Ulrik Vilhelm Koren — An Unsuspecting “American Luther” The Emmaus Conference at Parkland Lutheran Church, Tacoma, WA Mark DeGarmeaux 27 April 2017

Prelude

Imagine crossing the frozen Mississippi River on foot in late December. A man is walking ahead with a stick to see that the ice is stable. Your wife is riding in a wagon that you and this man are pulling with your own human strength.1 This was how Ulrik Vilhelm Koren came to

Iowa in 1853. It gives us a sense of his character, determination, and commitment to serve the

Norwegian Lutheran people in America.

Koren was born in 1826 in , . Western Norway was, and still is, somewhat more conservative than other parts of the country. While most of the state-church pastors were

Rationalists at that time, in Bergen and Western Norway was more traditional and orthodox, although somewhat affected by the of .

Koren writes of this in his “Recollections.”

In 1837 I went to Latin school. We had happy times there, especially in the first half of my attend- ance, while we still held on to the old building with memories all the way from the days of Gjeble Pederssøn (the ). It is a known fact that we got a certain character under Sagen’s in- fluence. But neither he nor any of our other teachers was a Gamaliel at whose feet we could sit in a spiritual sense. The clergy of the city at that time were of two kinds. Some were Rationalists. Others were of the Hersleb-Stenersen type. (UVK 4: 14)2

Hersleb and Stenersen were founders and, at first, the only members of the theological fac- ulty at the new University of Christiania [] around 1813. They were mostly orthodox, some- what but not completely influenced by Grundtvig. Their view of Scripture was higher than

Grundtvig’s. Koren further describes the religious milieu of his youth:

1 You can read more about the Korens’ journey to America and their early years in the Diary of Elisabeth Koren, and “Rec- ollections” in U. V. Koren’s Works, Volume 4. 2 The abbreviation UVK will be used for U. V. Koren’s Works.

- 1 - In the Bergen diocese, Rationalism had not been able to encroach as strongly as in the dio- ceses of Christiansand and Akershus, for example. J. N. Brun’s powerful and commanding voice had prevented that.3 So they had been able to keep Kingo’s hymnbook, or (in some places) Guldberg’s. In my childhood and adolescence there was little of public testimony that could bring about awakening in respect to Christianity. For my confirmation, I was prepared by an otherwise very well-meaning Rationalist pastor. In the church [during my catechization], I was asked what kind of blood a fish has. The fact that it was “red and cold” was a testimony to God’s wisdom, and then came the next boy. … The Haugianers, of which there were not a few in Bergen, caused antagonism by their separa- tism and judgmental attitude. An outsider had little opportunity to get to know their good aspects. It wasn’t understood that the Christianity of the state church essentially gave occasion and tempta- tion to separatism. Yet I was fortunate to observe in my own closest relatives a daily testimony of what it was to be a Christian—through the continual use of God’s Word and prayer and directing all things to God—and that was particularly of a true old-Lutheran color. (UVK 4: 11-12)

At the University of Christiania and in church in Oslo, Koren learned from men like Gisle

Johnson, , and Wilhelm Wexels.4 These men promoted orthodox Confessional

Lutheranism that emanated from the University of Leipzig. Their influence was brought to

America with the immigrant pastors who studied under them, such as Ottesen, Koren, and Preus.

I was influenced little by the theological teachers, until Gisle Johnsen and C. P. Caspari began to hold lectures. In church circles there was only one more excellent man, W. A. Wexels. Little by little, a group interested in Christian matters began to gather around him. When I came to the Uni- versity, the city’s two churches (Our Savior’s and Garnison’s Church) stood almost empty. Seven or eight years later Our Savior’s was generally well filled when Wexels preached. One might won- der what it was that brought Wexels such a flock of listeners. His voice was jarring, his delivery anything but attractive. He didn’t use eloquence. He read his sermons, used no gestures, and hardly looked around while he was speaking. It must have been the deep sincerity which radiated from him that drew the listeners, and even more, that the Word he proclaimed was the old . (UVK 4: 13)

It may surprise us, but Koren also gives credit to Søren Kierkegaard. Koren recognized that

Kierkegaard did not give the substance and foundation of faith, but offered a way to distinguish

Christianity from the secular world. Perhaps in modern terms, we might say that Koren credits

Kierkegaard with helping him to use critical thinking and to critique the status quo.

3 Some of Johan Nordal Brun’s hymns are known to us: How Blest Are They That Hear God’s Word; Our Lord and God, O Bless This Day; In Heav’n Is Joy and Gladness (ELH 586, 514, 482). 4 Caspari was a German of Jewish heritage, studied under Delitzsch and Hengstenberg in Berlin, and converted to Christian- ity. Johnson urged him to apply for a position to teach theology in Oslo. Johnson and Caspari founded mission societies, estab- lished theological journals, and translated the into Norwegian, and produced a new translation of the into Norwegian. Caspari was a polemicist against Grundtvigianism, the idea that the Apostles’ Creed is older than the New Testa- ment.

- 2 - An insight into the difference between Christianity and the essence of the world. An eye open to all kinds of “shams,” all humbug. Through this, a critical attitude toward all pretended Christi- anity both in oneself and in others. Unconditional respect for God’s Word and submission to it. …

S. Kierkegaard didn’t bring us the distinct, positive content of faith. As an example, I can re- fer to the fact that my most trusted friend and I, both disciples of Kierkegaard, came to take com- pletely different paths: he read Grundtvig and became a Grundtvigian; I read Luther and became a “Lutheran.” (“With Luther there is never nonsense,” Kierkegaard had said.) Although troubled that my friend was a follower of Grundtvig, yet I always had to look up to him as a more pious and better Christian than I. (UVK 4: 14-15)

Koren was an avid reader. In his writings we can find references to or quotations from con- temporary theological and devotional journals of various kinds, as well as from early Christian writers,5 from and other early Lutheran theologians,6 as well as Jesper Brochmand and other theologians and writers,7 not well known outside of Scandinavia. He also quotes Eng- lish theologians and authors such as Spurgeon and Tennyson.

Colleagues

In America, Koren found like-minded preachers in Jacob Aall Ottesen and Herman Amberg

Preus. These Norwegian leaders in the Midwest also searched among Lutherans in other parts of the United States and found men like C. F. W. Walther8 of the , Charles Porter- field Krauth of the General Council, and Henry Jacobs9 of the Pennsylvania Ministerium.

5 Ignatius, Chrysostom, Augustine, Bernard. 6 , Nicolaus Selnecker, , and Johannes Quenstedt. 7 From Koren’s letters we also see that he lived at a time of many important and influential people and families: Archer, Aschehoug, Cappelen, Kierkegaard, and Hans Christian Andersen. He may have even been a pallbearer for the writer Wergeland. 8 There are untranslated letters between Walther and Koren, both in the archives of Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, and at Concordia Historical Institute in St. Louis, Missouri. In a letter Walther addressed Koren with this greeting: “Honored and dearly-loved in , Brother and Friend Koren!” (Verehrbar und in dem Herrn inniggeliebter Bruder und Freund Koren!) 9 Several years ago, Pastor David Jay Webber directed me to information from the Memoirs of Henry Eyster Jacobs. [1871] “Shortly after I received through Rev. R[einhold]. Adelberg, a formal call to a Professorship of English in North Western University—the college of the Synod at Watertown, Wis. To accept this call would have brought me into affiliation with the Missouri Synod.” (Memoirs of Henry Eyster Jacobs, Volume II [1938], p. 147) [1876] “I am not absolutely sure of the time—it may have been a year later—I took from the Post Office a communication in a large envelope. On opening it, the first words read were: ‘In the Name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’ There followed a call, signed by the officers of the old Norwegian Synod, to the English Professorship in ‘Luther College,’ Deco- rah, Iowa. My name had been submitted to their congregations, and they had elected me. A letter explained that this was the first step toward the founding of a theological department in their college. Prof. F[riedrich]. A. Schmidt was then a colleague of Dr. Walther at St. Louis. All their students were sent there. If I would accept, the plan was to bring Prof. Schmidt to Decorah, and

- 3 - Much has been said about the effect which our connection with the Missourians has had on the Norwegian Synod. It is also true that this effect has been of incalculable importance—only not in the way that a great many people who know neither the Missourians nor us have imagined it. We have not learned anything new from them, i.e., any new doctrine or any doctrine other than that which we had with us from the University of Kristiania [Oslo]. …

I said that we learned nothing new from them, and after I came home I wrote that also to Prof. Crämer, whose guest I had been. “We learned nothing new from you, but what we had already learned in Norway theoreti- cally—the two great Lutheran fundamental principles—here for the first time we saw this appear alive plainly and victoriously throughout the whole church body.” … We saw the glory of the Lutheran Confession, already well known to us in words, actually carried out as we had never seen it before. (UVK 3: 520ff)

Comparison with Luther:

Koren was like Luther in having teachers who guided him to the divine truth and in the truth, and also colleagues who shared that mutual love for the divine truth of the Gospel, so that they could encourage and edify each other for the work of God’s holy church. As Luther was guided by men like Staupitz, Koren was guided to a clear Biblical view of Christianity through men like

Johnson, Caspari, and Wexels. And he found men of like mind and similar mind in Ottesen,

Preus, Walther, Krauth, Jacobs, and others, just as Luther found fellow theologians in Bugenha- gen, Melanchthon, Jonas, Amsdorf, and others.

then for the two professors to attend the theological department. I was deeply touched. Dr. [Edmund J.] Wolf was with me as I opened it. ‘That should set a man to thinking,’ he remarked. The whole matter was so remote and the situation so strange that I could not respond to it. Dr. [Charles Porterfield] Krauth was very emphatic when I reported the matter to him. He could not see that they had any claim on me.” (Memoirs of Henry Eyster Jacobs, Volume II, p. 179)

- 4 - 1. Pastor to Pioneers

Koren’s primary vocation was to be a parish pastor. He served the people of northeast Iowa for 57 years in the same parish, Washington Prairie, originally called “Little Iowa,” near Deco- rah, Iowa. People in the various settlements were gathered into what eventually became 80 con- gregations, served by many pastors in northeast Iowa and southeast Minnesota.

Just to get a sense of his activity, the 1868 Synod Report10 gives statistics from 1867, show- ing that Koren was serving 6 congregations, with 1282 confirmed members; he baptized 158, confirmed 79, communed 1895, performed 24 marriages, buried 62, had 6 school-teachers11 in his parish, and held 93 divine services.12

Koren’s writings show him to be a true “curate” or “caretaker of souls;” in German: Seel- sorger; in Norwegian: Sjelesørger. He is concerned that his parishioners know and are assured of the truth of God’s Word that alone has the power to save us.

Pastor Koren’s sermons reflect a fervent orthodox , emphasizing Word and Sac- raments, while also encouraging a life of thankful good works. are central to his understanding of Scripture. He does not water down the Law, but lets it stand with all its firm de- mands. And then he clearly proclaims the Gospel of forgiveness through Christ in a way that gives certainty and assurance. Here is an example from Koren’s sermon on Matthew 22:34–46, for the Eighteenth Sunday after .

So then, let the Law be the Law; and acknowledge what God demands. Don’t think that you can lower the requirement of the commandments, or that the Law’s judgment is an empty threat. When you acknowledge that there is no escape, … [then] you must give up and say: “I cannot be- come what God’s Law requires, I can never fulfill its demands.” Then hear the Gospel which says to troubled sinners: “Fear not!” “God so loved the world

10 Beretning om det 9de ordentlige Synodemøde, afholdt af Synoden for den norsk-evangelisk-luthersk Kirke i Amerika i ”Vor Frelsers” Kirke i Chicago, Ill., fra 21de til 29de Juni 1868. 11 School-teachers were not full-time parochial teachers as we think of them. They conducted weeks of religious classes in the parishes at various times of the year. 12 This was not unusual. The Synod Secretary, J. A. Ottesen, gives the following average for each pastor: 1500 souls, 710 confirmed members, 700 communed, 3 teachers, 5 congregations, 105 , 44 confirmands, 18 marriages, 28 burials, and 89 divine services.

- 5 - that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have ev- erlasting life” [John 3:16]. came to save what was lost. This applies to you as well. He carried your sins; He suf- fered the chastisement of your guilt and in your place. Therefore in Him you have perfect salva- tion without your cooperation, a salvation that is freely offered to you for the sake of God’s love. … If you believe this heavenly message, then you will be happy, and then you begin to love God who first loved you—and then you begin to love your neighbor. … So when you have heard both Law and Gospel correctly, then you have also learned to answer correctly the question: “What do you think about Christ—whose Son is He?” For then you will not only say: “He is Son of David and Son of God,” but you will also be able to say: “He is my Sav- ior, my Hope, and my All.” (UVK 1: 381-382)

Out of pastoral care, Koren also wrote Can and Ought a Christian Be Certain of His Salva- tion? This doctrinal treatise expounds Scripture and wards off false teaching, while at the same time giving a plain, clear, comforting explanation for the Christian. Koren begins by defining what he means by “certainty.” He also discusses how the Bible uses the terms “faith” and

“hope,” in contrast to our everyday language use. He says that this kind of certainty, the certainty of salvation through faith, is arrived at differently than through experiential knowledge or through scientific observation.

We arrive at such a certainty through another means, another power, than the one through which we arrive at certainty concerning those things which we are accustomed to say that we know. (UVK 3: 352)

Certainty of faith is not “independent,” but is based on the revealed Word of God in Scripture ra- ther than on human reason. Human reason has its place in our life, but it cannot tell us the hidden things of God, who is unseen and unknowable to sinful human beings apart from Scripture.

Such a faith, Koren says, may be weak or strong and still be certain of what it believes. He describes faith and hope as parallel concepts.

Faith in its nature and essence is a firm conviction. It can be this even if it is so weak that it is not felt as certainty—if only it be true and sincere. If faith is not a firm conviction, it is not faith, but only a vague notion. (UVK 3: 354) The word “hope” is often used in such a way as intending to express something inferior to or weaker than faith. So, many a person, for instance, when he is asked: “Do you believe that you will be saved?” will not readily venture to say: “Yes, I believe it,” but perhaps he will not hesitate to say: “I hope so,” as if that meant something less. This usage of language has no foundation in the Holy Scriptures. Christian faith and Christian hope are completely parallel. (UVK 3: 355)

- 6 -

Koren’s essay, Can and Ought a Christian Be Certain of His Salvation, is replete with pas- sages of Scripture to make his point and to comfort his readers. Koren brings in quotations from

Luther to show that this is the orthodox teaching of the Lutheran church. And he recites hymn after hymn to defend his thesis about the certainty of salvation, and to show that the church, par- ticularly the Lutheran church, has held this teaching and certainty through the ages.

Faith is certain and sure because it relies on and is bound to God’s Word and promise. Koren says that in common language we use the word “absolute” to mean “completely, altogether, wholly,” and we can say that we can have complete certainty of salvation through faith.13 It is not certain “absolutely,” in the sense of independently or on its own apart from the Word of God, but it is “completely” certain and sure because of the Word and promise of our gracious God, be- cause God’s Word is truth. Koren closes his essay with this comforting and assuring thought:

Because it is God who calls us; because we are called in one hope of our calling, namely, in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, has promised from eternity, but now revealed in His Word (Ephesians 4:4; Titus 1:2); therefore, we can and ought to have the certainty of faith of our salvation and election. But it is also true, as Dr. Rudelbach says, only those who have acknowledged that they are called with an eternal, holy calling, only they can believe the Word of revelation, that they are chosen from eternity, before the foundation of the world was laid (Ephe- sians 1:4). God has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us—Christ has promised that no one shall snatch us from His hand—and we should want to believe! Christ wants us to comfort ourselves with this, that all the hairs of our head are numbered; how much more does He wants us to comfort ourselves in the certainty of faith that He has determined to preserve our soul. His Holy Name be praised! (UVK 3: 401-402)

All of this rests on the truth of divine monergism in salvation: by grace alone (sola gratia)

God alone (mono-) is the one who works (-ergism/energy) our salvation. This is revealed in

Scripture alone () and received through faith alone (). This Sword of the

Spirit is wielded against the “monster of uncertainty,” (monstrum incertitudinis),14 that is found

13 In the opening paragraphs Koren makes the distinction that the certainty of faith is not “absolute” in the technical sense of being “independent, free, not determined by anything else.” 14 Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, I 36; Luther’s Lectures on Galatians, 1535, (AE 26: 386).

- 7 - in our human reason, and too often, within Christian denominations.

Catechism language

Pastor Koren’s sermons are filled with the language of the Catechism,15 citing the Lord’s

Prayer and its individual Petitions regularly in his sermons. He wants these familiar words and teachings to be a part of his people’s daily life, with renewed and deepened meaning. Likewise, he often speaks of the “Confession of Faith” (Bekjendelse or Trosbekjendelse), which is the com- mon Norwegian expression for the Creed—either the recited Apostles’ Creed or Luther’s hymn paraphrase of the .16 Koren also references the Articles of the Creed—together, or each separately. The Third Article is cited more often than the others, since it was the Article most under attack in his situation.

Only rarely does Koren use the broad phrase . His references to the Lord’s

Supper may seem infrequent, but we must remember that communion was not celebrated as of- ten as today, perhaps only a few times a year. But references to are abundant—perhaps surprisingly so, but perhaps this shouldn’t surprise us. Baptism was treasured among the Norwe- gian Lutherans. Perhaps tied to this is the term “child of God,” or “children of God” (Guds Barn,

Guds Børn). In the Church Ritual of Denmark-Norway this is a common expression for the

Christian believer. Koren uses it also, as does Bishop Laache in his Book of Family Prayer.

Christians are to think of themselves as children of God through Holy Baptism.

15 A quick and informal search of Koren’s sermons (Volume 1) yields the following results of words mentioned: Lord’s Prayer 8x and Petitions 14x, Creed 7x and Articles 10x, Baptism >70x, and Lord’s Supper 6x, Blood 5x, 19x. 16 The earlier Danish-Norwegian liturgy used Luther’s Nicene Creed hymn as the Creed (Ordinance of 1537, Church Ritual of 1685). The liturgical reform in the 1880s introduced the recitation of the Apostles’ Creed with these words: “Let us confess our holy faith” (Altar Book of 1889). The Apostles’ Creed was learned from the Small Catechism, of course.

- 8 - Use of Hymns

It was already noted that Koren used a whole list of hymns in his essay, Can and Ought a

Christian. Whether officially so or not, hymns are doctrinal statements of the church, or at least they reflect the doctrine of the church. The Lutheran Confessions use hymns a few times to sup- port their argument of being orthodox.17 And the famous axiom, “The rule of praying is the rule of believing (lex orandi lex credendi),” indicates that worship life and doctrinal life have an im- pact on each other.18 , Article 24, states that hymns in the vernacular “are added to teach the people. For ceremonies are needed for this reason alone: that the unlearned be taught.” Doctrine means teaching. Hymns are a large part of our Divine Service. They sing the faith into our hearts. Luther invites us to sing a hymn along with our morning prayer: “Then go to your work with joy, singing a hymn.” (Small Catechism, Morning Prayer)

Koren recognized the importance of hymns, and was a main editor of the Norwegian Synod hymnbooks. Hymns become familiar to people and are loved by them. They are used in Koren’s sermons and essays to emphasize doctrinal points and to give strength and comfort to the people.

The words resonate, and their poetry and associated tunes reinforce what they say.

How is the truth confessed among us? In churches, through sermons, prayers, and hymns? Yes, thanks be to God, that happens… (UVK 1: 242)

Koren uses hymns almost 50 times in the volume of sermons we have from him.19 This re- flects his understanding as pastor and catechist, connecting people to things familiar to them.

17 “By Adam’s Fall” (Durch Adams Fall, ELH 430) is quoted in , Solid Declaration 1:23, and “Come, Holy Ghost, in love” (Veni Sancte Spiritus, ELH 11) is quoted in Augsburg Confession 20. 18 It is perhaps for this reason that the hymns of Grundtvig were few in the Norwegian Synod hymnbooks, while Landstad has more than thirty. It may also be a reason that many hymnbooks do not include Agricola’s hymn, “Lord, Hear the voice of my complaint” (ELH 255). 19 Personal note: This was not a practice familiar to me until I entered the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. In the ELS there is a long history and tradition of quoting hymns in sermons. It was also done in lectures when I attended Bethany Lutheran Theologi- cal Seminary. Professors Wilhelm Petersen and Juul Madson and others did this frequently. I learned from that tradition, and I try to continue it.

- 9 - Hymns are beloved and treasured by people, as editors of hymnbooks quickly learn. The Norwe- gian immigrants retained older traditions from Norway longer than the did— for example, chanting the lessons during the Divine Service. When Landstad’s hymnbook was published in Norway in 1869, the Norwegian Synod decided to produce its own hymnbook (Syn- odens Psalmebog 1874), retaining more of the older hymns and older forms of the hymns. Some congregations chose to use the Synod hymnbook; others chose the Landstad hymnbook; some continued to use other books for a while. In 1903, the Synod produced a revised hymnbook

(Salmebog)20 which updated some of the poetical forms and included some other hymns.21

Acts of Charity

Koren was deeply concerned about his congregants. In a speech at Luther College in Deco- rah, Iowa, given on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday in 1901, Koren describes his connection with those who had to fight in the Civil War.

I had held farewell services for those of our boys who went to war, and regularly had greet- ings and letters from them while they were in the field or in the field hospital. (UVK 4: 95)

In the church journal, Evangelisk Luthersk Kirketidende, he submitted an article about a young man who moved to Tennessee to restore his health, but died while there. Koren describes him as

“a quiet, little-noticed pilgrim.” He quotes the boy’s father and gives testimony from neighbors.

20 Perhaps it is helpful to note here that for quite a long time, Norway was under Danish control. This had a long-lasting ef- fect on the Norwegian language that is still felt today. The Norwegian language has had several spelling reforms, especially after independence in 1905. An example is the word hymnbook: Psalmebog became Salmebog and today is Salmebok. 21 Hymnbooks are dearly loved and treasured. We tend to love the hymnbook we grew up with. The Kirketidende in the 1870s has some notices of congregations that accepted the Synod’s hymnbook and others that preferred Landstad’s. In one con- gregation they chose the Synod hymnbook because it restored older, Biblical expressions compared to Guldberg’s which they were using. (Evangelisk Luthersk Kirketidende 1875, p. 141-142.) Another congregation preferred Landstad’s because the Synod hymnbook retained older words and expressions and Landstad’s was easier and closer to the language of the time. (Evangelisk Luthersk Kirketidende 1878, p. 730.) There were also reports of how many parishes in Norway were using various hymnbooks: Landstad, Hauge, Guldberg, and Kingo. In 1887 there was a report that showed how many hymns the Synod hymnbook had in common with the others, and how many hymns by Kingo and Brorson, and it discusses how the Synod hymnbook usually re- tained the older and original forms of the hymns. (Evangelisk Luthersk Kirketidende 1887, p. 264-265.)

- 10 - Here we see Pastor Koren’s paternal and pastoral concern for the members of his congregation.

“I don’t really know,” the father said, “how one could be a better son than John has been.” This applied to his conduct at home, in his work, and in his interaction with others. His neighbors have also said the same thing about him. Free from the excesses of youth, with the Word of God before him at home and in church, without any pretended show of piety, certainly quiet already by nature, yet easy to get along with, both among his siblings and such friends as he might enjoy in- teracting with. (UVK 4: 366)

Several times Koren’s pastoral charity led him to submit short notices to the Kirketidende to request support for the synod’s schools, for students, for missions,22 and for humanitarian relief.

One such notice in the Kirketidende asked for someone to help support a needy student who wanted to study to become a pastor.

If there is some well-to-do man or woman who is willing to take on a poor young man who is strongly moved by Christianity and fervently wishes to be prepared for pastoral work, but who has neither money nor well-to-do friends, then there is such a young man whom I will recommend. (UVK 4: 388, from Evangelisk Luthersk Kirketidende, 1898, p. 133.)

Three times he requests support for mission work among Norwegian sailors.23 He notes the particular temptations they face in seaports. There were Seaman’s Churches in Boston, New

York, San Francisco, and other places around the world. Norwegian Synod pastors on the West

Coast tried to serve sailors near the Columbia River, Puget Sound, and Seattle.24 Even today the

Church of Norway has churches and support for Norwegian sailors in ports around the world.25

With regard to humanitarian work, the Norwegian Synod also supported two hospitals and three orphanages.26

22 The Norwegian Synod carried on mission work in the United States, China, Japan, South Africa, and Madagascar. 23 Evangelisk Luthersk Kirketidende 1895, p. 161-163; 1898, p. 746; 1899, p. 1090. Translations of these articles are in- cluded in Volume 4 of U. V. Koren’s Works. 24 Festskrift, p. 313-314. 25 The website www.sjomannskirken.no/her-finner-du-kirkene/ lists places that have churches for Norwegian sailors today: United States (Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, , San Francisco), Denmark, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Turkey, Brazil, UAE (Dubai), South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand. 26 Hospitals in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and St. Paul, Minnesota; and orphanages in Wittenberg, Wisconsin; Wild Rice, Min- nesota; and Parkland, Washington.

- 11 - Koren knew the heartache of natural disasters firsthand, from his teenage years, when his fa- ther, Paul Schonevik (Skonevik) Stub Koren, a ship’s captain, was killed in an earthquake in

Haiti in 1842. When a devastating hurricane ravaged the area of Galveston, Texas, in 1900,

Koren put in a plea, along with this note:

I therefore take the liberty of asking the brothers and sisters in the Synod, as a thank-offering to our God who has spared us and our loved ones and our property, to send a gift to the needy and helpless who have lost all they owned, and some of whom are sick and injured, and for the many children who lost their breadwinners.27

Summary

By using Catechism language, Koren cites a recognized authority to emphasize the point he is preaching. Law and Gospel were familiar and important concepts in his preaching, because they are the central teachings of Holy Scripture and because their proper use brings about repent- ance of sins through the Law, and comfort and assurance of salvation through the Gospel. By quoting hymns, Koren connects with his people who sing them not only in church, but also in their home, reinforcing the doctrine they recognize from those hymns. Koren’s pastoral concern is also reflected in acts of charity, toward students and others. I think Koren would consider his most important work to be preaching and being a parish pastor.

Comparison with Luther:

Luther’s preaching was extensive, serving in the same place for most of his career, as univer- sity professor and frequent preacher at the city church in Wittenberg. His sermons and writings are clear on Law and Gospel, and speak the language of the Catechism, which is, of course, Bib- lical language. These words might be familiar, and certainly should instruct us:

27 Evangelisk Luthersk Kirketidende, 1900, p. 915

- 12 - But for myself I say this: I am also a doctor and preacher, yea, as learned and experienced as all those may be who have such presumption and security; yet I do as a child who is being taught the Catechism, and every morning, and whenever I have time, I read and say, word for word, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Psalms, etc. And I must still read and study daily, and yet I cannot master it as I wish, but must remain a child and pupil of the Catechism, and am glad so to remain. (Large Catechism, Preface, 7-8, Concordia Triglotta)

Luther’s generosity could have left his family destitute, as he even tried to give away wed- ding gifts, which his wife Katie retrieved. Katie ran a boarding house for some of the university students, but Martin and Katie also took in various relatives through the years. Even poor Karls- tadt showed up at their door, and Luther took him in.

Luther was sought for counsel from very many places, in Germany and abroad. We might question some of Luther’s advice, but he was living in times very different from our own, forg- ing unexpected pathways, but Luther always kept in mind the Gospel of Christ. That restored in- sight into the Gospel is the gift God has given us through Martin Luther. We can make distinc- tions of Law and Gospel, two kingdoms, nature (science) and grace (revelation). This affects us not only in our spiritual life, but also in our daily life as Christians, in our decision-making. We do not look for signs and wonders, but we ask God to help us use our reason as His gift in a way that is beneficial for ourselves, our neighbor, and to the glory of God. Luther also saw the use of hymns as a key to teaching the Gospel into the hearts of people.

Luther distinguishes the light of reason and the light of grace, just as Koren distinguishes the kind of knowledge and certainty that come through experience and science, and the kind of knowledge and certainty given through the revelation of Holy Scripture.

- 13 - 2. President of the Norwegian Synod

Even before Ulrik Vilhelm Koren was president of the Norwegian Synod, he held several im- portant offices.

Synod Secretary, 1855 [Synod’s] Church Council, 1861-1910 Synod Vice President, 1871-76 Iowa District President, 1876-94 President of the Norwegian Synod, 1894-1910

Koren was a gifted leader who loved his people and was loved by them. He helped to organ- ize congregations, and the structure of the Norwegian Synod. The Church of Norway was a state church under control and supervision of the government. It had a structure and system for how parishes and clergy were to operate. No such system exists in America. The pioneers had to fig- ure out how to gather money to support the pastor, the church building, and other expenses, and for educating future pastors. Early pioneer pastors, like Koren, Ottesen, and Preus, early leaders of the Norwegian Synod, helped to put all this in place.

Koren writes of how his parish grew quickly, so he needed help with communication and tak- ing care of mundane matters in the congregation. He set up a system of sections and districts within his parish, and assistants were chosen as liaisons for each.

The country was new, and there were no old landmarks and names to show the way. Only when I learned how the land was divided by measures into townships and sections, did I find something to go by. I designed a map for myself. (UVK 4:28) In my letter of call, the congregations were gathered under only three names: “Little Iowa,” “Painted Creek,” and “Turkey River.” In reality the call comprised the following territory, desig- nated by the present congregations: Decorah, Madison, Lincoln, Calmar, Stavanger, Washington Prairie, Glenwood, West Paint Creek, East Paint Creek, Fægre, Lansing, Norway, Marion, and Clermont. All this comprised my regular parish, and a little later Little Turkey River [Saude] and Crane Creek [Jerico] were added to this. (UVK 4:28) Now it was a matter of putting things in order, for my letter of call contained only the general stipulation that I should preach God’s Word according to the Lutheran Confessions, and use the Church of Norway’s Ritual and Altar Book. Otherwise I was to be in each of the three main areas of the call every third week. Three weeks after my arrival I convened a congregational meeting to have the Little Iowa congregation divided into school districts and sections for pastor’s assistants and to choose places for churches and homes in which to gather, and I got a committee established at this meeting. A month later I had meetings to draw up a constitution and special regulations for

- 14 - various matters. I had little to direct me. From Pastor A. C. Preus I had obtained a paper which contained various stipulations that were being used in Wisconsin. (UVK 4:28f)

Koren had to explain to his congregations what a “synod” was, and the structure of the Nor- wegian Synod.28

Training Pastors

As the synod grew and more immigrants came to America, more pastors were needed for newly-formed congregations. At first, pastors came from Norway, but their numbers were not sufficient. After traveling and meeting with other Lutherans in America, a close connection was found with the Missouri Synod.

From the beginning, [the Norwegian Synod] had realized that no matter how desirous it was of having pastors from Norway, it would nevertheless be unreasonable to hope that we could get pastors sufficient for the great need from the University of Kristiania [Oslo]. The Synod at that time did not have the necessary strength or the means to operate a regular school for training pas- tors. In 1857, after careful investigations, it established a connection with the Missouri Synod, which was founded ten years earlier, and which had schools for training pastors in St. Louis and Fort Wayne. The conditions were that our Synod, in return for appointing and supporting a profes- sor at the Missouri Synod school in St. Louis, was to have the opportunity of having its students admitted there. (UVK 3: 519f)

Through the Missouri Synod, connections were also made with the Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota , and other confessional Lutheran synods, and in 1872 the Evangelical Lu- theran Synodical Conference of North America was formed. This strong gathering of confes- sional Lutherans lasted into the 1960s. The Norwegian Synod’s direct connection with the Syn- odical Conference was disrupted by internal controversies over the doctrine of predestination or election. They withdrew from membership in the Synodical Conference, but my understanding is that they maintained fellowship and relations with the other synods of the Synodical Conference.

28 The Norwegian Synod had two beginnings before Koren arrived in America. The first constitution of 1851 was found to have the Grundtvigian error, and so the Norwegian Synod started again in 1853 with a fresh constitution, and this is the recog- nized date for its founding. The official name was the Norwegian Synod for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Den norske Synode for den evangelisk-luthersk Kirke i Amerika).

- 15 -

Church relations

An important task in the early days was finding other like-minded confessional Lutherans in

America. In 1866, when there was a split among Lutherans in the eastern United States. The more conservative Pennsylvania Ministerium sent an invitation to other Lutheran synods. The

Norwegian Synod, Missouri Synod, and Wisconsin Synod were among several that attended a meeting to discuss forming the General Council.29 The Norwegian and Missouri Synods did not join at all; Wisconsin Synod joined for just a couple years. Koren’s review clearly explains the reasons these Confessional Lutherans could not join or continue in the General Council. Unity was to be based on uniformity in ceremonies and polity, not on doctrinal unity.

Unity in ceremonies is a beautiful and desirable thing, which ought not be despised, but it is only worth something when it first springs from unity in faith. In comparison with unity of doc- trine, it is therefore of quite subordinate significance. The Missouri Synod and our Synod are not composed in the same way at all, not even any outward bond of how we are put together; nor do we have the same church practices. But on the other hand we are quite united in doctrine, and without doubt the connection between us is far more heartfelt and comprehensive than between any two synods of the General Council. (UVK 2: 75)

Koren’s words foreshadow what happened in late 20th century American Lutheranism.

We had hoped that in that way the many Lutherans and Lutheran synods who have stood for so long like reeds, wavering and uncertain about what is Lutheran, that is, truly Christian, and what is not, would have been able to be won for the truth.

29 The Norwegian and Missouri Synods were larger than most bodies of the General Council. The Norwegian Synod in 1867 had 46 pastors, 219 congregations, 32,740 communicant members, and about 64,000 souls. Koren gives these statistics for the First Meeting of the General Council in 1866. (UVK 3: 69) Pastors Pastoral calls Parishes Communicants Pennsylvania Ministerium 125 118 300 50,000 New York Synod 48 45 52 12,000 English Ohio Synod 11 13 30 2,500 Pittsburgh Synod 64 55 124 9,000 Wisconsin Synod (German) 50 59 100 12,750 Iowa Synod 60 60 80 7,000 English District Synod of Ohio 38 41 90 10,000 Michigan Synod 15 16 24 3,035 Augustana Synod 45 54 85 11,800 Minnesota Synod 22 35 53 3,000 Canada Synod 26 25 55 7,211 Illinois Synod 34 35 37 5,000 538 556 1030 133,296

- 16 - We realize now that we have hoped much too much, or expected the fulfillment of that hope much too soon. They30 want to honor the Lutheran church, they want to establish it, they want to defend it against all attacks—and yet they rob it of one of its strongest bulwarks, one of its most beautiful gems: its unrestricted Christian freedom. And they want to govern it according to principles of hierarchy. They sincerely want to confess “to the whole world” the Lutheran doctrine of the Lord’s Sup- per, that Christ’s Body and Blood are truly present in the Sacrament—and yet they want to admit persons to the altar who declare that Christ’s Body and Blood are not present there. … They want to give pastors who are not Lutherans access to the pulpits of Lutheran congrega- tions. (UVK 2: 80)

Throughout its history the Norwegian Synod also had to contend with factions among the

Norwegian immigrants with their various views of Lutheranism. Church bodies ranged from strongly pietistic (followers of Hans Nielsen Hauge or ) to those who wanted to continue the traditions and heritage of the Church of Norway in a free-church Confessional Lu- theran setting in America. Koren wrote two articles on the differences among these groups, and whether there should be a merger: Church Factions among Our People in America (1877),31 and

What Hinders the Merger of the Various Norwegian Lutheran Synods? (1902).32 Even during

Koren’s lifetime there were several church bodies among the .33

Eielsen Synod (1846-1997) Norwegian Synod (1853-1917) Norwegian Augustana Synod (1870-1890) Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (1870-1890) Hauge Synod (1876-1917) Anti-Missourian Brotherhood (1887-1890) United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America (1890-1917) Lutheran (1897-1963) Church of the Lutheran Brethren (1900–present)

30 Koren uses impersonal expressions through much of the rest of the article: “One wants to…” I changed them to “They” for better readability in English. 31 UVK 2: 123 32 UVK 2: 88 33 Church bodies today that have some Norwegian heritage include: Evangelical Lutheran Synod, American Association of Lutheran Churches, Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, Church of the Lutheran Brethren, Church of the Lutheran Con- fession, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, North American Lutheran Church, Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ.

- 17 - Book of Concord

Sometimes Confessional Lutherans question why the Norwegians did not formally accept the

Formula of Concord and the whole Book of Concord among their confessions. The Formula of

Concord pertained to controversies that occurred within the churches in Germany and never came to Denmark and Norway.34 The 1853 constitution of the Norwegian Synod lists its confes- sional writings as these:

1) The Apostles’ Creed; 2) The Nicene Creed; 3) The ; 4) The Unaltered Augsburg Confession, delivered to Emperor Charles V at Augsburg, 1530; 5) Luther’s Small Cat- echism.

Koren and others were trained in by Johnson and Caspari and brought that with them to America. When the Book of Concord was translated into Norwegian, it was highly recommended to the members of the Norwegian Synod as proclaiming the pure doc- trine which produces spiritual life and holiness.

If we would help our congregations, if we would strengthen them in the knowledge of the truth and harden them against spiritual temptations and attacks, then it is the old truths of God’s Word which must be brought into their hearts and consciences. The study of our fathers’ confessions will be a powerful means toward that. They were Lu- therans. They didn’t just say so, for they fed their faith and their minds only on that which “is writ- ten.” If we mean anything by it when we sing that “God’s Word is our great heritage, and shall be ours forever,” then we will also do what we can to preserve that heritage. The use of the Book of Concord will serve that purpose. (UVK 4: 325)

The Formula of Concord helped to settle doctrinal matters in the Norwegian Synod, particu- larly on the doctrine of Election. Koren’s call to serve the congregations in Iowa included the stipulation:

34 King Fredrik II did not want to introduce things that were “foreign and unknown to us and our churches, and the unity in which these kingdoms have been held could be disturbed.” There is even a legend, probably apocryphal, that he threw the book into the fire. (http://www.lutherdansk.dk/Konkordieformlen%20-%20Kort%20Forklaring/Kort%20Forklaring%20- %20med%20indledning%20af%20fba.htm) But his wife Sophie owned a beautiful copy of the book and had it read to her from cover to cover (perhaps after he died). Her handwritten note from the book can be seen at: http://wayback-01.kb.dk/wayback/20100504133513/http://www2.kb.dk/elib/mss/skatte/f3_bib/billeder/3_61_b9.htm “Dis boch hatt mich mein kamer dener Johim van barneze (d.v.s. Joachim Barnewitz) von anfank bis zum ende vorgelesen, der liebe gott gebe das ich nutzlich muge zugehoret haben Sophia konigin zu Denemarcken/wittwe.”

- 18 - that I should preach God’s Word according to the Lutheran Confessions, and use the Church of Norway’s Ritual and Altar Book. (UVK 4:28f)

Right Principles of Church Government

In his writing, The Right Principles of Church Government,35 Koren describes the state- church system and its deficiencies.

But although the true principles, thank God, were presented in the Lutheran confessional writ- ings, it was not long before another power stole into the church in Lutheran lands, namely the sec- ular government, whereby the state church system was established. (UVK 3: 78)

When the civil government, by virtue of its office, wants to command in the church, then that is tyranny, and it puts itself in the place of God (Caesaro-papism). It enters into a sphere where it has no power, that is, in the consciences. Luther has made these matters more clear than anyone else that I know of, in numerous places in his writings.36

Koren recognizes the benefit of the separation of church and state in America.

One of the greatest blessings for which we owe God thanks here in this country is the com- plete independence of the church from the State, or the separation of church and State that has been actually carried through. (UVK 3: 80)

He recognizes the role and purpose of church governance.

We elect these overseers or presidents, as we call them, not to rule but to remind us of our Savior’s governance and His royal Word, and, by supervision, admonition, encouragement, and advice to help us use and obey the Word of God. They have no other power than that of the Word. (UVK 3: 83)

To reach all the shared goals that have been named— schools and educational institutions, distribution of books, missions, charitable institutions, and everything that can serve the kingdom of God—it is necessary that men and women who have the necessary qualifications are chosen and commissioned, and that the required funds are gathered and managed. (UVK 3: 83)

Koren makes interesting comments about learning from the past, avoiding novelty and think- ing our generation wiser, and recognizing the dangers of political tactics.

Just for the reason that God has not commanded us anything with regard to the arrangement of all such matters, we must here, as it were, feel our way and try as best we can to learn what will benefit the kingdom of God most, e.g., we must not think that all the regulations in the constitution

35 UVK 3: 55-87. 36 UVK 3: 79. Koren quotes from Luther’s Temporal Authority: To What Extent It Should Be Obeyed. Cf. Luther’s Works, American Edition 45:111, WA 15:27.

- 19 - which we have prepared are so good that they dare not be changed or could not be improved upon. However, it is important here to remember that a passion for novelty must not be allowed to rule; that we do not seek our own but what is to the benefit of all; that we do not consider ourselves wiser than others, so that we will want to force our way through or gain our end by stealth. We should not be blind to the danger that political arts and tricks may be brought over into our consul- tations and the resolutions of the church, and then seek comfort in the fact that our end is good, while the means we use are objectionable. (UVK 3: 84-85)

In the Clergy Bulletin,37 George Lillegard included this note about this essay.

In the Synod Report for 1899 there appears at the end of the essay a list of theses which Koren drew up as a guide for the discussion of his essay. These theses are: 1. Christ has established no other government in His Church than that which is according to His Word. 2. This Word is entrusted to the congregation and not to any special rank in it, even though the public service of the Word, according to His own command, is to be carried out by persons called specially thereto. 3. In matters not decided by the Word of God the congregation is sovereign. 4. That government in the church which demands obedience to it because it is government, erects a hierarchy, or caesaropapism, or tyranny. 5. The form of a church body is not directly commanded by God, but is a product of the es- sence of faith and love. 6. A church body has no right to restrict the freedom of the individual congregation. 7. A church body is governed according to the same principles as the individual congregation. (UVK 3: 87)

As Synod President, Koren addressed each convention, writing essays about topics that were under discussion at the time, including: divisiveness in the church, Christian freedom, justifica- tion through faith alone, Scriptural inspiration,38 Revivalism,39 papal infallibility,40 Rationalism,

Pietism, Secularism, and many more. He always directs people back to the Holy Bible and the

Lutheran Confessions.

With no other weapon than the words “it is written,” Jesus Christ fought against all the devil’s cunning and power, and won. Where this Word is taken into the human heart, there it is powerful enough to overcome all temptations, even death itself. Therefore, our Synod’s motto is this one word: gegraptai, “It is written.” (UVK 2: 347)

37 Clergy Bulletin, 11:5, p. 65 38 Koren’s 1908 Synod address on the Inspiration of Scripture was published as a pamphlet by Augsburg Publishing House in 1953, in a translation by John Linnevold. Koren wrote: “I would like this address—if it will not seem presumptuous—to be considered as my last will and testament to the Synod. (UVK 2: 333) 39 Koren does not use this term, but he uses the English phrases “new measures” and “sensational sermons,” which are clear references to the Revivalism associated with Charles Finney. 40 The teaching that the speaks without error in official pronouncements (ex cathedra) about doctrine or life was made an official teaching of the Roman in the First Vatican Council of 1870, though it had been held for centuries before that.

- 20 -

Comparison with Luther:

Luther had to help organize a new church structure, without the hierarchy of the Roman

Catholic Church. Congregations assumed some more responsibility, but much work rested on godly princes and dukes and kings who supported the church and its work. Likewise, Koren and others had to organize a new and unfamiliar church structure in America, and find ways to sup- port pastors and Christian education for the people, especially for the training of pastors. Koren resisted all forms of tyranny and, like Luther, championed Christian freedom in its proper setting and use.

3. Polemicist against false teachings

Sadly, Koren’s life and work was occupied too often with controversies in the church. Unfor- tunately, this is the history of Scandinavian Lutheranism in the United States, and led to contin- ual splintering, from the first wave of immigrants and up to the present day.41

Many issues that Koren faced were topics that theologians have struggled with through the ages, such as the role of clergy, and predestination. Some were perhaps more crucial, and per- haps easier to solve. Many Lutherans in the eastern United States had cozied up to the Reformed.

Samuel Schmucker proposed an “American Recension of the Augsburg Confession” that insisted on a more legalistic and Sabbatarian view of Sunday, and also denied the regenerative power of

41 Personal note: And, although this is frustrating to us at times, we might also be thankful and hopeful that people are not simply following the dictates of some demagogue, but that many are studying the issues themselves and wanting to take the right path, wanting to heed God’s Word and be followers of Christ. We cannot and should not expect the church triumphant here on earth. That would be a theology of glory rather than a . When we heirs of the Synodical Conference face controversies, we can thank God that they keep us ever studying the Holy Scriptures. We can thank God that we are wrangling over more difficult issues, and that among us we are not debating the basics of the Ten Commandments or the Creed, or the power of the .

- 21 - Baptism. The Norwegian Synod dealt with these rather easily, declaring with Saint Paul the New

Testament freedom from ceremonial laws, and a clear affirmation that Baptism and Absolution actually give forgiveness through the power of God’s Word, not dependent upon the believer to activate the power, but simply to receive the benefits of it through faith.

Lay-preaching

Discussion about the role of clergy was a bit more complicated. The clergy in Norway were, in a sense, representatives of the government. The state-church system led to many problems, in- cluding some of the clergy becoming apathetic, complacent, or authoritarian. Many pastors were educated in Deism and Rationalism that rejected Scriptural miracles. They saw God as distant and not involved in the everyday life of humans. For them, traditional Christianity was viewed as outdated mythology and superstition.42 These “modern” pastors were viewed with scorn and dis- trust by pious laypeople and faithful pastors.

A revival movement, especially in Western Norway, held to or returned to a more traditional view of the Bible and an emphasis on Christian life. But because Rationalism was so prevalent among the clergy, this revival movement developed an animosity against clergy and therefore against the formal aspects of the church. This attitude also came along with some immigrants to

America who were followers of Hans Nielsen Hauge or were influenced by one of his protégés in America, such as Elling Eielsen.

This led to a controversy over lay-preaching in the Norwegian Synod. Koren and others had to combat this anti-clergy attitude, and restore respect for orthodox clergy who preach and ad- minister the sacraments and rites of the church according to the Lutheran Confessions.

42 Bo Giertz’ Hammer of God gives a good picture of these struggles in Scandinavian Christendom in recent centuries.

- 22 - There was also an unfamiliar equality in America. After the Black Death in the 1300s, there was no true class of nobility in Norway, but there was an educated class of property-owners, merchants, educators, and pastors. No such class distinction exists in America. Koren saw the value in this. He was astonished when he first arrived and his young wagon-driver quoted Cicero to him in Latin. Fifty years later he reflects:

We rented a team of horses and a lumber-wagon, and our driver was a lively young American about 20 years old. He really surprised me when he told me that in the winter he studied at a school of higher learning and when I heard that he had advanced so far that he even quoted Cicero: “Quousque tandem, Catalina,” etc. He was quite unpretentious and wore common work-clothes. In Norway I was not used to such a juxtaposition, and here I got the first example of what I later learned to know as one of America’s greatest advantages, that all honest work, manual as well as mental, is held in esteem, and that such work, however lowly it may seem, is not something one ought to regard as “beneath one,” while idleness and laziness are shameful. “If only they could learn that in Norway!” I thought. They didn’t teach that when I was young. Progress has certainly been made at home also in this regard during this half-century. (UVK 4: 20-21)

“If only they could learn that in Norway!” he said. He saw the potential for an educated peo- ple that could be free from their ties to social levels. That could happen in America, where the pastor was respected for his position, but could also be considered an equal in society and a dear friend.

Slavery

But America had its problems too. The “land of the free” was not free for everyone. Slavery was a major issue during Koren’s early years in America. Unfairly, Koren is sometimes listed as being pro-slavery. He was not at all. But he was a very careful theologian who did not want to say more or less than what Scripture itself says. Since Scripture never labels slavery in all situa- tions as sin, he refrained from using that term. He calls himself “an enemy of slavery.” He saw it as an evil thing, and was horrified by the abuses, such as described in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Those who reviled us as being friends of slavery knew very little about us. We were anything but that. (UVK 2: 232) I had followed the election campaign in 1860 and was happy about Lincoln’s election, for I

- 23 - had always been an enemy of slavery. … I had followed the course of the war; a good deal of my congregation members were involved. … I was happy about the abolition of slavery and rejoiced at the final victory. (UVK 4: 99)

He also recognized that the solution in America would not be easy, and that the freed slaves would have a hard time being accepted into the rest of American society.43

Election (Predestination)

The Election or Predestination Controversy of the 1880s is familiar to many members of the

Evangelical Lutheran Synod, since it led up to the reorganization of the Norwegian Synod in

1918, now called the ELS.

A very simple and basic summary is this: A professor at Luther College, F. A. Schmidt, who was originally from the Missouri Synod, accused Walther and Koren and others of Calvinism.

F. A. Schmidt and others taught this: “There is some difference in people’s behavior or attitude that makes God choose to save them. There is some kind of cooperation.” Koren and the others taught this: “Salvation is only through God’s grace and from God alone through the gift of faith.”

Koren stood on the Biblical teaching of Saint Paul, so familiar to us from Ephesians 2: “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

This controversy caused large difficulties in the Missouri and Norwegian synods, but the

43 Koren wrote an extensive article refuting C. L. Clausen’s claims that the Norwegian Synod was pro-slavery. He ends this article by showing that many abolitionists would not accept the freed slaves into their own society. “Then follow these philanthropic men and women out into life. See them in relation to these, their free fellow human beings of a different skin color. See how they avoid them, do not tolerate sitting in the same wagon with them, in the same church or congregation, to say nothing of at the same table—are not willing to let them get any public office. See how they are despised, pushed aside, trodden underfoot in all relationships of life, in this the freest country in the world. Hear how a whole state’s legislature (Illinois) debates whether it wouldn’t be best to chase all ‘colored’ persons out of the state right away. And then judge what is at the bottom of this cry for equal rights, and in this shouted philanthropy that wants to be honored with the name of Christian love! May God teach us to know Christ Jesus! Amen!” (UVK 3: 50)

- 24 - losses were hardest on the Norwegian Synod, which lost approximately one-third of its mem- bers.44

year # pastors # congregations # souls 1853 6 38 11,400 At the Synod's founding 1886 193 723 143,885 Immediately before the split 1889 138 512 93,891 Immediately after the split

Those who left the Norwegian Synod first formed a group called the Anti-Missourian Broth- erhood, which soon merged with the Norwegian Augustana Synod and the Norwegian-Danish

Conference to become the United Norwegian Lutheran Church (1890). Koren battled this contro- versy for over 30 years of his life. Through that time, he was a leading voice that kept the Nor- wegian Synod on the “old paths” (Jer. 6:16), teaching the doctrine of grace alone. Soon after his death, however, there were meetings that resulted in an “agreement to disagree,” and to allow

“both forms” of the doctrine of election to be taught. This led to the merger of three large Nor- wegian church bodies into the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America45 (1917), later called

Evangelical Lutheran Church.46 A small minority stayed out of that merger and formed the Nor- wegian Synod of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church, later renamed the Evangelical Lu- theran Synod.

Summary

Koren fought tirelessly and patiently through these controversies. He was firm, but fair in his assessments. The Election Controversy occupied much of Koren’s efforts for the rest of his life, dealing with church relations and internal conflict, especially after he became Synod president in

44 The chart is adapted from the Festskrift til Den norske Synodes Jubilæum, 1853-1903, Decorah, Iowa, p. 107. 45 This merged the Norwegian Synod, Hauge Synod, and the United Norwegian Lutheran Church. 46 Another merger formed the American Lutheran Church (1960), and yet another created the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (1988).

- 25 - 1894.

These various conflicts had begun almost immediately upon his arrival in America. In De- cember 1854, he writes a letter home in which he describes being surrounded by Frankeans and

Methodists. He recalls a conversation with Wexels who said: “Worse than the fight with the world and everything else is the fight against the sects.” He describes the influence of a Swedish

Baptist preacher in America, and also Elling Eielsen. He describes staying with a family, while teaching confirmation and preparing his sermon. The next day they beg him not to teach a false comfort to sinners, and they accuse him of preaching that conversion and regeneration are not necessary. “You have done it many times.”47

Comparison with Luther:

Luther’s life was filled with conflict which compelled him to become a polemicist. He fought against the errors of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, and then just as quickly had to keep his followers away from the legalism and enthusiasm of the iconoclastic Anabaptists who wanted to throw out everything “popish.”

Koren considered F. A. Schmidt a dear friend and thought that he would be a wonderful teacher at Luther College. But Schmidt became his fiercest enemy. And after Koren’s death, oth- ers chose to compromise rather than stand for the truth for which Koren had battled so stead- fastly. We might see a parallel in Luther’s life in the person of Karlstadt who turned against Lu- ther so strongly. And after Luther’s death, Melanchthon and others tried to compromise on doc- trine to join with others.

47 Letter #14 in the collection of Elisabeth Koren letters in the Luther College archives. This will be included in U. V. Koren’s Works, Volume 4.

- 26 -

4. Pedagogue and Promoter of Christian education

Koren was an ardent promoter of Christian education, not only for future pastors, but for other professions and vocations as well. He spoke in support of various institutions of learning such as Luther College, Luther Seminary, Pacific (Lutheran) University, Red Wing Ladies’ Sem- inary (finishing school), and Albert Lea (Lutheran) High School. In the Kirketidende he submit- ted reminders and requests for help with funding for these schools.

Luther Seminary

Koren was deeply concerned about the education of future pastors for the church. He and Ja- cob Aall Ottesen were delegated to visit seminaries of other Lutheran church bodies in America.

They recommended that the Norwegian Synod at first send their young men to be trained in Mis- souri Synod schools.

Eventually the Norwegian Synod had its own seminary. Established in 1876 in Madison,

Wisconsin, Luther Seminary48 moved to Robbinsdale, Minnesota, in 1889, where Koren spoke at the dedication. He spoke again in 1899 at the dedication of a new facility in Hamline, Minnesota.

In 1896, Koren addressed the theological students at Luther Seminary. This speech describes challenges of the 19th century that could echo our experiences today. But Koren directs the stu- dents and faculty to continue the good fight in the church militant, trusting that God will still pro- claim His Word through His believers.

But there is another kind of idolatry that in our day seems to have taken an upswing and found propagation as never before, and that is deification of man, deification of self, and this will proba- bly stand rather closely connected to that apostasy. Wherever we turn, we find this deification of man in the various branches of art, in science, in war, in government authority, in secret societies,

48 With the merger of 1917, Luther Seminary of the Norwegian Synod merged with the Red Wing Seminary of the Hauge Synod and the United Church Seminary of the United Norwegian Lutheran Church.

- 27 - and in the pope’s church. They have no use for God’s governance, nor do they acknowledge it. It does not occur to them to give Him the glory. They do not believe His Word and they reject His church. If they were to have any use for the church, it would be to help keep the masses of people in peace and quiet, the masses in which hatred and envy are fomented against those in better posi- tions. Yet in all these various situations of life in which deification of the self dominates, God has not left Himself without witness. There are men of science here and there, acknowledged as the uppermost researchers who still confess that they know nothing and who humbly bow to the infi- nite wisdom of God. There is a series of warriors who in Christian faith have held to the God of hosts and have given Him the glory for their victories, and there are famous authors who send their warning voice out among the peoples and ask them not to forget their God. (UVK 2: 441f)

Albert Lea (Minnesota) Lutheran High School

Koren recognized the benefit of starting education at a young age. A Lutheran high school was established in Albert Lea, Minnesota, in 1888 and operated until 1928. In 1891 Koren gave a speech at the dedication of Albert Lea Lutheran High School, often called Luther Academy.

It is actually not a church school [to prepare church workers] that we dedicate today, not a school whose main goal is instruction in Christianity. It will be closest to what we in our old homeland would call a Christian public school. You would like to train your sons and daughters to be good American citizens. But for that to happen, they must learn something, and what they learn must be thorough and good. (UVK 2: 453) Teach the young people something better! Don’t give them just knowledge, but shape their character! Teach them to see the difference between appearance and reality! Teach them to despise what is despicable! Teach them to honor what is honorable! Teach them to distinguish between the value of human beings and the value of money! Teach them to understand that here in this world we are to be prepared for another life! Help them toward an independent view of life, so they do not become irresponsible mimics who repeat what they hear, and imitators of what they see around them! But where shall we get this wisdom for life that can serve the goals mentioned here? Have you noticed that what I presented here by way of example, as pieces of the intellectual develop- ment that we would like to see in our children, is no different from what our God has commanded us, although I presented it in a different form? What I have pointed to is from the Fourth Com- mandment and from the Sixth Commandment and from the Seventh. I preferred not to mention these Commandments right away, which everyone thinks they know, so that if possible in this way I might be able much more easily to show you the necessity of our schools being built on a Christian foundation. For it is certain that the kind of people who truly benefit their country and benefit their people must be men and women whose conscience is alert and who have learned to see their own deficiencies and sins, who have found their Savior, and who, because in Him they have learned to fear and love their God, also find it an easy and dear thing to love and serve their neighbor. (UVK 2: 458)

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Schools for women: Red Wing Ladies’ Seminary (Finishing School)

The nineteenth century saw a rise in educational opportunities for women.50 Some in the Nor- wegian Synod recognized this as important and opened a Lutheran Ladies’ Seminary in Red

Wing, Minnesota, in the Mississippi River valley. The Norwegian Synod Anniversary Festskrift from 1903 notes these things:

Most students, of course, are from Minnesota and other nearby states, but not a few otherwise come from far away. With regard to the nationality of the students, the overwhelming number are of Norwegian heritage, but the school is also sought by very many German girls. Some are even of American and Swedish nationality. Lutheran Ladies’ Seminary offers the following courses: Preparatory, Seminary, Classical, Normal, Domestic , Conservatory of Music, Art, Business, Elocution. The music department is growing quickly. To begin with, we had only a couple pianos, but now there are about twenty pianos and organs in constant use. Three teachers are busy giving in- struction in piano and organ. (Festskrift p. 180)

49 This advertisement was included in “The Norwegian Lutheran Academies,” by B. H. Narveson (in Norwegian-American Studies, Volume XIV: Page 184). https://www.naha.stolaf.edu/pubs/nas/volume14/vol14_9.htm. (Note: Narveson ascribes this to the Albert Lea Tribune, August 31, 1888, but the name of the newspaper might have been different in that year.) 50 Sweet, Leonard I. “The Female Seminary Movement and Woman's Mission in Antebellum America.” Church History, vol. 54, no. 1, 1985, pp. 41–55., www.jstor.org/stable/3165749. This article (p. 41) notes: “Of the 6,085 seminaries and acade- mies in existence in America in 1850, a sizeable percentage were educating women either exclusively or together with men.”

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At the cornerstone-laying in 1893, Koren spoke about the role of woman in society. He notes how the Bible describes women.

You know, finally, how in recent times a struggle has gone through the nations to improve the position of woman in society, to broaden her sphere of activity, to make her less dependent and less helpless by giving her greater access to support herself. Here too we find God’s Word as the only rule, both in word and in example. The difference between man and woman is not displaced to the shame of both. They do not change positions, but they are both honored and respected. Mary and Martha, Priscilla, Dorcas, Lois and Eunice emerge not as lowly figures who have to do only with kitchen and cellar. Nor are they made much of as more refined and more stately characters who must be carried around, adored, and fussed over.51 (UVK 2: 426)

In God’s Word the essential unity and equal value among human beings is presented, seeing that we are taught that in God’s kingdom no distinction applies, which meanwhile, in external things, belongs to the order of this world. Here—in God’s kingdom—there is neither Jew nor Greek, here there is neither slave nor free, here there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal. 3:28. (UVK 2: 427)

Luther College

Koren was closely connected to Luther College, procuring land for it to be built in Decorah,

Iowa, after its one-year start near Holmen, Wisconsin. He viewed it as a classical and liberal arts college, not merely as a pre-seminary school. He spoke to the students there on various ocasions,52 and he taught some classes there during the 1874-75 school year.

At the dedication of Luther College in 1865, Koren reflected on the association with the Mis- souri Synod, and he noted again the benefit of seeing an institution founded on the principles of

51 An article entitled “Gender roles in the 19th century” by Kathryn Hughes gives some perspective from Victorian Britain. (https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gender-roles-in-the-19th-century) “During the Victorian period men and women’s roles became more sharply defined than at any time in history. In earlier centuries it had been usual for women to work alongside husbands and brothers in the family business. Living ‘over the shop’ made it easy for women to help out by serving customers or keeping accounts while also attending to their domestic duties. As the 19th century progressed men increasingly commuted to their place of work – the factory, shop or office. Wives, daughters and sisters were left at home all day to oversee the domestic duties that were increasingly carried out by servants. From the 1830s, women started to adopt the crinoline, a huge bell-shaped skirt that made it virtually impossible to clean a grate or sweep the stairs without tumbling over. The two sexes now inhabited what Victorians thought of as ‘separate spheres’, only coming together at breakfast and again at dinner.” 52 We have Koren’s speeches at Luther College from these years: 1865, 1874, 1901, 1904. We also have his speeches at Lu- ther Seminary from these years: 1889, 1896, 1899.

- 30 - Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, amid a secular academic world.

Eight years ago we hoped that by connecting with the Missouri Synod we would gain experi- ence and insight into how such an educational institution could best be organized according to our present situation. And isn’t it precisely based on the experiences gained from this, that the plan for this educational institution of ours was organized not just as a general school, but also as a Chris- tian educational institution? And what powerful corroboration we have gotten from the Missouri Synod’s educational institutions to defy the prevailing spirit of the times with its exacting superfi- ciality, and the arrogant heathendom of modern science, which reigns in most schools, so that our young people instead not only could know what they know thoroughly, but above all know it the way a Christian should, namely in the light of God’s Word. (UVK 4: 391)

At the dedication of the addition to Luther College in 1874, these eloquent words from Koren describe the Lutheran idea of vocation and service to the Lord in all that we do.

“Service” here is the preparation for a Christian life-vocation of serving God and our neigh- bor; first and foremost, certainly, in the immediate service of the church as those who proclaim God’s Word in the congregation and in the school, but then also in other stations in life. Your faithfulness in this service will thus consist in conscientiously using and developing the abilities which God has given you, in diligently collecting and preserving the necessary store of knowledge; yet not only in that, but in keeping your heart free from evil and in such a training of your character that the gathered knowledge can be directed rightly. (UVK 4: 402f)

And you, dear disciples, older and younger, having come here from near and far to be pre- pared for the activity of life! Do not forget that this very preparation is your vocation here, your “service in the Lord.” How God will lead you, and for what kind of service He will use you in the future, whether perhaps He will let your time of service in this world end already in the years of your youth, you do not know. But see to it that you rightly acknowledge the goal that now lies be- fore you, and take heed to the service in the Lord which you have here: a high and holy service, because it is a service of a Christian youth, and because it is of eternal significance both for your future in the world and for your eternal welfare. Developing your abilities under and by the Spirit’s work, gathering knowledge for your life’s work, sharpening a Christian viewpoint to judge yourself and the world, correctly using the pre- cious and irreplaceable time, but above all having a joy in your heart for your Savior, and there- fore giving your will to God, submitting to God’s Word, and toughening yourself in the good pur- pose, this is your goal. It is not your goal to “advance quickly,” but to advance well. It is not your goal to keep up with your peers who perhaps have received more talents from God than you have. It is not your goal to strive to surpass others, except in faithfulness. Faithfulness is conscientiously using the abilities God has given; and it is faithfulness to which our Lord Jesus has given the promise that “to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away” [Matthew 25:29]. (UVK 4: 403f)

In 1904 a student group at Luther College, called the Luther College Sunday Association, asked Koren to address them. The goal of this student society was:

“to advance members in knowledge of Christian truth, to encourage them in Christian work, and to promote Christian fellowship.” (UVK 4: 170)

- 31 - Koren spoke on this goal and based many remarks on Philippians 4:8,53 and concluded with these words:

Wherever there is a desire to learn, there is learning, and there is learning throughout our whole life. I am an old man, but I am still learning. So be diligent to learn. I really don’t know an- ything that pleases and encourages me more than a group of willing, confident young people, full of excitement for what is true, noble, and good, and who in the fear of God want to sit at the feet of the holy Apostle and learn how in everything we do, we can thank our Savior, obey His Word, and let it be clearly seen in our life. This should be the goal of your Sunday Association. There’s no better way for you to become a joy and honor for our dear Luther College, and an encourage- ment to us who for so many years now have loved it and have worked for its goal. May God help you and strengthen you to do this!

Comparison with Luther:

Luther wrote many things about schools and education. He saw this as important for the proclamation of the Gospel and the comfort of souls. His colleague Melanchthon is renowned as the Praeceptor Germaniae, the Teacher of Germany. Luther was one of the first to recognize and promote the benefit of girls receiving an education. And he restored the view of serving God not just in religious vocation, but in our daily life in our various vocations.

Parent — Father and Family Man

Koren’s daughter Caroline Naeseth wrote “Memories from Little Iowa Parsonage” for the

Folkekalender in 1933. She describes their home as happy, simple, and unpretentious.

Father was, of course, much occupied and frequently absent from home, but when he had any leisure he sometimes would entertain us by reading aloud to us or singing.54

53 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—medi- tate on these things.” (Phil. 4:8) 54 The article first appeared in the Folkekalender for 1933. It was translated and printed later in Norwegian-American Stud- ies and Records, 13:66-74 (1943). It will also appear in U. V. Koren’s Works, volume 4. She mentions some of the books they had on the bookshelf. “I remember the old living room, low-ceilinged and not large. There was a window toward the south and one toward the north. On each side of the south window hung three wooden shelves, joined with cords; they held the “Skjønlitera- tur” that had been brought from Norway, and some that was added here. I remember there was a beautiful edition of Oehlenschlæger’s works, as well as some Wergeland and Welhaven, besides books by Asbjørnson and Jørgen Moe, at that time the most modern Norwegian writers. There were Mathias Claudius, some English poets, some Dickens and

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Koren loved to joke with his wife Elisabeth, but he loved her deeply, as seen from poems he wrote to celebrate their silver and golden wedding anniversaries. His article on “The Pastor’s

Wife” surely drew on his life together with Elisabeth. Perhaps this stanza from the golden anni- versary poem gives us a taste of his respect and affection for her.

Here God had placed you as mother and as wife, Here the congregation took notice of your life, For husband and children you sacrificed with humble mind, That was a mighty sermon that the people in you did find. You were the heart of your house—it was clear to their eyes. You were your husband’s helpmeet, they could surely realize. (UVK 4: 47)

Postlude: Significance today

I would call Ulrik Vilhelm Koren not only an unsuspecting American “Luther,” but also a forgotten American “Luther.”55 Koren was strongly orthodox in his teachings. Unfortunately, af- ter his death, most of his beloved church body, the Norwegian Synod, entered into a less ortho- dox union, and Koren was set aside and forgotten fairly quickly. It is a sad note of history. He was one of the most beloved and honored theologians of the old Norwegian Synod, but became the bane of those who chose to “agree to disagree” on the doctrine of election, those who chose

Thackeray, Prescott’s Conquest of Mexico—I cannot name them all.” 55 After the 1917 merger, Koren was quickly forgotten. Many copies of his works remained unsold until H. M. Tjernagel purchased them. In the Lutheran Sentinel, April 17, 1929, p. 216-217, Tjernagel wrote: When it came to my knowledge that the unsold balance of Koren’s Samlede Skrifter were ordered removed, on or be- fore March 15th, from Lutheran Publishing House, Decorah, Iowa, I was momentarily stunned. However, as I thought the matter over, and remembered the course of events from 1912 and on and their culmination in 1917, I realized that the order was logical, and that the owner could not, in fairness, expect to hold storage space any longer for the books in question. Nevertheless, my loyalty to the memory of Koren, that outstanding captain of God’s army, as well as loyalty in general to the ancestry of our Synod, not to speak of the truths championed in the pages of those books, was not thereby satis- fied. I visualized those volumes stored in some attic year after year only to be destroyed, at last, as worthless. The outcome of my meditations was that I sent Rev. Paul Koren, the owner, an offer for the entire balance of Koren’s Samlede Skrifter. My offer was accepted. Thus it comes about that the announcement can be made that Koren’s published writings are now at Bethany College, Mankato, Minn.

- 33 - nationalistic union and earthly prestige over faithfulness to the Word of God.

We in the Evangelical Lutheran Synod who have inherited his legacy treasure it, though much of it until recently has been locked away in Koren’s mother tongue. I pray that his writ- ings, now being made available in English, especially his sermons, will be of benefit and spir- itual edification to all who read and study them.

Koren still offers much for us to learn if we will read his writings. Some will treasure him historically. Some will treasure him theologically. We can all learn from him.

Blessed be the memory of Ulrik Vilhelm Koren among us. May God use this servant again today to promote salvation by grace through Christ, made clear through the mottos, engraved on

Koren’s tombstone in Greek and Norwegian: ΓΕΓΡΑΠΤΑΙ (It is written); Alt af Naade (All by grace).

Soli Deo Gloria — To God Alone Be the Glory

- 34 - Timeline 1811 University of Christiania (Oslo) 1814 Norway’s Constitution; transferred from Danish to Swedish control 1826 Koren is born 1840s Norwegian immigration increases 1840s Johnson and Caspari teach at Christiania (Oslo) University 1847 Missouri Synod founded 1850 Wisconsin Synod founded 1853 Norwegian Synod founded 1853 Koren Ordained, Married, Sailed to America, Arrived in Iowa 1862 Book of Concord translated into Norwegian (by Caspari and Johnson) 1869 Landstad’s Salmebog (hymnbook) 1874 Norwegian Synod hymnbook (Koren, editor) 1880s Election (Predestination) Controversy in the Norwegian Synod 1894-1910 Koren is President of the Norwegian Synod 1903 Norwegian Synod revised hymnbook (Koren, editor) 1905 Norway’s independence from Sweden 1910 Koren dies 1912 Austin Settlement 1917 Merger of most Norwegian Lutherans in America 1918 Reorganized Norwegian Synod founded (now the ELS)

- 35 - Abbreviations

AE = Luther’s Works: American Edition ELH = Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary UVK = U. V. Koren’s Works

Sources

Beretning om det 9de ordentlige Synodemøde, afholdt af Synoden for den norsk-evangelisk-lu- thersk Kirke i Amerika i ”Vor Frelsers” Kirke i Chicago, Ill., fra 21de til 29de Juni 1868.

Clergy Bulletin. Mankato, MN: General Pastoral Conference of the Norwegian Synod of the American Evangelical Lutheran Church (now ELS), 1941-1961. Available online: http://www.blts.edu/lsq/clergy-bulletin-archive/

Evangelisk Luthersk Kirketidende. Journal of the Synod for the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Decorah, Iowa: Synodens Prä ster, 1874-1917.

Festskrift for den norske Synodes Jubilæum. H. Halvorsen, editor; Synod for the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Decorah, Iowa: Norske Synodes Forlag, 1903.

Koren, Ulrik Vilhelm. Samlede Skrifter. 4 volumes. Decorah, Iowa: Lutheran Publishing House, 1911-1912.

Koren, Ulrik Vilhelm. Truth Unchanged, Unchanging. Lake Mills, Iowa: Graphic Publishing Company, 1978.

Koren, Ulrik Vilhelm. U. V. Koren’s Works. 4 volumes. Mankato, MN: Lutheran Synod Book Company, 2014-2017. [Volume 4 is scheduled for publication in June. The page numbers may vary slightly.]

Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works: American Edition. 60+ volumes. St. Louis: Concordia Publish- ing House, 1955-.

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