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| Thy Strong Word: The Efficacy of the Word in the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions |
Pastor,
This book, Thy Strong Word: The Efficacy of the Word in the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions which cost me nothing-- you gave it to me, has been a phenomenal read. There have been many insightful portions of the text that made me simply stop and ponder...or in many instances when I thought I have previously had an original profound thought, it's here in the book. It's really a textbook if you get down to it.
I've been taking the slow read through the book, and I find myself now in Part IV - Kokomo/LCMS Error - Forgiveness without Faith. This is the stuff of which you write often in your blog, where you'll touch on this or that facet of the subject. But here in the book, the topic is developed linearly. J.P. Meyer has had a lot of press already, but these things really caught my eye:
1. Page 236:
A history of the recent conflicts about justification would be interesting to read and large enough to fill several books, but it would not be edifying. Too many articles have death with the recent history of the conflict. Too often the discussion revolves around the latest opinions offered in America, as if Lutherans hold the quia subscription to the writings of Walther, Pieper, and synodical commissions. As one minister wrote, "Are you calling Walther a false teacher?" This attitude runs contrary to what Chemnitz states from the earliest history of the Christian Church, that we must return to the source when the discussion is murky. The we must set aside the bulk of material and return to the Scriptures and the Book of Concord. Otherwise, we fall into the folly of orthodoxism, where every single statement of each Synodical Conference author must be viewed as part of a seamless and infallible garment, invulnerable to criticism. This attitude is exactly what we find in the Church of Rome."
Wow. And, I've seen examples of this: Young pastors who don't test the dogma. I was told myself when Rydecki was expelled not to even investigate why. Rydecki challenged the synod's view of justification, and that was all I should know.
2. Page 242:
"Doctrinal Shorthand" where a correct statement is truncated and repeated until it was instituted:
"
A. Correct -- We are saved in view of faith apprehending the merits of Christ.
B. Incorrect -- We are saved in view of faith. The shortened version made people think that faith itself was a virtue or a frame of mind generated by man."
Then the cries of Fideism arise out of the distortion of "B"
As genuinely helpful this book is, it is with sadness I write this email because this is an indictment against my former church body. They got so much right, but this stubbornness as demonstrated in example 1 above, which basically says "This is the way Daddy did it, and this is the way we're going to do it".....it's so insidious because while they think their are protecting themselves from liberalism by being staunch in their views, they don't realize that they could be slowly wrapping themselves in error. Layer by layer by layer, like an old water heater or car radiator. Any why? For pride.
Ironically, if my understanding of the Wauwatosa theologians is correct, part of their mission was to get back to the source, as Chemnitz suggested. They more or less eschewed the church fathers and wanted to go back to the Scriptures. Since then the layers seem to have accumulated, and unfortunately CNC/CG layers have been applied lately -- with seemingly no way to remove them. Such is the folly of "orthodoxism" (not orthodoxy)
SDG,
Gideon
***
GJ - That was going to be my last word on those topics, Gideon. I am glad people are still reading it, because the book is just basic Christian doctrine, as ignored and trashed by WELS, LCMS, ELS, CLC, and ELCA.
I appreciate the continuous opposition because that has energized more study and more books.
