tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post6783513968839748275..comments2024-03-29T04:31:15.219-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Luther et al. . .Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-44840447900884134032016-10-30T23:55:52.375-05:002016-10-30T23:55:52.375-05:00I invite you to consider the recent Concordia Acad...I invite you to consider the recent Concordia Academic publication "The Real Luther" written by a very respected Roman Catholic "Luther expert". It is quite engaging and challenges some of the hagiography of the Reformation extant this season, and brings a wonderful theory of Luther's thought being rooted in a sermon of St. Bernard on the Annunciation. I read this book on the plane ride back from 2 weeks of parish service with The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lithuania and a week of vacation in Wittenberg.<br /><br />I received the email from Concordia Academic the day before we left, so I bought the book for my Kindle and read it in about 4 hours. It was very engaging and, while not something I will share in sermons or Bible Classes, I am always interested in being informed by writers outside of the "party line" of our Synod.<br /><br />One last thought: Larry, you captured my sentiments about ecumenism and Lutheranism, or at least our tribe within the family called Lutheran. I studied in Roma and found their Ecimenical Theology incomprehensible and contradictory to the max, I looked at other evangelical catholic alternatives, and found nothing better than where I am. While I often feel like a LCMS cast-out, I am here to stay until and only if God makes it abundantly clear through His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Here I stand....hey, that has a nice ring to it.Padre Dave Poedelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14033503960196272783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-42505061681298349722016-10-30T09:10:05.748-05:002016-10-30T09:10:05.748-05:00I think Lutherans should go beyond a superficial u...I think Lutherans should go beyond a superficial understanding of the life of Martin Luther and the basic history of the Reformation. There are many historical sources, books, and published works easily available on this subject. There were many political and social aspects affecting the Reformation at the time of Luther, like the influence of nationalism, and there were undercurrents of resistance to Papal authority before Luther. Lutheranism came under conflict and internal discord right from the beginning, and the various synods of the church brought lots of disunity and grief in early America. Many Lutherans left Europe because they felt the Lutheran church had become a state church with too much ceremony and rigid orthodoxy. Still, today we still deal with unresolved issues. Did we ever have true unity in the Lutheran body? That is why church politics can result in empty pews, because many Christians simply want a Bible oriented church which focuses on the Gospel and avoids nasty theological disputes. Sure, talk about Law and Grace, and speak about Lutheran distinctives, but keep it simple.John Joseph Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596324816480709495noreply@blogger.com