Un8: Unionism & prayer fellowship (Der Luth. 1908); LCMS: Scott Murray, Samuel Nafzger

[2023-12-06: see this site for further helpful links on this subject.]

      This concludes from Part 7 (Table of Contents in Part 1) in a series presenting an English translation of Walther's "Foreword" on Unionism to the 1871 volume of Lehre und Wehre. — To follow up on the Walther series against Unionism, there was a small blurb in Der Lutheraner on an event in 1908 regarding the practice of prayer fellowship. The occasion was the opening of a new General Synod (a forerunner of today's ELCA) church building in Baltimore where Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopalian officials, even a Jewish Rabbi, were present.  The officiator lamented that a Roman Catholic representative was not present, although a hymn of Cardinal Newman was sung.  This event is a strong reminder of when, in 2001, LCMS Atlantic District President David Benke prayed among an even more eclectic group. — From Der Lutheraner, vol. 64 (1908), p. 111 [EN]:

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Colloquy of Thorn, 1645

      On prayer fellowship with those of other faiths and the remarks on this in No. 3 of Der Lutheraner a pastor of our Synod writes us: "It was very interesting to me when I recently read that our fathers acted just as we do." He then shares a passage from Krasinski's History of the Reformation in Poland about the religious discussion at Thorn in 1645 between Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Reformed, and Herrnhuters [Bohemian Brethren]. The Polish king wanted to reconcile the different church communities of his country in the interest of unionism through this religious discussion. In the report, which we have translated back from English into German [now back to English], it says: "At the general meeting on September 16, the denominations could not agree on the prayer with which each meeting should begin. The Roman Catholics wanted the Bishop of Samogita to read out a prayer at the beginning of each meeting, in which nothing was contained against the teaching of the other denominations, and that all present should repeat it. The Reformed and Herrnhutters agreed to this, but the Lutherans refused to pray together with people from whom they differed in faith." Our reporter adds: "From this it is clear: 1. that we are acting just as the faithful Lutherans of Poland did in 1646; 2. that this desire to pray publicly with false believers and misbelievers is a Reformed, Herrnhutian trait and foreign to the faithful Lutheran Church; 3. that in such indifference not truth, but untruth wins; for here it was Rome that won the day to the mischief of Poland." L. F. [Ludwig Fürbringer]

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Who would deny that Poland is now a Catholic country? — I suspect LCMS scholars will label this report as "apocryphal" or spurious. But Calvinist Krasinski would have little motive to give a false report. — This DL report has been cited in recent years by Profs. Timothy Schmeling of the ELS and John Brug of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Brug pointedly contrasts a writing of LCMS VP Scott Murray with the actions of the Lutheran fathers at the Thorn Colloquy in 1645. We quote:

“In a recent issue of LOGIA (Easter 2004 [13-2, p 8]) Scott Murray claimed, 'Our church fathers insisted on beginning with prayer when they participated in theological discussions with the Reformed and Roman Catholics in the seventeenth century. Only when the Catholics demanded to be the only ones to pray did the Lutheran party refuse to pray. More recently the so-called 10-10 meetings between ELCA and LCMS began with chapel in the respective national headquarters.' Does Calov’s report of the colloquy [of Thorn] permit such an interpretation? We will see that it does not.”

Brug also pointed out a similar falsehood that was stated by Dr. Samuel Nafzger:

“In an essay published in the Concordia Journal, July 2003, Samuel H. Nafzger, executive secretary of the Missouri Synod’s Commission on Theology and Church Relations, renewed the claim that the LCMS never held a unit concept of fellowship which included prayer on the same level as the means of grace as expressions of church fellowship, though he did grant that some in the LCMS may at times have had such a notion.”

Members of the LC-MS may think that their Synod is not unionistic with the ELCA and others, but their Lutheran fathers would say otherwise.  The ELCA is not Lutheran in their teaching.