<> Ask the Pastor Rev. Walter Snyder Happy New Year! (Remember last Sunday's discussion of Advent?) The Church's New Year's Day is not usually set aside as a special time of resolutions and new leaves. That's because the Christian's is a continual life of repentance and forgiveness. God continually demonstrates His faithfulness to us and calls us to persist in our demonstrating the same to Him. Q: I recall that you told us a little about yourself in your first column. Something stuck in my mind from that. You talked about your church being "conservative." You also used another word--I believe it also began with a C--to describe yourself. What was it, and could you say a bit more? A: You remember well! I had to go to my files to see what I'd said. The quote about The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod was, "We are a conservative, confessional body." Most of us are familiar with conservatism. In the case of our church (and many others), it means those unwilling or unlikely to make hasty change, who are connected to their past, and who interpret the Bible assuming that it is God's revealed, true Word. We officially reject those who call the Bible a human invention, or a mixture of the divine and the human. The word "confessional" is not so commonly used. Normally, we think of a confession as an admission of guilt. "Confess" has a root meaning of "acknowledge together." In matters of error, we state that we have, indeed, done what's wrong--we "fess up." But confession also has positive application: It can be used to declare faith. Thus, "Jesus Christ is Lord," is a confession. Christians have always made such confessions. Lutherans emphasize the place of formalized confession of Scriptural teaching. We officially accept three of the early Creeds (statements of belief) of the Christian Church. These are the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. Each of these is a summary of Christian, Biblical teaching (doctrine). During the time of the Reformation, in the mid-1500s, various interpretations of the Bible were being used by the parties involved. The reformers went to Scripture to assemble statements of faith which were topically arranged. For example, how many places in the Bible speak of Jesus' return in judgment on the Last Day? A formal confession pulls all these references together into a unified article with which all can agree. Many confessions were produced. Six were drawn together with the Creeds into "The Book of Concord (Agreement)." All who claimed the title Lutheran (or "Evangelical") were asked to subscribe to, or agree with, the Holy Scriptures as the source and norm of all Christian teaching and these confessions as being correct expositions of Scripture. Pastors, other church workers, and congregations of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod are asked to do the same if they wish to join themselves to our body. Confession is finally and ultimately done in the lives of individual Christians. Our confession of faith involves all we say, think, or do. It includes our confession of sins, since this acknowledges our guilt before God. It involves doing everything in life under the cross of Christ, directed ourselves toward a heavenly end. Confession's goal is to give all praise, honor, and glory to God. Q: What is the "Jesus Seminar?" I've seen them mentioned in the news from time to time. A: The "Jesus Seminar" is a group of people who've come together under the basic assumption that much of the New Testament is a collection of myths, folktales, or fabrications of the early Christians. Under the banner of "scholarship," they assemble to vote whether or not they believe that Jesus said or did the things recorded in Scripture. Because of their biases coming in, they've decided that the miracles didn't really happen, that Jesus' words about himself as divine are later fabrications, and that most of what we believe about the Savior is--if not an outright lie--wishful thinking. These people's lack of faith is to be pitied, their conclusions are to be denied, and their conversion to the true faith to be prayed for. That finishes another week. Remember to "Ask the Pastor" your questions at P.O. Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; e-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or catch me around town. "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus [Rev. 22:20]." Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Jasper and Faith Lutheran Church, Woodville and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1995 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.