Reviews

In three volumes, spanning more than 1,100 pages, Peter M. Prange charts the path of American Lutheran efforts toward church fellowship in the nineteenth century. Wielding the Sword of the Spirit follows the work of C.F.W. Walther in establishing a confessional fellowship that would become the Missouri Synod plus his further engagements towards building church relationships with other Lutheran synods in the Midwest, culminating in the founding of the Synodical Conference in 1872. The ensuing Election Controversy, creating bitterness and division among the members of the Synodical Conference, proved a painful experience for those involved, yet lessons from this history can address questions confronting churches today.

Walther (1811-1887), a central figure in Prange's narrative, was one of the founders of the Missouri Synod in 1847 and its chief theologian for decades. While known for his preaching and teaching of the doctrine of salvation, and for his emphasis on the proper distinction of law and gospel, Walther was also an able church and seminary administrator. He was a gifted leader who strove publicly and privately, in a careful and evangelical manner, to extend the confessional relationships that Missouri had initiated during the 1840s. Key to this approach, Prange emphasizes, was Walther's desire to hold fast to the entire Scripture as the basis for any expressions of church fellowship. It was Walther's confidence in the gospel that led him to desire a unity of the Spirit among Lutherans, and it was the doctrine of the gospel and a mutual adherence to the teaching of the Lutheran Confessions that would cultivate and preserve that unity in America. Walther maintained that the one true church is the body of Christ and that true church is founded on God's Word. The Missouri Synod was dedicated to preaching and teaching God's Word in faithfulness and in holding to the Lutheran Confessions as a true statement and summary of the Scriptures. Unity in the church and fellowship with those having the same confession was something to which believers were called. Disagreements on doctrine and the practice of the Christian faith and life could threaten the true church and the basis of its confession. "Wielding the Sword of the Spirit," referring to Paul's exhortation in Ephesians 6, serves as Prange's handle on the effort to achieve and sustain this fellowship and to determine when unionism (church fellowship and joint work on the basis of something other than full agreement in doctrine and practice) was to be rejected.

The author's description of events takes a largely chronological course, following Walther's involvement in and then leadership of the drive toward confessional fellowship. Volume One explores the early history from the religious movement initiated by Martin Stephan in Dresden through the Saxon Emigration to the Missouri in 1839. The Missouri Synod's efforts--and ultimate failure--to find common ground with Grabau are plotted out, along with Loehe's vision for American Lutheranism and the eventual breaking down of Missouri's relationship with him and his followers in the Iowa Synod. Despite these setbacks, Walther and Missouri continued their search for partners in the confessional cause, finding friends in the upper Midwest, especially the Norwegian Synod and those who had departed Grabau's Buffalo Synod. The Free Conferences in the 1850s, promoted by Walther and the Missourians, helped to bring others in conversation and closer to reaching fellowship in the 1860s.

Volume Two examines events in the years after the Civil War. It includes developments leading to establishment of the General Council in 1867, with its hope of forming a union of Lutheran synods, as well as the reasons why Walther and the Missouri Synod declined membership in it. Undaunted, Walther continued playing a leading role in the drive towards fellowship. Prange provides a helpful summary discussion of Walther's essay on the The True Visible Church, in which Walther set forth both an explanation and a defense of the Missouri Synod's doctrine of church fellowship and a description of how this doctrine was practiced in the life and work of the church. Prange indentifes Walther's purpose in writing, noting how he tried to speak to the accusations of opponents, such as Grabau, while holding to the Scriptural teaching regarding the practice of fellowship. Prange notes the pastoral concern and care Walther took in addressing questions of fellowship and seeking to "chart a genuinely ecumenical vision of the church that is at once both evangelical and catholic in its scope" (2:40). The chapter continues with an extensive study of Missouri's early relationship with the Wisconsin Synod, followed by the growing connection to the Ohio Synod.

The forging of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference in North America in 1872, involving the Missouri Synod, the Wisconsin Synod, the Norwegian Synod, the Ohio Synod, the Illinois Synod (which later joined with Missouri), and the Minnesota Synod (which later joined Wisconsin) turned out to be a high point in the expression of church unity. The Synodical Conference existed as an advisory body--a federation of Lutheran synods, not a merger of them into one church body. However, hopes heightened that greater unity could be accomplished among the member groups. Confessional fellowship was being advanced, in different languages, and with the mutual goal of proclaiming the gospel in North America and of cooperation among Lutheran congregations that might otherwise be rivals, as well as in educational and missionary endeavors.

While the fellowship achieved with the start of the Synodical Conference formed a cause for thanksgiving and promised much in the way of joint work for the synods involved, still the members recognized the difference between fundamental unity and complete doctrinal unity, and that the bonds among them could be lengthened. Prange notes well that the Synodical Conference was based on fundamental unity, agreement on the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. Yet it did not insist on complete consensus on every doctrinal detail. When he explains the differences between various synods with the Conference, he represents them and their concerns fairly.

In the third volume, Prange traces the initial stages of the Election Controversy, the most difficult and long-lasting conflict among Lutheran groups in America during the nineteenth century. This controversy would undermine the Synodical Conference and eventually divide the Lutherans within it. The controversy's repercussions on the practice of church fellowship would prove decisive among Lutherans in the future.

The Missouri Synod stood out as influential in the establishment of the Synodical Conference and constituted the largest segment of it. When a confessional battle erupted among the members of the Conference, Missouri stood in the middle of it and would remain there. Competing claims of doctrinal purity on the question of God's election to salvation came to the forefront, in church conferences, theological debates, and in print publications. Adherence to the synods' confessional bases was tested and proved to be decisive in the outcome.

Prange examines the historical background of the Election Controversy in detail. He follows its course through stages, providing a helpful analysis of why the conflict divided Lutherans and how it led to the disbanding of the Synodical Conference. He lays out well the viewpoints and arguments of the different parties. He notes the shifts in emphases, even retractions of former positions, and changes in alliances. The result is a thorough, even-handed study of a complicated doctrinal conflict, explained in a way that readers can grasp and understand.

Walther's commitment to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions was firm. It was directed toward confession of the true faith in its purity and in helping the church in America remain faithful in the fulfillment of its mission. However, Walther recognized, and urged others to see, that church fellowship was established and preserved on the basis of fundamental unity of confession rather than absolute doctrinal purity. While a worthy goal for the church this side of heaven, doctrinal purity on all points remains an impossible standard to meet. Prange argues that the key problem in the Election Controversy which led to the fracturing of the Synodical Conference, and even to some splintering off from the Missouri Synod itself, was the false charges and divisiveness of Missouri's opponents. Public accusations and the impugning of motives, such as the allegation against the Missouri Synod that it was on a mission to sneak a false Calvinist teaching into American Lutheranism, were influential factors in stirring up distrust and causing discord. The impact of this divisiveness turned out to be particularly difficult for Walther.

Prange demonstrates well that Walther's efforts as a theologian and church leader were aimed at the practical application of God's Word, bringing that Word to bear on questions confronting the church of his day, even in the face of strife and division. By extension, Prange demonstrates that this concern for leading with the Word and embracing it even in the midst of difficult church relationships remains a true course for the church today.

Walther understood that theology is grounded in the Word of God and that all theological problems are answered from that Word. Church life, the church's work and practice, simultaneously stems from God's Word and is informed by it. Walther worked toward the building of true unity in the church where possible. Yet he knew the limits. If true unity could not be reached, Walther persevered and kept on course. The survival of the Lutheran church in America continued to be at stake, and the mission of proclaiming God's Word to the world remained the task before the church. This Word was the message, the one reliable, true place to go back to. It was also the means of unifying those who proclaimed it. As Prange shows, Walther's efforts toward church fellowship came from the sincere belief that Christians, called into the church by Christ and gathered around his Word, are also commissioned to proclaim that Word and to live as faithful disciples with one another in a life founded on God's Word. Unity among Christians on the basis of the Word was the thing called for, but not at the expense of the truth. False unity ran contrary to God's Word, Walther understood, since it harmed the consciences of the weak and threatened the preaching of the truth of the gospel in the church and in the world. The Word must not be compromised or undermined because it is God's own Word and will triumph in the end. As Prange notes throughout his study, Walther understood that faithful teaching of God's Word, with a life and practice in accord with it, were key to the realization of unity among believers and to the preservation of the Lutheran church in America.

Prange, a pastor serving in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), has a firm grasp on the history of the Missouri and Wisconsin Synods during this period, as well as that of the Synodical Conference. The strength of Prange's approach is its attentive and careful tracking of Walther's goal of achieving agreement on a confessional basis followed by church fellowship. Along the way, Prange reminds his readers of the pastoral concerns of Walther and others with insightful awareness. His evaluation of Walther and those engaged with him in confessional agreement and conflict is even-handed. While his narrative is in-depth and detailed, Prange's prose is not overly complicated and is presented in an engaging manner. He explains difficult theological doctrines such as election, predestination, and conversion, and disagreements about them, in a way that facilitates understanding. He is objective in his treatments of doctrinal questions, taking care to identify the viewpoints and arguments of the parties involved. His assessments are fair. Prange's utilization of both primary sources (including letters, archival documents, convention proceedings, and theological essays) and secondary sources is thorough and extensively researched. His sources are well-referenced. All three volumes include useful bibliographies and indices, and numerous illustrations. As in any historical work which treats a wide range of topics, footnotes can always be extended to provide greater insight, and bibliographies can been expanded to point the reader in the direction of further study, but Prange presents enough for his purpose. All these factors result in a well-presented study, which will stand as an important contribution to the study of American Lutheranism in the nineteenth century, especially regarding the inner relationships and conflicts within the Synodical Conference.