Tuesday, February 24, 2004 AD
Flashback: Almost Lutheran
As my old Confessing Anglican blog won't stay up unless I keep paying for it, please indulge me while I re-post a couple of items from that site. The first one was my "farewell to Anglicanism", posted on 18 February:
Well, I guess this is goodbye then...
Think it’s time to accept that, for the time being, this is an ex-Confessing Anglican. It has ceased to be, rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible etc.
Still not 100% sure whether Lutheranism is where I’m going to end up, but visited the local ELCE church last Sunday and will be going back there next week.
Why Lutheranism? Not really because of frustrations with Anglicanism or my current (non-Anglican) church, though these certainly played a part in making me reconsider where I stood. It’s much more a positive decision - one I don’t plan to go into in detail here, but really stemming from a conviction that the Lutheran position is correct, especially on the Sacraments*, and that the Gospel is found with greater purity in the Lutheran churches than anywhere else.
(* the “tipping-point” came when I realised that texts such as, “This is my body” and “Baptism now saves you” are there to be believed rather than explained, or rather explained away).
[...]
Suggested reading
If you want more information on Lutheranism, any of the following can put all this much better than I ever could:
Luther’s Small Catechism - the most important basic summary of Lutheran teachings, and a wonderfully warm, human, Scriptural piece of work. It’s been described as the only Reformation confession of faith that can be prayed, and that’s exactly right. To buy a copy, with a useful explanation, click here (UK) or here.
A Presbyterian on the Wittenberg Trail - article by Rick Ritchie on how he moved from Calvinism to Lutheranism, mainly through through exposure to Lutheran teaching on the Sacraments *** Highly Recommended ***
The Spirituality of the Cross (or click here for US purchases) - Gene Veith’s excellent summary of Lutheran teachings, covering the cardinal points of Lutheran theology: the Word of God, justification by faith, the means of grace, worship, the theology of the cross, vocation, the two kingdoms and the church.
Well, I guess this is goodbye then...
Think it’s time to accept that, for the time being, this is an ex-Confessing Anglican. It has ceased to be, rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible etc.
Still not 100% sure whether Lutheranism is where I’m going to end up, but visited the local ELCE church last Sunday and will be going back there next week.
Why Lutheranism? Not really because of frustrations with Anglicanism or my current (non-Anglican) church, though these certainly played a part in making me reconsider where I stood. It’s much more a positive decision - one I don’t plan to go into in detail here, but really stemming from a conviction that the Lutheran position is correct, especially on the Sacraments*, and that the Gospel is found with greater purity in the Lutheran churches than anywhere else.
(* the “tipping-point” came when I realised that texts such as, “This is my body” and “Baptism now saves you” are there to be believed rather than explained, or rather explained away).
[...]
Suggested reading
If you want more information on Lutheranism, any of the following can put all this much better than I ever could:
Luther’s Small Catechism - the most important basic summary of Lutheran teachings, and a wonderfully warm, human, Scriptural piece of work. It’s been described as the only Reformation confession of faith that can be prayed, and that’s exactly right. To buy a copy, with a useful explanation, click here (UK) or here.
A Presbyterian on the Wittenberg Trail - article by Rick Ritchie on how he moved from Calvinism to Lutheranism, mainly through through exposure to Lutheran teaching on the Sacraments *** Highly Recommended ***
The Spirituality of the Cross (or click here for US purchases) - Gene Veith’s excellent summary of Lutheran teachings, covering the cardinal points of Lutheran theology: the Word of God, justification by faith, the means of grace, worship, the theology of the cross, vocation, the two kingdoms and the church.
