The ELCA assembly comes on the heels of the Episcopal Church’s decision last month to lift its de facto ban on gay bishops and develop rites for same-sex unions.
“We’ve been paying pretty close attention to the Episcopal Church it should really be a warning to the ELCA of going down the path of approving in any way of same-sex relationships,” said the Rev. Mark Chavez, director of Lutheran CORE, a conservative group. “They are on the verge of triggering what may be a schism within the whole Anglican Communion.”
Chavez said Lutheran CORE is fighting the ELCA proposals “because it completely disregards the clear words in Scripture giving boundaries for sexual relationships as a lifelong relationship of one man and one woman.”
Scripture remains a paramount concern in the debate, and no wonder: Lutherans trace their roots to Martin Luther, who believed in “sola scriptura,” ”” that the Bible contains everything necessary for salvation.
“One thing ‘sola scriptura’ is not is a way of expressing that the Bible is to be taken literally, exactly as written,” said Phil Soucy, spokesperson for Lutherans Concerned, a pro-gay advocacy group. “…We do pray for gay rights, and full inclusion is very much within the message of the Gospel and the message of Christ.”
[blockquote]”One thing ‘sola scriptura’ is not is a way of expressing that the Bible is to be taken literally, exactly as written,” [/blockquote]
It’s one thing to take Biblical principles and interpret them to modern life and situations. It’s quite another to use that mechanism to overturn those same principles. That’s what has largely been done to subvert our Constitution, and that’s what Mr. Soucy and his ilk are doing here.
[blockquote]“One thing ‘sola scriptura’ is not is a way of expressing that the Bible is to be taken literally, exactly as written,†[/blockquote]
So in other words Sola Scriptura means “By (our interpretation) of Scripture Alone.”
Your earlier post “An Open Letter from Carl Braaten to ELCA Bishop Herbert Chilstrom” ties in nicely with this post.
So … is there room in ACNA for a Lutheran mission?
Damn! I just handed in my Commitment sheet to the Lutheran parish I’m considering joining. Is there no escape from the Fiend’s nefarious strivings? Our local paper has had running letters in it for the last several weeks to the effect that Gay is Good, with the occassional rebuttal by both Catholic and Evangelical Christians. This is a community that in years past would have run you out if there were any whispers about your sexuality. Now the attitude is indifference. The frequency of letters make me wonder if there is a movement behind it.
Dumb Sheep.
dump sheep – depends on the Lutheran Church. If LCMS or WELS, no worries, both still believe in real Sola Scriptura. ELCA, well we will see next week.
Dumb Sheep.
Of course there’s movement behind it. While I was serving in the Bishop’s office in California I was told, “Either this church recognizes our gifts for ministry or justice demands we burn it to the ground.” We’re not dealing with tolerance or “agreeing to disagree” or maintaining the creative tension of paradox. The advocates have been quite clear as to their intent. You folks in TEC have already experienced where this is headed; the church will recognize the gift of their homosexuality AND burn the church to the ground all at the same time.
Burn, baby, burn.
Reading “sola scriptura” being trashed by some Protestants so as to seemingly be free to make a case for the nonsinfulness of homosexual acts seems weird to these Catholic eyes. Maybe, at times, the Bible’s clear teachings need the back-up of 2000 years of Catholic Tradition.
Since society needs as many voices as possible opposed to the moral anarchy afflicting us today, it is sad to see many great Reform Churches virtually deforming. On the other hand, this deformation of the reformers certainly points to the need for Tradition and a strong doctrinal authority structure in the Church to carry the True Christian message across the centuries.
The canard being used to push through the same agenda in the ELCA is a concept being called “bound conscience”. Very interesting reading to see how they are using this to hoodwink Lutherans:
http://www.elca.org/What…/FAQs-Bound-Conscience.aspx
http://www.elca.org/~/media/Files/…/Wengert_on_Bound_Conscience.pdf
This is the reason why my wife and I left the ELCA for the LC-MS. The leadership of the ELCA is going to ram through the sexuality study, it has been their agenda for a long time.
Deacon,
I wish it were so simple. Yes, Rome has a strong teaching authority that appears to be standing against the spirit of the age. Alas, I suspect your average member and mine are probably just as easily swayed by the larger culture *unless* we have been purposeful in how to build disciples in our current third culture environment. Your members and mine are breathing the same air and are likely more infected by the same viruses than either of us would care to admit.
OTOH, you are right on target with reformation based churches seeming to turn their backs on the very ground of their being; sola scriptura. Very sad indeed. And it all happened in about a generation.