A blog of the Evangelical Lutheran Liturgy
We have been lied about for 500 years. Eck lied about us and broad-brushed us in the 404 Articles of 1530. Also in 1530, the Roman Catholic Church’s finest theologians employed the strawman fallacy in their laughable response to the Augsburg Confession, known as the Confutation (prompting the Lutheran response in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession).
Read MoreNearly every single critique of Sola Scriptura that I see online is based on a straw man fallacy.
And it is tiresome
Read MoreKantor Jonathan Wessler of First Lutheran in Boston has been writing a marvelous series on the sung propers of the mass, and it is well worth the time of every church musician and pastor. The first installment can be found here, and I’ll provide you with a few words from the second installment to pique your interest.
Read MoreSome ways to distance yourself from the non-Lutheran “Protestants” . . .
Read MoreHere comes the Trinity issue!
Read MoreBut there are simply resolutions that are a waste of time, and they actually resolve nothing, as I said before. Then there are those that should be ruled out of order, and frankly, a more knowledgeable floor committee should have quashed.
Read MoreOld school Lutherans, that is. Like Chemnitz and Andrae who wrote Church Orders that mandated fixed liturgical forms, prayers, readings, vestments, times of service, etc. If you refused to follow the Church Order, then you were ousted from your parish
Read MoreExodus 22:25: “If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender (usurer) to him; you shall not charge him interest.”
Read MoreEconomics are important. The Christian life doesn’t stop at the church doors, but subsumes everything under the One Lord Jesus Christ. And so, it is important for us to wrestle with and struggle with issues like usury. As a reminder, the biblical definition of usury is the sum paid for the use of money, hence interest; not, as in the modern sense, exorbitant interest
Read MoreThese are the chief articles which seem to be in controversy. For although we might have spoken of more abuses, yet, to avoid undue length, we have set forth the chief points, from which the rest may be readily judged.
Read MoreSeminary alternatives are on the front burner again, thanks to the Rev. Tim Ahlman and his Unite Leadership Collective (ULC) Lead Time podcast, with this episode…
Read MoreIn response to the Unite Leadership Collective’s recent piece entitled “Liturgy or Idol? The Hidden Danger in LCMS Worship,” I published a video response of my own.
Read MoreThis year, as you are all well aware, marks a major anniversary in the life of the Christian Church. The Council of Nicaea was convened on June 19th or 20th of 325, 1700 years ago to the day (give or take 24 hours). The Lutheran Witness recently printed an excellent introduction to the Council of Nicaea written by Dr. Joel Elowsky of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, which is well worth your time, together with an entire issue dedicated to the subject. While these are a fine beginning, I think that such a significant anniversary warrants some sustained attention in our congregational life over the course of the year.
Read MorePracticing closed communion is hard, messy, and generally thankless work. But the faithful pastor must be more concerned with the account he will one day give of his stewardship than the hurt feelings of those who come unprepared to the altar.
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