Of Congregational and Synodical Authority

Authors

John Constable, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

Publication Date

4-1-1972

Document Type

Article

Keywords

church, walther, congregational authority, synodical authority, missouri synod, constitution, laymen mundinger, doctrine, clergy, concordia seminary, lutheran, ministry

Submission Type

Bible Study; Lecture; Sermon Prep

Abstract

It is the blessing and the bane of the church in the 20th century that it is both the inheritor and the victim of its own organization. Among people who cry for the ''good old days" of simple truths, simple faith, and simple organization there is always the specter of complex reality. Gone are the days, we are told, when a member of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod could quote a father of the first, 16th or 19th century to support a proper thesis. Yet all seem to do it to underpin a modern position. Paul, Luther, and Walther are cited in staccato form when it serves one's purpose. On the other side of the coin the same faces appear in diametric contrast. The historical past is used and abused by selectivity of sources.

Disciplines

History of Christianity

Submission Cost

Free

Submission Audience

Laity; Ministers; Scholars

Recommended Citation

Constable, John (1972) "Of Congregational and Synodical Authority," Concordia Theological Monthly: Vol. 43, Article 21.
Available at: https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm/vol43/iss1/21