Concordia

Quodlibet: Ask Pastor Anything

On Reading the Book of Concord

Dear X—,

Thank you for your excellent questions on the Book of Concord. I'll try to address them sequentially.

(1) “Is the Book of Concord discussed much in teachings or conferences?” Yes and no. I don't know that people often bring their copies to cite specific sections, but all Lutheran pastors take an in-depth Confessions class (it’s the core of our theological education) and it forms our understanding of the Bible, the Sacraments, the Church, the role of the clergy, &c. Our theology is Confessional.

(2) “Have you ever had a short study on its contents?” Yes, we have. A year or so ago we were reading sections of the Augsburg Confession for Pub Theology, article by article. The Small Catechism provides the structure for our Lenten midweek services and also one of the three years of our Confirmation program (this year, in fact).

(3) “Before one becomes a member of the congregation, you have a discussion of Martin Luther's Small and Large Catechism?” Ideally, yes. The Small Catechism is designed to be an at-home guide for religious instruction and biblical interpretation. It is penned for the husband and wife as “bishop and bishoppess” of the household. The Large Catechism is certainly a good thing for anyone to read, but is oriented more toward pastoral duties and understandings.

(4) “What are your thoughts on one being a confessional or non-confessional Lutheran?” In my experience, these terms vary based on context, i.e. in disagreements between Lutherans one often accuses the other of being non-confessional. Certainly I would find it hard to imagine being Lutheran in any meaningful sense if one did not confess (at the very least) the Catechism and the Augsburg Confession as good and true interpretations of the Scriptures. These are the documents that literally defined Evangelical Lutheranism. That said, I think that most everyone would find at least some part of the Book of Concord with which we might quibble or seek clarification.

(5) “This book so far has given me a better perspective of the Reformation movement.” I’m glad to hear it. So often the Reformation is presented as something new or revolutionary, whereas the original Reformers were adamant (in, for example, the Augsburg Confession) that our churches teach nothing new, but faithfully adhere to the apostolic faith as it was passed on to us.

May your reading continue to be fruitful for the faith that we share.

See also: The 3½ Lutheran Answers to Any Question and the Marks of the Church.