Pre-Reformation Special: Lutheran Questions and Answers
by Pastor Walter Snyder

With Reformation Day only about a week away (31 October), I thought it time to answer a few
questions relating to aspects of the Lutheran Church. The first comes from a reader who heard me
on Issues, Etc. on KFUO Lutheran radio in St. Louis. The recent column, "What Have You
Learned, Dorothy?" garnered an invitation for me to discuss the fallout in American religion after
the events of 9/11. If you'd like to listen, the interview begins not quite halfway through the first
hour of the show on 8 October. Just enter http://worldwide.kfuo.org/kfuo/issues_etc/Oct_8a.wma
in Windows Media Player, WinAmp, or a similar internet player. One of the statements I made
about interpreting Scripture drew a request for explanation.

Q: Could you review for me what you meant in saying that we don't believe in the Bible,
but we believe in Jesus and that leads us to the Bible, or something like that?

A: I played back the recording. Essentially, this is what I said: "A lot of people say, 'The Bible is
absolutely true.' This may be the first thing on which they base all religious decisions. I've learned
to believe that Jesus Christ is absolutely true, the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins is absolutely
true, and because of these, the Scriptures are absolutely true. I don't look for the Bible to prove
each little case; rather, I look for Jesus to prove the entire case for the Bible. I don't look for a
book of rules and regulations but a pointer to Christ who gives freedom, so that rather than
following rules and regulations, I can go out and love my neighbor as myself---sometimes even
love him as Christ loves me."

In a bit more detail, what I mean is that I, in keeping with Lutheran Christian teaching, don't
believe or teach that the infallibility of Scripture is the cardinal point of doctrine. Instead, and
above all else, we believe, teach, and confess that we are saved by grace alone through faith in
Christ Jesus. Because Christ is the Way and the Truth and the Life, then the Scriptures which
testify to Him are also true, the point the way, and in them is eternal life.

Simply put, I don't believe in Christ and the truthfulness of His claims because I believe the Bible
is true. I believe that the Bible is true in all its content because I believe in Christ and trust His
words concerning the Scriptures. The former is putting your confidence in Scripture, the latter is
trusting solely in Jesus Christ.

Q: I visited your congregation's web page and notice that you call yourself a congregation
of the "Unaltered Augsburg Confession." I know that the Augsburg Confession is one of
Lutheranism's chief statements of faith. Since you claim the "Unaltered," does this mean
that there is an "Altered Augsburg Confession"?

A: That's exactly right. Actually, there were a number of major and minor edits and changes made
to the document since its presentation in 1530. However, many of the initial alterations were
cosmetic or editorial. Later, however, the Confession's author, Dr. Philipp Melanchthon, decided
that he would make major changes, including some that downplayed major doctrinal differences
between the Evangelicals (Lutherans) and the Roman Catholic Church on one hand and,
especially, the Reformed churches on the other. The 1540 ~Variata~ is the main version which
encouraged cooperation among non-Roman Catholic churches in Germany.

Melanchthon treated the document as his own creation (so it was, although based largely upon the
writings of Luther). He thought himself free to edit, emend, or alter it as he desired. And since he
apparently above all else sought peace and solidarity, he was willing to ignore some of the
differences which the Confession originally highlighted.

Others, claiming that they were more closely aligned with Luther, basically said that once the
Augsburg Confession was signed, it ceased being a private document; it was now a public
confession of the faith of the entire Evangelical party. The disputes began near the end of Luther's
life but didn't fully erupt until after his death. The official position of Lutheranism wasn't finally
declared in agreement with the original text until the issue of ~Concordia~, the ~Lutheran Book
of Concord~, in 1580. Here, the majority and mainstream of Lutheran theologians and civic rulers
declared the Unaltered Augsburg Confession as part of the Lutheran Church's doctrinal corpus by
including it with the Large and Small Catechisms, the Ecumenical Creeds, the Formula of
Concord, and other writings in one volume and affixing their names to it.

The altered texts continued to resurface in Europe and, especially, in America. Those Lutherans
who claimed that the entire body of the Lutheran Confessions was a true and faithful exposition of
Biblical doctrine used a religious "shorthand" by professing agreement with the Unaltered
Augsburg Confession. Much of this took place during the "Confessional Revival" in American
Lutheranism, especially in the second half of the 1800s. Many congregations from this time
onward included the abbreviation "UAC" in their buildings' cornerstones as testimony to their
doctrinal position.

Ask the Pastor, © 2002 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this disclaimer, by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and redistribution. Translations into other languages should similarly note the United States and any appropriate international copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions concerning the property of others.