tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post2263359113895213202..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Unconscious dogmatism. . . Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-81345328981230712872016-11-25T19:34:14.380-06:002016-11-25T19:34:14.380-06:00The Priesthood of Believers and the Divine Service...The Priesthood of Believers and the Divine Service (liturgy)<br />Author: Dr. George Wollenburg<br />With the exception of the biblical doctrine of justification, perhaps no biblical teaching is more dear to the hearts of Lutherans than the priesthood of all believers.<br />The very nature of the priesthood precludes making this gathering a marketing tool to increase the membership of the organization. When the public ritual becomes "meaningful" to people without faith in God, it is false ritual, a betrayal of the priestly gathering, and a betrayal of the God who has chosen them as his own purchased possession. It is idolatrous.<br />ErnestOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13077415409728022160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-49911551560449716492016-11-25T08:51:09.559-06:002016-11-25T08:51:09.559-06:00I think that realistically, most everyday Lutheran...I think that realistically, most everyday Lutherans who attend church services on Sunday love the words of the Liturgy, and few I have known will consider themselves ultra dogmatic. Naturally, they believe and follow our core doctrines, but few want to get into weighty theological debates over the purity or imperfections of the Liturgy. As for those who let feelings and emotions preempt reason and tradition, I believe it is often subtle and difficult to distinguish the two. Our brains are not robotic. We have channels and avenues of thought and feeling continually moving within our minds from the left side of our brains to the right side, and back. We cannot, as humans, deny our emotions, and we cannot fully rely on our reason. The human mind and memory are tense and conflicted areas affected by subconscious images, fleeting thoughts, and ideas constructed in ways we often do not understand. All I know is this: I can be dogmatic and undogmatic, depending on the time of day and operation of my brain, but I can also entertain irrational thoughts, complex feelings, and emotions I do not understand. I also know this: I like the Liturgy, and it brings me closer to the Lord ever time we recite it at worship services.John Joseph Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596324816480709495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-45379492855891066372016-11-25T07:31:09.223-06:002016-11-25T07:31:09.223-06:00Would someone please be so kind as to introduce me...Would someone please be so kind as to introduce me to a person who doesn't understand the liturgy? Like the unveliever who is won over to Christ by the teetotaling and non-(pick your favorite adiaphora) of the righteous-over-much, I suspect this unbeliever to be a figment of a fevered imagination.Kirk Skeptichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06142889734004402296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-17424795775505372062016-11-25T07:31:08.695-06:002016-11-25T07:31:08.695-06:00Would someone please be so kind as to introduce me...Would someone please be so kind as to introduce me to a person who doesn't understand the liturgy? Like the unveliever who is won over to Christ by the teetotaling and non-(pick your favorite adiaphora) of the righteous-over-much, I suspect this unbeliever to be a figment of a fevered imagination.Kirk Skeptichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06142889734004402296noreply@blogger.com