Ask the Pastor: Catholic-Lutheran Comparison; Confessional Theology; The Meaning of
Christmas
by the Rev. Walter Snyder
Religion Columnist

Q: How do the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church compare in the areas of
theology, Scripture, Sacraments, and clergy?

A: To get the details, it might be best to read the original sources, including the
Catechism of the Catholic Church and such Lutheran documents as the Augsburg Confession,
the Defense of the Augsburg Confession, and the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the
Pope.

I do have some general comments in these areas to help your study.

Theology: Lutherans' central belief is in Justification by Grace through Faith in Christ as
the only means of salvation. Tied to this are other teachings, including the truth and
infallibility of Scripture and our sacramental theology. Tradition can be properly used in
understanding doctrine, but only as a servant of faith and Scripture, not as a master.

Scripture: While some liberal Lutherans disagree, orthodox Lutheran teaching is that
Scripture is divinely inspired and inerrant and that all Scripture, Old and New Testament,
can only be understood as it testifies to Christ (which flows from our understanding of
Justification). When Scripture and reason disagree, the true Lutheran position is to accept
the testimony of Scripture over the testimony of reason.

Sacraments: While Lutherans often speak of either two (Baptism and Holy Communion) or
three (also Absolution) Sacraments, we do not give an absolute number, but rather focus on
what we mean by "sacrament" and asking if what we are talking about meets that definition.
In many cases, we'll say "the Sacrament" when speaking of the Supper. We emphasize the
forgiveness of sins in our sacramental language, and will often use the term "means of
grace," addressing how God conveys forgiveness through Gospel and certain words, acts, or
vocations.

Clergy: The methods of selecting and training clergy vary widely among Lutherans. Overall,
however, there is less top-down direction than in the Roman Catholic Church, even among
those Lutherans who have an episcopal (bishop-led) form of governance. In matters of
placement, our general practice is that congregations issue a call to a man who has been
trained and certified by the body and he then gives prayerful consideration as to whether or
not he will accept that call or remain with his current flock. Within our congregations, the
congregation is supposed to listen to the pastor in doctrinal matters (and obey when that is
called for) as long as the pastor remains faithful to Scripture and to the Lutheran
Confessions. Otherwise, congregational matters are settled in accord with whatever the
polity of the specific congregation states.

Q: What is "confessional theology"? I need to know for a religion course I'm taking.

A: First of all, to be "confessional" means to believe and speak in a way in which the
Christian Church has formally agreed and published in written statements of belief. At one
time, most all of Christendom was "confessional" in that it confessed the Nicene Creed
(although East and West argued about whether or not the Holy Ghost proceeded from Father or
from Father and Son). Theology is, of course, "words about God," so confessional theology is
talking about God by using agreed-upon statements of belief.

Among Lutherans, our first Confession is the Bible. Even more so, it is the Gospel, the
message of forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. The Augsburg Confession is then the
most widely held doctrinal statement of Lutherans worldwide. Other Confessions included in
the Book of Concord of 1580 are the Large and Small Catechisms, the Apology (Defense) of the
Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the
Pope, and the Formula of Concord (both the Epitome and the Solid Declaration).

Q: What is the meaning of Christmas?

Do you mean the word or the observance? Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus
Christ, true God and true man, as the Savior of mankind. The word was originally Christ
Mass, or the Mass of Christ, meaning that the Church celebrated the coming of Christ in
human flesh with the Lord's Supper, his very body and blood.

To Ask the Pastor, please write Ask the Pastor, PO Box 12, Emma, MO, 65327 or send email to
askthepastor@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of
the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."

Ask the Pastor is copyright (c) 2001 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced  in totality,
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