Augustana: a lively tradition.
Hendel, Kurt K.
The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) celebrates its
fiftieth anniversary in 2012, and the June 2012 issue of Currents in
Theology and Mission marks this anniversary by focusing on one of the
six traditions that have converged to constitute the seminary. The
Augustana heritage has been a crucial contributor to LSTC's
identity and mission, and the articles in this issue explore specific
aspects of this heritage. All of the articles are slight revisions of
presentations made at Augustana Heritage Association (AHA) Gatherings
and have been posted on the AHA website at www.augustanaheritage.org.
They are printed in this issue of Currents by permission of the
Augustana Heritage Association and the individual authors.
In the first essay, Arland J. Hultgren explores the question of
whether there was a distinctive Augustana way of being Lutheran in North
America. He answers the question affirmatively and offers five
descriptions of the Augustana Synod's Lutheran identity: Augustana
was a small church with a big heart; it functioned as a bridge church
between Eastern and Midwestern Lutheranism; its ecclesiology fostered
both congregational and synodical loyalty; it avoided major theological
controversy even as it promoted admirable theological scholarship; and
it cultivated a rich liturgical tradition that was shaped largely by the
liturgy of the Church of Sweden. Augustana's way of being Lutheran
in North America was expressed particularly in these ways according to
Hultgren.
Norman Hjelm provides an overview of the Augustana Synod's
relationship with churches throughout the world. He focuses particularly
on the Synod's persistent rela-tionship with the Church of Sweden
and its creative engagement with the Lundensian School. He also
highlights the Synod's efforts to repair broken relationships with
European Lutherans caused by World War I and particularly by World War
II and to provide emergency assistance to Lutheran Christians who were
particularly impacted by the ravages of war. In the last section of the
essay, Hjelm traces Augustana's participation in ecumenical bodies,
particularly the Lutheran Council and the Lutheran World Convention
which would become The Lutheran World Federation. Hjelm's account
confirms that Augustana was a church with a clear ecumenical commitment
manifest in a variety of cooperative efforts.
Gerald Christianson recounts the story of the emergence ofAugustana
Seminary as a "modern" seminary that was also
"historically respectable and genuinely Lutheran.), He argues that
this emergence, after 1930, was due primarily to the appointment of four
faculty members, Conrad Bergendoff as Dean and Professor of Systematic
Theology, A.D. Mattson as Professor of Christian Ethics and Sociology,
Eric Wahlstrom as Professor of Greek and New Testament Exegesis, and
Carl Anderson as Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Exegesis. All of
these men made important scholarly contributions and shaped the
Seminary's identity for three decades. They did so by affirming
Augustana's heritage of confessional commitment, liturgical
worship, and communal identity while also embracing the modern ideals
ofecumenism, social justice, and historical-critical study of Scripture.
Christianson proposes that this intentional combining of traditional and
modern priorities did not cause conflict in the Seminary or the Synod
because a creative synthesis was achieved especially through a
persistent engagement with Lundensian theology. The old and the new were
thereby brought together in a constructive way that promoted an
"ecumenical confessionalism" and transformed Augustana into a
modern seminary.
Maria Erling not only discusses the Augustana Synod's youth
work in her essay but also offers helpful insights into the process of
Swedish immigrant assimilation into North American society. She notes
that Swedes were a privileged community of immigrants who were generally
welcomed by the dominant United States citizenry because of their
acceptable ethnicity. The incorporation into United States society was,
therefore, a relatively positive experience for Swedes. As the North
American culture taught the Swedish immigrants how to become American,
the Synod sought to preserve the immigrants' Swedish identity by
reminding particularly the young of their ancestral history through the
educational programs of church colleges; various jubilee celebrations;
and the Luther League, the Synod's youth organization. The latter
also became an important means of training future leaders of the church.
Through such efforts the Swedish identity of its people was kept alive
by the Augustana Synod, and leaders who were loyal to the Synod and its
mission were trained and nurtured.
Communities, like individuals, are shaped in significant ways by
their heritage. LSTC is no exception. As this community reminds itself
of its past while it eagerly anticipates the future, it recognizes that
it has inherited a rich tradition that remains a resource for its
mission now and in years to come. Augustana has contributed much to that
tradition, and for this we give thanks to God.
Kurt K. Hendel
Co-editor of Currents in Theology and Mission
