Confessionalism vs. Synodicalism

October 5, 2004 · Filed Under theology

A great quote from the first president of the LCMS, C.F.W. Walther is referenced at Rev. Brondos’ worldmag blog — [edit: unfortunately, the link to this quote is no longer working -- trust me, though, it was a good & accurate quote!]

This quote speaks to the importance of being a “confessionalist? vs. being a “synodicalist.” In other words, my loyalty is to that which is laid out in the confessions, and not (necessarily) to the LCMS. While I am a LCMS “lifer,” and would be saddened to a certain extent if I ever had to leave, I won’t hesitate to do so if things degenerate in terms of the synod’s lack of confessional integrity.

This erosion of the synod’s confessional integrity is something that I worry about, particularly given events of the past 3 years (I’m learning that it actually goes back much farther than that, but the past 3 years have been particularly troublesome…). I’m fearful that the LCMS has become too big & unwieldy for there to be a true “walking together” & agreement on doctrine, not to mention on practice. Far too much is being lumped into the adiaphora category, and it’s not to our benefit.

ghp

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Tags: confessional, lcms, lutheran