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Lutheran
The Lutheran branch of Christianity was named after one of the earliest Protestants, Martin Luther. His thesis, which asked questions about the beliefs of the Catholic church, was nailed to the cathedral door. Some Lutherans believe 'The Book of Concord,' published in 1580, contains authoritative explanations of Scripture.
617 Questions
How many US Presidents were Lutheran?
10 Presidents were Presbyterian. These presidents were Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Buchanan, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Woodrow Wilson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan. However, James K. Polk, Ulysses S. Grant, and Rutherford B. Hayes were just nominal Presbyterians.
Is the process to become a greek orthodox priest and lutheran pastor the same?
No, it is not the same process.
Wednesday evening church meetings have been a tradition in U.S. Baptist Churches for over a century. Originally called 'Prayer Meetings,' they have come to be both prayer time and Bible Study time meetings in most Baptist Churches today.
Can you live together before you are married according to the Lutheran church?
There is no official docrtine on this. Most Lutheran pastors will advise against it. Also, most pastors make an engaged couple undergo premarital couseling before he will marry them. This is to ensure that the two lives together will be healthy, happy and lasting. This would naturally be most effective if it occured before the engaged begin their shared life.
Are Buddhist scriptures important and beneficial to Buddhism?
I like this question. Or, actually, my answer! They must be important, right? For the most part, sure, they are. But there are texts that some people would rather ignore, while others emphasize them. For example, in Thailand, a group called Santi Asoke doesn't pay much attention to the Abbidhama, which is the third of the books of the Tripitaka, or The Three Baskets. It's the third basket. It gives lots of very deep, sort of mystical philosophy, you might say. Not something that many people are going to understand very easily. This group in Thailand prefers to emphasize the more practical teachings; the teachings that seem most relevant to everyday life. But many many Thai Buddhists who practice sitting meditation give the Abbidhamma lots of significance. In Zen literature, you can fairly easily find references to monks of long ago who, before their enlightenment, cherished this or that sutra. But after their enlightenment, they would toss all of their books out saying books are useless. Troy. "Don't mistaken my finger pointing to the moon as the moon." or "The reflection of the moon in a cup of water is not the moon." by;Siddharta Gautama Shakyamuni Buddha. The Scriptures are only guides. The scriptures are nothing if you don't follow it. The scriptures are like road maps. Once you get to your destination, the map is useless. Unless of course you want to slide back to where you were before. If you will observe objectively, the ones who are defending their scriptures vigorously are those that came out short where the teachings are concerned. To parapharase the words of the great Zen master Tsung-mi: "If we just read Buddhist scripture without also trying to directly experience what he did, our realization will be no more than a matter of baseless faith. On the other had, if we take our experiences to be authoritative without comparing them with what the Buddha taught in the scriptures, then how can we be sure our experiences agree with those of the Buddha?" In sum, there is both the need to read Buddhist scriptures and to try to experince what the Buddha did long ago. the teachings, not the teacher.
What are some of the services offered by the company Thrivent Financial for Lutherans?
The Thrivent Financial for Lutherans company offers a wide variety of services. For example, the company offers its customers access to annuities, life insurance, disability income, and more.
Differences between law and gospel in the Lutheran church?
According to Lutheranism: The law convicts. It is "a curb, a rule and a mirror" in the words of Luther. All humans are unable to keep the law. The Gospel offers salvation to us, the sinners who cannot attain sanctification by our works. The Gospel offers salvation as a free gift from God, through the saving work of Jesus. Both the Law and the Gospel are from God; both are necessary.
What is the tuition at Texas Lutheran University?
Annual College Cost as of Fall (2008)
Tuition and fees: $20,970.00
Room and board: $6,600 (on campus)
Books and supplies: $740
Estimated personal expenses: $1,100
Transportation expense: $800
Cost per credit hour: $700
Source: College Board
How did Luther's ideas about interpreting the Bible differ from Catholic ideas?
He thought that everyone should be able to read and interpret the Bible. This belief went against the teachings of the Catholic Church, in which only clergy could interpret the Bible.
Why did Frederick the wise not turn Luther over to the pope?
Frederick the Wise was a bit sympathetic to Luther's theology, but the bigger reason for his actions were the political repercussions of his teachings. In the 1500s Germany was not united as a country. Rather, there were many small kingdoms all in a very weak confederation called the Holy Roman Empire. At the time, anyone who was Christian was Roman Catholic and the pope was the head of the church, and therefore he had control over peoples' salvation, which would be more important to them than their allegiance to a king. By supporting Luther, Frederick the Wise was able to cut off the influence of the pope and establish more power for himself.
Do Lutherans believe homosexuality is a sin?
Answer 1: First, you must realize that there are several flavors of Lutherans in the US. The three main ones are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which is the largest of the US Lutheran groups. Then there's the second-largest, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LC-MS) (known as "the German Lutherans"). And, finally, there's the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)... which, despite its name, has churches all over the place, not just in Wisconsin.
Do not be misled, though: There are many other -- albeit smaller -- Lutheran groups or bodies out there. The three I've mentioned, here, are just the biggest which, combined, represent the vast majority of US Lutherans.
It's fair to say, also, that I've listed the bodies, here, not only by size, largest to smallest, but also by most liberal to most conservative. The ELCA is, by far, the most liberal of the three; with the LC-MS somewhat more conservative, and WELS extraordinarily more conservative.
Of the three groups I've listed, here, only the most liberal ELCA is -- now, finally -- open to the LGBT community not only in the pews, but also, now, in the pupit. No other Lutheran body -- not the other two I listed, nor any of the many much smaller ones that I didn't, but to which I referred -- is friendly toward homosexuality on pretty much any level. Some actually make members of the LGBT community feel downright unwelcome; I've even heard stories of them being turned away at the door. Others take the "love the sinner, hate the sin" position, and allow members of the LGBT community to become members, and sit in the pews, all the while saying it's in the name of being open and welcoming; but if you ask said LGBT members, they'll, to the last of them, say it certainly doesn't feel very welcoming.
The ELCA is made-up of three smaller bodies which joined together in 1987. The most liberal of them was the old Lutheran Church in America (LCA), and the most conservative of them was the American Lutheran Church (ALC). The AELC was the third body, and fell, socio-politically and theologically, somewhere in between the LCA and the ALC (though, on some subjects, the AELC was actually more liberal than even the LCA... so, go figure).
Some people are surprised to learn that the LCA -- the largest of the three bodies which joined together in 1987 to make-up the ELCA -- actually had a policy of accepting members of the LGBT community in the pulpit as long ago as the early 1960s. The only thing is, though, that LGBT clergy were required to be celibate; they could not be in a same-sex relationship; and same-sex marriage, of course, wasn't even an option back then. Though it was an unspoken policy, they were also expected to not talk about they sexual orientation, if possible.
And even that didn't work-out well, because each of the ELCA's 65 Bishops had pretty much full control of their respective synods, and so could simply refuse to make LGBT clergy -- even ones who followed the rules -- available for a Call. That's how it works in the ELCA: The Bishop gets to decide who even gets to present himself/herself to churches in the synod who are looking for a new pastor. It's very tightly controlled. So a conservative, anti-gay ELCA Bishop who came-up through the more conservative ALC could, if he wanted to, sideline an LGBT pastor, indefinitely. In fact, such is the system that the Bishop could even keep the LGBT pastor in search of a Call from reaching-out to other bishops in other synods.
So, for years, the only way that LGBT clergy in same-sex relationships -- and even some celibate and rule-following LGBT clergy -- could be ordained to Word and Sacrament was via what was called the "Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries" (ELM) group, which validly ordained LGBT Lutheran clergy for placement in ELCA congregations; however, said congregations were often going against the will of their synod Bishops; and even if they weren't (in other words, even if the Bishop supported the ELM-ordained clergy placement), the ELCA's policies back then prohibited ELM-ordained clergy from being on the official ELCA roster (or what the ELCA called "being rostered."
In August of 2009, though, that all changed when the ELCA, at its big churchwide meeting in Minneapolis, voted to allow LGBT clergy, even if they are in a same-sex either relationship or, in states where it's legal, marriages. The move, though, was very contentious and devisive; and a subsequent resolution was passed to make a provision in the ELCA's policies to recognize the conviction of members who believe that this church cannot call or roster people who are in a publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationship.
About 9 months later, though, in April of 2010, the ELCA put an end to all such nonsense and, with little fanfare, finally removed all barriers to LGBT clergy, no matter what. About it, the Rev. Dr. Cindi Love wrote, on the Huffington Post:
"After twenty-five years of deliberation, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Church Council has abolished its anti-gay policies, effective immediately. Following from discussions at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly last summer, the ELCA will now allow people in same-sex relationships to serve as rostered leaders. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) human beings are no longer considered abominations but blessed church members with full standing. Same-sex partners and families can now fully participate in the ELCA Pension Plan."
At that same April 2012 meeting, the ELCA's churchwide council also authorized a rite to recognize the ministries of LGBT pastors who had been ordained by Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM). So they, too, could finally be "rostered."
At that meeting, the new, official ELCA policy on same-sex relationships went from the old 1960s, LCA-style policy, described above, to this:
"An ordained minister who is in a publicly accountable lifelong, monogamous same-gender relationship is expected to live in fidelity to his or her partner, giving expression to sexual intimacy within a publicly accountable relationship that is mutual, chaste, and faithful."
And the policy on sexual matters associated with clergy was also changed to recognize same-sex relationships, to wit:
"...chastity and abstinence are required outside of marriage or outside publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships, and chastity and fidelity are required within marriage or within such same-gender relationships."
Many of those in the ELCA who came-up through the old ALC -- the most conservative of the three bodies which combined in 1987 to form the ELCA -- could not accept any of this. In fact, for years leading-up to the big 2009 meeting, groups within the ELCA such as the now-defunct "Solid Rock Lutherans," or "WordAlone," or "Lutheran Coalition for Renewal" (aka, Lutheran CORE), and others, all lobbied within the Church for socio-political and theological rejection, entirely, of LGBT both members and clergy. They obviously lost that battle. However, many of them have now left the ELCA over it. Lutheran CORE spearheaded the creation of a whole new national church body called "The North American Lutheran Church" (NALC). Though the WordAlone folks never formed a national church like the Lutheran CORE folks did, their national association, the "Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ" (LCMC), comes close to being one.
So, then, the bottom line answer to the question is, generally, yes, most Lutheran bodies believe homosexuality is sinful; however the largest and most liberal of the US Lutheran bodies -- the ELCA -- has now fully embraced it.
Is Lutheran church presbyterian or episcopalian?
The Lutheran church is episcopalian in the form of government in that they are ruled/guided by bishops instead of "presbyters" (elders).
What is the Lutheran's most important writing?
The Apostle's creed... sums up all you need to know about Christianity to be saved Further information: After the Bible, one of the most central writings to the Lutheran church is arguably "The Book of Concord: The Lutheran Confessions of 1529-1580". It is a collection of confessions of faith published in 1580, which outline the doctrines of the Lutheran church. The book was first published on 25 June 1580, fifty years after the presentation of the Augsburg Confession, the central document of the Lutheran reformation, to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg.
Who became the champion of Lutheran Protestantism in Denmark?
Hans Tausen and was later made the official religion of Denmark-Norway by King Christian III of Denmark-Norway.
What is the difference between fruit and root of sin?
The root of sin is man's disobedience to God's command in the garden of Eden, which disobedience we all inherit from our first father, Adam.
The fruit of sin, which the Bible calls,'the works of the flesh', are these -
Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
How does the luthern church view mormons?
The Catholic Church views Mormons as pagans, since Mormon theology teaches that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three separate entities, albeit, they are all progressing to the same ultimate stage. This fundamental difference in their theology, having three gods, is paganism. The claims of Joseph Smith are not given credence by the Catholic Church, nor is the Book of Mormon received as Divine Revelation. The fact that the Mormons dare place it alongside the Bible is viewed as blasphemy. For the Mormon Church to be true, it must be assumed that God's Church on earth, instituted by Jesus Christ, somehow failed and that revelation was not completed with the death of the last apostle but instead was withheld until God saw it fit to reveal it to Joseph Smith centuries upon centuries after Christ had died to inaugurate the New Testament. The Church finds this idea repugnant, for the idea assumes Christ died in vain if His saving grace somehow became lost to the world at any point in history. Mormon ordinances (their version of the sacraments) are not received as valid by the Church, nor does the Church respect the Mormons' authority to preach on Christ or His salvation.
What is the main tenant of the Lutheran religion?
Lutherans are a protestant denomination that have their origin with the teachings of Martin Luther. Luther broke with the Catholic church over several theological differences.
What is the difference between the Assemblies of God and Lutheran Church?
Lutherans worship more traditionally with Hymns and they follow a calendar set by The Bible. Kind of how most Americans celebrate Christmas and Easter, Lutherans have several events they follow throughout the year that come directly from the scripture.
Note: Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran does differ from other Lutheran divisions such as the Missouri Synod
Assemblies of God teach that faith is a condition of salvation rather than teaching that faith is the way God has chosen for us to receive salvation. The implication is that an unconverted, sinful human being must "decide" for Christ. The Wisconsin Synod teaches that people by nature are dead in their transgressions and sin and therefore have no ability to decide of Christ (Ephesians 2:1,5). We do not choose Christ, rather he chose us (John 15:16). We believe that human beings are purely passive in conversion.
Assemblies of God teach that Baptism and Holy Communion are ordinances whereby Christians declare to the world that they have died with Christ and share in the divine nature. They do not believe that the sacraments are means of grace through which the Holy Spirit works to create or strengthen faith. They deny the real presence in the Lord's Supper. They insist that the only legitimate way to perform Baptism is by immersion. The Wisconsin Synod teaches that Baptism and the Lord's Supper are means of grace through which the Holy Spirit works to create or strengthen faith (Titus 3:4-7, John 3:5-6, 1 Peter 3:21, Matthew 26:26-28). We believe that Christ's true body and blood are truly present in the Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:26-28, 1 Corinthians 11:23-29). The Bible does not mandate the mode of baptism. The water can be applied in the name of the Triune God by sprinkling, pouring, immersion, or submersion.
The Assemblies of God are premillennialist. They believe that Christ will return and reign physically, visibly, and politically for 1,000 years on earth. The Wisconsin Synod rejects the teaching that Jesus will return to establish a political reign here on earth (John 18:36, Romans 14:17, Colossians 1:13-14).
Assemblies of God are a perfectionist church body. According to the official Web site of the Assemblies of God, they believe that "by the power of the Holy Ghost we are able to obey the command: 'Be ye holy, for I am holy.' " Holiness/perfectionist church bodies often seem to make rules where God hasn't and to call things sinful which God has not forbidden. For example, some congregations have determined that dancing is inherently sinful and therefore forbid it. The Wisconsin Synod teaches that although we will strive for Christian perfection, we will not attain it in this life (Romans 7:14-25, Philippians 3:12). We are careful not to call things sinful which God has not called sinful (1 Corinthians 10:23-33, Romans 14:1-23).
The Assemblies of God believe that every believer is entitled to "baptism in the Holy Spirit" (an experience separate from water baptism) with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues. They also practice faith healing. They teach that such "divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers." The Wisconsin Synod does not teach a "baptism in the Holy Spirit" separate from and subsequent to water baptism. We do not see speaking in tongues and faith healing as normative for Christians today.
Is lutheranism part of the Abrahamic faiths?
The Abrahamic faiths are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Lutheranism is a form of Christianty. Therefore Lutheranism is an Abrahamic faith. That is an example of a classical syllogism.
Can a Presbyterian pastor marry a couple in a Lutheran church?
There is no Presbyterian rule that prohibits the pastor from doing so. The local church may have such a rule, and the pastor may have his or her own reasons for not doing the marriage.
What are the Lutheran views of Islam?
There is no uniform doctrine or statement made by Lutheran churches on Islam; Lutherans nowadays are typically very supportive and tolerant of other religions, including Islam, although like any church regard their own view of religion as "truer" than other views of religion, including Islam. Most Lutheran pastors will have studied the Qur'an at seminary school and are quite knowledgeable on Islam.
