Bible Translators
93-681: Theologians Confessional Lutheranism is a name used by Lutherans to designate those who believe in the doctrines taught in the Book of Concord of 1580 (the Lutheran confessional documents) in their entirety. Confessional Lutherans maintain that faithfulness to the Book of Concord, which is a summary of the teachings found in Scripture, requires attention to how that faith is actually being preached, taught, and put into practice. Confessional Lutherans believe that this
186-641: A revival known as the Erweckung , or Awakening . In 1806, Napoleon's invasion of Germany promoted Rationalism and angered German Lutherans, stirring up a desire among the people to preserve Luther's theology from the Rationalist threat. Those associated with this Awakening held that reason was insufficient and pointed out the importance of emotional religious experiences. Small groups sprang up, often in universities, which devoted themselves to Bible study, reading devotional writings, and revival meetings. Although
279-908: A " quatenus " ( Latin for "insofar as") subscription to the Book of Concord, which contains the Apostles' Creed , Nicene Creed , Athanasian Creed , Luther's Small Catechism , Luther's Large Catechism , the Augsburg Confession , the Apology of the Augsburg Confession , the Smalcald Articles , the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope , and the Formula of Concord . Quia subscription (the Book of Concord
372-571: A century of vitality, the Pietist theologians Philipp Jakob Spener and August Hermann Francke warned that orthodoxy had degenerated into meaningless intellectualism and formalism , while orthodox theologians found the emotional and subjective focuses of Pietism to be vulnerable to Rationalist propaganda. In 1688, the Finnish Radical Pietist Lars Ulstadius ran down the main aisle of Turku Cathedral naked while screaming that
465-1633: A federated group under the LCMS umbrella. Following its independent establishment in January 1988, LCC created three districts : The Alberta-British Columbia (ABC) District, with offices in Edmonton, Alberta ; the Central District, in Winnipeg, Manitoba ; and the East District, in Kitchener, Ontario . At present LCC has a congregational roster of 58 churches in British Columbia; 78 in Alberta; 62 in Saskatchewan; 20 in Manitoba; 124 in Ontario; 11 in Quebec; 1 in New Brunswick; and 2 in Nova Scotia; one in Prince Edward Island. Services are variously offered in English, German, Spanish, French, and Korean. Sixteen Canadian congregations – one in Montreal , and
558-605: A man through successive generations. It is a title like King of England. Lutheranism Bible Translators Theologians Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that identifies primarily with the theology of Martin Luther , the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 1517. Lutheranism subsequently became
651-615: A particular emphasis on the Eucharist , or Lord's Supper, although Eastern Lutheranism uses the Byzantine Rite . Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology , divine grace , the purpose of God's Law , the concept of perseverance of the saints , and predestination , amongst other matters. The name Lutheran originated as a derogatory term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Johann Maier von Eck during
744-529: A reform movement beginning in 1830. He also wrote about 1,500 hymns, including God's Word Is Our Great Heritage . In Norway , Hans Nielsen Hauge , a lay street preacher, emphasized spiritual discipline and sparked the Haugean movement, which was followed by the Johnsonian Awakening within the state-church as spearheaded by its namesake, dogmatician and Pietist Gisle Johnson . The Awakening drove
837-462: A return to the orthodox theologians of the 17th century and opposed modern Bible scholarship. As editor of the periodical Evangelische Kirchenzeitung , he developed it into a major support of Neo-Lutheran revival and used it to attack all forms of theological liberalism and rationalism. Although he received a large amount of slander and ridicule during his forty years at the head of revival, he never gave up his positions. The theological faculty at
930-478: A rival of orthodoxy but adopted some devotional literature by orthodox theologians, including Arndt, Christian Scriver , and Stephan Prätorius . Rationalist philosophers from France and England had an enormous impact during the 18th century, along with the German Rationalists Christian Wolff , Gottfried Leibniz , and Immanuel Kant . Their work led to an increase in rationalist beliefs, "at
1023-450: A theological and historical defence against the historical criticism of the Bible. Dissenting Lutheran pastors were often reprimanded by the government bureaucracy overseeing them, for example, when they tried to correct Rationalist influences in the parish school. As a result of the impact of a local form of rationalism, termed Neology , by the latter half of the 18th century, genuine piety
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#17328552557051116-624: Is a carrier of the "Word of God", or that only the communion of the Bishop of Rome has been entrusted to interpret the "Word of God". The Reformation in Sweden began with Olaus and Laurentius Petri , brothers who took the Reformation to Sweden after studying in Germany. They led Gustav Vasa , elected king in 1523, to Lutheranism. The pope's refusal to allow the replacement of an archbishop who had supported
1209-723: Is a vital part of their identity as Lutherans. The term Confessional Lutheran is generally used among the more conservative churches found in groupings such as the International Lutheran Council (ILC), the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference (CELC), and the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum . Churches of the larger Lutheran World Federation subscribe to the Book of Concord as an exposition of faith in so far as ( quatenus ) it agrees with their interpretation of
1302-562: Is adhered to because it is faithful to the Scriptures ) implies that the subscriber believes that there is no contradiction between the Book of Concord and the Scriptures . Quatenus subscription (the Book of Concord is adhered to insofar as it is faithful to the Scriptures) implies that the subscriber leaves room for the possibility that there might be a contradiction of the Scriptures in
1395-540: Is an independent university in Edmonton established by the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod in 1921 to train Lutheran pastors. It became an auxiliary of LCC in 1988 and remained so until 2010. Concordia provided training programs for church workers until their suspension in 2015. Concordia as of November 2015 is no longer Lutheran in its outlook or affiliations. In the mid-20th century, health care initiatives also grew with
1488-706: Is in communion with some member synods of the International Lutheran Council (e.g. LCMS ). Many LCC congregations use the Lutheran Service Book as their hymnal. While LCC churches do not permit women in ministerial roles, women serve in elected or appointed lay offices in churches, such as teachers and deaconesses . The church body has two seminaries established for the training of pastors , Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario (opened 1976), and Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Edmonton, Alberta (opened 1984). Concordia University of Edmonton
1581-642: Is involved with foreign missions in Nicaragua, where work begun in 1997, which resulted in the founding of the Lutheran Church Synod of Nicaragua ( Spanish : Iglesia Luterana Sinodo de Nicaragua ) in 2008; southeast Asia, where it assists in providing theological education for future pastors in Thailand and Cambodia; Venezuela; and Ukraine, where it partners with the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches of Ukraine in
1674-597: Is possibly an allusion to Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor , while the dog possibly refers to Peter Canisius . Another figure interpreted as a snail carrying a church tower is possibly a metaphor for the Protestant church. Also on the rock is the number 1599 and a phrase translating as "thus gets in the world". The historical period of Lutheran Orthodoxy is divided into three sections: Early Orthodoxy (1580–1600), High Orthodoxy (1600–1685), and Late Orthodoxy (1685–1730). Lutheran scholasticism developed gradually, especially for
1767-546: Is seen as God's Word because it has the same meaning as the original Hebrew and Greek. A mistranslation is not God's word, and no human authority can invest it with divine authority. Historically, Lutherans understand the Bible to present all doctrines and commands of the Christian faith clearly . In addition, Lutherans believe that God's Word is freely accessible to every reader or hearer of ordinary intelligence, without requiring any special education. A Lutheran must understand
1860-518: Is the inerrant and inspired Word of God. It professes the Lutheran Confessions as contained in the Book of Concord because they are a faithful expression of the Scriptures. LCC practices closed communion , viewing communion as an intimate act shared only with other Christians who subscribe to LCC's doctrines. LCC practices infant baptism and normally requires confirmation instruction for full congregational participation. The church body
1953-421: The Book of Concord in which case the subscriber may hold to the Scriptures against the Book of Concord . Some Confessional Lutherans maintain that this distinguishes them from other ("mainline") Lutheran bodies and Lutherans, who, they believe, hold to a quatenus subscription. C. F. W. Walther explained the meaning of confessional subscription: An unconditional subscription is the solemn declaration which
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#17328552557052046-621: The Calgary Herald reported that, "The Alberta Securities Commission has reached a settlement with the Lutheran Church-Canada, the Alberta-British Columbia District and others in connection with an investment program that collapsed into insolvency in 2015. In the settlement agreement, the parties admitted to breaching Alberta securities laws by making statements “they knew or ought to have known did not state all of
2139-716: The Church Ordinance , should rest was "The pure word of God, which is the Law and the Gospel". It does not mention the Augsburg Confession . The priests had to understand the Holy Scripture well enough to preach and explain the Gospel and the Epistles to their congregations. The youths were taught from Luther's Small Catechism , available in Danish since 1532. They were taught to expect at
2232-874: The Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses are a part of the International Lutheran Council: these include the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, the Mission Province of the Church of Sweden, and the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway. These dioceses entered into schism with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Church of Sweden, and Church of Norway, respectively, due to "the secularization of
2325-901: The Concordia Lutheran Conference , the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America , member congregations of the Protes'tant Conference , and member congregations of the Orthodox Lutheran Confessional Conference of Independent Congregations, the United Lutheran Mission Association, and the Evangelical Lutheran Conference & Ministerium of North America (all of North America). In the Nordic countries, members of
2418-865: The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya . Contemporary Lutheran church bodies that identify themselves as confessional tend to be either members of the International Lutheran Council, the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, the Global Confessional and Missional Lutheran Forum, or certain other independent Lutheran bodies. Among the members of the ILC are the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod ,
2511-600: The Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland , Mission Province of the Church of Sweden , and the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Norway entered into schism with their national churches due to "the secularization of the national/state churches in their respective countries involving matters of both Christian doctrine and ethics"; these are members of the International Lutheran Council with their bishops having secured their lines of apostolic succession from other traditional Lutheran Churches, such as
2604-706: The Inner Mission focused on renewing the situation home. Johann Gottfried Herder , superintendent at Weimar and part of the Inner Mission movement, joined with the Romantic movement with his quest to preserve human emotion and experience from Rationalism. Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg , though raised Reformed, became convinced of the truth of historic Lutheranism as a young man. He led the Neo-Lutheran Repristination School of theology, which advocated
2697-502: The Leipzig Debate in July 1519. Eck and other Roman Catholics followed the traditional practice of naming a heresy after its leader, thus labeling all who identified with the theology of Martin Luther as Lutherans. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran , preferring the term evangelical , which was derived from εὐαγγέλιον euangelion , a Greek word meaning "good news", i.e. " Gospel ". The followers of John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli , and other theologians linked to
2790-399: The Lutheran Church–Canada , the Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Germany, the Lutheran Church of Australia , and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil . Among the CELC are the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod . Other confessional Lutherans include the Church of the Lutheran Confession , the American Association of Lutheran Churches ,
2883-456: The Prussian Union of Churches . The unification of the two branches of German Protestantism sparked the Schism of the Old Lutherans . Many Lutherans, called " Old Lutherans ", chose to leave the state churches despite imprisonment and military force. Some formed independent church bodies, or " free churches ", at home while others left for the United States, Canada and Australia. A similar legislated merger in Silesia prompted thousands to join
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2976-470: The Reformed tradition also used that term. To distinguish the two evangelical groups, others began to refer to the two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed . As time passed by, the word Evangelical was dropped. Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Anabaptists and Calvinists . In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined
3069-545: The University of Erlangen in Bavaria became another force for reform. There, professor Adolf von Harless , though previously an adherent of rationalism and German idealism , made Erlangen a magnet for revival oriented theologians. Termed the Erlangen School of theology, they developed a new version of the Incarnation , which they felt emphasized the humanity of Jesus better than the ecumenical creeds. As theologians, they used both modern historical critical and Hegelian philosophical methods instead of attempting to revive
3162-411: The higher critical method. The 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center surveyed 1,926 adults in the United States that self-identified as Lutheran. The study found that 30% believed that the Bible was the Word of God and was to be taken literally word for word. 40% held that the Bible was the Word of God, but was not literally true word for word or were unsure. 23% said
3255-455: The state religion of many parts of Northern Europe , starting with Prussia in 1525. In 1521, the split between Lutherans and the Roman Catholic Church was made public and clear with the Edict of Worms , in which the Diet condemned Luther and officially banned subjects of the Holy Roman Empire from defending or propagating Luther's ideas, facing advocates of Lutheranism with forfeiture of all property. Half of it would be then forfeited to
3348-547: The state religion of numerous states of northern Europe , especially in northern Germany , Scandinavia , and the then- Livonian Order . Lutheran clergy became civil servants and the Lutheran churches became part of the state. Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century as the monarchs of Denmark–Norway and Sweden adopted the faith. Through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into Estonia and Latvia . It also began spreading into Lithuania Proper with practically all members of
3441-585: The Alberta Securities Commission convened a hearing and set 32 days of hearings in May 2019 to explore the merits of the allegations. The hearings are intended to clarify multiple securities allegations against The Alberta British - Columbia District and five former leaders including Rev. Donald Robert Schiemann (District President), Kurtis Francis Robinson (Financial Executive), James Theodore Kentel (chairman, Board of Directors), Rev. Mark David Ruf (First Vice-president), Harold Carl Schmidt (Board of Directors). The Alberta Securities Commission "Staff allege that each of
3534-421: The Americas usually agree to teach in harmony with the entire Lutheran confessions. Some Lutheran church bodies require this pledge to be unconditional because they believe the confessions correctly state what the Bible teaches. Others allow their congregations to do so "insofar as" the confessions are in agreement with the Bible. In addition, Lutherans accept the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of
3627-401: The Bible was the written Word of God, and the only infallible guide for faith and practice. He held that every passage of Scripture has one straightforward meaning, the literal sense as interpreted by other Scripture. These teachings were accepted during the orthodox Lutheranism of the 17th century. During the 18th century, Rationalism advocated reason rather than the authority of the Bible as
3720-447: The Bible was written by men and not the Word of God. 7% did not know, were not sure, or had other positions. Although many Lutherans today hold less specific views of inspiration , historically, Lutherans affirm that the Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, but every word of it is, because of plenary, verbal inspiration, the direct, immediate word of God. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession identifies Holy Scripture with
3813-475: The Bible. Two main confessional movements arose during the 19th century: the Old Lutherans and the Neo-Lutherans . The Old Lutherans originated from the Schism of the Old Lutherans , while Neo-Lutheranism arose in Germany in the 1830s from the Pietist driven Erweckung ("Awakening"). Neo-Lutheranism itself contained differing camps . It gave rise later to those calling themselves confessional Lutherans. Neo-Lutheranism developed in reaction to Pietism on
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3906-457: The Bible. The second is that he teaches that salvation is not by faith alone but by faith and works. The present pope upholds and practices these principles. This marks his rule as antichristian rule in the church. All popes hold the same office over the church and promote the same antichristian belief so they all are part of the reign of the Antichrist. The Bible does not present the Antichrist as one man for one short time, but as an office held by
3999-464: The Book of Concord, while others do so unofficially in matters of doctrine and practice. All internally trained AFLC pastors are taught a quia subscription of the Book of Concord, leaving the denomination as a whole "unofficially" confessional in matters of preaching and teaching. Though there are some congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America which would call themselves "confessional", many of those congregations have decided to leave
4092-414: The Christian Church. Lutheran Church%E2%80%93Canada Lutheran Church – Canada ( LCC ) is a confessional Lutheran denomination in Canada . It is the second largest Lutheran body in Canada after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). Together with the ELCIC and the Canadian Association of Lutheran Congregations , it is one of only three all-Canadian Lutheran denominations. LCC
4185-421: The Christian faith. Additionally, the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil uses the title "confessional" on its name, but it instead has a " Quatenus " subscription to the Book of Concord and it is a member of the Lutheran World Federation . Lutheran church bodies and Lutheran individuals that identify themselves as confessional generally hold to a " quia " ( Latin for "because") rather than
4278-409: The ELCA due to the liberal leanings of the denomination, most notably their stances expressed in the 2009 ELCA convention. The ELCA as a whole does not use the title "confessional" to describe itself, but it and the other member churches of the Lutheran World Federation do ascribe to the unaltered Augsburg Confession and the other confessional documents in the Book of Concord as true interpretations of
4371-466: The Lithuanian nobility converting to Lutheranism or Calvinism , but at the end of the 17th century Protestantism at large began losing support due to the Counter-Reformation and religious persecutions . In German-ruled Lithuania Minor , however, Lutheranism remained the dominant branch of Christianity. Lutheranism played a crucial role in preserving the Lithuanian language . Since 1520, regular Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen . Under
4464-404: The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and the Church of the Lutheran Confession officially maintain that the Early apostolic Church had been led into the Great Apostasy by the Roman Catholic Church and that the Pope is the Antichrist ; the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod affirms that "Antichrist" refers to the office, and not to
4557-547: The Old Lutheran free church leader Friedrich August Brünn , both sending missionaries to newly arrived German immigrants in the Midwest , and with the immigration of groups including the Saxons who settled in Missouri under Martin Stephan and C. F. W. Walther, the Germans who settled in Indiana under F. C .D. Wyneken, and the Prussians under J. A. A. Grabau in Western New York and southeastern Wisconsin (the Buffalo Synod ). In Scandinavia, where High Church Lutheranism and Pietist Lutheranism has been highly influential,
4650-408: The Old Lutheran movement. The dispute over ecumenism overshadowed other controversies within German Lutheranism. Despite political meddling in church life, local and national leaders sought to restore and renew Christianity. Neo-Lutheran Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe and Old Lutheran free church leader Friedrich August Brünn both sent young men overseas to serve as pastors to German Americans , while
4743-502: The Pietist movement's drive to right social wrongs and focus on individual conversion. The Neo-Lutheran call to renewal failed to achieve widespread popular acceptance because it both began and continued with a lofty, idealistic Romanticism that did not connect with an increasingly industrialized and secularized Europe. The work of local leaders resulted in specific areas of vibrant spiritual renewal, but people in Lutheran areas became increasingly distant from church life. Additionally,
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#17328552557054836-399: The Reformation era. The doctrinal positions of Lutheran churches are not uniform because the Book of Concord does not hold the same position in all Lutheran churches. For example, the state churches in Scandinavia consider only the Augsburg Confession as a "summary of the faith" in addition to the three ecumenical creeds. Lutheran pastors, congregations, and church bodies in Germany and
4929-426: The Respondents breached, or authorized, permitted, or acquiesced in the breach of section 92(4.1) of the Act", and that "they knew or ought to have known did not state all of the facts required to be stated to make the statements not misleading, and which would reasonably be expected to have a significant effect on the market price or value of the securities distributed by the District and DIL". On September 12, 2019,
5022-427: The Roman Catholic Church with regard to the authority of the institutional church , ex opere operato effectiveness of the sacraments, and the divine authority of clergy. Unlike Catholics, however, they also urged complete agreement with the Book of Concord . The Neo-Lutheran movement managed to slow secularism and counter atheistic Marxism , but it did not fully succeed in Europe. It partly succeeded in continuing
5115-435: The Word of God and calls the Holy Spirit the author of the Bible. Because of this, Lutherans confess in the Formula of Concord , "we receive and embrace with our whole heart the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the pure, clear fountain of Israel". The prophetic and apostolic Scriptures are confessed as authentic and written by the prophets and apostles. A correct translation of their writings
5208-514: The acceptance of its teaching. This teaching produces faith and obedience. Holy Scripture is not a dead letter, but rather, the power of the Holy Spirit is inherent in it. Scripture does not compel a mere intellectual assent to its doctrine, resting on logical argumentation, but rather it creates the living agreement of faith. As the Smalcald Articles affirm, "in those things which concern the spoken, outward Word, we must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one, except through or with
5301-492: The beginning of this Awakening tended heavily toward Romanticism, patriotism , and experience, the emphasis of the Awakening shifted around 1830 to restoring the traditional liturgy, doctrine, and confessions of Lutheranism in the Neo-Lutheran movement. This Awakening swept through all of Scandinavia except Iceland . It developed from both German Neo-Lutheranism and Pietism. Danish pastor and philosopher N. F. S. Grundtvig reshaped church life throughout Denmark through
5394-452: The clergy. While this effectively granted official sanction to Lutheran ideas, Lutheranism did not become official until 1593. At that time the Uppsala Synod declared Holy Scripture the sole guideline for faith, with four documents accepted as faithful and authoritative explanations of it: the Apostles' Creed , the Nicene Creed , the Athanasian Creed , and the unaltered Augsburg Confession of 1530. Mikael Agricola 's translation of
5487-512: The diocese. The Concordia Lutheran Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sweden are other bodies that identify as Confessional Lutherans in the region of Scandinavia. Additionally, the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (AFLC) describes themselves as confessional. The autonomous congregations within the AFLC are only required to officially subscribe to the unaltered Augsburg Confession and Luther's Small Catechism, but many member congregations officially subscribe to more, or all, of
5580-431: The disgrace of Finnish clergymen would be revealed like his current disgrace. The last famous orthodox Lutheran theologian before the rationalist Aufklärung , or Enlightenment , was David Hollatz . Late orthodox theologian Valentin Ernst Löscher took part in the controversy against Pietism . Medieval mystical traditions continued in the works of Martin Moller , Johann Arndt , and Joachim Lütkemann . Pietism became
5673-402: The doctrine that scripture is the final authority on all matters of faith. This contrasts with the belief of the Roman Catholic Church, defined at the Council of Trent , which contends that final authority comes from both Scripture and tradition . Unlike Calvinism , Lutheranism retains many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Western Church, with
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#17328552557055766-401: The end of life: "forgiving of their sins", "to be counted as just", and "the eternal life". Instruction is still similar. The first complete Bible in Danish was based on Martin Luther's translation into German . It was published in 1550 with 3,000 copies printed in the first edition; a second edition was published in 1589. Unlike Catholicism, Lutheranism does not believe that tradition
5859-437: The end of the Thirty Years' War , the compromising spirit seen in Philip Melanchthon rose up again in the Helmstedt School and especially in theology of Georgius Calixtus , causing the syncretistic controversy . Another theological issue that arose was the Crypto-Kenotic controversy. Late orthodoxy was torn by influences from rationalism , philosophy based on reason, and Pietism , a revival movement in Lutheranism. After
5952-519: The establishment of auxiliary hospitals and senior citizens' homes under LCC auspices, as well as military and prison chaplaincies. The official archive of Lutheran Church – Canada, the underlying districts, and auxiliaries was the Lutheran Historical Institute, Edmonton. It closed in August 2015 after Concordia University of Edmonton and the Alberta British Columbia District of the LCC refused to provide funding. This occurred due to administrative and financial irregularities within Lutheran entities. LCC
6045-531: The expense of faith in God and agreement with the Bible". In 1709, Valentin Ernst Löscher warned that this new Rationalist view of the world fundamentally changed society by drawing into question every aspect of theology. Instead of considering the authority of divine revelation, he explained, Rationalists relied solely on their personal understanding when searching for truth. Johann Melchior Goeze (1717–1786), pastor of St. Catherine's Church in Hamburg , wrote apologetical works against Rationalists, including
6138-401: The facts required,” as stated in a release from the ASC. A side-effect of the financial collapse of the Alberta-British Columbia District is that LCC decided to restructure the national church body. As a result, the ABC District, Central District, and East District were dissolved into one national synod effective January 2, 2019. Like other confessional Lutheran bodies, LCC believes the Bible
6231-439: The final source of knowledge, but most of the laity did not accept this Rationalist position. In the 19th century, a confessional revival re-emphasized the authority of the Scriptures and agreement with the Lutheran Confessions. Today, Lutherans disagree about the inspiration and authority of the Bible. Theological conservatives use the historical-grammatical method of Biblical interpretation, while theological liberals use
6324-436: The first Finnish New Testament was published in 1548. After the death of Martin Luther in 1546, the Schmalkaldic War started out as a conflict between two German Lutheran rulers in 1547. Soon, Holy Roman Imperial forces joined the battle and conquered the members of the Schmalkaldic League , oppressing and exiling many German Lutherans as they enforced the terms of the Augsburg Interim . Religious freedom in some areas
6417-462: The growth of foreign missions in Norway to non-Christians to a new height, which has never been reached since. In Sweden, Lars Levi Læstadius began the Laestadian movement that emphasized moral reform. In Finland, a farmer, Paavo Ruotsalainen , began the Finnish Awakening when he took to preaching about repentance and prayer. In 1817, Frederick William III of Prussia ordered the Lutheran and Reformed churches in his territory to unite, forming
6510-428: The imperial government and the remaining half to the accusing party. The divide centered primarily on two points: the proper source of authority in the church , often called the formal principle of the Reformation, and the doctrine of justification , the material principle of Lutheran theology. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification "by Grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone",
6603-456: The individual who wants to serve the church makes under oath (1) that he accepts the doctrinal content of our Lutheran Confessions, because he recognizes the fact that they are in full agreement with Scripture and do not militate against Scripture in any point, whether the point be of major or minor importance; and (2) that he therefore heartily believes in this divine truth and is determined to preach this doctrine. Confessional Lutherans, including
6696-531: The invading forces opposing Gustav Vasa during the Stockholm Bloodbath led to the severing of any official connection between Sweden and the papacy in 1523. Four years later, at the Diet of Västerås [ sv ] , the king succeeded in forcing the diet to accept his dominion over the national church. The king was given possession of all church properties, as well as the church appointments and approval of
6789-482: The language that scriptures are presented in, and should not be so preoccupied by error so as to prevent understanding. As a result of this, Lutherans do not believe there is a need to wait for any clergy, pope, scholar, or ecumenical council to explain the real meaning of any part of the Bible. Lutherans confess that Scripture is united with the power of the Holy Spirit and with it, not only demands, but also creates
6882-628: The latter encouraged to populate the territory by George II of Great Britain ; a first church was raised in Halifax in 1752. As Canadian settlement spread west, Ontarian congregations followed in the late 1700s, Manitoban ones in the 1800s, and Albertan ones in the early 1900s. For two centuries Lutheran churches in Canada tended to be organized under shifting arrangements of sponsorship from various American synods and conferences until coalescing into LCMS in 1958 and ELCIC in 1967, and from 1958 to 1988 LCC existed as
6975-562: The middle of the 16th century. These finally ended with the resolution of the issues in the Formula of Concord . Large numbers of politically and religiously influential leaders met together, debated, and resolved these topics on the basis of Scripture, resulting in the Formula, which over 8,000 leaders signed. The Book of Concord replaced earlier, incomplete collections of doctrine , unifying all German Lutherans with identical doctrine and beginning
7068-441: The national/state churches in their respective countries involving matters of both Christian doctrine and ethics". Apostolic succession of the Mission Province is derived from Walter Obare Omwanza , the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya , who, assisted by bishops Leonid Zviki from Belarus, David Tswaedi from South Africa , and Børre Knudsen and Ulf Asp from Norway, consecrated Arne Olsson as bishop of
7161-402: The obscuring of the Gospel teaching of justification by grace through faith alone. The Book of Concord , published in 1580, contains 10 documents which some Lutherans believe are faithful and authoritative explanations of Holy Scripture. Besides the three Ecumenical Creeds , which date to Roman times , the Book of Concord contains seven credal documents articulating Lutheran theology in
7254-572: The one side and Rationalism on the other, both of which had arisen in the previous century. German clergymen such as Martin Stephan , C. F. W. Walther , F. C. D. Wyneken , and Wilhelm Loehe became a part of the movement as they studied the works of Martin Luther and the Book of Concord . The Old Lutheran and Neo-Lutheran movements spread to the United States with the Neo-Lutheran Loehe and
7347-430: The only presently available sources of divinely revealed knowledge, and the only infallible source of Christian doctrine. Scripture alone is the formal principle of the faith, the final authority for all matters of faith and morals because of its inspiration, authority, clarity, efficacy, and sufficiency. The authority of the Scriptures has been challenged during the history of Lutheranism. Martin Luther taught that
7440-557: The orthodoxy of the 17th century. Friedrich Julius Stahl led the High Church Lutherans . Though raised Jewish, he was baptized as a Christian at the age of 19 through the influence of the Lutheran school he attended. As the leader of a neofeudal Prussian political party, he campaigned for the divine right of kings , the power of the nobility , and episcopal polity for the church. Along with Theodor Kliefoth and August Friedrich Christian Vilmar , he promoted agreement with
7533-551: The people shouted; "We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore". Frederick's son was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his father's death in 1533. However, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1536 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark–Norway . The constitution upon which the Danish Norwegian Church, according to
7626-578: The period of Lutheran Orthodoxy. In lands where Catholicism was the state religion, Lutheranism was officially illegal, although enforcement varied. Until the end of the Counter-Reformation , some Lutherans worshipped secretly, such as at the Hundskirke (which translates as dog church or dog altar), a triangle-shaped Communion rock in a ditch between crosses in Paternion , Austria. The crowned serpent
7719-623: The person, while the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod states that the reference is to the office, but not to the exclusion of the current office holder: There are two principles that mark the papacy as the Antichrist. One is that the pope takes to himself the right to rule the church that belongs only to Christ . He can make laws forbidding the marriage of priests, eating or not eating meat on Friday, birth control, divorce and remarriage, even where there are not such laws in
7812-526: The preceding outward Word". Lutherans are confident that the Bible contains everything that one needs to know in order to obtain salvation and to live a Christian life. There are no deficiencies in Scripture that need to be filled with by tradition, pronouncements of the Pope , new revelations, or present-day development of doctrine . Lutherans understand the Bible as containing two distinct types of content, termed Law and Gospel (or Law and Promises). Properly distinguishing between Law and Gospel prevents
7905-598: The purpose of arguing with the Jesuits , and it was finally established by Johann Gerhard . Abraham Calovius represents the climax of the scholastic paradigm in orthodox Lutheranism. Other orthodox Lutheran theologians include Martin Chemnitz , Aegidius Hunnius , Leonhard Hutter , Nicolaus Hunnius , Jesper Rasmussen Brochmand , Salomo Glassius , Johann Hülsemann , Johann Conrad Dannhauer , Johannes Andreas Quenstedt , Johann Friedrich König , and Johann Wilhelm Baier . Near
7998-523: The reign of Frederick I (1523–1533), Denmark–Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he soon adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers, the most significant of which was Hans Tausen . During Frederick's reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark. At an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by King Christian III in 1536,
8091-642: The rest in Ontario – remain affiliated with the LCMS in either of that body's non-geographic districts, namely the SELC District or the English District . On July 5, 2015, the Alberta-British Columbia (ABC) District announced it had a "sufficient cash flow shortage". The district's Church Extension Fund (CEF), which was originally instituted in order to provide low-interest loans to congregations,
8184-586: The revival movements were divided by philosophical traditions. The Repristination school and Old Lutherans tended towards Kantianism, while the Erlangen school promoted a conservative Hegelian perspective . By 1969, Manfried Kober complained that "unbelief is rampant" even within German Lutheran parishes. Traditionally, Lutherans hold the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the only divinely inspired books,
8277-540: The title Lutheran as referring to the true church. Lutheranism has its roots in the work of Martin Luther , who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation. The reaction of the government and church authorities to the international spread of his writings, beginning with the Ninety-five Theses , divided Western Christianity . During the Reformation, Lutheranism became
8370-435: Was found almost solely in small Pietist conventicles. However, some of the laity preserved Lutheran orthodoxy from both Pietism and rationalism by reusing old catechisms, hymnbooks, postils , and devotional writings, including those written by Johann Gerhard , Heinrich Müller and Christian Scriver . Luther scholar Johann Georg Hamann (1730–1788), a layman, became famous for countering Rationalism and striving to advance
8463-547: Was founded in 1988 when Canadian congregations of the St. Louis –based Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) formed an autonomous church body with a synodical office in Winnipeg , Manitoba . LCC has no substantial theological divisions from LCMS and the two church bodies are in full altar and pulpit fellowship with each other. Lutheranism in Canada dates back to Danish explorers in 1619 and German settlers in Nova Scotia in 1749,
8556-461: Was insolvent. The ABC District entered CCAA (bankruptcy protection) on January 23, 2015. Estimates are that the ABC District's church extension fund was underfunded by between C$ 60M and C$ 80M dollars. Because of poor administrative practices, many key records have not been found. Several lawsuits to determine the ownership of various congregation properties have been the result. On August 13, 2018,
8649-690: Was secured for Lutherans through the Peace of Passau in 1552, and under the legal principle of Cuius regio, eius religio (the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled) and the Declaratio Ferdinandei (limited religious tolerance ) clauses of the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. Religious disputes among the Crypto-Calvinists , Philippists , Sacramentarians , Ubiquitarians , and Gnesio-Lutherans raged within Lutheranism during
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