tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post9195855726103960303..comments2024-03-29T09:20:16.581-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Confessional or ConstitutionalPastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-77412525863443579682014-02-18T05:53:24.815-06:002014-02-18T05:53:24.815-06:00Pastor Peters wrote
While explicit wording careful...Pastor Peters wrote<br />While explicit wording carefully distinguishes that doctine is not established by vote, that does not prevent the popular conception. BTW I did write this prior to serving but withheld posting until now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-45275379069021399722014-02-17T22:37:45.952-06:002014-02-17T22:37:45.952-06:00You forgot to mention . . . you write these words ...You forgot to mention . . . you write these words as a newly appointed member of the LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-85334154273006320542014-02-17T11:02:35.534-06:002014-02-17T11:02:35.534-06:00"someone would do well to remind us... that d...<i>"someone would do well to remind us... that doctrine is not established by majority vote, not even two-thirds majority..."</i><br /><br />Someone would also do well to remind us that the <a href="http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=2715" rel="nofollow">LCMS Constitution</a> clearly states in Article VIII,C: "All matters of <b>doctrine</b> and of conscience shall be decided only by the Word of God. <b>All other matters</b> shall be decided by a majority vote. In case of a tie vote the President may cast the deciding vote."<br /><br />Furthermore, Bylaw1.6 notes that, contrary to the inference that doctrine is established by majority vote, even two-thirds majority: "The Synod... shall have the right to adopt doctrinal resolutions and statements which are in harmony with Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions."Carl Vehsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00348831096001668813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-63816445379767491702014-02-17T08:33:40.125-06:002014-02-17T08:33:40.125-06:00Pastor Peters said, "...that doctrine is not ...Pastor Peters said, "...that doctrine is not established by majority vote, not even two-thirds majority, and that the diversity of our practices cannot betray what it is we say is the very catholic and apostolic faith handed down by the saints before us."<br /><br />Amazing words from an LCMS source! In my time as a Lutheran, most of it in the LCMS, I saw "truth" established by a majority vote in the Voters Assembly time and again. I was always amazed at the process, and recalling it to mind brings back that sense of stunning disbelief from long ago.<br /><br />The principle value of canon law is to maintain uniformity of practice, so that similar situations are dealt with in like manner through the ages. This helps to minimize the influence of passions and personalities that may be more inflamed in one case than in the next. If the facts are comparable, the results should be likewise.<br /><br />Fr. D+<br />Anglican PriestAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-45808257747294082592014-02-17T08:15:52.894-06:002014-02-17T08:15:52.894-06:00Being a "confessional Lutheran" (a somew...Being a "confessional Lutheran" (a somewhat redundent phrase, since a Lutheran is, by definition, <i>quia</i> confessional, compared to, say, a Lufauxran) is a reference to one's membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church.<br /><br />Being a "constitutional Lutheran" may refer to a Lutheran's membership in a organized congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.<br /><br />Nowadays, and with the release of the 214-page 2013 Handbook (vs. the 145-page 2001 Handbook vs the few handwritten pages of the 1847 LCMS Constitution), an accurate description of a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod would be an "institutional" or "bureaucratic" Lutheran.<br /><br />The Missouri Synod is still lagging behind the Roman Church with their seven volumes of Canon Law, or the Easter Church with their 30 volumes of 1,540 canons.Carl Vehsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00348831096001668813noreply@blogger.com