Over the past couple of years, I’ve noticed that questions concerning our “Lutheran Identity” have been circulating with various degrees of debate and disagreement. At least some of that discussion has been prompted by the “Lutheran Identity Mission Outcome Standards” which the Synod Convention adopted in 2019, and which the Concordia University System Board uses in its oversight and guidance of the Synod’s universities in support of our confession of the faith.
Thankfully, so far as I can tell, everyone seems to agree that we should be clear and consistent in exercising and expressing our “Lutheran Identity,” not only in the campus life of our universities, but in the teaching and practice of all our schools at every level, and in all our parishes. It is good and right and helpful that we have that common goal in principle. The challenge, though, is that we do not agree on what our “Lutheran Identity” actually is, what it includes and what it means. It’s hard to be clear and consistent in exercising and expressing our Lutheran Identity if we aren’t even sure what it encompasses or entails. While there might be some room for different opinions regarding the scope and specifics of the matter, a more coherent definition would be helpful.
Not surprisingly, debates over “Lutheran Identity” have frequently focused on worship practice, indicative of a divide that has grown and become increasingly entrenched among us over the past thirty years or more. I’ve previously expressed my plea for a greater harmony of practice, and no doubt I will continue to do so, but in this case I’m simply highlighting its place in the discussion of our identity as Lutherans. There are those who point to our Confessions in saying that the true unity of the Church does not depend upon having human ceremonies in common, and of course that is right. Others point to the fact that our Confessions also assert that traditional ceremonies which can be kept without sin should be retained – as Lutherans historically have done.
The Lutheran Confessions are rightly invoked at the heart of the discussions and debates over “Lutheran Identity.” Surely no one would deny that our Confessions are integral to our Identity! But, again, what does this actually mean? There are some who have argued that the boundaries of Lutheran Identity include only the Bible and the Book of Concord. I and others have replied that these doctrinal standards are foundational and definitive, but not exhaustive of our Identity. Yet, I have struggled to articulate clearly and precisely what I’m trying to say or suggest in this regard. We dare not burden consciences with demands and expectations beyond the Word of the Lord. Our Lutheran Confessions are very clear and explicit on that point. At the same time, the Book of Concord – beginning with the ancient ecumenical Creeds, and including the Catalogue of Testimonies as an appendix – demonstrates the appropriateness and the salutary benefits of doctrinal standards for the teaching and confession of the Holy Scriptures. It is also the case that, whereas our righteousness and life before God (coram Deo) are by grace through faith in Christ, our life on earth in relation to our neighbors embraces self-sacrifice and works of love.
Related arguments have revolved around the question of whether the Lutheran Confessions are descriptive or prescriptive in the case of practices that are neither commanded nor forbidden by God (adiaphora). I can see that debate going either way on a case-by-case basis, but, for the sake of discussion, if we consider the Lutheran Confessions as descriptive in such matters, would that not have some real bearing on our Lutheran Identity? These are ways in which we as Lutherans have described ourselves in the past. That strikes me as a good starting point for conversation, at any rate, among people of good will who desire to be faithful in our life together. Beyond that, it would be salutary to consider our “family heritage” as Lutherans, even as each of our households and families has its own customs and culture that distinguish and identify it in relation to others. So, for example, we have the hymns of Luther, Nicolai, and Gerhardt, the music of J.S. Bach, the art of the Cranachs, the symbol of the Luther Rose, and our Lutheran prayer books and hymnals. Such things contribute to our identity, even as they help us to confess our faith in Christ Jesus.