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Seminex is the widely used abbreviation for Concordia Seminary in Exile (later Christ Seminary-Seminex). An institution for the training of Lutheran ministers, Seminex existed from 1974 to 1987. It was formed after a walk-out by dissident faculty and students of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, an institution of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and at that time the largest Lutheran seminary in the United States. ==Prelude to the walkout== In May 1969, John Tietjen had been elected president of Concordia Seminary after sixteen years as a minister in New Jersey and three years heading up the public relations division of the Lutheran Council in the United States of America. Only two months later, Jacob Preus—then the president of the other LCMS seminary, Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, Illinois—was elected president of the synod in a surprise upset over incumbent Oliver Harms. Over the previous decade, Concordia Seminary in St. Louis had developed a reputation as a more liberal institution within the Synod because of its teaching of historical-critical methods of biblical interpretation. Though the charges were reformulated in several different reports, they generally held that the faculty (and, particularly, members of the exegetical theology department) were using historical-critical methods for biblical interpretation, and that these professors improperly stressed the importance of the doctrine or teaching of the Gospel (forgiveness of sins in Christ) over the importance of the whole of the Christian Bible.〔This practice of overemphasis on the Gospel is labeled ''Gospel Reductionism''.〕 The September 1, 1972, Report of the Synodical President itself states: :While the issues are many and complex, the St. Louis Seminary faculty and the synodical President at a meeting on May 17, 1972, agreed that the basic issue is the relationship between the Scriptures and the Gospel. To put the matter in other words, the question is whether the Scriptures are the norm of our faith and life or whether the Gospel alone is that norm? Preus' 1969 campaign for the LCMS presidency was supported by a conservative faction within the church body that opposed moves by the previous president to have altar and pulpit fellowship with the American Lutheran Church, which did not hold the Bible as infallible and inerrant. His supporters wanted to see the LCMS, and especially its colleges and seminaries, adopt more uniform orthodox and confessional theological stances. Within a year of assuming office, Preus established a Fact Finding Committee to examine the teachings of several professors. The Fact Finding Committee began interviewing Concordia Seminary faculty members on December 11, 1970. The interviews were completed on March 6, 1971. The tape recordings of the 90-minute interviews were transcribed and summaries with observations concerning significant findings were prepared. Finally a summary of the entire report was written to present a picture of what was being taught at the seminary. The committee presented this complete report to President Preus on June 15, 1971. Two weeks later Preus sent the total report to the seminary Board of Control and the seminary president.〔This report is available in its entirety in the appendix of ''Seminary in Crisis'', Concordia Publishing House, 2007.〕 The 1971 convention of the LCMS in Milwaukee, in Resolution 2-28, directed the Board of Control of Concordia Seminary to report to the President of the Synod and the Board for Higher Education by the end of one year. The delegates also instructed the synodical President to report to the Synod. That report,〔 dated September 1, 1972, was mailed to all congregations and pastors of the Synod in September 1972. It came to be called the "Blue Book" due to the color of its cover. The report's 160 pages contained a historical introduction as well as an account on all aspects of the controversy, including meetings, formal statements by various entities, and rulings of the Commission on Constitutional Matters. President Preus then gave his evaluation of the findings of the Fact Finding Committee. The main bulk of the report consisted of a large number of quotations from the transcripts of the interviews with the seminary faculty members. The anonymity of the faculty members was protected. The Blue Book had a powerful effect in the Synod. Based upon the Committee's findings the seminary's board of control was instructed "to take appropriate action on the basis of the report, commending or correcting where necessary...That the Board of Control report progress directly to the President of Synod and the Board for Higher Education".〔Resolution 2-28, Proceedings (), 122〕 Ultimately the seminary's Board of Control cleared the faculty of all charges of false doctrine, and in February 1973 the Board commended each member as faithful to Scripture and the Lutheran confessions. But the 1973 LCMS convention in New Orleans condemned the seminary's faculty in a resolution that charged them with "abolish() the formal principle, ''sola Scriptura'' (i.e. that all doctrines are derived from the Scripture and the Scripture is the sole norm of all doctrine)".〔Proceedings (), p. 138〕 A new, more conservative seminary board of control was also elected at the New Orleans convention, and this new board quickly proceeded to suspend Tietjen from the presidency of Concordia Seminary in August 1973. The suspension was initially delayed and then "vacated" while various groups in the LCMS attempted to find a route toward reconciliation, but Tietjen was again suspended on January 20 of the following year. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Seminex」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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