Chaplain Mike at Internet Monk converted to Lutheranism, something we discussed at length not too long ago. Many of us were dismayed that we went the route of the ELCA rather than the more conservative synods (LCMS, WELS, ELS). He addresses that, with reference to our discussions here, in a recent post entitled The Post-Evangelical Path and Wilderness Update.
One reason he said in that latter post is that he couldn’t join the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod because we insist on 7-day creationism and he has a different position. I’ve heard that said by other folks who have a problem with that teaching and thus with the LCMS. But that was new to me. Where, I wondered, is that taught as a binding doctrine?
I found it in a document entitled “A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of he Missouri Synod,” which was put out in 1932. Here is a link: LCMS Documents.
The article on Creation does specify that we follow the Bible literally in its account of the creation, including that it happened in 6 days. It does not, however, contrary to what I had heard, specify “24 hour days” or that this is a “young earth,” issues that came to the fore well after 1932.
I myself would have no problem subscribing to the “Brief Statement,” but I’m curious about its status and its authority. The “Brief Statement” has lots of good stuff in it. At the same time, I was surprised to see how much it leaves out. There is a section on the means of grace, but I saw nothing specifically on the presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, and hardly anything about Baptism. Quite a bit on church & ministry, but nothing on worship. It speaks of good works, but not vocation. There is nothing on the Theology of the Cross. It addresses Justification but not the Atonement. There are sections on predestination and conversion that stress certain similarities of Lutheranism to Calvinism. In all, it seems to be a very Protestant document.
To be sure, it points to the Book of Concord as the definitive exposition of Lutheran theology, not in itself but only because it is derived from the Word of God, the only true authority.
Could someone who knows tell us a little about this document? It can’t be on the level of the Book of Concord. When we laypeople join the church we agree to the Word of God as confessed in the Small Catechism, as well as the confessions in the Book of Concord. Does a layperson have to believe in everything in the “Brief Statement”? Do pastors?
I believe the “Brief Statement” is one of those documents adopted by convention, along with other statements from the Commission on Theology & Church Relations and the like. These too have an official status. To what degree must a member of the LCMS subscribe to those? (And do WELS, ELS, and other conservative Lutheran bodies–especially those in the old Synodical Council–also sign on to this?)
I agree that the church cannot just rest on its past confessions and must address new theological issues as they arise. Should the LCMS come up with a rather less brief statement of its doctrinal position, setting forth Lutheran teachings more fully and dealing with recent theological controversies (the new perspective on Paul; the current questioning about justification and the atonement, the inerrancy of Scripture, etc.)? Or is it better to stick with the historic confessions and leave some things open?
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