Contrary to what
some say. Lutherans do not worship Martin Luther or regard him as a
"saint". Contrary to odd
supposings of others, we also don't have much to do with Martin Luther King
either. The continuing debate since 1517
is over whether Luther was a hero or a disaster. Roman Catholics relate to him as something
between Benedict Arnold and a nice plumb hamburger patty waiting to be grilled
that unfortunately got left out on a hot August day and went bad. Others who would never think to kiss the
Pope's ring but dwell in the courts of academia and the art houses blame Luther
for the general decline in the quality of art and music in Western Civilization
since the Diet of Worms[1].
Martin Luther As Savior Of Western
Civilization And Other Fun Facts
On the other end of
the spectrum, a host of folk talk as if Luther single handedly lead the world
out of the Dark Ages. Colorful stories
are told about Luther inventing the Christmas tree, the size of his beer stein,
disguising himself as "Tinker George" by day and translating the
Bible into German by night while under "shoot to kill" orders by the
Emperor, and coining those memorable words of wisdom: "He
who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long".
Unfortunately, the
high praise for Marty often breaks the banks and floods the lowlands beyond
what is reasonable. He was frequently
applauded for holding opinions which were the exact opposite of what he
actually believed. A little young
Lutheran could be forgiven if he has grown up with the impression that Martin
Luther was one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence, was
the inspiration behind Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and would have been in
favor of a woman's right to vote if he had been asked.
Particulars Of Lutheranism: The Sacraments
Lutherans
have only two sacraments: baptism and communion. Believing they are real and not simply
symbolic as most Protestants do. Other
"rites" are considered "sacramental" in nature and
spiritually beneficial. This departs
from seven sacraments of Catholic Church and the seven "principal"
mysteries of the Orthodox Church. The
reasons for only two sacraments are kinda technical and needn't concern us
here. By and large, Lutheran theology
concerning baptism and communion is the same as that of the Catholics and
Orthodox and in that sense are distinctly non-Protestant.[2] In any event, much Lutheran teaching and
preaching focuses on these two sacraments in the daily life of the Christian.
Icons
In
Lutheran worship spaces, you may find
any number of icons hanging about. If
you do, don't be misled into thinking Lutherans have any sort of veneration or
reverence for them. Lutherans like them
because they think they're pretty.
Lutherans are kinda bozos in these things.
You will also notice a distinct absence of Mother Mary in Lutheran preaching, prayers, worship and in the architecture of the church buildings themselves. Again, this goes back to Lutheran Christocentric theology. While Mary has an important place in the traditions of both the Catholics and the Orthodox, it must be understood that Lutherans do not subscribe to the standard "three-
Sola Gratia Solo
Christo
The central doctrine in the
Lutheran Church is "saved by grace alone". If this doctrine is false (as the saying
goes) then the Lutheran Church might as well go out of business and do the
decent thing and turn the car keys over to Rome. Most other denominations--particularly
Protestant ones--avow they believe in "saved by grace alone" as
well. When you get to talking with them
about it, however, you find they are positively allergic to what it actual means. Be that as it may, everything taught and preached
in the Lutheran Church is all related to this one doctrine in one way or
another. Thus the focus is what is
referred to as "Christocentric[4]
". Both the Catholics and Orthodox
believe this is not a wrong thing in and of itself; but (rightly or wrongly)
they see it as Lutherans preaching Christ at the expense of the other two
Persons of the Trinity.
The
Lutheran Church As The One True Church
Lutherans believe the Lutheran Church is the one
true church--just that it isn't the only one.
I know, it's confusing. Again,
kinda technical and needn't concern us. But
in short it gets into the matter of the "visible" and
"invisible" church. Suffice it
to say the whole idea of an "invisible church" drives the Catholic
theologians up the wall--they believing as they do that there is only the
"visible church"--the physical, "see-able", presence of the
body of Christ. I don't know how the
Orthodox receive the matter[5]
but I would gather they look unfavorably on the claim that the Lutheran Church
is the (or "a") true church. Be
that as it may, Lutherans think they're being quite nice about the matter
including others in the party--not that the Catholic Church and others
necessarily thank them for it.
The Three Ecumenical
Creeds And Fake Christian Churches
As it has stood since its inception, Lutherans
insist on the binding truth of the three ecumenical creeds[6]. If a church will not accept the creeds, one
will ultimately find without fail that there is something seriously and
catastrophically askew in what they believe and teach about Christ and they
almost always reject the doctrine of the Trinity. Mormons, Unitarians, and Jehovah Witnesses
among others are not regarded as Christians because they will not subscribe to
the Apostles and Nicene articles of faith--let alone the Athanasian Creed. Mormons in particular send all sorts of ill
will and potty language our way because of this--calling us bigots and
worse--but, if they or anyone else will not accept the creeds as authoritative,
the real discussion ends there. Tough
cookies, we say. It doesn't help matters
when Lutherans try to soften the blow by saying that if Mormons are Christians
they are at the very least heretics.
Total
Depravity Of Man.
Lutherans
As Party Poopers
Lutherans are
frequently referred to as the "frozen chosen"--not the least of which
by many Lutherans themselves. This
mostly refers to the fact that Lutheran worship is rather formal, outwardly
"unemotional", and that Lutherans have no sense of rhythm. Attempts to get Lutherans to whoop it up
during the mass almost always find Lutherans rip roaringly bad at it and
unfailingly flat footed. If there is anything
that will drive Lutherans out of the building it is "free form"
worship such as the evangelicals enjoy--that and the sudden appearance of a
guitar. Many a young Pastor fresh out of
seminary try "push" his congregation to loosen up only to find it is
like herding cats. Lutherans are
unwilling and more specifically unable to "shake a leg" before the
Lord. In contrast, it is found that
Lutherans are quite gung-ho in adopting some of the practices of the ancient
church such as vestments, making the sign of the cross, and chanting--all of
which do not require any additional rhythmic movement on their part. Contemporary liturgical innovations generally
are met by the average Lutheran in the pews with fingers firmly pinching his
nose shut as if some noxious smell from a passing honey wagon made its way into
the sanctuary. Reaching back into the
past, on the other hand though, suits their sentiments well.
Lutheran
Gemutlishkiet[9]
If
there is one thing Lutherans do well it is potluck suppers. This is where Lutherans really let their hair
down. There is always the eminent danger
that Lutherans will break out in contemporary devil's music, singing, dancing,
bingo, beer drinking, and playing cards at these unholy affairs. Hot dishes and casseroles come in
abundance. Desserts of all kinds are
laid on the table for all to eat--sure to leave one's blood sugar sky
high. Long gone are the days for the
chance to partake of immigrant cuisine at such gatherings, Lutherans being
thoroughly Americanized. Unless one
likes vinegar in, on and under everything you eat, this is no big loss. The most from the Old World one can expect at
these shindigs is German potato salad, and maybe sausage with sauerkraut. But one will find plenty of fried chicken,
meatballs, hamburgers, hot dogs, pork, brats, spaghetti, meatloaf, ham flavored
green beans, corn, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, baked beans and
multiple salads of all kinds. There is little
excuse for anyone to leave without full stomachs but it is also often needful
to purchase of Pepto Bismal on the way home.
And there is one thing Lutherans must have on the table at these
festivities or it is no Lutheran potluck: green Jell-O.
[1] "Diet of Worms" This is a perennial funny that transcends
across centuries of catechism classes.
"Worms" is the name of the German city which was the site of Luther's
trial before the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Countless students have amused their Pastor
with tongue protruding gags as they think Luther must have ate worms as some
sort of protest against the Pope.
[2] Lutherans
believe in the "Real Presence" of Christ in the sacraments). Most Protestants believe sacraments are only
ordinances--not actual-- and are not channels of grace.
[3] Lutheran approach to Scripture is somewhat
complicated. While every word in
Scripture is the Word of God, not all passages are regarded as of equal
importance. There is also the complex
business of "rightly dividing Law and Gospel". All the same, the overall guiding principle
is that all Scripture points to Christ Jesus and His Grace to all.
[4] Christocentric is a doctrinal
term within Christianity, describing theological positions that focus on Jesus
Christ, the second person of the Christian Trinity, in relation to the Godhead
/ God the Father (theocentric) or the Holy Spirit (pneumocentric). Christocentric
theologies make Christ the central theme about which all other theological
positions/doctrines are oriented. In
Lutheranism, the basic belief is that salvation is through Christ alone and
that Christ is the only mediator between God and man.
[5] I gather the
Orthodox regard Lutherans as rather naughty and heterodox. Being that Lutheranism is a form of Western
Christianity and in direct lineage from Roman Catholicism, that puts two
strikes against it already!
[6] The Orthodox, as I understand, mostly cite the
Nicene Creed in theology and worship.
Far as the Apostles and Athanasian Creeds are concerned, it is not the
Orthodox disagree with them as much as they don't use them.
[7] In Lutheran
teaching, Sin is the separation of man from God. Murder, stealing. lying, and sexual
indelicacies are the result of Sin. More
generally, apart from faith, all is Sin.
[8] Most Protestants
speak as if there is some neutral ground an individual can stand on and weigh
the pluses and minuses of belonging to the Kingdom of the Evil One or the
Kingdom of God and then can make a more or less rational choice between the two. According to St. Augustine--and by extension
Martin Luther- no such neutral ground exists.
One is either a child of the loving God or a slave to the Evil One.
[9] Loosely translated from the German as
"fellowship". "
Gemutlishkiet" means a bit more than that; but it loses something in
translation--there are some intangibles involved. Lutherans seem to have an instinctive feeling
for what it means in any event.
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