These are some brief things to consider about the pet dogma of WELS, the ELS, and the LCMS - commonly called Universal Objective Justification, but also called Objective Justification, Universal Justification or--to be honest--Universalism.
- The real founder of the LCMS Perryville branch was Martin Stephan, who never finished a college degree. He did not care to study Latin and Greek, but spent his time reading the literature of Pietism. He was not qualified to be a pastor, but the unique Pietistic congregation was allowed to extend him a call, St. John in Dresden.
- CFW Walther completed a bachelor's degree at Leipzig University, which was entirely rationalistic at the time. Walther joined various Pietistic circles, first the Kuhn group and then the Stephan group of young clergy and professionals.
- Stephan demanded absolute obedience to him among the young clergy who followed him. Any dissent was addressed with punishment and a forced apology and submission to Stephan's rule.
- Walther's concept of justification came from Stephan, and it never varied after that. Not from Luther. Not from the Book of Concord. Not from Gerhard or Calov - but from Martin Stephan, semi-educated Pietist, syphilitic adulterer, spiritual tyrant.
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- The double justification language of UOJ--dearly loved and copied throughout the Synodical Conference--comes from the Calvinist translation of the Halle Pietist Georg C. Knapp. Leonard Woods was a famous Calvinist whose translation dominated American theology for a century. Walther liked the Woods terms, which the Germans had copied back in the Homeland, and so it spread like kudzu on a warm summer day.
- Stephan's limited education included Halle University, where Knapp was the last of the Pietists before rationalism completely took over the school.
- Halle University was central to American Lutheranism, from Muhlenberg, founder of the ULCA or LCA tradition to Stephan to Adolph Hoenecke, the WELS dogmatician. The Norwegians were Pietistic and so were the Swedes, even though the Swedes named their synod Augustana, after the Augsburg Confession.
- Walther wanted to be the big dog in the LCMS and certainly taught his UOJ, but the LCMS was quite willing to print a justification by faith catechism in German in 1905. They still sell a KJV catechism which is entirely lacking in UOJ.
- WELS is equally hypocritical, expelling Pastor Paul Rydecki for teaching justification by faith, but only playing patty-cake with VP Paul Kuske for the same "crime."
- The Gausewitz (WELS) catechism, used by the entire Synodical Conference, did not teach UOJ, which is why there has been so much conflict from the addled leaders trying to force UOJ on their sect.
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Rydecki was kicked out while Kuske was relieved of his precious emeritus label.
Oh. Oh.
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| No wonder Concordia Ft. Wayne is a hotbed of Romanism and Eastern Orthodoxy. |