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Ok...very valid question. What does Lutheran mean? Lutheran belief is based on sola scriptura that the scripture is the only authority for salvation. That salvation was completed once and for all with Christ the sacrificial lamb of God living perfectly under the law and then becoming the sacrificial lamb to bear Gods wrath in my stead. Lutheran faith holds firm the Pauline text that it is by grace that we are saved through faith and not the works of our hands. Some criticize this stance that there are issues that address works in scripture with is true, but salvation is obtainable only through faith. Once saved, it becomes natural to want to do the works of God and love wholesome, but we understand all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans). We also understand that we need no intercession before our Father in heaven as we may go to Him though God the son, a d that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with sighs and groans beyond hima. Understanding. The triune God has God the father who creates us, God the son who saves us and God the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us with the confession that Jesus is Lord and Savior.

Luther originally set to reform the Catholic Church serving his 95 thesis on the door at the Church in Whittenburg. At that time the church was apostate among other things selling indulgences and claiming that this would purchase forgiveness of sin without repentance and subsequently salvation, at that time the pope excommunicated Luther, and at the diet of Worms Luther was given the opportunity to rescind his teachings, but stood on the Word of God and refused claiming the Word of God was inerrant and not subject to the papal interpretation. He further denied the diety of the pope. Upon excommunication, the Protestant movement was born with Lutherans becoming the first Protestant Christian church. Subsequent to this, Protestantism grew with Calvinism, Zwingli and other leaders of Protestant perspective from which are born Methodism and other denominations. All Protestants accept the low church perspective that priests and hierarchical men are not required to petition God and that our relationship is personal with God and not necessarily contingent on a relationship with a church body per se.

jJust as there are competing branches I. Catholicism ... Strict, reform, and other parts of the church, In the Lutheran church there are synods, some conservative (Wisconsin, Missouri, and LCMC Lutheran church in mission for Christ) and more liberal factions...namely the ELCA. Approximately four years ago at the biennial ELCA council a schism occurred when the very livable bishop of St. Paul rammed down the throat by a single vote a statement of bound conscious and human sexuality that essentially made blessing of gay marriage allowed. This also moved the standards and covenants of ministry to include monogamous homosexual clergy. Many, including myself, saw this as an apostasy and our individual congregations left the ELCA. This synod continues to be dwindling based on men not scripture...sort of what happened all the way back in 1517 Germany.

Whatever the perspective, we are Christian first accepting the perfection of salvation in Christ crucified the real presence of Christ at holy communion, and believe that we can only be saved by faith as presented in the Bible...the law telling us how we should love, and the gospel proclaiming the good news of salvation when we fail. We then practice our faith by the great commission of going and proclaiming the good news to all, baptizing in the name of the triune God.

and for my Lutheran friends they will understand this little joke...this is most certainly true :)

With respect ... you have told me what Lutherans believe. Thank you for that. What you haven't answered is what the word "Lutheran" itself actually means.

Objectively, it would seem to mean a follower of someone named "Luther", in the same way as "Jeffersonian" means a follower of someone named "Jefferson" or "Platonist" means a follower of someone named "Plato". This seems inoffensive ... certainly does not deny the possibility that the Lutheran follows Luther (etc.) in mutual pursuit of some greater good.

Yet we see up-thread folks (who may not even be Lutheran) objecting rather rudely to this understanding of the meaning of the word.

So I ask, what does the word itself mean? Why use it? What distinction does it make?

Presumably the ELCA are ‘followers of Sodom’, since Luther never preached that sodomy is a virtue.

“At that time the church was apostate among other things selling indulgences and claiming that this would purchase forgiveness of sin without repentance and subsequently salvation”

Indulgences are given for the dead, not for the person themselves. You don’t take out an indulgence for forgiveness of your sins.

“at that time the pope excommunicated Luther, and at the diet of Worms Luther was given the opportunity to rescind his teachings”

You’ve got it backwards - Luther’s 95 theses, about 75 were accepted by the Church. 14 or so were rejected. Luther was instructed to retain the 75 and rescind the 14 which were contrary to what the Church teaches. He refused.

“claiming the Word of God was inerrant and not subject to the papal interpretation.”

Given that he was a member of the magisterium and had teaching authority, such an argument is fatal to his own authority. One cannot divide one’s own authority as a priest from the Pope, they are one and the same.

“He further denied the diety of the pope.”

Something no Catholic believes, then or now.

“Upon excommunication, the Protestant movement was born”

Munster occurred two years prior to Luther’s excommunication, FWIW.

“All Protestants accept the low church perspective that priests and hierarchical men are not required to petition God and that our relationship is personal with God and not necessarily contingent on a relationship with a church body per se.”

Catholics believe that one can petition God without a priest, and that salvation doesn’t require one to be a member of the Catholic church, or any church for that matter.