Who Are the Lutherans?

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Date last modified: 5-15-01

• Who are the Lutherans?
• How do Lutherans worship?
• How do Lutherans understand the Bible?
• Does Baptism mean born-again?
• Lutheran-Anglican Consensus

To be a Lutheran is to be a Christian (not the other way around!). Many characteristics of the Lutheran way are also traits of other Christian traditions. Lutherans have no monopoly on certain ways of being Christian, but are part of the "church catholic" ("catholic" means "universal").

The Lutheran Church comes out of Martin Luther's sixteenth-century protesting of certain Roman Catholic church teachings for which Luther found no biblical basis. His primary insight into the Gospel was that salvation is never earned by our own effort, but is a free gracious gift of God. Thus, Lutherans have ties to Roman Catholicism (Martin Luther was, after all, an Augustinian monk), as well as to other Protestant churches. These ties continue to be strengthened as ecumenical dialogue continues. See TIME magazine's article on Lutheran-Roman Catholic relations for more details.

Lutheran Christians confess Jesus as the Christ, the Savior of the World. Through Jesus, God has said to us, "Yes. I made you. I sustain you. I love you. I give you forgiveness, wholeness, and eternal life. The gift is unconditional. You need not be somebody or do anything to deserve the gift. It's free and can't be bought for any price! Only receive it by faith." Faith is not intellectual acceptance of doctrines about God, but dynamic, life-changing trust that God's promises will be kept. The good works that we do are done out of thankfulness to God for what we have already received, not out of a need to earn God's favor.

Within the church, Lutherans are committed to:

• the task of reminding ourselves that we are catholic. We are not a breakaway sect but a part of the continuation of the universal church built upon the foundation of Christ and the apostles. We live for the healing of division within the whole church.
• the task of serving as an evangelical teaching movement within the universal church---teaching that God's unconditional grace in Christ is the center of the Christian faith. We joyfully proclaim the good news---God comes in flesh and says YES to all humanity.
• the task of living as a reforming movement---constantly letting the Holy Spirit show us where our personal and corporate lives must change in order to conform to the Gospel. When the Spirit directs us to reformation (of our own lives, the church, our society), we act in obedient trust. We seek peace and justice, calling for and working for necessary reform in God's creation.

	Martin Luther advocated for 95 reforms in the church including that priests could marry that church and state should be separate that people should have the Bible and the worship in their own language
The Lutheran Church is... The largest Protestant church in the world,with over 59 million members! The oldest Protestant church, founded by Martin Luther in 1530! The first Protestant Church in Canada, begun in Halifax in 1740! Check out Global Links for more information!
	Peace is part of the ELCIC... The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is divided into five Synods, B.C., Alberta/Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba/Western Ontario, and the Eastern Synod.

For a comprehensive primer on the ELCIC, visit here.

The confession of faith of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada witnesses to the fact that the expression Word of God in the Bible does not always refer to the Bible. While accepting the Scriptures as "the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life," the ELCIC also confesses that "Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate" and "the proclamation of God's message to us as both law and gospel is the Word of God."

At the beginning of John's gospel, the Word of God refers to Jesus Christ: "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." 1 Peter says, "That word is the good news which was preached to you." Therefore, when we read biblical references to God's Word, it is important to ask whether we are reading about (1) Jesus, (2) the message of the Bible, or (3) the Bible itself. 

The confession of the ELCIC underscores the fact that the biblical message centers "in all its fullness in the person and work of Jesus Christ." From a Lutheran perspective, Jesus Christ is Lord of everything, including all of Scripture.

Inspired by God's Spirit

The ELCIC affirms both divine inspiration and authentic human authorship of the Scriptures, confessing, "the canonical scriptures of the Old and New Testaments" are "inspired by God's spirit, speaking through their authors."

We also recognize that the Bible is not so much one book as a library of books written over hundreds of years and only later gathered together to form the present canon, or authorized collection, of Biblical books. These books contain many different types of literature---history, poetry, parables, letters, and some forms of symbolic writing (as in parts of Revelation, Ezekiel, and Daniel) that require careful study to be understood correctly.

Inerrant?

We do not have any of the original manuscripts of the Biblical books. What we have are copies of copies and translations of copies that have been preserved and passed on. All Biblical scholars know that there are many minor variations in the available manuscripts. This fact is often noted in the footnotes in our English study Bibles.

The existence of variants in the manuscripts is one reason for not describing the text of the Bible as "inerrant." In its literal meaning, that word implies that there are no variants or inconsistencies within Scriptures. Some seek to maintain the inerrancy of Scripture by attributing all inconsistencies to copy errors made by careless scribes. But this interesting theory is not a Biblical teaching, nor is it supported by historical study of available manuscripts. Little, if anything, can be gained by attempting to establish the original perfection of manuscripts that no longer exist.

Some of our congregational constitutions refer to Scripture as "the inerrant word of God," as did the constitution of the American Lutan Church [a forerunner of the ELCIC]. If we continue to use this expression, it is well to remember, as Dr. Fredrik A. Schiotz, first president of the ALC, pointed out, that the "inerrant word of God," described in its constitution "does not apply to the text but to the truths revealed for our faith, doctrine, and life.

In his insightful booklet, Is the Bible Inerrant?, John D. Frey suggests that other words, such as reliable, dependable, trustworthy, truthful, "words that point more to content than to incidental matters," may better describe the Bible.

When the ELCIC confession describes the Bible as "the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life," it is using strong positive language that points "more to content than to incidental matters."

Literal vs. Figurative

When reading Scripture we must also ask if certain passages are to be interpreted literally or figuratively. Some references in Scripture are obviously figurative. When Jesus described Herod as "that fox," it is obvious that he was speaking figuratively. Similarly, we understand Jesus' figurative references to himself as "the door" or "the vine." Few Christians have trouble believing that Jesus may have created the stories told in his parables and that they are not necessarily descriptions of historic events. Many, however, have trouble when they encounter Biblical scholars who teach that the books of Job and Jonah may be Old Testament "parables" rather than accounts of historic happenings.

To acknowledge that some parts of the Old Testament as well as the New may be parables and not history is certainly not to deny the historicity of most of Scripture. The Bible does report real events in the lives of real people. But while recognizing this fact, let us also credit the Biblical authors and the inspiring spirit of God with creativity sufficient to enable the use of figurative and symbolic as well as literal means of conveying their message.

Insistence on literal interpretation can become legalism. We deny salvation by grace alone through faith alone when we add either intellectual or moral conditions to the unconditional gospel of Christ. We are not saved by either our theology or our morality. God saves us through mercy and power promised in Christ. Grace invites, evokes, enables, and creates our trust. As we live by God's grace, we are continually in need of both intellectual clarification and moral sanctification.

A Modest Proposal

Instead of arguing about the Bible, let's read it! How about setting aside time each day to study the Bible using a version such as the New Oxford Annotated Bible [NRSV, available with Apocrypha] with abundant footnotes and cross references. Don't rush your reading. Ponder those footnotes and compare the parallel accounts of the same events as indicated by the cross-references.

As you open your mind and heart to the witness of Scripture you will hear the Word of God speaking to you with assurance of mercy and with conviction of sin, with revelation both of your weakness and of the gracious life-giving power of God. You will discover that there is more than one Biblical view of human suffering, of sex and marriage, of war, of the status of women, of piety and prosperity, of God and godliness, and of many other subjects. You will note differing interpretations of the same event. (See 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1.) You will discover minor inconsistencies. How many pairs of animals were taken into the ark? (Compare Genesis 6:19, 7:2-3,8-9.) At what hour was Jesus crucified? (Compare Mark 15:25 and John 19:14.)

You will discover that just as Jesus did not bless every teaching and practice he encountered in New Testament times (see Mark 2:23--3:6 and John 8:3-11), he probably would not have blessed every event and teaching reported in the Old Testament. (See Numbers 15:32-36; Deuteronomy 20:10-18, 21:10-14,18-21.)

You will meet a myriad collection of sinful, sometimes courageous, sometimes confused, and always loved-of-God people who are amazingly similar to ourselves in both their strengths and weaknesses.

You will increasingly come to see that Christ, who is Lord of all, is also Lord of the Scriptures. In Christ, biblical truth will speak to your heart and mind, enabling your daily rebirth in faith, hope, and love. When this happens, your faith no longer will be shaken by the diversities of detail within the biblical text. In and through all its evident humanness, the divine Word revealed centering in Jesus Christ will address your life and our world.

-Lowell O. Erdahl

It can be unsettling to have your faith called into question by someone who claims to have had an intense religious experience and desires you to have it, too. This tract is offered to help you think through the issues involved in considering a "second baptism" and to assist you in responding, in love, to those who call your Baptism, and, therefore, your faith, into question.

But are you really born again?

Typically, the experience is described as a feeling of being loved by God and, at the same time, of being called to commit oneself totally to Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior. Often people who have had the feeling seek Baptism as a sign of being born again and urge others who were baptized as infants to be rebaptized.

But aren't these people dedicated and sincere?

Of course they are. We both have Christ in common. They are not the "enemy." We are Christian sisters and brothers who differ in our understanding of Baptism. All of us want to honor Christ and follow scripture.

Then why the fuss?

There is a fuss because people are being invited to feel as if they were spiritually second-rate, incomplete without a "born-again" experience and a "second baptism."

Well, maybe that isn't so bad. Don't some people need to warm up their cold faith?

Indeed! But the question is, on what basis? Do we point people to what God has already done for them (the catholic option) or do we urge them to do something, such as being rebaptized (the "born-again" option)?

What do you mean by the catholic option?

I use the word catholic to refer to the tradition that embraces infant Baptism and does not practice rebaptism. In this tradition Baptism is complete in itself.

Why do you prefer the catholic option?

I believe it is more faithful to the Gospel and to the Bible. It emphasizes grace, the love of God in Christ that doesn't depend on our virtue or lack thereof. In Baptism, a baby is made a member of the Body of Christ without doing anything.

Just what is Baptism according to this catholic option?

Baptism is the church's act which God makes God's act, to give new life, to create us as one with Christ's people, to grant us a share in the destiny of our Lord, which is to live with God forever. Through the water connected with God's promise, we participate in Christ's death. What's more, we participate in Christ's rising.

How does that differ from the "born-again" option?

The "born-again" option emphasizes Baptism as human response rather than as God's gift. It is viewed as an ordinance, a divine command that must be obeyed. It is a symbolic act on the part of a person, rather than a sacramental act on the part of God.

What does the catholic option stress?

Gift, promise, forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation, none of which are contingent upon the fervency of my faith or the intensity of my feelings. Infants have nothing to do with their Baptism. They can only receive it. The same is true of grace. We can only receive it, with great joy, "as a little child."

But what about the total dedication our fervent friends urge on us?

It is God's gracious washing that summons us to decision and action. We can't just bask in our Baptism. We are called actively to affirm our baptized status as forgiven sinners, dying daily to sin and rising to a life of sacrificial love in the power of the Spirit. Notice I said daily. You don't need a one-time spiritual splurge of emotion. What you need is to claim what is already yours. The important thing is not how you feel about God. It's how God feels about you, and the grace God has given you.

Yet those spiritual highs can keep you going for a long time.

No doubt they can. However, those highs depend so much on our changeable emotions. Fortunately, we have another gift from God to sustain us in our Christian pilgrimage.

What's that?

Holy Communion. The Lord's Supper. Eucharist. When we celebrate that meal, Christ is as present, with his forgiveness and power, as he was in our Baptism. Again there is God's unmerited embrace, coupled with the Lord's own energy and challenge to love others as Christ loved us. In Baptism, God gave us new life and a new destiny. In the meal, God nourishes us so we can be what we already are.

So people don't need to be be baptized again?

No. They need to remember when they were born again "by water and the Spirit" and "marked with the cross of Christ forever." This baptizes them into service to the world in Christ's name. Daily dying. Daily rising. In Baptism we have enough to practice our whole life long!

For further reading:

Matthew 28:18-2
John 3:5
Acts 2:38
I Corinthians 12:13
Romans 6:1-11
Galatians 3:27-28
Ephesians 4:13
Colossians 2:12
Titus 3:5

Baptism by Martin E. Marty (Fortress Press: Philadelphia, 1962) a small paperback that places the catholic option in the context of ecumenical Christianity.

Baptized We Live by Daniel Erlander (Fortress Press: Philadelphia, 1981) a 30-page book on Lutheranism as a way of life.

Author Bruce Wollenberg is the Lutheran campus pastor in Santa Barbara,California.

The Apostles' Creed expresses the faith into which we are baptized:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The following ten points summarize a proposed theological consensus of the Lutheran (ELCIC) and Anglican Church of Canada, arising from official dialogues and looking forward to the possibility of full communion. Both the ELCIC and the Anglican Church of Canada have adopted this consensus.

1. We accept the authority of the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. We read the Scriptures liturgically in the course of the Church's year.
2. We accept the Niceno-Constantinopolitan and Apostles' Creeds and confess the basic Trinitarian and Christological Dogmas to which these creeds testify. That is, we believe that Jesus of Nazareth is true God and true Man, and that God is authentically identified as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
3. Anglicans and Lutherans use very similar orders of service for the Eucharist, for the Prayer Offices, for the administration of Baptism, for the rites of Marriage, Burial, and Confession and Absolution. We acknowledge in the liturgy both a celebration of salvation through Christ and a significant factor in forming the consensus fidelium. We have many hymns, canticles, and collects in common.
4. We believe that baptism with water in the name of the Triune God unites the one baptized with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, initiates into the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, and confers the gracious gift of new life.
5. We believe that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present, distributed, and received under the forms of bread and wine in the Lord's Supper. We also believe that the grace of divine forgiveness offered in the sacrament is received with the thankful offering of ourselves for God's service.
6. We believe and proclaim the gospel, that in Jesus Christ God loves and redeems the world. We share a common understanding of God's justifying grace, i.e. that we are accounted righteous and are made righteous before God only by grace through faith because of the merits of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and not on account of our own works or merit. Both our traditions affirm that justification leads and must lead to "good works"; authentic faith issues in love.
7. Anglicans and Lutherans believe that the Church is not the creation of individual believers, but that it is constituted and sustained by the Triune God through God's saving action in word and sacraments. We believe that the Church is sent into the world as sign, instrument, and foretaste of the kingdom of God. But we also recognize that the Church stands in constant need of reform and renewal.
8. We believe that all members of the Church are called to participate in its apostolic mission. They are therefore given various ministries by the Holy Spirit. Within the community of the Church the ordained ministry exists to serve the ministry of the whole people of God. We hold the ordained ministry of word and sacrament to be a gift of God to God's Church and therefore an office of divine institution.
9. We believe that a ministry of pastoral oversight (episkope), exercised in personal, collegial, and communal ways, is necessary to witness to and safeguard the unity and apostolicity of the Church.
10. We share a common hope in the final consummation of the kingdom of God and believe that we are compelled to work for the establishment of justice and peace. The obligations of the Kingdom are to govern our life in the Church and our concern for the world. The Christian faith is that God has made peace through Jesus "by the blood of his Cross" (Colossians 1:20) so establishing the one valid center for the unity of the whole human family.

For more information, please visit the The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada or the Eastern Synod web site, or better still, speak with your minister and friends on how you learn more of God's grace.