Lutheran (EL
* as of August 19, AD 2009, a liberal protestant SECT, not part of the holy, catholic and apostolic CHURCH.
* as of August 19, AD 2009, a liberal protestant SECT, not part of the holy, catholic and apostolic CHURCH.
"I am uncertain of the rightness of this current decision," deFreese wrote, "but I trust that God's Holy Spirit will correct where we are wrong, encourage where we are right and act if we are somewhere in between."
A new member of the Holy Trinity?
"The Holy Spirit" or "God the Holy Spirit", yes.
Where is +Athanasius when we need him?
Speaking as a Catholic, my church (big "C" Catholicism instead of small "c" catholicism) would probably argue that Lutherans in general haven't been part of "the holy, catholic and apostolic CHURCH" since 1521. This is not to say that Lutherans aren't Christian, they certainly are, and in fact many are better Christians than cafeteria Catholics like Nancy Pelosi. But whether Lutherans in general are "part of" the original holy, catholic and apostolic church established by the apostles, Catholics would say no.
My sympathies and prayers are with the members of ELCA that are questioning whether they can remain in a branch of "lutherans" that have abandoned basic Christian morality in the bible at this time. I'm sure many can no longer accept the ELCA but wouldn't feel comfortable joining the Catholic Church or a branch of Lutheranism very culturally different from the one they were raised in the like the Missouri Synod or Wisconsin Evangelicals.
One of the things you may want to look into is the Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church of America. The argue (correctly, IMO) that Martin Luther wasn't trying to start a new Christian Church, he was trying to reform the Catholic church from within, and that Lutherans are in a involuntary schism through no fault of their own. Their goal is to bring their church back into communion with the Catholic church but be allowed to maintain their Lutheranism traditions.
“Subverting the Church”
When does a conspiracy loose the "conspiracy" label?
Answer: When it has become a success.
Nope! Conversation is over. The ELCA chose evil, but I choose otherwise.