Luther wrote the Smalcald Articles in anticipation of an Ecumenical Council. That never happened for several reasons. Councils suggested that the pope was less than a king, diminishing his power. A truly ecumenical council would have promoted Luther's doctrine by publicizing it and allowing it to be debated. Eventually the Council of Trent met, establishing all the errors of Medieval Catholicism as infallible doctrine. The Lutherans were excluded, of course.
Martin Chemnitz' Examination of the Council of Trent remains one of the great masterpieces of theology. The work is full of humorous and wry observations. Chemnitz established that Lutheran doctrine was truly in harmony with the Patristic Fathers, that Romanism was contrary to orthodox Christianity. Chemnitz also dealt with Calvinistic errors. He is called the Second Martin because he did so much to refine and support what Luther (and Melanchthon) taught.
Most Lutherans would say they never heard of the Smalcald Articles. Do not expect a study in your congregation, your synodical rag, or anywhere else. These articles refute everything going on in Missouri, WELS, the ELS, and the micro-mini sects. ELCA? Of course, ELCA too.
ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Smalcald Articles - Luther's Forgotten Masterpiece
