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| The UOJ Stormtroopers read very little, and do not comprehend what they have read. |
From a Reader Out East:
If I might take a moment to comment on the goings-on at Luther Quest.
I find their posts against you and the Lutheran doctrine of “justification by faith alone” to be unseemly, especially coming from members of the clergy and from laymen who present themselves as stalwart Lutherans. As you've noted, the Missouri and Wisconsin synods adopted the peculiar doctrine of “universal justification without regard to faith” and elevated it to a status where it supersedes the Bible and the Lutheran symbolic documents. The Luther Quest posters declare “Let him be anathema” to anyone who doesn't subscribe to their position. It appears that they don't see the irony of a group of Lutherans pronouncing an “anathema” (the action taken by the Council of Trent against Martin Luther) against other Lutherans who don't accept their non-scriptural doctrine.
Their behavior reminds me of discussions I've had with Roman Catholics concerning beliefs they hold that are not based in the Bible. For example, when I would note that “purgatory” is not found in the Bible, a Roman Catholic would refer me to a Bible verse that vaguely mentions judgment or fire. When I reply that the verse doesn't say what he claims it says and furthermore he is taking the verse out of context, the Roman Catholic falls back and tells me that I first must read the collected works of St John of the Cross, and then I will see that the vague, out of context verse really does confirm the existence of purgatory.
Those who profess “universal justification without regard to faith” work the same way. One may point out that the Bible teaches “justification by faith alone”. They respond by presenting Bible verses they claim support their position. When one points out that the verses don't say what they claim they say, or they took the verses out of context, or mis-translated them, they fall back and say that one must first read the collected works of Franz Pieper and C.F.W. Walther, and then one will understand that the verses really do confirm “universal justification without regard to faith”.
I don't accept this method of scriptural interpretation. Men inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote the Bible in clear, straight-forward prose. The Bible is its own dictionary, any unclear (to our understanding) passages should be interpreted in light of clear passages. We should not subject the Bible to private interpretation. We should not create theories out of whole cloth regarding what we think the Bible says, or what we think it ought to say.
It has been claimed that Martin Luther believed ''universal justification without regard to faith”. As far as this use of Luther is concerned, I find it objectionable that people would resort to twisting Luther's words to support their doctrine. Dr Luther was straight-forward in his communications. If he believed that all people were “justified without regard to faith”, then he certainly would have said so, in just so many words.
Thanks for all you do.
