Thoughts on Lutheranism

I read an article recently (http://strangeherring.com/2014/01/21/lutherans-to-be-or-not-to-be/) for those of you who may want to go read it yourself, about how it's difficult for "millenials" to become Lutheran and why.

I thought it was fascinating and a good article concerning what it means to be Lutheran. It also got me thinking about cases in the past where I've gotten into discussions or debates or even arguments with friends about my faith and theirs. To be completely honest most of these have been with Catholics but 1 with a Methodist and 1 with a Nondenominational both stand out. However his bit about Catholics having all the "mystery and magic" stood out nevertheless. Speaking as a "millennial" and being into shows like "Supernatural" or "Sleepy Hollow" or even movies like "Priest" I can understand what he means. In these, possibly obscure, portions of popular culture and media, Catholicism is portrayed as this all powerful organization with all kinds of mystical and mysterious super powers. To be a Catholic, and more specifically in many cases a Catholic Priest, is to have access to this great surplus of knowledge and power. However, I think that this kind of thinking spills over into other denominations and faiths.

I remember getting into a very passionate debate with a Methodist once shortly after I had attended Higher Things. The thing that was driving them nuts about Lutheranism, on the surface at least, was that we do nothing and can do nothing to save ourselves. They didn't understand how we could be saved without doing anything. The conversation with the nondenominational person went much the same way. How can we be saved without doing anything? While both of their arguments centered around the idea of "accepting Christ into your heart" or "inviting faith and the Holy Spirit in", I think that it stands to the above fascination with the idea of mystical or mysterious knowledge or power.

The connection, at least in my mind, goes something like this. I recently got into a rather heated argument with a Catholic (former) friend. They said some things, called me some names, that they clearly regretted later. They followed an apology with the following, "See the great thing about being Catholic is I know I just have to go to Confession and it all be forgiven". My response was "See the great thing about being Lutheran is I know it doesn't matter if I do anything or not, what I do is still forgiven". The response I got back was, and it was meant very negatively and seriously, "No you're just lazy, you don't want to earn your forgiveness". I'll cut off the conversation there because that's all that's important. The implication is that belief in Salvation by Faith alone, through Grace and the Word alone is lazy. What they were literally saying is that I only believe what I believe because it means I don't have to do anything to save myself. Now think about what millenials have been told for the last 15 or so years, that we can change the world. That we have to do it all ourselves. That we can't and shouldn't rely on anyone else to fight our battles for us. That we have to be independent. Now think about that in connection with the mystical and mysterious knowledge and power. What better way to earn salvation than by having to earn access to some form of this? Not only do you not rely on anyone but yourself to come to the means of Salvation, those means of Salvation are special and mysterious.

So what then is the problem with Lutheranism to millenials? I'd argue it is the simplicity of Lutheranism. Lutheranism says, belief and you're saved, and the Holy Spirit instills that faith in you. Christ saved everyone. Period end of story. What is there to do? How can we rely on ourselves if Christ has already done it all for us? There's nothing for us to do, to discover, we're already saved and all the work has been done for us. Lutheranism, in short, doesn't fit the idea that the media and popular culture has ingrained in us as to how we are supposed to be saved.

Macklemore and the Grammy's

So like many Americans my first exposure to the rapper Macklemore was the song "Thrift Shop". I enjoyed the song, it was kind of catchy, kind of fun, and unlike many rap songs I've heard recently it wasn't about sex. It is actually about goodwill hunting for lack of a better term. So basically it was endorsing ideas and things that I had been raised on. So I was all for it and would be on the lookout for more of his songs. Well then came "Same Love". Suddenly I wasn't such a fan. For those of you who don't know the song "Same Love" it is the so called "gay marriage anthem". It says that basically, gay and straight "love" is literally the "same".

So apparently Macklemore decided to take it up a notch at the Grammys by singing "Same Love" while 33 couples got married on stage. Not just gay couples, a few straight ones as well (I don't know the exact numbers).

Honesty, I'm more disappointed in the straight couples who got married alongside the gay couples. When I heard that Macklemore had performed that song during some weddings I figured they were gay "marriages". The Bible quite clearly defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman. Therefore gay "marriages" aren't marriages at all in the biblical sense. However, those "straight" marriages at least have the potential to be biblical marriages. yet they still chose to erode the definition of marriages by participating alongside the others. Maybe I'm wrong, but to me that causes more problems. It supports the erosion of marriage more. Thoughts?

On the positive side Stephen Colbert won the Grammy for best spoken word. At least something turned out positive.

Roe v Wade a little late.

So I hadn't realized till this year that I was born 1 day after the anniversary of Roe v Wade, I feel like that's a little ironic. So I figured I'd celebrate my birthday, in a way at least, by taking a look at some of the most common arguments I've come across in favor for abortion.

In no particular order.

"A woman should have control over her body". Yes, yes she should. Sometimes people get smart on this one and refer to it as body autonomy. I prefer that term actually. I'm a political scientist of sorts. We discussed in my various classes autonomy, and levels thereof, as a measure of a state's independence, power and stability. In these studies autonomy is defined as control over and responsibility for its territory. Let's transfer that to body autonomy and take a look at what it means for a moment. Control over your body, well yes you should have control over your body. I don't think I know a single pro-life person that has ever argued otherwise. But just as important in the autonomy statement is responsibility for. That's where being pro-abortion falls apart under the idea of body autonomy. They argue that it is a woman's right to have control over her body and the decisions she makes with that body. That's fine. But then a woman also has to be responsible for those decisions. And if those decisions include having sex, especially unprotected sex, then on of the possible responsibilities of that decision is having, and caring for a child. "Well having an abortion can be the responsible decision for someone who can't take care of a child economically". False. How is ending a life, when it isn't threatening another life, a responsible decision? Be responsible in regards to your decisions first.

"A fetus isn't a human being". Ok why not? Because it can't feel until a certain time? If that's your argument then why is that your argument? Why that arbitrary end point? The easiest way to define a child, a living human being, scientifically truly is at the moment of conception, because that's when all of the physical characteristics of that child are there. The DNA is all there, now it just needs time to grow.

"Why should we care what people do in their own lives?" Take that argument all the way through and see where it gets you. I don't think anyone needs me to provide an example to see where that causes problems.

In the end abortion boils down to 1 thing and 1 thing only in the vast majority of cases. A desire to avoid responsibility, a get out of jail free card if you will. It gives you an easy way to avoid taking responsibility for your decisions if your decisions lead to something you don't want. I'm not saying that is the case in every single possible abortion, sometimes people have abortions due to medical reasons or rape or incest, those need to be addressed more specifically. But most abortions aren't due to any of those reasons. And those are the ones that boil down to a desire to avoid responsibility.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0QSO7yJl2Q

Thanksgiving

So I'll go ahead and go the obvious route this week. What am I thankful for?

While I would like to go ahead and go over what I'm thankful for and would love to get some comments regarding what you all are thankful for as well I'd like to go in a slightly different direction. When I was thinking about what to post I started thinking about what I'm not thankful for. And without getting too mushy I realized, I can't think of anything. Are there portions of my life I'd rather not go through again? Obviously. Are there people and things in my life or that used to be in my life that I wish weren't or cause/d problems? Again, the answer is a pretty obvious yes. The thing is, why shouldn't I be thankful for those things too? If I truly believe that God is in control then all of those things are, in some way or another, for my benefit. Whether I realize it or not, or ever will realize it, is beside the point. I have to trust that God has my benefit, or the benefit of those around me in mind. Therefore, why shouldn't I be thankful for those things.

Couple of examples. First of all, I lived in St Louis for about 3 months in the fall of 2012. I worked a terrible job there for about 2 of those months. It required me to lie, required me to change who I wanted to be to be successful, got me arrested, and didn't pay me. I had a boss that thought only of himself, coworkers that weren't necessarily the best influences even if they were friends, and made me think very poorly of myself. It made me do what I had sworn to myself I wouldn't ever do, borrow money from my parents to get by. In short, it was about as awful of an experience as I've had in my life. But I can, am, and should be thankful for all of that on 2 levels. First of all, through all of that I still had a roof over my head, food in my fridge, and clothes on my back to go along with friends and family that loved and supported me. The second level is a little more long reaching. First of all, ever since, in the 2 jobs that I've held, even though parts of them have frustrated me, angered me, or stressed me out, I've been able to realize that things aren't really that bad. Furthermore, in this most recent one it helps me to focus on the positives, I'm still getting paid, I'm not lying to people, I've got good coworkers and bosses, and it allows me to pay my bills without any help. So, even though it's stressful and makes me want to avoid the entire state of Georgia like the plague, I still can't, and won't complain.

Second example would be high school basketball. For those of you who know much about me (which is I'm assuming most of you) you know that basketball is my game. I love playing, watching, coaching, or just talking about it as much as I can. Makes sense considering I've spent a good portion of my life living in Indiana. So naturally, I played for my high school. To say those 4 seasons were frustrating would be an understatement. Despite my unwavering effort, despite tearing ligaments and tendons for the team, despite carrying scars to this day from practices and games, I played little. Even worse, at times, especially my senior year, it seemed as though my coach wouldn't even think about playing me. For a 14-18 year old that was beyond frustrating. My whole life I'd been taught to work hard, put in the effort, and keep a good, team first, attitude, and eventually something would come your way and something good would happen. But I kept doing all those things and nothing seemed to go my way. It seriously bothered me. The thing of it is of course, that life doesn't work that way either. Just because you work hard and have a good attitude doesn't mean you'll succeed. You also have to have the talent, or knowledge, or skill. You also need luck. There's a thousand things other than just hard work that determine success at anything. Hard work goes a long way, but it isn't the sole factor. So, seeing that firsthand as a teenager/high schooler, and looking back on it now, when something doesn't break my way even though I've done everything in my power for it to do so, I'm better equipped to let it roll off my shoulders and move on with my life.

As always, Even so come quickly O Lord Jesus

Lutheranism postponed

So seeing as I'm going to be going through a review of my Lutheran Catechesis in January I figure it would make more sense to hold off on hitting that till then. So in the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions for topics?

Currently I'm leaning towards doing something along the lines of a comparison between the three major monotheistic religions. What they believe, how they differ, how they're the same, and other bits and pieces. As always, other thoughts, suggestions, or ideas are welcome.

Catechism, Orthodoxy, and Core Beliefs

In an effort to boost participation here's my idea for my next post. I'll post the core Lutheran theology based upon Luther's small catechism and Scripture. In other words, I'll do my best to post the basic core tenants of Lutheran belief in short and in hopefully basic enough terms for everyone else to understand. In return, it'd be great for all of you to post the core tenant beliefs of your church whether that be a strictly outlined denomination/synod, or something more amorphous. Either way, please try to stay away from the "I feels" and such, preferably stick to clearly explained or held beliefs of your church body.

My thinking is once we do that, assuming we get more than my Lutheran post, we can move on to questions, or comments, again staying respectful, regarding the beliefs of other groups. Thoughts, comments, concerns, or suggestions are of course welcome as always.

Extra bonus topic

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/11/20433950-pope-francis-no-2-clerical-celibacy-is-open-to-discussion?lite

To you Catholics out there, thoughts, concerns, opinions? To the rest of you, the same.