In Pursuit of Religious Freedom

In Pursuit of Religious Freedom is the story of Martin Stephan, a religious leader whose life was filled with both personal and spiritual crises. Born into a family whose fifteenth_and sixteenth_century ancestors twice fled their homes due to religious persecution, Stephan was orphaned as a teenager and he too was forced to flee his homeland when the family was discovered to be underground Lutherans. He eventually settled in Germany, where he was educated and ordained, and developed a successful ministry in Dresden. Although his reputation for preaching and compassionate counseling increased, Stephan began to be targeted by various groups: other pastors, parishioners, and the state-run church. He was charged with improper teaching, embezzlement, inappropriate socializing, and even sexual misconduct. Eventually, Stephan led the 1838 Saxon Emigration to Missouri. After a difficult journey, the seven hundred Lutherans he took with him found establishing their new home even harder. Disputes over money, authority, and style peaked within six months, until Stephan was exiled at gunpoint. He settled in Illinois, where he built up a new ministry and served until his death in 1846. His burial plaque calls him 'the first Lutheran in America.'

Auteur
Philip Stephan is a psychologist retired from private practice in Longmont, Colorado.

Contenu
Part 1 Foreword
Part 2 Preface
Part 3 Introduction
Part 4 Part One: Sunrise
Chapter 5 Chapter One: Landing in the New World
Chapter 6 Chapter Two: Saxon Emigration Society Origins
Chapter 7 Chapter Three: Ancestral Roots and the Reformation
Chapter 8 Chapter Four: Stephan's and the Underground Church
Chapter 9 Chapter Five: The University Years
Part 10 Part Two: Sunshine and Growth
Chapter 11 Chapter Six: Martin's Family and Early Ministry
Chapter 12 Chapter Seven: Martin as a Preacher
Chapter 13 Chapter Eight: Martin as a Pastoral Counselor
Chapter 14 Chapter Nine: Martin as a Defender of the Faith
Part 15 Part Three: Noon Heat and Conflict
Chapter 16 Chapter Ten: Condition of the German Lutheran Church
Chapter 17 Chapter Eleven: Disputes with the Saxon State Church
Chapter 18 Chapter Twelve: Legal Charges1837
Chapter 19 Chapter Thirteen: More Legal Charges and House Arrest1838
Part 20 Part Four: Exodus
Chapter 21 Chapter Fourteen: Final Preparations
Chapter 22 Chapter Fifteen: Farewell and Delay
Chapter 23 Chapter Sixteen: Journey at Sea
Part 24 Part Five: Arrival in America
Chapter 25 Chapter Seventeen: Establishing Governance
Chapter 26 Chapter Eighteen: Dissension Grows
Chapter 27 Chapter Nineteen: Settling In
Chapter 28 Chapter Twenty: Establishing a New Home
Chapter 29 Chapter Twenty-one: Reprise by the American Press
Part 30 Part Six: Deposing a Bishop
Chapter 31 Chapter Twenty-two: Rogate Sunday Sermon
Chapter 32 Chapter Twenty-three: Pastors Plan the Deposition
Chapter 33 Chapter Twenty-four: The Deposition Process
Chapter 34 Chapter Twenty-five: The Colony Struggles
Chapter 35 Chapter Twenty-six: C.F.W. Walther's Leadership Emerges
Part 36 Part Seven: Sunset
Chapter 37 Chapter Twenty-seven: The Bishop's Family in Germany
Chapter 38 Chapter Twenty-eight: Stephan in Exile
Chapter 39 Chapter Twenty-nine: Martin in his Own Words
Chapter 40 Chapter Thirty: Justice Delayed
Chapter 41 Chapter Thirty-one: Stephan's Last Days
Part 42 Part Eight: Afterglow
Chapter 43 Chapter Thirty-two: View from the Twenty-first Century
Chapter 44 Chapter Thirty-three: Bishop Martin Stephan's Legacy