Why We Left Lutheranism--Unscriptural Name

Today it can be argued that the term "Lutheran" is very broad. Some call themselves Lutherans but deny the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection, the six day creation, the miracles recorded in the Bible and other fundamental doctrines. Still other Lutherans, such as the Lutheran Brethren and the Apostolic Lutherans and the Laestadian Lutherans have a focus on Christian living (pietism). Those in the WELS/ELS and LC-MS camps refer to themselves as "confessional Lutherans"-their beliefs and teachings are defined by the confessions as contained in the Book of Concord (Including the Unaltered Augsburg Confession). But the same variations are found among people professing to be "Christians" as well!

"Trinity" is a term not found in Scripture-but Christians profess a belief in a Triune God-One unified God in Three distinct Persons. The Nicene and Athanasian Creeds were developed to state this doctrine of the Church-and the minutes from the Councils that developed these creeds shows us the Scriptures used to explain why this doctrine is Scriptural!

"Inerrant" is also a term not found in Scripture-but most Christians view the Bible as inerrant. Why do we view the Bible as inerrant? Because we look at two passages: All Scripture is God-breathed. (1 Timothy) and God cannot lie. If God cannot lie, and we believe He created everything, then He obviously must know how everything works scientifically and effects how the writers write about science in Scripture. God also states He is in control of world events so we assume as the all-knowning (omniscient) God, He not only knows what he is doing, He remembers what He did to control world events in the past and knows what He will be doing in the future. Thus we conclude that Scripture is inerrant.

Sometimes a name is necessary to proclaim God's message. Saul used his Greek name Paul to more effectively evangelize to the Gentiles. I would wager that sometimes Paul used the name "Saul" among some Jewish groups (to the Jew I became a Jew, to the Gentile I became a Gentile....), although his letters written to both Jews and Gentiles are all written under the moniker "Paul."

As for the catechism, it was a book written by Luther as an aid for "the head of the household." Luther found a deplorable lack of knowledge of fundamental Christian truths in many homes. He also

Go To Page: 1 2 3

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic