A thoughtful exposition
Get thee over to Beggars All, and partake of the theological insights posted there by Rob!
Rob has given us all some food for thought in this cogent, thoughtful posting. He brings a useful perspective to the discussion of (if I may be so bold as to summarize) Evangelicalism vs. Confessional Lutheranism vs. Roman Catholicism vs. Eastern Orthodoxy, as pertaining to the backlash generated by theological extremism.
In other words, Rob examines what happens when folks get lured into the trap of Relativism.
It’s a tremendous posting, and rather than do it any further injustice, I’ll send you over there with these two observations:
1) I see Rob’s surface point on the dogmatic statement that “Lutheranism is Christianity” — it seems arrogant. However, I myself tend to agree with it. In fact, I’ve also heard it stated thusly, “To be Lutheran is to be Christian, and to be Christian is to be Lutheran!” Now, this is, of course, limited to Confessional/Historic Lutheranism, not the Methobapticostal Lite Lutheranism that is touted in ELCA and (increasingly) in LCMS. Every denomination that is truly Christian has, I’m quite confident in stating, Christians/Lutherans in their midst who will be with us in Heaven. Conversely, there are those who are LINO (Lutheran in Name Only) who will not be in Heaven (this touches on the whole Election discussion that Dr. Heidenreich touched on, and I don’t want to get into that! 
) Those brothers in Christ who join us in Heaven are, and will be, Lutherans even if they don’t know it! Why? Because Historical Confessional Lutheranism is the clearest & strongest exposition of orthodox Christianity that I have encountered. As a wise Deaconess recently stated: I am Lutheran according to the confession of the Augustana, not by virtue of its interpretation, and that means Lutheran and Christian are one and the same.
Amen!
2) I also see Rob’s surface point on the warnings re: reductionism. However (again), while I somewhat see the need to (however ironically) reduce the terms of the argument for clarity’s sake, I would posit that the Lutheran Confessions were never meant to be equated with, much less supplant, Holy Scriptures; rather, they were meant in the same vein as the Historic Creeds — to simply state simple Biblical truths. Anyone who ascribes more than that to the Confessions (or the Creeds for that matter) has fallen prey to error and an errorist agenda.
Those points having been made, I must state again that Rob’s posting is excellent, and I commend him for having given us this wonderful opportunity for reflection & discussion.
-ghp
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