One Exception

Maybe this is an exception to the above, or maybe the Priest/Prophet distinction doesn't work quite perfectly. Or maybe this is a function of priesthood after all. But in one case, we all may speak to each other with the voice of God -

notably -

"In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I absolve you of all your sin."

One guess: what makes absolution a function of priesthood and not prophethood is that forgiveness is not permission.

Maybe Not So Pious

Because it was one of the most useful distinctions I learned in seminary, it is also one of the most memorable. A priest speaks to God with the voice of the people; a prophet speaks to the people with the voice of God.

Unfortunately, because of our addiction to, and abuse of, the doctrine called the Priesthood of All Believers (which my friend already calls a "pious myth"), we have accidentally committed ourselves to the Prophethood of All Believers, and the Theologianhood of All Believers. It doesn't matter what you believe or even what you do about it, as long as you don't learn it from someone else.

Originally, the Priesthood of All Believers was put forward as a way to allow princes to act as emergency bishops. That's all. See how much we have overplayed this gift, that now, when a theological issue is placed before us, we consider that everyone's theological opinion is just as good as everyone else's theological opinion; and the best way to decide an issue is to vote on it.

There are two excellent ways to wreck a church, and one is to turn it into a democracy.

The best way to understand the Priesthood of All Believers doctrine for us is to remember its limitations. It is correct when it simply means that anyone can approach God in prayer without intermediary other than Christ, that is, to speak to God with the voice of the people. Any more is too much, and leads in the direction of Delusion.

Thank you, Rodger

My friend is consistent in naming Incurvatus In Se, which is one of the better definitions of Sin, and is very Lutheran. As noted earlier, false humility becomes a form of pride in that it too focuses on the self.

Have you ever noticed how falsely humble people never do look outside themselves for what they presumably lack?

Three Chief Symbols

The Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian creeds were developed by the whole church over the course of centuries, their content and exact wording debated and settled by church leaders to be accurate statements of the Christian faith for all time and every place. All Christians at all times have confessed these things.

Now it may be that we need to translate, refine, or further interpret our universal statements of faith. But I am at a loss as to how someone randomly situated can be self-sufficient to knock off a new creed in an afternoon. Contemporary worship or not, the creeds hold us together. Anything else is the Delusion.

"This Church"

Therefore, to name one corporate gathering of Christians a "church" is to succumb to The Delusion. Likewise is any attempt to secede from such a corporation in order to become a purer "church."

There is no "This Church," as if it can be distinguished from a "That Church." There is The Church; all else is Not Church.

Deluge of Delusion

As we noted in earlier discussions, most notably on the garden of Eden story, Sin is self-engineered separation from God, a rejection of God's authority and seizing control of one's own life, choices, etc. What follows is the Delusion of Self-Sufficiency, hereafter, The Delusion. Augustine, Luther, C. S. Lewis, and many others have named this Delusion: Pride. So it is.

Yes, Lewis was an Anglican, but of the most Lutheran persuasion possible.

Following this line, it is clear that Individualism is contrary to all things Christian. This is why the "Me and Jesus" stuff bothers you so much.

Father Augustine

It should be no surprise that Lutherans find such an affinity with the thought of St. Augustine. Exact connections are and will continue to be interesting.

So we hold Augustine to be a Lutheran before his time. The Zen bit we establish later.

For now, here's a good bit to ponder:
Augustine taught that the delusion of self-sufficiency is Pride; and that Pride is the root of all other sins. (Thank you, Professor Thomas Williams of the University of South Florida.)

Elsewhere, this Zen Lutheran has described the root of all sin as Usurpation of the Divine. Same thing.

Z L of the month, July

"Why do strong arms fatigue themselves with frivolous dumbbells? To dig a vineyard is worthier exercise for men."
--Marcus Valerius Martial

"Who you callin' a frivolous dumbbell?"
--Zen Lutheran

There ought to be clowns

I'm all for a big tent and everything, but let's just remember:

The bigger the tent, the bigger the circus.

In the trenches

"It is the duty both of preachers and of hearers first of all and above all things to see to it that they have a clear and sure evidence that their doctrine is really the true word of God, revealed from heaven to the holy, original fathers, the prophets and apostles, and confirmed and commanded to be taught by Christ himself. For we should by no means ever let doctrine be manhandled according to the pleasure and fancy of the individual who adapts it to human reason and understanding. Nor should we let men toy with Scripture, juggle the Word of God, and make it submit to being explained, twisted, stretched, and revised to suit people or to achieve peace and union; for then there could be no secure or stable foundation on which consciences might rely."

--Martin Luther

Wait a minute. Did he say "and hearers?"

It is sad that the people in the pews have now been forced to become theologians and Bible scholars themselves. The sheep must find their own green pastures because their shepherds are off contemplating the rocks. Yet it has always been this way; which is why Lutherans have placed such a high value on Christian education of the laity. What they need is the clear, pure Word of God, useful and understandable.

Titanic problem

Our good ship has hit an iceberg. The captain says that this has all been the fault of the back of the ship, and if we only plow into the iceberg a couple more times the back will fall off and we will sail on much more smoothly.

Speak Up

History repeats itself.

History always repeats itself.

History has to repeat itself, because nobody listens the first time.