Strangers to Sisters - Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library: Essays

More documents

Recommendations

Info

the board of directors of Bethany. After these assurances, DMLC and WELS gave Bethany moral support after its reorganization. 157 Douglas Horton once said, “Desperation is like stealing from the Mafia: you stand a good chance of attracting the wrong attention.” The desperation of ELEA to make a Bethany a success led to a number of foolish, unbrotherly, and doctrinally questionable decisions. In February of 1923, the school’s registrar, O.C. Torgerson, using DMLC letterhead, contacted a Mr. Claus Gieschen in Milwaukee offering to him the names of some of the graduates of Bethany Ladies College as candidates for call lists. Not only did this violate Bethany’s pledge to DMLC, but the Torgerson had sidestepped the District President, DMLC President Bliefernicht, and given a false impression by using DMLC letterhead that this procedure had been cleared with school officials. 158 Eight days later President Bliefernicht registered his protest with Bethany Lutheran College and demanded an explanation for this unchristian behavior. 159 Torgerson replied with a vague answer that did not fit the facts or the pledge that Bethany had made to DMLC. Torgerson asserted that graduates of Bethany were qualified to teach in Synodical Conference schools and that some Bethany graduates had been doing so already to fill the need for vacancies. 160 Bliefernicht responded that Torgerson’s explanation was beside the 157 Ibid. 158 O.C. Torgerson to C. Gieschen, letter, February 20, 1923, WELS-ELS Correspondence 1919-1990: Committee investigating matters regarding Bethany Lutheran College, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Archives, Mequon, WI. Torgerson was a noted advocate and educator within the Norwegian Synod before the Madison Settlement. Whether Torgerson had been part of the faculty of Bethany when the Madison Settlement occurred, yet he remained in contact with many educators within that synod who went along with the merger. Claus Gieschen would leave the WELS for the Protest’ ant Controversy and become one of her chief historians. 159 Edmund Bliefernicht to Bethany Lutheran College, letter, February 28, 1923, WELS-ELS Correspondence 1919-1990: Committee investigating matters regarding Bethany Lutheran College, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Archives, Mequon, WI. 160 O.C. Torgerson to Edmund Bliefernicht, letter, March 15, 1923, WELS-ELS Correspondence 1919- 1990: Committee investigating matters regarding Bethany Lutheran College, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Archives, Mequon, WI. 86
point. Bethany had not been entrusted with the office of training teachers for work in the Wisconsin Synod therefore it was presuming a role that it not only did not have, but had pledged not to assume. 161 Relations would dissolve further as the year progressed. In addition to the issue above, it was published in the Bethany summer school catalogue that one of its instructors would be Professor Hilleboe, an instructor at the Augustana Normal School in Rapid City, SD. Both Professor Hilleboe and the Augustana Normal School were members of the ELC. 162 This was a great offense to Bliefernicht, especially since a member of the DMLC faculty, Oscar Levorson, had resigned from his position at a similar normal school in the ELC to join the ELS. Now a teacher from a heterodox church body would be instructing students at Bethany, the same students that Torgerson had been trying to place in Synodical Conference schools. In response to these violations, as well as the poor and doctrinally questionable judgment in making them, Bliefernicht filed protest against Bethany in the Gemeindeblatt and the Northwestern Lutheran as well as withdrawing DMLC’s moral support of Bethany given in 1919. While this was happening, the two-man WELS advisory committee appointed to advise the board of directors of Bethany became increasingly cognizant of the shady practices that were occurring. By 1921, the two-man committee recommended to the WELS that a larger committee be appointed to investigate matters more fully. Archival 161 Edmund Bliefernicht to O.C. Torgerson, letter, March 24, 1923, WELS-ELS Correspondence 1919- 1990: Committee investigating matters regarding Bethany Lutheran College, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Archives, Mequon, WI. 162 Edmund Bliefernicht to A.F. Winter, letter, June 15, 1923, WELS-ELS Correspondence 1919-1990: Committee investigating matters regarding Bethany Lutheran College, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Archives, Mequon, WI. While Levorson’s objections to this are not mentioned, it is a certainty that Levorson was angered by this action given his brave confessional stand. Given the close personal relationship between Levorson and Bliefernicht, it is hard to imagine that Levorson had not weighed in on the matter. 87
Page 1 and 2:
WISCONSIN LUTHERAN SEMINARY STRANGE
Page 3 and 4:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to gra
Page 5 and 6:
Yet, the Norwegian Synod suffered h
Page 7 and 8:
constitution, the reference to the
Page 9 and 10:
Minnesota had reservations about th
Page 11 and 12:
these two synods into closer contac
Page 13 and 14:
Part I: Getting to know the Scriptu
Page 15 and 16:
strengthening and encouraging the f
Page 17 and 18:
University of Leipzig. 18 His main
Page 19 and 20:
voice, as in an ecstasy, breathed t
Page 21 and 22:
unbelief, in recent times such men
Page 23 and 24:
So will we cling fast to the Lord m
Page 25 and 26:
Koren sees Kierkegaard as a one who
Page 27 and 28:
We acknowledge with gratitude towar
Page 29 and 30:
Of the founders of the Norwegian Sy
Page 31 and 32:
The Election Controversy was really
Page 33 and 34:
ule or judge in matters of faith, n
Page 35 and 36: The Norwegian Synod lived its motto
Page 37 and 38: are sitting, like ourselves, theore
Page 39 and 40: we do? Why stand aloof against a cu
Page 41 and 42: that poor, unscriptural hermeneutic
Page 43 and 44: congregation, not us listeners.”
Page 45 and 46: elieve for them, such as is the cas
Page 47 and 48: Chapter 2 The Wauwatosa Theology Th
Page 49 and 50: Hoenecke developed and passed on to
Page 51 and 52: Third, one dare not limit this auth
Page 53 and 54: For Hoenecke, the way we let Script
Page 55 and 56: It may never be forgotten, that the
Page 57 and 58: inging unity to the various Luthera
Page 59 and 60: A fuller analysis of the Wauwatosa
Page 61 and 62: One of the chief terms used by orth
Page 63 and 64: None of this is to say the Wauwatos
Page 65 and 66: the church unperverted. It thus has
Page 67 and 68: synods over the years. But as will
Page 69 and 70: We believe it best to wait until 19
Page 71 and 72: Finally, the doctrinal controversie
Page 73 and 74: E.B. Schluetter, and delivered the
Page 75 and 76: students. Ylvisaker had resigned hi
Page 77 and 78: teaching English, Norse, Latin, Alg
Page 79 and 80: Waltonite, and scare ‘em into ret
Page 81 and 82: DMLC were fraternal visitors at the
Page 83 and 84: accepted a call to serve his sister
Page 85: experiment never really took off, p
Page 89 and 90: the internal shake-up at Bethany an
Page 91 and 92: growing tense, not only among those
Page 93 and 94: ehind the back of the Wisconsin Syn
Page 95 and 96: With such deep sentiments and histo
Page 97 and 98: weight around, intruded upon a very
Page 99 and 100: Tjernagel contends vehemently that
Page 101 and 102: of the ELS, as well as her wariness
Page 103 and 104: Paul, MN the possibility Ohio and I
Page 105 and 106: Take for instance the procedure ado
Page 107 and 108: meeting has lapsed, I am forced in
Page 109 and 110: Dear Gullixson! I had just sat down
Page 111 and 112: to them what they should speak and
Page 113 and 114: conferences. By entering into a rel
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 and 164:
congregation, and that our privileg
Page 165 and 166:
cease such offensive practice.” 3
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
show all

Strangers to Sisters - Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library: Essays

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?