Image U.V. Koren

“How is our America doing?” That is the poignant question that C.F.W. Walther (1811 1887), the President of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, asks in his Synod’s theological journal, “Lehre und Wehre” in 1863. In a series of articles written in the Spring of that year, on the eve of the Civil War, Walther addressed topics such as slavery, abolitionism, the nature of America as having been founded on “Enlightenment” principles, as well as how Lutherans can remain faithful to God’s Word in the face of fiery political debates in a democratic context. Of course, Walther was grappling with a much broader question that endures to this day among Lutherans living in America, and that is, what does it mean to be both an “American” and a “Lutheran”?

Rev. Andrew Soule discusses the views of Clausen, Koren, and Walther.

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• About the Host
  • Benjamin Phelps is a 2014 graduate from Martin Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts with a German emphasis. From there went on to graduate from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2018.
    Ben loves all things history and enjoys traveling. A descendant of over a dozen Lutheran pastors, Ben has an interest in his family roots, especially 19th-century Lutheranism, and has written several papers and journal articles on the topic. His 2018 thesis on Wyneken won the John Harrison Ness award and the Abdel Ross Wentz prize. He is also the recipient of two awards of commendation from the Concordia Historical Institute.
    Ben is currently a doctoral student in historical theology through Concordia Seminary's reduced residency program in St. Louis.