Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm (C.F.W.) Walther (October 25, 1811 - May 17, 1887), was the first President of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.
He was born the son of a pastor in Langenchursdorf in the Kingdom of Saxony (part of modern-day Germany). In October 1829, he enrolled at the University of Leipzig to study theology. He had to take six months off from the university due to a nearly-fatal lung disease; during the time off he acquainted himself with the works of Martin Luther, and became convinced of their theological rectitude, especially in regards to his position on the confessional.
On January 15, 1837, he was ordained as a pastor in the town of Bräunsdorf, Saxony. However, he became increasingly at odds with the government of Saxony, whose interpretation of Lutheranism he saw as a deviation from the original vision of Luther. In November 1838 he joined with another Pastor of similar views, Martin Stephan from Dresden, and left Saxony for the United States, along with 800 other Saxon immigrants, to gain the freedom to practice his religious beliefs. The ship arrived January 5, 1839 in New Orleans, and most of the immigrants (including Walther) settled in the area of St. Louis. Stephan was initially the religious leader (and self-proclaimed bishop) of the new settlement, but he soon became embroiled in charges of corruption and sexual misconduct, and was expelled from the settlement, leaving Walther as the senior clergyman.
During this period there was considerable debate within the settlement over the proper role of the church in the New World: whether it was a new church, or remained within the German Lutheran hierarchy. Walther's view that they could consider themselves a new church prevailed, and in May 1841 he became Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, a position he held until his death.
On April 26, 1847, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod was founded. Walther served as its first president, a position he held from 1847 to 1850 and again from 1864 to 1878.
Several years earlier, on September 21, 1841, he had married Emilie Buenger; they would have six children.
During his forty years of involvement in the church, Walther held several positions, including president of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, (founded at Perry County, Missouri in 1838), founder of the St. Louis Lutheran Bible Society (1853), and founder and editor of several periodicals. He also wrote several important books on theology, including The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel.
A more elderly portrait
Walther defended the institution of slavery from on theological grounds. He quoted 1 Corinthians 7:20-21, to the effect that everyone should remain in the condition in which he was called.
Walther also vigorously resisted the influence of the major secular philosophies and movements of his day. Concerning Humanism, he wrote:
- "It is an irrefutable fact that humanism has not only supplanted Christianity among a large part of the current population, it has also infected Christian theology in its very inner core, has poisoned and weakened it. We define humanism as the belief in a human ideal, a belief that man within himself has the ability to develop into a state of completeness and achieve happiness." ["Slavery, Humanism and the Bible"]
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