Date of Award

5-1-1970

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Divinity (M.Div)

Department

Historical Theology

First Advisor

John Constable

Scripture References in this Resource (separated by semi-colons)

Romans 16:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:22; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 2 Corinthians 6: 14; 2 John 10:11; 2 Peter 2:1ff.; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; 2 Timothy 2:16-18; Acts 2:42; Amos 3:3; Ephesians 4:1-6; Galatians 1:6-9; Galatians 5:9; John 8:31-32; Luke 12:8-9; Luke 9:26; Mark 8:38; Matthew 10:32-33; Matthew 18:15-17; Matthew 18:19; Matthew 5:23-24; Matthew 7:15; Philippians 3:2; Titus 1:10-16; Titus 3:10;

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the case of Dr.Adolph A. Brux and his relations with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod on the subject of prayer fellowship, and in doing that to discover what effect, if any, the work of Dr.Brux had upon the Missouri Synod. F. Dean Lueking, in his book, Mission in the Making, terms the period between 1920and 1940 "The Struggle for Vision" within Missouri. It is in this period that the case between Dr. Brux and the Missouri Synod took place, and it is during this time that one can begin to see the shift within Synod from a strictly "scholastic confessionalism" to a more "evangelical confessionalism."1 Scholastic confessionalism, as used by Lueking, signifies a very strict adherence to the late 19th Century and early 20th Century tradition of applying the Missouri Synod position on Scripture and the Confessions. In terms of fellowship with other Christians, which was the underlying and precipitating principle in the Brux case, scholastic confessionalism insisted on absolute and complete agreement on all systematic doctrine before any kind of fellowship could happen. Evangelical confessionalism, as it was emerging within the Missouri Synod and as advocated for prayer-fellowship by Dr. Brux, demanded a re-thinking of many synodical positions based on a re-evaluation of Scripture and the Confessions. The position of Dr. Brux over against the position of Synod's Board of Foreign Missions, the position of many synodical officials and the position of Synod itself illustrates the very real struggle for vision between those sincerely fighting to maintain traditional attitudes and those open to new ways of thinking.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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