Monday, March 01, 2004 AD
Unpopular beliefs
Josh S seems to have called a temporary halt to hostilities in the closed communion debate.
But the whole closed communion issue does raise the interesting issue of "unpopular beliefs" - beliefs that a particular Christian confession or tradition has that other traditions find really out of order. Sometimes these are "core" beliefs that are central to that confession's day-to-day existence ("Lead Balloon Type A"), but others are merely necessary corollaries to those core beliefs ("Lead Balloon Type B").
For example, in Calvinism, the sovereignty of God is a Lead Balloon Type A: many people hate Calvinism's conception of God's sovereignty, but it is central to Calvinistic theology and spirituality. However, "limited atonement" is a Lead Balloon Type B: Calvinists are not motivated by the desire to exclude people from Christ's saving work, rather they wish to preserve the efficacy of that work (rather than leaving salvation ultimately in the hands of "our choice). Limited atonement is then a corollary of this: the logic being that, given a choice between a universal atonement and an atonement that actually achieves something, the effectual atonement wins, even if that means you have to limit the numbers. Arminians choose the other option, of a universal (but ineffectual) atonement. (From a Lutheran perspective, both the Arminian and Calvinistic schemes are inappropriate attempts to resolve a paradox which the Bible chooses to leave unresolved, teaching as it does both universality and effectiveness).
In fact, the same can also be said about the whole TULIP scheme in Calvinism. TULIP was a polemical device constructed in opposition to the five points of Arminianism, and is seen as a necessary corollary to God's sovereignty and omniscience, which is where the action "really" is for the Calvinist.
So also for Lutheranism. The Lutheran views on Baptism and the Lord's Supper are Lead Balloons Type A: every other type of evangelical protestant goes into spasm at the mere mention of the words "baptismal regeneration" and "the Real Presence" (as I can testify from personal experience, until a matter of months ago). However, they are absolutely central to Lutherans' conception of the Gospel, and of what it means to be, and live as, a Christian.
On the other hand, "closed communion" is a Lead Balloon Type B: everyone else hates it, as they feel Lutherans are accusing them of not being proper Christians. And Lutherans do not jump out of bed in the morning saying, "I am baptised - oh, and closed communion is a Good Thing". Rather, it is a corollary of what Lutherans believe about the Lord's Supper: that it involves a confession by those participating that they all agree with what is going on, and on the content of the Christian faith, rather than (as happens in many evangelical churches) every single person having a different take on "what Communion means 'to me'". Of necessity, that means you need to exclude people who do not share that confession, but that is not something from which Lutherans derive any pleasure. They* would much rather everyone could simply share their belief in the Lord's Words of Institution, and in the teachings of Scripture.
(* Not quite "we" yet; not quite...)
But the whole closed communion issue does raise the interesting issue of "unpopular beliefs" - beliefs that a particular Christian confession or tradition has that other traditions find really out of order. Sometimes these are "core" beliefs that are central to that confession's day-to-day existence ("Lead Balloon Type A"), but others are merely necessary corollaries to those core beliefs ("Lead Balloon Type B").
For example, in Calvinism, the sovereignty of God is a Lead Balloon Type A: many people hate Calvinism's conception of God's sovereignty, but it is central to Calvinistic theology and spirituality. However, "limited atonement" is a Lead Balloon Type B: Calvinists are not motivated by the desire to exclude people from Christ's saving work, rather they wish to preserve the efficacy of that work (rather than leaving salvation ultimately in the hands of "our choice). Limited atonement is then a corollary of this: the logic being that, given a choice between a universal atonement and an atonement that actually achieves something, the effectual atonement wins, even if that means you have to limit the numbers. Arminians choose the other option, of a universal (but ineffectual) atonement. (From a Lutheran perspective, both the Arminian and Calvinistic schemes are inappropriate attempts to resolve a paradox which the Bible chooses to leave unresolved, teaching as it does both universality and effectiveness).
In fact, the same can also be said about the whole TULIP scheme in Calvinism. TULIP was a polemical device constructed in opposition to the five points of Arminianism, and is seen as a necessary corollary to God's sovereignty and omniscience, which is where the action "really" is for the Calvinist.
So also for Lutheranism. The Lutheran views on Baptism and the Lord's Supper are Lead Balloons Type A: every other type of evangelical protestant goes into spasm at the mere mention of the words "baptismal regeneration" and "the Real Presence" (as I can testify from personal experience, until a matter of months ago). However, they are absolutely central to Lutherans' conception of the Gospel, and of what it means to be, and live as, a Christian.
On the other hand, "closed communion" is a Lead Balloon Type B: everyone else hates it, as they feel Lutherans are accusing them of not being proper Christians. And Lutherans do not jump out of bed in the morning saying, "I am baptised - oh, and closed communion is a Good Thing". Rather, it is a corollary of what Lutherans believe about the Lord's Supper: that it involves a confession by those participating that they all agree with what is going on, and on the content of the Christian faith, rather than (as happens in many evangelical churches) every single person having a different take on "what Communion means 'to me'". Of necessity, that means you need to exclude people who do not share that confession, but that is not something from which Lutherans derive any pleasure. They* would much rather everyone could simply share their belief in the Lord's Words of Institution, and in the teachings of Scripture.
(* Not quite "we" yet; not quite...)
