Orthodox Lutheranism

We emerged from our week of wintry weather to find this lovely, sunny Sunday. Lately, I've sort of dreaded going to church..... a of symptom of winteritis, and wishing to be a hermit. Plus, going to church means I must make that futile attempt to make my hair look presentable, and struggle with static electricity on clothing. Even after brushing them, my black slacks seemed covered with tiny white threads.

We attend a rural Lutheran church, the building itself being over 110 years old. Its steeple towers over the adjacent school and parsonage, with rows of gravestones to the rear. Actually, I'm a poor excuse for a Lutheran, having not grown up with Dr. Luther's German brand of Christianity. Often, I feel at odds with Lutheran doctrine, and, unlike lifelong Lutherans, I tend to question things. Now that we have a very orthodox pastor, I've been questioning even more and researching to try to understand what "orthodox" means in relation to Lutheranism, wishing I didn't care in the first place.

It seems to me that the orthodox pastors believe that they are imparting salvation each Sunday by the sound of their voice speaking the "Word of God". To me, it is a very mechanical form of faith, engineered by males, who are naturally mechanically-minded. Each baptized member of the congregation gets a refueling of salvation each Sunday during the "Divine Service". It's not called a worship service, because it is God serving us, not us serving Him. The Service is structured with a Liturgy, supposedly very historic. I think we are to believe that the Lutheran liturgy is God-breathed, just like the Bible, and that other denominations that don't use our God-breathed liturgy are lost. (Possibly it's an isolationist attitude held over from the days when the Germans were new immigrants to the U.S.)

True orthodox Lutherans do not consider themselves to be Protestant. That would be an insult. Protestantism has strayed from historic Christianity by emphasizing the "theology of glory" over the "theology of the Cross"......man serving God vs God serving man. Protestants focus on living a Christian life and growing spiritually (a.k.a. pietism), while Lutheran orthodoxy stresses sacramentalism...... the Word from the pastor's voice in your ears and the receiving of the Body/bread and Blood/wine, also necessarily accompanied by the Pastor's voice speaking the Word. Those are the two continuing necessities for Lutherans. Seeking for spiritual growth is emphasized little, if at all.

Orthodox Lutherans are very critical of what they call "decision theology".....making a decision for Christ, because it suggests man is doing something to assist in his salvation. I argue that orthodox Lutheranism also includes a sort of "decision theology". Protestantism stresses as vital the one-time decision to accept God's free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, His Son, and then spiritual growth by studying the Bible and attending church. Orthodox Lutheranism stresses the parental decision to have their infant baptised and later the continuing decision to hear the Word and receive the Sacrament of Communion. Getting to the church building for Divine Service each Sunday requires a decision, does it not?! You decide to go to the church. Can anyone argue with that? A Lutheran's continuing salvation depends on that decision. That is my rebellious, heretical argument concerning orthodox Lutheran theology.

You may wonder, why don't I just find a different church to attend? Because Husband grew up in this church, his family having been part of it for generations. It is only a few miles from our farm, so convenience is a factor. And our children attended the church dayschool through 8th grade, giving us many ties and memories there. I guess all that outweighs my inner conflicts with the Lutheran theology.

One good thing is that our church still sings traditional hymns. I attended a Sunday service at my daughter's unorthodox Lutheran church last summer, where they had a praise band up in front leading the singing of songs which reminded me of what we sang around the campfire at church camp when I was a kid. The church service included no regular hymns. I didn't care for that at all, and I told my daughter so. She wasn't surprised.....she said, "Mom, I knew you wouldn't like it." What bothers me most is that the children there at the service may grow up with no exposure to traditional hymns.

Well, some other time I'll write more on my opinions of church and religion. Right now I need to get myself outdoors to feed calves. I'm late because I'm in a loafing mood, plus my college son phoned and talked for awhile.

Here's some not so orthodox thoughts from one of this morning's hymns, LW #413:

"Lord, all I am or have, you gave;
From stubborn ego, Lord, you save,
My selfish ways rejecting.

So let me give myself to you,
To all my fellow creatures, too,
Your grace, your love, reflecting."