Why LutheranWiki? cont...

From LutheranWiki

Even though he was named the third most influential person in the past millennium by Life Magazine in 2000 (behind Christopher Columbus and Thomas Edison--The A&E Network placed Luther behind Gutenberg and Newton), even though a major motion picture about him, entitled simply Luther was released in 2003, even though many of his works have been translated into English and made available in electronic form, Luther the theologian remains elusive in America.

Whether anti-German sentiment following two world wars is to blame, whether the difficulty of reading German in English translation is at fault, whether Luther's anti-Jewish writings are at the heart of the matter, is simply too hard to say.

One thing is for certain however: The Lutheran Confessions, the collection of documents upon which all Lutheran church bodies, seminaries and colleges were in some way founded, were the result of the theology of Martin Luther. As such, the Lutheran Confessions are not simply a body of doctrine, but understand themselves to be a summary, the tip of an iceberg really, of Luther's much more expansive biblical theology: "The pure churches and schools have everywhere recognized these publicly and generally accepted documents as the sum and pattern of the doctrine which Dr. Luther of blessed memory clearly set forth in his writings on the basis of God's Word..." (FC SD Rule and Norm, Tappert, Theodore G., trans., The Book of Concord (Philadelphia: Fortress 1987), p. 505).

As the theology of Luther has become obscure, so has the meaning of the Lutheran Confessions. As the meaning of the Lutheran Confessions has been lost, so the reason for the existence of uniquely Lutheran church bodies, seminaries and colleges.

Not surprising then, is the apparant grasping about of late by Lutheran theologians, pastors and congregations to define exactly who they are as Lutherans in America. Some, under the impression that Luther's theology is a bit too simplistic for modern times, have turned to the seeming complexity of the theology of the Reformed theologian Karl Barth, hoping to somehow Lutheranize his thoughts. Others, seeking some sort of institutional continuity with the past, and the authority which accompanies it, have abandoned Lutheranism altogether, and embraced either Rome or Byzantium. Still others, believing Luther's emphasis upon the proclamation of the Gospel trumps all, have rushed into the world of American Evangelicalism.

To a lesser extent, of course, similar, but not so radical attempts to establish some sort of Lutheran identy sans the theology of Luther should also be noted. The simple repristination of the thought of favorite American Lutherans, the promotion of Garrison Keilloresque descriptions of specific "Lutheran" cultural traits still present in rural settings today, a new-found interest in and emphasis of matters liturgical, even the simple collection of 16th-Century German memorabilia: All are attempts to define or shape what it is to be Lutheran.

But upon what are such endeavors based? What really was the theology of Luther? What is Lutheran theology? What truly is the Christian life? The answers to these questions are the interest of Lutheranwiki.

See also: What Does it Mean to Be Lutheran?