Strangers to Sisters - Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library: Essays

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The WELS/ELS relations of this early period also give a revealing historical context for many of the present debates within the ELS-WELS fellowship as well as demonstrating the proper way of solving them. Today, the doctrine of church and ministry has become a real fight within the ELS and is straining their relationship with the WELS. A number of pastors in the ELS have been suspended or have removed themselves from that fellowship over the 2005 PCM (Presidium’s Committee on Ministry) statement that was adopted at the 2005 ELS Synod Convention. One of the problems with the current debate is that those protesting the PCM statement want to frame the Wisconsin Synod position as a departure from the historic position of the Synodical Conference. 342 Take for instance one ELS pastor’s comments, The following is from the 7th Regular Convention of the Norwegian Synod held at Highland Prairie Lutheran Church, Fillmore County, Minnesota; on June 14-22, 1865. The address is from President H.A. Preus. I put this quotation here so those who claim to be the inheritors of the Old Norwegian Synod's Doctrine can see what was actually believed and taught by the Old Norwegian Synod. The address concerns the adoption of the synod's constitution. For the sake of the congregations the President carefully distinguishes between what is divinely instituted and commanded in contrast with what is done in human freedom and instituted by human freedom. Does a Synodical President have a divinely instituted and called office simply by virtue of being a Synodical President? The ELS adopted statement in Part II A says that the President of a Synod is one form of the Pastoral Office: "Missionary, assistant pastor, professor of theology, synod president (who supervises doctrine in the church), and chaplain are some examples of this." Compare what was believed and held by the Old Norwegian Synod concerning the nature of Synod and its authority in the quotations below. 343 (Emphasis mine) 342 See the papers of suspended ELS pastor Rolf Preus. http://www.christforus.org/Papers/preuspapers.html. (Accessed July 30, 2008). 186
The study of this era shows that this current debate is not the first time that the ELS wrestled with the “Wisconsin” position. Furthermore, the ELS men like Lillegard the vigorously defended the “Wisconsin” position because, according to their own study, is the correct scriptural position and in agreement with the fathers of the Synodical Conference and the Norwegian Synod. Perhaps a closer study of this era by the ELS would be beneficial in the current debate. But this era is also a valuable study for the Wisconsin Synod. As in the East Madison Case, sometimes the members of the Wisconsin Synod are guilty of offending her sister by actions that don’t seem to be imbued with a sisterly spirit. Many times groups within the Wisconsin Synod participate in actions that are certainly permissible, but not always beneficial. Many times our synod acts quite imperiously and obliviously toward the concerns and conscience of our sister synod. For instance, time and circumstance might possibly necessitate a woman communing another woman, but why should any congregation actively seek to start a practice that has no real historical basis and, in an age when feminism has confused the roles of man and woman, will only cause more confusion within and between synods? The same also applies to certain worship practices that some WELS churches have adopted wholesale from the Evangelical Movement, which are becoming a greater source of strain between our sister synods. Indeed, the same call for conscientiousness in dealing with our sister synod that Julius Bergholz made to Abelmann and Thurow needs to be heeded today by many in the WELS. Otherwise, the “smell of that deadly gas” that Tjernagel warned about will begin 343 Joe Abrahamson, “The Old Norwegian Synod’s Doctrine on Synod Offices,” published on DIAQNKN blog. http://diatheke.blogspot.com/2007/02/old-norwegian-synods-doctrine-on-synod.html. (Accessed July 30, 2008). 187
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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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conferences. By entering into a rel
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Chapter 2 Relations confirmed and s
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sent out by a Chicago group, I shal
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have good reasons to refrain for ex
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Tjernagel: Today conditions have be
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At the Synodical Conference convent
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The ELS, in her desire to mediate a
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Such remarks are telling not only o
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America, Elling Eielsen. Eielsen in
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But even the faithful few who had l
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establishes all functions of the mi
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Page 151 and 152: III. The Fehner Case (1949-1953) Th
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Page 167 and 168: teachings of these revered teachers
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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: ecclesiastical details or the weigh
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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