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Which Lutheranism?
I really enjoy watching the “big picture” in areas of life that interest me. A colleague once accused me of having “vision”, another mumbled something about “meta-narratives”; my friends tell me I get lucky when I come up with something profound. Well, one of the things I notice these days is a genuine struggle for “which Lutheranism” will be our future. Well, DUH! But, hang on and read on and see if I am on to something...
I really enjoy watching the “big picture” in areas of life that interest me. A colleague once accused me of having “vision”, another mumbled something about “meta-narratives”; my friends tell me I get lucky when I come up with something profound. Well, one of the things I notice these days is a genuine struggle for “which Lutheranism” will be our future. Well, DUH! But, hang on and read on and see if I am on to something.
Paul Sauer wrote what I believe is the definitive “Field Guide to the LCMS” a couple of months ago. In it he sees the incumbency of current LCMS President Jerry Kieschnick as the center point of the LCMS climate. From there he defines “parties” within the LCMS and their relationship.
Based on that concept, what is the defining characteristic of 21st Century Lutheranism? Worship style may be a candidate as it seems that across Lutheranism we see continuing “worship wars” polarizing around “catholic” or “evangelical” styles. Another candidate for the defining characteristic are the Confessions. What level of Confessional subscription does a Lutheran body hold? I believe the old “quia” and “quaterna” concepts are not adequate to define the current American Lutheran approaches to the Symbols of our faith. There might be other parameters we could use, but the old ones are also no longer adequate to define Lutheranism. Ethnicity was a common definition…where did our forebears come from, and what food is our favorite at our gatherings? More and more, I am coming to believe that which denomination of Lutheranism is no longer defining of “which” Lutheranism is ours.
Herein lies our current problem. We currently define ourselves by which Lutheran Church in the USA we are members of. From the perspective of the LCMS and WELS, membership defines whether we will commune (LCMS and WELS) or even pray (WELS) with another Lutheran. That membership is said to define our approach to Lutheranism. Spending any amount of time on a thread on the ALPB Forum which has LCMS participation will reveal this phenomenon. Under this paradigm, ones membership defines what one believes. So, if I am a member of the Presbyterian Church, I do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist because the Presbyterian confessions do not confess this Presence. Under contemporary Lutheran application, membership in the ELCA means that I believe that the ordination of women to the Office of the Holy Ministry is meet, right and salutary. Because I am a member of the LCMS I believe that it is ontologically impossible for a woman to be a Pastor. If I am an ELCA Lutheran I fully support the ecumenical agreements and support full communion with TEC, PCUSA, UCC, etc. If I am a member of the LCMS that means that I do not support those agreements.
Again, spending a month or two on the ALPB Forum, or going to a gathering of the Society of the Holy Trinity will show that this current arrangement does not hold water today. Some of the more strident would say that this is precisely the problem: if we would just be faithful to our denomination these issues would go away and we would live in the prior bliss that we once enjoyed. Those more realistic amongst us might see something else emerging. But, I fear, even the vision of a guy like me will not be sufficient to straighten this mess out. So, here’s a couple of models to consider.
The most radical vision I can see is that Lutheranism has lived out her usefulness and we all agree that it has to go. Those of us of the Catholic bent should just get it over with and return to Rome. Various proposals for this have already been floated. An “Evangelical Rite” similar to the still emerging “Anglican Rite” in the USA and UK could be created. Lutherans who see union with the Bishop of Rome as the faithful destiny for Lutheranism would band together and join such a Rite. Of course, the major sticking point remains Pastors who are women. The other path currently in use is for individual Pastors to submit to re-ordination as Roman priests or simply joining as laity. Those Lutherans of a more Protestant bent would simply pick their favorite liberal Protestant denomination and take their congregations to that denomination. Given the fluidity of the liberal Protestant denominations, that could probably be arranged at a national gathering of the receiving denomination, and assimilation would take a generation or two.
Less radical would be yet another realignment of Lutheranism. Those of a stringent bent could further splinter into more and more faithful expressions of “mother Lutheranism” and each would go on their merry way enjoying the illusion that they are the “true Lutherans”. Under this model, the LCMS could experience the “purge” so often advocated by the editor of Christian News where the LCMS would be one where those of select beliefs would no longer be tolerated.
Those Lutherans who desire affinity with other Lutherans, but less stringent than those previously described might see a realignment as follows: The Liberal Protestants of the ELCA would form their own group that sociologically and theologically would be little different than the PCUSA and TEC. Moderate Lutherans of the ELCA and the refugees from the LCMS purge could form a “moderate” Lutheran Church, within which would be the Evangelical Catholics and the Evangelicals each having their own style of worship in their own parishes, and life for Lutherans would be much along the lines of Lake Wobegon.
Anyone else have a vision?
"Which Lutheranism?" continued
Which Lutheranism?
A vision for the future of Lutheranism in the U.S.A? Perhaps the question is too limited. Lutheranism is a world-wide part of the Body of Christ and the varieties of Lutheran are as broad as the number of groups out there. For instance, the Norwegian Lutherans laid the foundation work for the Lutherans of Madasgar which has blossomed into a church body larger than The LCMS and more conservative, liturgical, and Confessional. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Siberia (one of the smallest Lutheran bodies by population and yet the largest Lutheran body by geography) is so conservatively Lutheran that they balk at the use of individual communion cups as being not in keeping with the way our Lord instituted the Supper.
In contrast the American Lutheran experience is becoming far more liberal over time. And yes, there is a reaction to it! Fundamental to such a discussion is the question: What does it mean to be a Lutheran?
Without the distinction of quia and quatenus subscription to the Confessions that is a question which cannot be answered and yet you want to dismiss it as inadequate. Likewise either the Holy Scripture are actually "Holy" - that is the very Word of God, or they are the words of men which "contain" the Word of God somewhere. Without resolution of that issue defining the character of being a Lutheran is simply impossible.
So that brings me to my world-wide vision of a Lutheran future. The ELCA will become more and more liberal while The LCMS will continue to move toward the left unless next summer's LCMS Synodical convention in Houston produces a much different President of the Synod (POTS). If the current POTS remains, The LCMS will inevitably split into splinter groups and in some respects already has. Meanwhile, in many parts of the world those more liberal Lutheran bodies affiliated to the LWF will continue on their journey toward become generic Christians of some kind for whom the label "Lutheran" will hold less and less meaning. At the same time those Lutheran bodies in CELS, or the Madagasgar Lutherans, (along with some of the other African bodies), and groups like the Siberian Lutherans will slowly but surely realign away from the LWF orientation to form more Confessional Lutheran bodies.
Overlaying all of this is the fact that we are at least 2,000 years closer to the return of our Lord than before. Any cursory reading of Revelation will quickly tell you that the Bride of Christ will look like anything other than "successful" in the Last Days. So perhaps what Austrailian Pastor and theologian Rev. J.F. Peters said in his commentary on Revelation has it right:
"However, the words of [Rev. 3:10] nevertheless contain a serious truth, namely the Church of the Reformation will have to pass through the fiery trial of the last great temptation, a temptation which consists of a general falling away from faith. And this falling away will take place in particular in the Church of the Reformation, that church which has the word of "His patience," namely that word of the cross, that pure Gospel.
"At that time the true Church of the Reformation, which is called the Lutheran Church, will be but a small body. Large masses will bear the name Lutheran, but in name only; namely, there will be a great deal of talk about Luther and his works ... yet Luther's spirit and interpretation, his faithfulness to the Truth, his zeal to retain God's honor only, his courage to confess this, these will not exist or be known, yes, there will be no desire to know this. On the contrary, those who will immovably insist on clinging to the whole truth AS LUTHER TAUGHT it will be despised, they will be reviled as being destroyers of peace, troublemakers, and schismatics.
"In Luther's days it was the Pope who did this ... However, in the last days, in that hour of great temptation, this time the true evangelical Christians will not be branded schismatics by the Pope, but by those who CARRY the name Lutheran. This will be a time in which the "Lutherans" will not be satisfied to leave the old confirmed teachings as they are, but they will nevertheless cling to the name Lutheran, and this will help to fill the measure of confusion, through which untold numbers of weak Christians will be offended, since the so-called Lutheran Christians will separate into many factions, but nevertheless calling themselves brethren. WE ARE NOW LIVING IN THESE SAD DAYS, the days which are portrayed to us in the picture of the congregation of Laodicea.
"When here we speak of the Church of the Reformation which we see pictured in the congregation at Philadelphia, we are not referring to that church body which carries the name of Luther, but to all real believers among that despised body of true believers, including the many innocent souls who are scattered here and there among the sects, namely as our Confession says: Those who walk in simpleness of heart, who do not understand correctly, and who would, if they were properly instructed, come to the Church which holds the truth, who therefore worship at the feet of the body of true believers, at the feet of the Church of the Reformation.
"It was Luther who prophesied that it would get so bad that the true word of God would in time be found only in the homes. That time is at hand, and we may yet live to see the day that the Church of the Reformation, namely the Church of the true doctrine, will not be found in any external body or synod named Lutheran."
"Which Lutheranism?"