[AMA Series] Lutheranism
Hey boys and girls, welcome to the next episode of The r/Christianity AMA Show!
Today's Topic
Lutheranism
Panelists
u/funny_original_name (LCMS)
u/Kidnapped_David_Bal4
u/Chiropx (ELCA)
u/Hegulator (WELS)
u/SammyTheKitty (WELS)
u/Panta-rhei (ELCA)
AN INTRODUCTION
I am Lutheran.
What does this mean?
This means that I belong to a church that traces its history to an Augustinian Monk named Martin Luther, who was probably the most important figure in the Protestant Reformation (the 'Protest' part of that term originally had its roots in some German princes who were protesting a decision reached by the Holy Roman Empire related to banning all things Luther).
Luther was upset with practices which he felt burdened people's consciences by pointing them to themselves rather than pointing them to Christ. He felt that even good things like penance had been transformed into being focused on man (God forgives me because I have exchanged my repentance for forgiveness), rather than on the grace of God (God forgives me because of Christ's work on my behalf, and I repent daily because I love Him). In his famous 95 theses, written chiefly against the corrupt sale of Indulgences, he begins by saying "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said 'Repent Ye!', He willed that the whole life of believers be one of repentance".
Luther and others like him eventually came to teach something called 'sola fide', or 'faith alone', and this was one of the rallying points of the movement. I'll quote from the Augsburg Confession, which was written by Philipp Melanchthon, who was Luther's protege and frankly gets a bum rap among Lutherans. Melanchthon wrote the Confession which was read before the Emperor to explain what these followers of Luther were on about:
Article IV: Of Justification
Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Rom. 3 and 4.
I'd also direct you to Article VI to guard against the most misunderstood point of the doctrine:
Article VI: Of New Obedience.
Also they teach that this faith is bound to bring forth good fruits, and that it is necessary to do good works commanded by God, because of God's will, but that we should not rely on those works to merit justification before God. For remission of sins and justification is apprehended by faith, as also the voice of Christ attests: When ye shall have done all these things, say: We are unprofitable servants. Luke 17:10. The same is also taught by the Fathers. For Ambrose says: It is ordained of God that he who believes in Christ is saved, freely receiving remission of sins, without works, by faith alone.
The Reformation spread throughout the Western Church, and continued after Luther's death. Some people who you might want to wikipedia would be Zwingli, Calvin, John Knox, Thomas Cranmer. Without as galvanizing a personality as Luther, the second generation of Lutherans saw a lot of disagreement and dissention within their own ranks as to what it actually meant to be Lutheran (or 'Evangelical' as they styled themselves), as distinct from Roman Catholicism and churches which would later be referred to as Reformed.
Enter Martin Chemnitz, my favorite unsung Lutheran. If you know one Lutheran, it's Martin Luther. If you know two, it's Luther and Bach. Chemnitz should probably be your number three and has a strong shot at two if you take away anything from this wall of text today. Chemnitz studied under Luther and Melanchthon, and was the major force behind the Book of Concord, which serves as basically the benchmark and definition of what it means to be Lutheran- to 'be of one accord' or 'to be in concordance' with someone is to be in agreement with them, and I don't really want to paint everything from 1580 to Pietism as a Golden Age of Lutheran Orthodoxy Where No One Disagreed, but it settled a lot of disputes and united a lot of people (this is why we have 'Lutheranism' instead of 'Lutheranism', and 'Philippism', and 'Osiandrianism', and 'Flacianism', and...)
Anyway, there's enough history to read to keep you occupied for a loooooong time. I've much more to say about Law and Gospel, Pietism, the Office of the Public Ministry, the Means of Grace, the Theology of the Cross, my penchant for Capitalizing Random Words, explaining the alphabet soup of American Lutheran denominations, but this is already too long and I'm here to answer your questions, not preach at you. I hope at the end of this AMA that I can clear some things up and you can say along with me:
This is most certainly true.
from u/SammyTheKitty
Though I'm not currently WELS Lutheran, I grew up in WELS, have been in WELS schools a huge majority of my life. As well as high school courses, I have taken 3 Bible History, 2 doctrine, and a Lutheran Confessions college class from WELS, so I feel I'm able to speak on it. I will be answering all questions under the paradigm of WELS Lutheranism unless someone explicitly asks me to answer a question from my personal view.
from u/Hegulator
I'm 30 years old, married, and live in Milwaukee, WI. I have been a WELS Lutheran my whole life - born and raised in the faith. I've recently been working to expose myself to more views outside the "WELS echo chamber."
(Note: u/Hegulator is out of town for the day, but will be able to answer more questions tonight.)
from u/Panta-rhei
u/Panta-rhei grew up attending a Lutheran church in Virginia. I studied the Classics at university, and almost majored in religious studies and history by accident (one class off of each). When I took a teaching job at a Christian school, I found out that Christians believe all sorts of different (wacky?) things, which made me study my own beliefs even more. I like that Lutherans are on the traditional side of protestantism, and hope that, in time, the branches that have split from the Church can heal the divisions that have split it.
Thanks to the panelists for volunteering their time and knowledge!
As a reminder, the nature of these AMAs is to learn and discuss. While debates are inevitable, please keep the nature of your questions civil and polite.
Join us tomorrow when u/ludi_literarum, u/PaedragGaidin, u/wilso10684, u/lordlavalamp, u/316trees take your question on Roman Catholicism!
Posted Jan 15, 2014, 3:18 PM UTC