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I think much of the history of the Lutheran Church in America was that of immigrant groups from much of northern europe so you had isolated populations of the same general church but that had diverged a good bit in form and with language barriers. Danish, Norweigan, Swedish, German, Finnish, Icelandic, Estonian, etc.
I most assuredly remember as a young child having to learn certain hymns in German and having German teachers in grade school [lutheran] who were very authoritarian and very German. This was in the 1960's in a large city. Even then I recall there were more euro-ethnic parts of town than there are now
Most merged into what eventually became the ELCA which is also a part of the LWF [Lutheran World Federation] with LCMS and WELs and some others remaining as the more conservative fractions [though still following core Lutheran Teachings but with arguments on literal interpretation of the Bible]
The only big "fragmentation" I know of was the major split in the LCMS in the early 70's when it split into what became the new AELC and original LCMS - A good article here. I very much remember this because I was confirmed into the LCMS but the path the seminary in exile took was where my head was as well. This was such a political event I believe there was even a cover of Time Magazine dedicated to it.
For those who don't know what we're talking about, here's a bit of a history lesson. Skip over it if you get the gist of it.
The ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) was composed of three Lutheran bodies, the ALC (American Lutheran Church), the LCA (Lutheran Church of America), and the AELC (Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches--a group split from the Missouri Synod).
The ALC was created in 1960 of the ELC (Evangelical Lutheran Church, formerly the Norwegian Lutheran Church); United Evangelical Lutheran Church (formerly the Danish Lutheran Church); and the old American Lutheran Church (formerly the Iowa Synod and Buffalo Synod--both German churches). Part of the Free Lutheran Church (Norwegian) joined in 1963.
The LCA was created in 1962 as a merger of the ULCA (United Lutheran Church of America--the product of the merger of several German predecessor bodies), the FELCA (Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America), the "old" AELC (Danish synod), and the Augustana Synod (Swedish Synod).
The AELC was created in 1976 by a number of congregations that chose to leave the LCMS (commonly known as "Missouri Synod) over a debate the scope of which I don't have time to type. It involves the words "liberal", "conservative", and "Higher Criticism"; each of which deserves its own thread.
In contrast, the origin of the LCMS ("Missouri Synod") and WELS ("Wisconsin Synod") is based around the joining of smaller German Lutheran groups together. The LCMS is the larger of the two, the WELS is the smaller of the two. Beyond what mergers were done prior to 1850, there have not been strong merger movements in either (that I'm aware of), although they have had shared communion with one another at various times.
Now, to get to the topic. I think that the sheer number of mergers that were taken to form the ELCA have greatly affected the way that the ELCA originated and operates to this day. Bearing in mind that each predecessor body of the ELCA was formed by mergers of other predecessor bodies going back 100 years before the founding of the ELCA; that's a lot of merging. The churches that formed the foundation of these ultimate predecessor bodies generally weren't separated by disunity in doctrine but rather by geographical or linguistic differences. Eventually, as church bodies merged, doctrinal disagreements would arise. Sometimes, numerous congregations would opt out; that's the origin of the modern-day Evangelical Lutheran Synod and American Free Lutheran Church. Those that didn't opt out would have to find a compromise. In the 1890s, there was a great disagreement amongst the Norwegians about Predestination. The majority of churches "Agreed to disagree" for the sake of unity. Those congregations that founded the ELS agreed to not take part in the merger. Essentially, each time a merger would occur (generally to unite common ethnic churches), there always would be some give-and-take about some issue. Compromise would be involved. All of the predecessor bodies to the ELCA learned to deal with compromise in order to get along.
This all has contributed greatly to the current environment of the ELCA, which is very dialogue-centered. The ELCA loves dialogue. The ELCA "prayerfully discusses" everything under the sun. I often wonder if the ELCA (national body) doesn't love dialogue more than doctrine. It's a very optimistic mindset, I have to say; although it's ironic that a bunch of Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, and Germans can actually talk that much. I believe that this has a huge influence on the ELCA's ecumenical efforts. I think that the wave of euphoria from 1988, where a whole bunch of Lutheran bodies that existed 50 years previous were now under one roof still is pervasive in the ELCA. This has led to altar and pulpit fellowship with denominations that would have given the predecessor bodies extreme pause. This has led to a situation in which dialogue concerning human sexuality has been going on since I was in High School...and I'm 33 years old. I can only "Journey Together, Faithfully" for so long before I'm convinced that Steve Perry is the hidden hand behind the whole works.
That being said, there is already a small fragmentation occurring in the ELCA based on the above issues (ecumenicism and sexuality) that I'm quite certain will increase in the next two years. I believe that this will dramatically change the mindset of many who are involved.
In contrast, I think that the other bodies, particularly the LCMS, WELS, and ELS are driven far more by correct doctrine than dialogue. This also spills over into other, smaller bodies, such as the AFLC (American Free Lutheran Church), Lutheran Brethren, and others to varying degrees. Although, the more Pietistic churches seem to be more inclined toward generic Evangelical leanings.
I personally think that there's a balance to be struck. We need to talk to others whose beliefs are so similar to ours, and yet we need to be careful and diligent in the doctrines that we espouse.
Last edited by Miss Blue; 04-15-2014 at 07:17 AM..
Although I am not exactly Lutheran, or Christian, I have enormous intellectual fascination with Lutheranism from a historical, sociological, and anthropological perspective, which started when I borrowed a textbook from the library. It's titled, "A History of Lutheranism", by Eric W. Gritsch.
Moderator cut: edit
Last edited by Miss Blue; 04-15-2014 at 07:48 AM..
Reason: edited to enhance the merged posts
I think this is a great idea! However, there are various synods.
Which are you? I am ELCA. If you are Wisconsin Synod, for example, you may speak for me in relation to doctrinal issues, (Salvation by faith through grace) but not on Social issues.
Lutheranism began the Reformation. We were the first group to question the Roman Catholic church.
I read a funny list that said "You know you're a Lutheran when your Roman Catholic friends think you're a Baptist, and your Baptist friends think you're a Catholic.
Did Martin Luther when he saw that the just live by faith, see that it was the tip of the iceberg on how far church had strayed from the ministry of Jesus Christ ?.
Did Martin Luther when he saw that the just live by faith, see that it was the tip of the iceberg on how far church had strayed from the ministry of Jesus Christ ?.
That's religious, but that is where this threads going to go.
Explain the doctrine of single predestination in a way that makes any logical sense at all, and I'll give you a cookie.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pleroo
Not single predestination.
.
.... God actually being able to do something beyond human logic like single predestination.
............... there, explained.
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The "Ask a Lutheran" Thread
