There is no specific requirement for Lutheran pastors to wear wedding rings. It is a personal choice and may vary among individual pastors. Some pastors may choose to wear wedding rings as a symbol of their marriage, while others may not.
they had taught different things and it can also be different religion
The German Lutherans came to the Middle Colonies in the 1700's to work in the timber industry. They also came because they were promised land. They had heard that the land there was good for farming.
Vaguely put, the Wisconsin Synod tends to be more conservative than the Missouri Synod. The core differences stem from differing views of what defines "confessional fellowship" as well as what roles are divinely instituted in matters of Church ministry. The Missouri synod and WELS differ on what the Bible says concerning roles of men and women within the Church. Both are confessional Lutheran Churches and to outsiders the differences are often difficult to discern, while to the two synods, the matters of disagreement are of great enough weight to fuel the conviction to remain distinct. The Wisconsin Synod teaches that agreement on all the teachings of Scripture is necessary for all forms of fellowship. The Missouri Synod teaches that full agreement is necessary only for altar and pulpit fellowship. Wisconsin teaches that the same scriptural principles apply to all forms of church or religious fellowship. All joint prayer is an expression of fellowship. Missouri teaches that there can be joint prayer that is not an act of fellowship. In practice Missouri also indicates that full agreement is not necessary for worship at occasional joint Christian celebrations, Reformation services, convocations, rallies. Some Missouri pastors allow "ecumenical wedding services" at which pastors or priests outside their fellowship may participate. Wisconsin practices "close" or "closed" communion, inviting to their altars only those who are members of congregations in WELS fellowship. Although Missouri officially teaches "close(d)" communion, many pastors and churches practice "open" communion, allowing joint communion with those not in doctrinal agreement with the Missouri Synod. There are also differences in the doctrine of the church and ministry between the two synods. Wisconsin teaches that God has not ordained any particular form of the church. The invisible church is present in the local congregation and the synod. Both can be called church in the same sense. Missouri's official teaching seems to be that the local congregation is the only "divinely appointed" form of the church. By contrast the synod is a human arrangement. Wisconsin teaches that the pastor of a local congregation is only one form of the divinely instituted public ministry. Other forms are teachers, professors, called administrators, etc. The specific form is determined by the church's call. Missouri seems to teach that the only divinely instituted form of the public ministry is that of pastor of a local congregation. All other positions are auxiliary to this. However, there appears to be a number of different teachings on the church and ministry currently in the Missouri Synod. According to the WELS, scripture assigns the headship role to men and a helping role to women, only men serve in offices and roles that involve an exercise of authority over other men. Missouri does not allow women to serve as pastors but allows women to serve in a number of areas which involve the exercise of authority over men.
Lutheran Christianity was the official religion, as it is now.
Whether Luther actually nailed his theses to the door, or whether he sent them out to specific bishops and priests has not been conclusively determined. It certainly would make sense for him to have nailed it, since church doors acted like public bulletin boards.
Luther is said to have nailed his theses on the door to the chapel of the castle of Wittenburg. The place can be visited to this day, although the door is certainly not the original.
The beginning of the "Protestant movement" is more commonly known as The Reformation, or The Protestant Reformation.
It's not easy to say exactly when Protestantism began (or when the Reformation began), because several things contributed to it, and they didn't all happen at the same time. The most common dating begins in 1517 when an Augustinian monk called Martin Luther brought things to a head by publishing his Ninety-Five Theses (Wikipedia link).
He was protesting against (among other things) the Roman Catholic Church's selling of indulgences. Indulgences were a way of paying money to have sins forgiven, and in 1517 the then pope, Leo X, started selling indulgences to raise money to rebuild St Peter's Basilica (cathedral) in Rome.
Luther reacted against this blatant abuse with his 95 Theses, which he nailed to the church door, as an invitation to start a debate. The church had a big problem with this, because the as indulgences were authorised by the Pope, Luther was effectively challenging the Pope's authority, and saying that the Pope could not forgive sins, only God could. This did not go down well! When Luther repeatedly stuck to his position the church excommunicated him, and he was outlawed by the emperor. He would have been killed, but was abducted and protected by the Frederick 3rd, Elector of Saxony.
The Reformation took some years to get going, and happened at slightly different times in different countries and cities. For example, the English reformation took place between 1529 and 1536.
Protestantism's two most important doctrines or beliefs were (and still are):
1. "sola scriptura" - the Bible, and only the bible, is Christians' final authority in all things. (The Catholic Church believed in the ultimate authority of the Bible AND of the Church. That's why the protestants used the term "sola scriptura" - ONLY scripture, not the church's authority too).
2. "sola fide" - justification by faith alone - which means that we can be forgiven by God and considered righteous by Him not because we deserve it (we don't), but ONLY by faith in Jesus Christ's death on the cross, where he took the punishment we deserved. This belief contrasted with the Catholic belief that our good deeds are also necessary for us to be 'justified' (considered righteous) before God, implying that Jesus Christ's death for us on the cross was not enough.
For further reading, there are several articles on Wikipedia, e.g. see link below:
There are also more easily readable accounts on the internet and in print, e.g. an encyclopeadia should have one.
The cross, crucifix or cristus are the central symbols of Lutheran worship as they point to Christ, his sacrifice and triumph. For this reason, one of these symbols is usually found in the central focus of the sanctuary, over the altar. Unique symbols to Lutheranism would be Luther's rose which is used as a teaching tool as to the blessings of God. A common reformation motto is "Sola fide, sola gratia, solus cristus," meaning, "through faith alone, by grace alone, through Christ alone." This stresses that salvation is a gift from God and cannot be attained by the works and merits of man. Another is "Sola Scriptura," which stresses the approach that it is "by Scripture alone" that the gospel message is revealed, as it is the only static record of the works and words of Jesus. For this reason, it is seen as sufficient itself as a final authority when questions of faith life arise.
Luther believed that someone couldn't pay off their sins. He believed that the real reconciliation of a persons sins were between the sinner and God. He didn't believe that someone was going to be damned if they couldn't pay their sins. He believed the only was to go to heaven is by faith.
Prior to the 1500s, the Church was looked to as the authority on knowledge. Unlike today, where thousands of Christian sects exist, prior to the 1500s and Martin Luther's Reformation, there was only one Christian Church in existence, led by the Pope, whom Christians all over Europe understood to possess infallibility, which was why they had authority on knowledge. Only with the secession of Martin Luther and the rise of Protestantism did confusion begin to flourish as to who or what was the final authority of knowledge. But from the 1st to 15th century AD, it was understood to be the Church.
Martin Luther wrote"Ninety-Five theses" on October, 31st, 1517.
Martin Luther was concerned about certain practices in the Catholic Church such as the selling of indulgences to free the soul from purgatory.
Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses in Latin because that was another thing he thought was wrong with the Catholic Church and posted them on the door of the Schlosskirche (Palais Church) in Wittenberg because he wanted to correct what he saw as the church's mistakes. Two students Luther taught reprinted the complaints in German so everyone understood them.
Because he had too.
He hurt the Church, because he took her followers and he preached ideas that inflicted violence towards Catholics. His groups destroyed many Catholic convents, monasteries, Churches, and colleges
His teachings differed because he taught truthfully as to what was truly in the Bible.
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is completly wrong
Roman Catholic AnswerI beg to differ, Martin Luther threw seven books out of the Old Testament that the Church had used for fifteen centuries, and changed the wording of St. Paul to agree with himself while making horrible remarks about St. James as it disagree with Luther's view of salvation. Martin Luther put himself, and his opinions above that of the Bible, all the Fathers of the Church, and all the Popes and Bishops for fifteen centuries.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ is completly right
I thought it was because of the behavior of the popes, and they added on ceremonies to the religion that were not originally in the bible'
and that they behaved so sexually open............and that they were getting further away from the bible, and the teachings as they were truly written.
Lutheranism gained support, especially among middle class people in German-speaking cities. Church authorities responded to Lutheranism by excommunicating Martin Luther.
the pope banned him form the church but then later tried to get him back so people wouldn't leave the church.
Because they were corrupt and did not follow the teaching of the bible.
The 95 Theses challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic church.
Gustavus II led an attack against the Hapsburg Catholics in Germany.