Facing Lutheranism's Crisis of Authority

Christianity Today ^ | 9/8/10 | David Neff

[SmithL]

Almost everyone knows Martin Luther's famous defense before the Diet of Worms: "Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen."

Not as many people can quote what he said just before that. "Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I cannot and will not retract."

That quotation sums up the way the Lutheran movement began: as a demand for the church to operate under Scriptural authority.

When the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America passed its social statement on sexuality last summer, approving of gay unions and gay clergy, it made no effort appeal to Scripture at all. This frustrated and angered conservative Lutherans, who would have disagreed with the statement's teaching even if the document had appealed to scriptural authority. But to ignore Scripture entirely? How un-Lutheran.

[SmithL]

A long read, but worthwhile.

[SmithL]

Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I cannot and will not retract."

Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.

Amen!

[holden]

Any ELCA Lutheran without blinders on should have seen this coming miles away and years ago. Try the Missouri Synod.

There are plenty of "church groups" who've ceased to cleave to the scripture and implicitly given up their denomination's assets to abortion apologists, the queer cabal and their Satan-led ways.

HF

[stefanbatory]

http://sacredsandwich.com/archives/2781

If St Paul’s letter to the Galatians had been published in Christianity Today...

Oh, and on the article mentioned: Scripture alone is the judge here...

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[taxcontrol]

On judgement day, each and every person will stand before the most perfect being and give an account for every though, action and inaction. Every excuse will be stripped away and the truth will be exposed.

In that pure moment of truth, everyone will come to know that they have fallen far short of the glory of God. And in that moment the wisdom and understanding of working out your own salvation with fear and trembling will be made manifest. For no father nor mother nor pastor nor priest will stand between you and the glory of God. Only one can do so. Only one can say “I have paid the price for their sin”.

That one is Jesus Christ and if you are not a follower of Jesus, you will stand alone in that terrible moment, and no one will speak for you.

[Nosterrex]

As a Lutheran pastor in the LCMS for the last thirty years, I have witnessed from the sidelines the continual apostasy of the ELCA, even before it was the ELCA. It has eaten the poison apple of secular liberal ideology. If you renounce the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, what do you have left? How do you rationalize your existence? The only rationale that you can give is a secular one, namely, fighting for social justice as defined by liberal ideology. The ELCA is not about proclaiming the Word of God, but it is about spreading secularism. The ELCA has never let Christ in the door.

[raygunfan]

im curious as to how so many on here are assuming no scriptural study was done on their decision.

Can it be that they did consult scripture, and found justification for their decision there?

i saw nothing in the article where it was flat out stated, we didnt go by scripture in our decision making....

[dartuser]

When the teaching of Scripture is so clear (as in the case of homosexuality) ... coming out with a position for it is implicitly an admission that you have ignored Scripture.

[lightman]

Lutheran (EL C S*A) Ping!

* as of August 19, AD 2009, a liberal protestant SECT, not part of the holy, catholic and apostolic CHURCH.

Happy Anniversary /sarc

Be rooted in Christ!

[circlecity]

"im curious as to how so many on here are assuming no scriptural study was done on their decision. Can it be that they did consult scripture, and found justification for their decision there?"

When a denomination is reversing 500 years of denomination dogma it is their to put forth to the members the scriptural basis for doing so. That didn't happen here becuase anyone who has spent any time at all in the NT knows there is no scriptural basis for their decision, to the contrary, it violates the clear, explicit dictates of scripture. I defy anyone to come up with languague condemning homosexuality as sin that is clearer and more explicit that that found in the New Testament.

[Secret Agent Man]

It’s “..I cannot and will not RECANT.” They were asking him to recant his prior teachings.

It is NOT “retract”.

The 1950 movie on Luther is a great one. I enjoy watching it at least once a year.

[Mr. Lucky]

Could you describe for us the Scriptural defense you believe the ELCA made or at least cite a reference to it so that we may review it ourselves?

[circlecity]

"The 1950 movie on Luther is a great one. I enjoy watching it at least once a year."

Although probably not as good as the 1950 movie, the more recent one with Ralph Fiennes as Luther was pretty good too. Very good acting.

[raygunfan]

actualy, i was being more devils advocate, im staunchly against their decisions...anyway, my point was that all sorts of christian churches make decisions using the same bible as you or i, but arrive at differing positions.

and again, the article doesnt note that they didnt consult scripture to arrive at their decisions.

[javachip]

Can it be that they did consult scripture, and found justification for their decision there?

They'll tell you they consulted scripture and I'm sure they did. Then they'll tell a confusing, twisted tale of how humans have been misinterpreting those passages for all of recorded history, but that the true meaning has now been discerned and there's room for all views and interpretations. Or, they'll explain how scripture was written in a time of very different social standards and the writers couldn't possibly have understood the enlightened social norms of today's world.

What they can't do is explain why they think God should change to fit human society. One other thing they can't do is point to a single passage in the Bible where homosexual relationships are mentioned in a positive light.

[raygunfan]

pretty much my point

[Mr. Lucky]

The article also doesn’t state that there are no little green men living in the center of the Earth; sane people may assume there are not unless someone were to produce credible evidence to the contrary.