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| What makes the LCMS-ELS-WELS-CLC Papacy so antagonistic toward Melanchthon and the Augsburg Confession? |
Melanchthon was a genius, so valuable to the Reformation that Luther never wanted his associate leave their partnership. Philip would have been the Reformer in any other country, such as England.
Lutheran clergy today - anxious that they might miss lunch or an appointment to the district camping committee - could never have endured the Reformation. Luther was still in danger of being roasted by His Holiness the Pope if he attended at Augsburg, so Melanchthon became the leader. The laity put their necks in the noose, too, insisting on signing it with the theologians.
If we pick 1517 as the start of the Reformation and 1530 as the establishment of Evangelical Biblical doctrine, then that is the span of time when Luther's life was in constant danger. He married in 1525, expecting to die a martyr.
Melanchthon is either ignored or hated. In typical LCMS fashion, there are so many inconsequential bits to engulf Phillip's reputation.
The real cause - Justification by Faith is clearly taught in the Augsburg Confession, elaborated in the Apology. The leaders would look foolish, even demonic, if they attacked the Confessions, the entire Book of Concord.
Luther and the Book of Concord editors considered themselves "theologians of the Augsburg Confession." That is the bedrock of the Bible and the Reformation.
The Lutheran Papacy - and ELCA - simply gloss over their opposition to the Chief Article of Christianity and promote Objective (without faith) Justification. Grassy weeds in my garden do the same thing, gradually displacing the roses with their shade and greedy roots. The results are inevitable.
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| Look at that - they made the Book of Concord disappear, and they got a bit chonky since then. |
