Walther’s Kirche und Amt
In 1852, Dr. C.F.W. Walther
published Kirche und Amt, known in English as Church and Ministry. In this book
Dr. Walther defends 9 theses concerning the Church, and 10 theses concerning
the ministry.[1] This
book was occasioned by a number of different events. Perhaps the most
significant was the excommunication of Stephan, the bishop who had led the
Saxons to the new world, and to whom these Saxon immigrants had pledged
themselves to, granting him the sole power of interpretation over religious and
spiritual matters. When Stephan was judged to have engaged in repeated
immorality, was deposed and excommunicated, the Saxon immigrants were
distraught, questioning whether their churches were valid churches and their pastors valid ministers of the Gospel. [2]
It was in this context that
the Dr. Walther began writing his theses on church and ministry. In 1841 he
published and defended 8 theses on the church, which laid the foundation for
what other Lutherans argued was the extreme congregationalism of the Missouri
Synod.[3] (It
should be noted that the congregationalism espoused by Walther and the Missouri
Synod specifically makes room for the functions of the larger church body, a
distinction the Congregationalist Churches do not make.) Having defended these
theses against Marbach, a layman, these theses later formed the basis for his
theses on Church and Ministry, which were adopted by the Missouri Synod.[4]
Despite the impact and
continued import of Walther’s Kirche und
Amt, it must be said that these are not consistently well argued theses.
Right at the start, Walther makes some serious exegetical errors, then compounds them with errors of argument. It may be
possible to construct an exegetically and rhetorically correct argument in
support of these theses, but first we must describe the problem.
Walther’s Thesis I,
concerning the church, states the following:
“The church in the proper sense of the term is the congregation [Gemeinde] of
saints, that is, the aggregate of all those who, called out of the lost and
condemned human race by the Holy Spirit through the Word, truly believe in
Christ and by faith are sanctified and incorporated in Christ.”
“[God] put all things under
His fee, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His
body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph 1:22-23).
Walther first quotes
scripture, then from scripture constructs the following syllogism to support
his thesis.
Major
Premise: Christ is the head of the church.
Minor
Premise: Christ is savior of the body.
Conclusion:
Therefore, the true church is the sum total of all those who are joined to
Christ.
Not only is this a poorly
constructed and logically false argument (in that the minor premise does not
follow from the major premise, the minor term is not included in the
conclusion, and no middle term links the two premises,) but the conclusion
cannot be supported by the evidence provided. Nowhere in the text, nor in the major
and minor premises, are individuals mentioned. From the evidence provided, it
is impossible to support the conclusion that the church consists of all those
individuals who are joined to Christ. Please note that the conclusion may be
true, but is not supported by either the argument or the evidence.
Here is a more properly
constructed argument. Please note that only the first Major Premise is
supported by the evidence presented (Eph 1:22-23).
Major
Premise: The church is the body of Christ. (Eph 1:22-23)
Minor
Premise: The congregation of saints constitutes the church.
Conclusion:
The body of Christ is made up of congregation of saints.
Major
Premise: The congregation of saints is made up of those who are joined to
Christ
Minor
Premise: The true church is comprised of the congregation of saints.
Conclusion:
Therefore, the true church is comprised of those who are joined to Christ
As Walther was a classically
trained scholar, educated in European schools, we may assume Walther knew how
to construct a proper syllogism. Yet he did not. A number of reasons may be
suggested. The first possibility is that Walther was not thinking clearly. It
is known that Walther spent the previous year recovering from an illness.[5]
Yet the overall clarity of thought suggests that Walther’s mind was clear. Furthermore,
these are not Walther’s original theses as presented in 1841, but were
rewritten as an apologetic basis for doctrinal discussions between other
Lutheran bodies.[6] Therefore
we may assume that Walther knew what he was doing, and that any seeming
deficiencies of argument are by intent rather than by accident.
We cannot understand
Walther’s writing without understanding his audience. He was not writing a set
of philosophical theses, but rather an apologetic on a particular issue before
the church. As such, Walther would have presumed a certain level of familiarity
with the texts of scripture, with the Lutheran dogmaticians, and with the
fathers. We should therefore take some of Walther’s statements as a synecdoche,
where certain statements were meant to suggest the entirety of the argument, as
making the argument in its entirety could have actually been insulting to his
audience, as it would have been reiterating the basics.
Today, Walther’s Kirche und Amt is insufficient for
teaching on Church and Ministry. The average seminary student is unskilled in
rhetoric and unfamiliar with Lutheran dogmaticians. Walther’s argument, which
would have been followed by his intended audience, is not followed as readily
by the inheritors of his religious heritage. Careful instruction on Walther’s
arguments regarding Church and Ministry must therefore reconstruct the evidence
and construct a properly detailed argument. If this is not done, Walther’s understanding of Church and Ministry fails to
convince, and the doctrinal position of Walther will be abrogated by his
spiritual heirs.
[1] Walther,
[2] Wollenburg,
[3] Reckzin,
D.M. Three Doctors of the
[4] Wollenburg,
[5] Wollenburg,
[6]
Peperkorn, T.A. C. F. W. Walther's Kirche
und Amt and the Church and Office Debate Between the