The Voice of our Fathers on the Controversy of the Ministry: The Writings of Abraham Calov and Johann Andreas Quenstedt

Abstract

The doctrine of the public ministry has long been an area of controversy between the confessional Lutheran churches of America. Differences between theologians of the Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Synod came to light as early as the 1910s. In this controversy, the main issue pertained to the offices of pastor and school teacher, their relation to each other, and their relation to the public ministry. Given that doctrinal continuity from past to present is a hallmark of orthodox, confessional Lutheranism, one might expect that the theologians involved in the controversy would have drawn on the writings of the orthodox Lutheran dogmaticians of the seventeenth century in their argumentation. Based on John Brug’s thorough treatment of the history of the controversy and the present situation, however, this was not the case. In this thesis I summarize the circumstances that gave rise to the controversy and how the controversy played out. Then, on the basis of writings of Abraham Calov and Johann Andreas Quenstedt, I seek to explain why the dogmaticians were not extensively referenced and evaluate how the dogmaticians might have spoken to the issues under dispute. I contend that their writings are compatible with the so-called Wisconsin view of the ministry.