131 and 132: But even the faithful few who had l
Page 133 and 134: establishes all functions of the mi
Page 135 and 136: 2.) By virtue of the work they do,
Page 137 and 138: Scripture. 257 The ELS, due to its
Page 139 and 140: Wisconsin, ELS and the faithful of
Page 141 and 142: Lillegard was the foremost exegete
Page 143 and 144: “congregation” has a much narro
Page 145 and 146: this is definitely a Lutheran princ
Page 147 and 148: What makes the testimony and defens
Page 149 and 150: terms. He is persuaded now that the
Page 151 and 152: III. The Fehner Case (1949-1953) Th
Page 153 and 154: Immanuel during a difficult time. B
Page 155 and 156: there would not be any scouting at
Page 157 and 158: Bethany Lutheran College and the Ev
Page 159 and 160: The trouble makers had then proceed
Page 161 and 162: pro and some con. To make matters w
Page 163: congregation, and that our privileg
Page 167 and 168: teachings of these revered teachers
Page 169 and 170: pastor’s point of view, that both
Page 171 and 172: How much of this can be attributed
Page 173 and 174: alarming rate. The water of controv
Page 175 and 176: where the one advocating them refus
Page 177 and 178: Reim: challenges Harms’ limitatio
Page 179 and 180: gave public testimony to the interc
Page 181 and 182: efusing to accept the Brief Stateme
Page 183 and 184: Yet, there does remain a present va
Page 185 and 186: ecclesiastical details or the weigh
Page 187 and 188: The study of this era shows that th
Page 189 and 190: BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Aaberg, Theodore
Page 191 and 192: Schroeder, Morton A Time to Remembe
Page 193 and 194: http://www.blts.edu/essays/korenUV/
Page 195 and 196: Ylvisaker, S.C. “The National Lut
Page 197 and 198: Harstad, Bjug. “Sermon of Genesis
Page 199 and 200: Zimmermann, Paul. “Scripture Inte
Page 201 and 202: C.M. Gullerud to Hugo Gamber, lette
Page 203 and 204: Gervasius Fischer to C.M. Gullerud,
Page 205 and 206: John Brenner to Norman Madson, lett
Page 207 and 208: Minutes of the Meeting of The Commi
Page 209 and 210: Oscar Naumann to C.M. Gullerud, let
Page 211: Stuart Dorr to the pastors of the N
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