Word: preus
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...battle over the literal "inerrancy" of the Bible has been shaping up ever since 1969, when a grass-roots alliance of conservatives succeeded in electing the Rev. Jacob A.O. ("Jack") Preus as president of the denomination. Preus, a former professor of Greek and Latin as well as Scripture, is no simple fundamentalist; like other orthodox Missouri Synod theologians, he believes that some parts of the Bible are poetic or symbolic-such as the Book of Revelation. But he also believes that what the Bible presents as factual is factual, and he holds what could be called a theological domino theory...
Since his election, Preus has been waging a war of attrition against a number of somewhat more liberal theologians at the synod's distinguished Concordia Theological Seminary of St. Louis, and particularly against its president, the Rev. Dr. John Tietjen. The progressive majority on Tietjen's faculty hold that the Bible is the inspired word of God because it has the power to bring men to salvation, but they believe that insistence on inerrancy can actually obscure the Gospels' message...
...Orleans convention, Preus and his conservatives were in complete control. The delegates started by re-electing Preus himself on the first ballot with 606 votes, 77 more than he needed for a majority. The convention next elected a seminary board that gave Preus forces a clear majority for the first time. Then after a series of raucous arguments and filibusters ("If we can't act like Christians, let's at least act like gentlemen!" cried one delegate), they voted to recognize a statement by Preus on the Bible as the church's official position on inerrancy...
...faculty. Tenured dissenters who do not resign may find themselves facing church heresy trials. Church officials, in turn, could well face civil suits from dismissed teachers, and the seminary risks losing its accreditation from the American Association of Theological Schools. "Some professors will fight to the bitter end," Preus told TIME, "but if we don't act, the church will lose its doctrinal character...
...Preus' insistence on this "doctrinal character" may also erode ecumenical relations with the more liberal Lutheran Church in America (3.1 million members) and the American Lutheran Church (2.5 million...