Bible Translators
100-646: The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod ( WELS ), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod , is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity . Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin . As of 2022, it had a baptized membership of 340,511 in 1,250 congregations , with churches in 47 US states and 4 provinces of Canada. The WELS also does gospel outreach in 40 countries around
200-954: A " quatenus " ( Latin for "insofar as") subscription to the Book of Concord, which contains the Apostles' Creed , Nicene Creed , Athanasian Creed , Luther's Small Catechism , Luther's Large Catechism , the Augsburg Confession , the Apology of the Augsburg Confession , the Smalcald Articles , the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope , and the Formula of Concord . Quia subscription (the Book of Concord
300-534: A biblical method prevailed. At Melanchthon's suggestion he undertook a course of self-study. He began by carefully working through the Bible in the original languages while also answering questions that had previously puzzled him. When he felt ready to move on, he turned his attention to reading through the early theologians of the church slowly and carefully. Then he turned to current theological concerns and once again read painstakingly while making copious notes. His tendency
400-582: A centrally run seminary. In response to this strained relation between the Wisconsin Synod and the other synods, the Synodical Conference elected a committee made up of Wisconsin Synod delegates and other synods' representatives to repair relations with the Wisconsin Synod in time for the next convention in 1878. In 1878, the Wisconsin Synod withdrew its demand that the state synods had to be independent of
500-400: A clean cut, even scientific, manner. The use of philosophy gave orthodox Lutheran theologians better tools to pass on their tradition than were otherwise available. It is also worth noting that it was only after neo-Aristotelian philosophical methods were ended that orthodox Lutheranism came to be criticized as austere, non-Christian formalism. The term “scholasticism” is used to indicate both
600-469: A corporate board to plan and direct WELS worldwide ministry", but their decisions may be overruled by a synod convention. The WELS is divided into 12 geographical districts in the United States and Canada, each headed by a district president elected in district conventions held during even-numbered years. District presidents serve terms of two years. WELS Missions consists of all of the mission efforts of
700-468: A love-hate relationship with Aristotle over the latter's emphasis on reason. For Luther, reason could be used to question men and institutions, but not God. Human beings could learn about God only through divine revelation , he believed, and Scripture therefore became increasingly important to him. In particular, Luther wrote theses 43 and 44 for his student Franz Günther to publicly defend in 1517 as part of earning his Baccalaureus Biblicus degree: It
800-564: A man through successive generations. It is a title like King of England. Lutheran Orthodoxy Bible Translators Theologians Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism , which began in 1580 from the writing of the Book of Concord and ended at the Age of Enlightenment . Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Calvinism and tridentine Roman Catholicism after
900-832: A part of the movement as they studied the works of Martin Luther and the Book of Concord . The Old Lutheran and Neo-Lutheran movements spread to the United States with the Neo-Lutheran Loehe and the Old Lutheran free church leader Friedrich August Brünn , both sending missionaries to newly arrived German immigrants in the Midwest , and with the immigration of groups including the Saxons who settled in Missouri under Martin Stephan and C. F. W. Walther,
1000-738: A print impairment cannot read a book or other printed material. The WELS Mission for the Visually Impaired is able to provide a wide variety of Christian resources for free to anyone who qualifies because of copyright law. “Volunteers at the Mission for the Visually Impaired Workshop in South St Paul, Minn. and across the US produce Christian materials in audio formats, braille and large print. These materials are distributed free of charge throughout
1100-623: A series of Christian movies to be used as evangelism tools. These movies include Road to Emmaus , Come Follow Me , My Son, My Savior , and To the Ends of the Earth . Confessional Lutheran Theologians Confessional Lutheranism is a name used by Lutherans to designate those who believe in the doctrines taught in the Book of Concord of 1580 (the Lutheran confessional documents) in their entirety. Confessional Lutherans maintain that faithfulness to
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#17328376767731200-453: A twofold task. First, they collected texts, arranged them, supported them with arguments, and gave rebuttals based on the theologians before them. Second, they completed their process by going back to the pre-Reformation scholastics in order to gather additional material which they assumed the Reformation also accepted. Even though the Lutheran scholastic theologians added their own criticism to
1300-459: Is Paul Gerhardt . Prominent church musicians and composers include Michael Praetorius , Melchior Vulpius , Johann Hermann Schein , Heinrich Schütz , Johann Crüger , Dieterich Buxtehude and Bach. Generally, the 17th century was a more difficult time than the earlier period of Reformation , due in part to the Thirty Years' War . Finland suffered a severe famine in 1696-1697 as part of what
1400-523: Is a combination of Home Missions, World Missions, and Ministerial Education.“ WELS Mission Journeys is the official WELS program for short-term mission trips for WELS members. “Through church- or school-based volunteer trips to WELS mission fields at home and abroad, members have the opportunity to engage in Christian service. Pre-trip training led by a Mission Journeys team leader equips volunteers to have significant impact during their trip. While volunteering,
1500-562: Is adhered to because it is faithful to the Scriptures ) implies that the subscriber believes that there is no contradiction between the Book of Concord and the Scriptures . Quatenus subscription (the Book of Concord is adhered to insofar as it is faithful to the Scriptures) implies that the subscriber leaves room for the possibility that there might be a contradiction of the Scriptures in
1600-495: Is affiliated with the WELS and "is owned and operated by a corporation whose members consist of WELS congregations from across the country." The WELS has an extensive campus ministry system. The WELS provides financial support for 30 campus ministry programs and assistance for 550 campus ministries in the United States and Canada. The WELS also supports full and part-time campus pastors. The first campus ministry program started in 1920 at
1700-586: Is made up mostly of volunteers who help in various ways. CAR also works with WELS missions and churches for various efforts. CAR also partners with various organizations to help carry out their efforts including Central Africa Medical Mission, Kingdom Workers, WELS Nurses Association, and Christian Family Solutions. The WELS Commission on Discipleship is an organization that “... provides resources, encouragement, and training to assist congregations as they seek to strengthen individuals and families in their connection to Christ and their ongoing walk of faith.” The focus of
1800-513: Is not merely incorrect to say that without Aristotle no man can become a theologian; on the contrary, we must say: he is no theologian who does not become one without Aristotle Martin Luther held that it was "not at all in conformity with the New Testament to write books about Christian doctrine." He noted that before the Apostles wrote books, they "previously preached to and converted the people with
1900-607: Is now called the Little Ice Age , and almost one third of the population died. This struggle to survive can often be seen in hymns and devotional writings. The era of Lutheran orthodoxy is not well known, and it has been very often looked at only through the view of liberal theology and pietism and thus underestimated. The wide gap between the theology of Orthodoxy and rationalism has sometimes limited later theological neo-Lutheran and confessional Lutheran attempts to understand and restore Lutheran orthodoxy. More recently,
2000-423: The Book of Concord in which case the subscriber may hold to the Scriptures against the Book of Concord . Some Confessional Lutherans maintain that this distinguishes them from other ("mainline") Lutheran bodies and Lutherans, who, they believe, hold to a quatenus subscription. C. F. W. Walther explained the meaning of confessional subscription: An unconditional subscription is the solemn declaration which
2100-546: The Book of Concord, which is a summary of the teachings found in Scripture, requires attention to how that faith is actually being preached, taught, and put into practice. Confessional Lutherans believe that this is a vital part of their identity as Lutherans. The term Confessional Lutheran is generally used among the more conservative churches found in groupings such as the International Lutheran Council (ILC),
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#17328376767732200-711: The Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), and the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum . Churches of the larger Lutheran World Federation subscribe to the Book of Concord as an exposition of faith in so far as ( quatenus ) it agrees with their interpretation of the Bible. Two main confessional movements arose during the 19th century: the Old Lutherans and the Neo-Lutherans . The Old Lutherans originated from
2300-553: The Counter-Reformation . Lutheran scholasticism was a theological method that gradually developed during the era of Lutheran orthodoxy. Theologians used the neo-Aristotelian form of presentation, already popular in academia, in their writings and lectures. They defined the Lutheran faith and defended it against the polemics of opposing parties. Protestant Reformation Counter-Reformation Aristotelianism Scholasticism Patristics Second scholasticism of
2400-516: The General Synod because the latter body sought to compromise Lutheran doctrine in order to join with non-Lutheran American Protestantism. However, some pastors in the Wisconsin Synod agreed with the " open questions " position of the Iowa Synod that some doctrines could be left unresolved and good Lutherans could agree to disagree about them. The 1868 convention witnessed a meaningful discussion on
2500-798: The Helmstedt School and especially in the theology of Georgius Calixtus (1586–1656), which caused the syncretistic controversy of 1640–1686. Another theological issue was the Crypto-Kenotic Controversy of 1619–1627. Late orthodoxy was torn by influences from rationalism and pietism . Orthodoxy produced numerous postils , which were important devotional readings. Along with hymns, they conserved orthodox Lutheran spirituality during this period of heavy influence from pietism and neology . Johann Gerhard , Heinrich Müller and Christian Scriver wrote other kinds of devotional literature. The last prominent orthodox Lutheran theologian before
2600-570: The Lutheran Reformation teaching of Sola scriptura —"by Scripture alone." It holds that the Bible is the final authority by which church teachings can be judged. WELS pastors have a quia subscription to the 16th century Lutheran Confessions ; that is, they teach that the confessions are valid because they are faithful to the Bible. As such, pastors and congregations within the WELS agree to teach in accordance with it. The WELS also agrees with
2700-729: The Schism of the Old Lutherans , while Neo-Lutheranism arose in Germany in the 1830s from the Pietist driven Erweckung ("Awakening"). Neo-Lutheranism itself contained differing camps . It gave rise later to those calling themselves confessional Lutherans. Neo-Lutheranism developed in reaction to Pietism on the one side and Rationalism on the other, both of which had arisen in the previous century. German clergymen such as Martin Stephan , C. F. W. Walther , F. C. D. Wyneken , and Wilhelm Loehe became
2800-939: The School of Salamanca Lutheran scholasticism during Lutheran orthodoxy Ramism among the Reformed orthodoxy Metaphysical poets in the Church of England The Jesuits against Jansenism Labadists against the Jesuits Pietism against orthodox Lutherans Nadere Reformatie within Dutch Calvinism Richard Hooker against the Ramists Neologists against Lutherans Spinozists against Dutch Calvinists Deists against Anglicanism John Locke against Bishop Stillingfleet Martin Luther died in 1546, and Philipp Melanchthon in 1560. After
2900-637: The Union Churches they left behind in Germany. In 1864, the German Evangelical Lutheran synod of Wisconsin was incorporated by an act of the state legislature. In the 1860s, the Wisconsin Synod became increasingly conservative along the Lutheran viewpoint and against the Reformed. In the synod convention of 1867, the synod joined the General Council , a group of Neo-Lutheran synods that left
3000-514: The analytic method , but all of them allowed Scripture to determine the form and content of their statements. Some Lutheran scholastic theologians, for example, Johann Gerhard , used exegetical theology along with Lutheran scholasticism. However, in Calov, even his exegesis is dominated by his use of the analytic method With Johann Friedrich König and his student Johannes Andreas Quenstedt , scholastic Lutheran theology reached its zenith. However
3100-494: The books of the Bible in an exegetical manner. To Luther, St. Paul was the greatest of all systematic theologians , and his Epistle to the Romans was the greatest dogmatics textbook of all time. Analysis of Luther's works, however, reveals a reliance on scholastic distinctions and modes of argument even after he had dismissed scholasticism entirely. Luther seems to be comfortable with the use of such theological methods so long as
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3200-422: The scholastic theology that arose during the pre-Reformation Church and the methodology associated with it. While Lutherans reject the theology of the scholastics, some accept their method. Henry Eyster Jacobs writes of the scholastic method: Congregations maintained the full Mass rituals in their normal worship as suggested by Luther. In his Hauptgottesdienst (principal service of worship), Holy Communion
3300-436: The 20th century Lutheran scholar Robert Preus was of the opinion that König went overboard with the scholastic method by overloading his small book, Theologia Positiva Acroamatica with Aristotelian distinctions. He noted that the scholastic method was inherently loaded with pitfalls. In particular, dogmaticians sometimes established cause and effect relationships without suitable links. When dogmaticians forced mysteries of
3400-510: The Bible. The second is that he teaches that salvation is not by faith alone but by faith and works. The present pope upholds and practices these principles. This marks his rule as antichristian rule in the church. All popes hold the same office over the church and promote the same antichristian belief so they all are part of the reign of the Antichrist. The Bible does not present the Antichrist as one man for one short time, but as an office held by
3500-631: The Book of Concord, while others do so unofficially in matters of doctrine and practice. All internally trained AFLC pastors are taught a quia subscription of the Book of Concord, leaving the denomination as a whole "unofficially" confessional in matters of preaching and teaching. Though there are some congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America which would call themselves "confessional", many of those congregations have decided to leave
3600-1059: The CELC are the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod . Other confessional Lutherans include the Church of the Lutheran Confession , the American Association of Lutheran Churches , the Concordia Lutheran Conference , the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America , member congregations of the Protes'tant Conference , and member congregations of the Orthodox Lutheran Confessional Conference of Independent Congregations,
3700-598: The Christian faith. Additionally, the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil uses the title "confessional" on its name, but it instead has a " Quatenus " subscription to the Book of Concord and it is a member of the Lutheran World Federation . Lutheran church bodies and Lutheran individuals that identify themselves as confessional generally hold to a " quia " ( Latin for "because") rather than
3800-525: The ELCA due to the liberal leanings of the denomination, most notably their stances expressed in the 2009 ELCA convention. The ELCA as a whole does not use the title "confessional" to describe itself, but it and the other member churches of the Lutheran World Federation do ascribe to the unaltered Augsburg Confession and the other confessional documents in the Book of Concord as true interpretations of
3900-494: The ELS severed its fellowship relations with the LCMS in 1955 and withdrew from the Synodical Conference. Two years later the WELS publicly recognized the same doctrinal disagreements with the LCMS, but rather than break fellowship, decided to admonish the LCMS to return to its former practice. Dissatisfaction over this decision led about 70 pastors and a similar number of congregations to leave
4000-731: The Enlightenment and Neology was David Hollatz . A later orthodox theologian, Valentin Ernst Löscher , took part in a controversy against Pietism . Mediaeval mystical tradition continued in the works of Martin Moller , Johann Arndt and Joachim Lütkemann . Pietism became a rival of orthodoxy but adopted some orthodox devotional literature, such as those of Arndt, Scriver and Stephan Prätorius , which have often been later mixed with pietistic literature. David Hollatz combined mystic and scholastic elements. Scholastic dogmaticians followed
4100-748: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Church of Sweden, and Church of Norway, respectively, due to "the secularization of the national/state churches in their respective countries involving matters of both Christian doctrine and ethics". Apostolic succession of the Mission Province is derived from Walter Obare Omwanza , the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya , who, assisted by bishops Leonid Zviki from Belarus, David Tswaedi from South Africa , and Børre Knudsen and Ulf Asp from Norway, consecrated Arne Olsson as bishop of
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4200-412: The General Council. Following the 1868 convention, representatives of the Wisconsin and Missouri Synods held a meeting in Milwaukee during October 21–22, 1868. They discussed various points of doctrine, writing an agreement recognizing the Missouri and Wisconsin synods as orthodox Lutheran church bodies and that they have fellowship. The agreement noted that in the event a doctrinal error arose in one of
4300-420: The General Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Other States. The Nebraska Synod joined the federation in 1904. In 1917 the synods voted to turn their federation into a formal union, known as the Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Wisconsin and Other States. By 1930, the merger and other factors had pushed the Wisconsin Synod to become a primarily English-speaking synod. The present name
4400-508: The Germans who settled in Indiana under F. C .D. Wyneken, and the Prussians under J. A. A. Grabau in Western New York and southeastern Wisconsin (the Buffalo Synod ). In Scandinavia, where High Church Lutheranism and Pietist Lutheranism has been highly influential, the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland , Mission Province of the Church of Sweden , and the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway entered into schism with their national churches due to "the secularization of
4500-435: The International Lutheran Council, the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum, or certain other independent Lutheran bodies. Among the members of the ILC are the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod , the Lutheran Church–Canada , the Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Germany, the Lutheran Church of Australia , and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil . Among
4600-433: The LCMS began exploratory talks with leaders of the American Lutheran Church (ALC). The ALC differed on its doctrine of Predestination and therefore did not share doctrinal fellowship with the Synodical Conference. Since there had been no recent change on the ALC's doctrinal position, the LCMS was then charged by some within the Synodical Conference of changing its position on church fellowship. After years of continued talks,
4700-407: The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and the Church of the Lutheran Confession officially maintain that the Early apostolic Church had been led into the Great Apostasy by the Roman Catholic Church and that the Pope is the Antichrist ; the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod affirms that "Antichrist" refers to the office, and not to
4800-409: The Missouri or Ohio Synods. The Missouri Synod needed to build a new seminary, since location at its current campus was strained. Although there was considerable plans to build a new joint Synodical Conference seminary near Chicago, because of the hesitance of the Wisconsin Synod on this subject and the inability of any of the other members besides Missouri to contribute financially to the new project, it
4900-450: The Norwegian Synod, Friedrich A. Schmidt. The Norwegian Synod left the Synodical Conference in 1883, attempting to keep the disunity they experienced within their synod from creeping into the Synodical Conference. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin and Missouri synods stood together in cooperation and harmony during this period of fierce debate. Along with other ethnically German denominations, the Wisconsin Synod successfully spoke out in opposition to
5000-476: The Synodical Conference: the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC). Martin Luther College (MLC) was established in 1995 when Northwestern College (NWC) in Watertown, Wisconsin combined with Dr. Martin Luther College (DMLC) in New Ulm, Minnesota at the New Ulm campus. MLC is a private liberal arts college that is owned and operated by the WELS. MLC offers several undergraduate and graduate degree programs, all of which train students for service in
5100-477: The United Lutheran Mission Association, and the Evangelical Lutheran Conference & Ministerium of North America (all of North America). In the Nordic countries, members of the Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses are a part of the International Lutheran Council: these include the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, the Mission Province of the Church of Sweden, and the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway. These dioceses entered into schism with
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#17328376767735200-420: The United States and around the world. The WELS Mission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing helps congregations to serve the deaf and hard of hearing. “The Mission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing offers resources to aid ministry to people who are deaf or have any degree of hearing loss.” The WELS Mission for the Visually Impaired helps congregations serve those who cannot see or who because of visual impairment or
5300-607: The University of Wisconsin—Madison. Today, Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel is a campus ministry of the WELS that serves students of UW—Madison and other colleges in Madison, WI. Christian Aid & Relief (CAR) is a WELS organization that provides disaster relief and humanitarian aid to people and WELS churches and missions in need. “The mission of Christian Aid and Relief is to reflect Christ’s love and compassion to souls suffering from disasters and hardships. Because of what Christ has freely done for us, we eagerly show we care by offering our time, talents, and treasures to those in need.” CAR
5400-423: The WELS Commission on Discipleship is in the following areas: The WELS Military Services Committee provides spiritual services through full and part-time chaplains to WELS members and other people in the United States Armed Forces. The WELS has a full-time civilian chaplain in Europe and a national civilian chaplain and liaison to the military. The WELS also has 122 pastors who serve as part-time chaplains throughout
5500-406: The WELS and ELS have been in formal discussions with the CLC over doctrinal issues. The goal of these discussions is to restore fellowship with each other. In 1993, the ELS and WELS, working with a number of other Lutheran synods around the world—some of which had been founded through mission work by both synods—founded a new international fellowship organization which is the theological successor of
5600-432: The WELS, ELS, and LCMS to form the Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC) . Their chief complaint was that the WELS misapplied the principles of Christian fellowship by not breaking immediately with the Synodical Conference and the LCMS after it had publicly recognized doctrinal disagreements. While the WELS broke fellowship with the LCMS in 1961, the CLC and the WELS remain at odds regarding this issue to this day. Recently,
5700-458: The WELS. In 2021, WELS sister churches in Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Venezuela came together with the WELS to form a new synod: Iglesia Cristo WELS Internacional. The following is a list of presidents of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod from 1850 to the present. The WELS is headed by a president and is supported by two vice presidents elected during its synod convention for terms of four years. The president oversees
5800-517: The WELS. These missions are made up of Home, World, and Joint Missions. Multi-Language Productions is an arm of WELS World Missions. “Home Missions supports 126 congregations in the United States, Canada, and English-speaking West Indies, and assists hundreds of other congregations with their campus ministry programs. World Missions conducts gospel outreach in 40 foreign countries and is exploring outreach opportunities in 14 prospective new mission fields. Joint Missions oversees any mission opportunity that
5900-416: The Wisconsin Bennett Law , a compulsory education law that also required certain subjects be taught in English and put public authorities in charge of enforcing compliance in both public and private schools. Wisconsin's German-American Lutherans and Catholics saw the law as an attack on their parochial schools and parental rights. They also believed the law was a nativist attack on their German culture. The law
6000-404: The Wisconsin Synod. Men who graduate from the college's pre-seminary program may enroll at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary . Men and women who graduate from its education programs may be assigned by the Wisconsin Synod as teachers and staff ministers to synod churches, schools, and missions. The Chapel of the Christ was dedicated in 2010 at Martin Luther College to commemorate the 150th anniversary of
6100-443: The administration of the synod. The current synod president is the Rev. Mark G. Schroeder. Beneath the president are numerous administrative divisions addressing various areas of ministry. Among these are ministerial education, world missions, home missions, parish services, and fiscal services. Synod conventions are held biennially in odd-numbered years and consist of elected male lay members from individual congregations from within
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#17328376767736200-419: The approach of organizing state synods, but only if they would be independent of the larger Ohio and Missouri Synods. Likewise, the Wisconsin Synod desired organization along state lines, but only on the condition that they would be prohibited from joining any larger synodical body, that is, the already existing Ohio and Missouri Synods. The Wisconsin Synod also did not think that it could derive any benefit out of
6300-428: The choir. Church music flourished and this era is considered as a "golden age" of Lutheran hymnody . Some hymnwriters include Philipp Nicolai , Johann Heermann , Johann von Rist and Benjamin Schmolck in Germany, Haquin Spegel in Sweden, Thomas Hansen Kingo in Denmark, Petter Dass in Norway, Hallgrímur Pétursson in Iceland, and Hemminki Maskulainen in Finland. The most famous orthodox Lutheran hymnwriter
6400-483: The content of theology is normed by scripture, though his direct statements regarding scholastic method are unequivocally negative. In contrast, Philipp Melanchthon scarcely began to lecture on Romans before he decided to formulate and arrange the definitions of the common theological terms of the epistle in his Loci Communes . Martin Chemnitz , Mathias Haffenreffer , and Leonhard Hutter simply expanded upon Melanchthon's Loci Communes . With Chemnitz, however,
6500-536: The death of Luther came the period of the Schmalkaldic War and disputes among Crypto-Calvinists , Philippists , Sacramentarians , Ubiquitarians , and Gnesio-Lutherans . The Book of Concord gave inner unity to Lutheranism, which had many controversies, mostly between Gnesio-Lutherans and Philippists , in Roman Catholic outward pressure and in alleged " crypto-Calvinistic " influence. Lutheran theology became more stable in its theoretical definitions. Lutheran scholasticism developed gradually, especially for
6600-438: The deductions of reason. Aristotle furnished the rules according to which it proceeded, and after a while he became the authority for both the source and process of theology. Lutheranism began as a vigorous protest against scholasticism, starting with Martin Luther . Around the time he became a monk, Luther sought assurances about life, and was drawn to theology and philosophy, expressing particular interest in Aristotle and
6700-515: The diocese. The Concordia Lutheran Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sweden are other bodies that identify as Confessional Lutherans in the region of Scandinavia. Additionally, the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC) describes themselves as confessional. The autonomous congregations within the AFLC are only required to officially subscribe to the unaltered Augsburg Confession and Luther's Small Catechism, but many member congregations officially subscribe to more, or all, of
6800-466: The doctrine of Biblical inerrancy , the doctrine that the Bible is inspired by God and is without error (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 1 Corinthians 2:13, John 17:17, Psalm 12:6, Titus 1:2). For this reason, they reject much of modern liberal theology . The main facets of doctrinal difference between the WELS and the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) include: The WELS's direct predecessor, known as The German Evangelical Ministerium of Wisconsin
6900-400: The faith to fit into strict cause and effect relationships, they created "serious inconsistencies". In addition, sometimes they drew unneeded or baseless conclusions from the writings of their opponents, which not only was unproductive, but also harmed their own cause more than that of their rivals. Later orthodox dogmaticians tended to have an enormous number of artificial distinctions. On
7000-499: The historical order of God's saving acts. First Creation was taught, then the Fall, followed by Redemption, and finished by the Last Things. This order, as an independent part of the Lutheran tradition, was not derived from any philosophical method. It was followed not only by those using the loci method, but also those using the analytical. The usual order of the loci: High Scholasticism in Western Christianity aimed at an exhaustive treatment of theology, supplementing revelation by
7100-458: The individual who wants to serve the church makes under oath (1) that he accepts the doctrinal content of our Lutheran Confessions, because he recognizes the fact that they are in full agreement with Scripture and do not militate against Scripture in any point, whether the point be of major or minor importance; and (2) that he therefore heartily believes in this divine truth and is determined to preach this doctrine. Confessional Lutherans, including
7200-530: The larger synods. The Synodical Conference split when the Ohio Synod left the Synodical Conference in 1881 over the issue of whether God predestined people according to his foreknowledge of whether they would come to faith. The Ohio Synod had some pastors that allowed for this position, while the Missouri Synod declared it to be false doctrine. This Election Controversy had been introduced by a German professor in
7300-410: The learning and sharing of outreach ideas will allow teams to explore how they can use their God-given abilities to lead an outreach event upon their return home.” The WELS school system is one of the largest private school system in the United States. As of 2021, WELS churches and associations operate 362 early childhood centers, 284 elementary schools, 29 high schools, 2 colleges, and 1 seminary across
7400-568: The longstanding concern that if either the Missouri or Ohio synods were allowed to keep their identity, they would dominate the rest of the Synodical Conference, or, even worse, the Minnesota or Wisconsin Synods would be forced to join one of them. This new organization did not apply to congregations speaking Norwegian, and English speaking congregations were to organize as separate district synods within one of
7500-439: The message of salvation and the way to attain this salvation. After the time of Johann Gerhard , Lutherans lost their attitude that philosophy was antagonistic to theology. Instead, Lutheran dogmaticians used syllogistic arguments and the philosophical terms common in the neo- Aristotelianism of the time to make fine distinctions and enhance the precision of their theological method. Scholastic Lutheran theologians engaged in
7600-752: The nation. The WELS maintains four schools of ministerial education: two college preparatory schools, Michigan Lutheran Seminary and Luther Preparatory School ; a pre-seminary and teacher training college, Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota; and a seminary for training pastors, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary , located in Mequon, Wisconsin. Wisconsin Lutheran College , a liberal arts college in Milwaukee,
7700-521: The national/state churches in their respective countries involving matters of both Christian doctrine and ethics"; these are members of the International Lutheran Council with their bishops having secured their lines of apostolic succession from other traditional Lutheran Churches, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya . Contemporary Lutheran church bodies that identify themselves as confessional tend to be either members of
7800-421: The other hand, the Lutheran scholastic method, although often tedious and complicated, managed to largely avoid vagueness and the fallacy of equivocation . As a result, their writings are understandable and prone to misrepresentation only by those entirely opposed to their theology. The use of scholastic philosophy also made Lutheran orthodoxy more intellectually rigorous. Theological questions could be resolved in
7900-571: The person, while the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod states that the reference is to the office, but not to the exclusion of the current office holder: There are two principles that mark the papacy as the Antichrist. One is that the pope takes to himself the right to rule the church that belongs only to Christ . He can make laws forbidding the marriage of priests, eating or not eating meat on Friday, birth control, divorce and remarriage, even where there are not such laws in
8000-422: The physical voice, which was also their real apostolic and New Testament work." To Luther, it was necessary to write books to counter all the false teachers and errors of the present day, but writing books on Christian teaching came at a price. "But since it became necessary to write books, there is already a great loss, and there is uncertainty as to what is meant." Martin Luther taught preaching and lectured upon
8100-429: The pre-Reformation scholastics, they still had an important influence. Mainly, this practice served to separate their theology from direct interaction with Scripture. However, their theology was still built on Scripture as an authority that needed no external validation. Their scholastic method was intended to serve the purpose of their theology. Some dogmaticians preferred to use the synthetic method , while others used
8200-734: The purpose of disputation with the Jesuits , and it was finally established by Johann Gerhard (1582–1637). Abraham Calovius (1612–1686) represents the climax of the scholastic paradigm in orthodox Lutheranism. Other orthodox Lutheran theologians include (for example) Martin Chemnitz , Aegidius Hunnius , Leonhard Hutter (1563–1616), Nicolaus Hunnius , Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand , Salomo Glassius , Johann Hülsemann , Johann Conrad Dannhauer , Valerius Herberger , Johannes Andreas Quenstedt , Johann Friedrich König and Johann Wilhelm Baier . The theological heritage of Philip Melanchthon arose again in
8300-402: The same way. Beginning with God as the goal, he explained the doctrine of man, the nature of theology, and the way man can attain eternal happiness with God. This form of presentation, called the analytic method , replaced the loci method used by Melancthon in his Loci Communes . This method made the presentation of theology more uniform, as each theologian could present Christian teaching as
8400-550: The scholastic method to fend off attacks by Jesuit theologians of the Second Scholastic Period of Roman Catholicism. The philosophical school of neo-Aristotelianism began among Roman Catholics, for example, the universities Padua and Coimbra . However, it spread to Germany by the late 16th century, resulting in a distinctly Protestant system of metaphysics associated with humanism . This scholastic system of metaphysics held that abstract concepts could explain
8500-469: The scholastics William of Ockham and Gabriel Biel . He was deeply influenced by two tutors, Bartholomaeus Arnoldi von Usingen and Jodocus Trutfetter, who taught him to be suspicious of even the greatest thinkers, and to test everything himself by experience. Philosophy proved to be unsatisfying, offering assurance about the use of reason , but none about the importance, for Luther, of loving God. Reason could not lead men to God, he felt, and he developed
8600-435: The severe competition between synods. The delegates planned to reorganize all Synodical Conference Lutherans into separate state synods, although allowing for separate organization along the lines of the three languages—German, Norwegian, and English. The 1876 and 1877 conventions also took up this cause, and added to it the goal of providing centrally located ministerial and teacher education campuses. The Minnesota Synod favored
8700-452: The synod, ordained pastors and certified male teachers. Half of all delegates are to be lay members while the remaining half is divided between pastors and teachers. Synod conventions elect synodical leaders, and discuss and vote on synodical business. The WELS Synodical Council governs the church when the church is not in convention. The council is made up of twenty-three WELS members including eleven clergy and thirteen laymen. These men "act as
8800-520: The synods to vote on at their next convention. They also invited the entire membership, both teachers and pastors, of all the synods to attend a general convention the next year. This first meeting of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America , commonly called the "Synodical Conference", was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 10–16, 1872. They wrote the constitution to the Synodical Conference, which arranged
8900-412: The synods together as a federation and did not vest any real authority with the Synodical Conference, either at the convention or board level. The fellowship union included full communion among members, the sharing of educational facilities, joint mission and benevolence work, and open pulpit between pastors of the different synods. The first convention of the Synodical Conference also endeavored to reduce
9000-636: The topic of pulpit and altar fellowship, one of the Four Points in American Lutheranism . Although there were several dissenting opinions, most of the pastors and lay delegates realized that they could not in good conscience exchange pastors with non-Lutherans or invite them to commune at their altar. They felt that the position the General Council took on this subject was inadequate. They resolved that, unless it changed course, they would withdraw from
9100-415: The two synods, they would not question each other's orthodoxy as long as they both used all Christian means at their disposal to resolve the problem. This agreement was later adopted by each of the synods in convention. The Ohio Synod invited the Wisconsin Synod, Illinois Synod , Missouri Synod, and Norwegian Synod , to Chicago on January 11–13, 1871. There the synods drew up a document of association for
9200-444: The world in clear, distinct terms. This influenced the character of the scientific method . Jacopo Zabarella , a natural philosopher from Padua, taught that one could begin with a goal in mind and then explain ways to reach the goal. Although this was a scientific concept that Lutherans did not feel theology had to follow, by the beginning of the 17th century, Lutheran theologian Balthasar Mentzer attempted to explain theology in
9300-580: The world to WELS and non-WELS people who need them.” The WELS Commission on Evangelism “... assists congregations to seize opportunities the Lord provides to evangelize lost souls by developing and promoting evangelism resources and by promoting evangelism attitudes, structures, and programs consistent with Christian doctrine.” What About Jesus is “... a website that presents basic belief topics in an easy-to-understand format for those who aren’t familiar with God’s Word.“ The WELS Commission on Evangelism also has made
9400-414: The world. It is the third largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. The WELS school system is the fourth largest private school system in the United States. The WELS is in fellowship with the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) and is a member of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), a worldwide organization of Lutheran church bodies of the same beliefs. The WELS subscribes to
9500-420: Was adopted in 1959. From 1926 to 1929, a small group of persons and congregations were expelled or voluntarily left the WELS in an incident known as the "Protes'tant Controversy." They formed the Protes'tant Conference . Doctrinal differences among the synods of the Synodical Conference, especially concerning the doctrine and practice of church fellowship, surfaced during the 1940s and '50s. Problems began when
9600-741: Was celebrated on each Sunday and festival. The traditional parts of the service were retained and, sometimes, even incense was also used. Services were conducted in vernacular language, but in Germany, Latin was also present in both the Ordinary and Proper parts of the service. This helped students maintain their familiarity with the language. As late as the time of Johann Sebastian Bach , churches in Leipzig still heard Polyphonic motets in Latin, Latin Glorias , chanted Latin collects and The Creed sung in Latin by
9700-645: Was enacted in 1889 and repealed in 1891. In 1893, two Wisconsin Synod missionaries began work in Arizona at Peridot and Old San Carlos in the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation among the Apache people. Congregations were soon established. Currently there are nine Wisconsin Synod congregations on the reservation. In 1892, the Wisconsin Synod had federated with the Michigan and Minnesota synods to form
9800-474: Was founded in 1850 by several churches in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Many of the early pastors were educated and trained by mission societies in Germany. The early churches in the Wisconsin Synod had a strong German background; services and church business were conducted in German. Many of the pastors and congregations brought with them a tolerance towards forming joint congregations with the Reformed , similar to
9900-630: Was tabled, and ultimately never happened. The 1878 convention voted in favor of establishing state synods. These state synods were to organize into two or three larger synods, one for the east (corresponding to the Ohio Synod), one for the southwest (corresponding to the Missouri Synod), and one for the northwest (which would include all congregations in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas and all parts west). This formed three larger synods, which solved
10000-399: Was to constantly support his arguments with what is now known as biblical theology . He understood biblical revelation to be progressive—building from the earlier books to the later ones—and examined his supporting texts in their literary contexts and historical settings. Properly speaking, Lutheran scholasticism began in the 17th century, when the theological faculty of Wittenberg took up
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