When someone says that you need to understand Luther's Doctrine of _____ in order to understand something in Scripture, is it safe to say that he's put Tradition over Scripture?I think that for the LCMS, Tradition consists of Luther's Works, Walther's Law and Gospel and various Theses, and the Book of Concord except for the annoying bits in the Apology and Formula that are hard to understand and don't support schizophrenic dualism.
I had a kick last quarter on this very topic. I was struggling with dogmatics and especially their application. It is so easy to fall into the trap of using the "shortcut" (as Prof. Ziegler calls it) of using a Lutheran dogmatic term as the answer to a scriptural question.
This isn't inherently wrong. If anything it is inherently good for us Lutherans to remember and apply the dogma we profess to believe. I suppose if dogma might be a challenging term for some. Dogmas are responses to God, responding with the gifts he dives us. For example, if God were to ask what is baptism, we would hope to have a response that is phrased "Holy Baptism IS" not "I think that" or "I may be wrong but" or worse yet, "Some people think." Faith is not wishy washy. God has given a clear and defined faith not subject to perspective but only subject to the
norma normans, "the norm that norms" which is Holy Scripture.
Often these statements of teaching on a specific aspect of faith are polemic in nature, articulating against a specific or many specific errors. For example, the Nicene Creed which we professed as ratified by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. was written to exclude errors in the understanding of the Trinity. We don't elevate the doctrine professed as a replacement of scripture but we describe it as the
norma normata, "the normed norm". In other words, it accurately restates what God's Word states. It isn't God's Word but is faithful to this word.
These statements of doctrinal are communal, where we joing together saying "we believe", that is the whole Christian church believes. Consequently they are used in a doxological and liturgical setting of our divine service.
In the end, it is absolutely true that those who elevate these doctrines to the place of scripture, not simply using them as shortcuts but relying on them without scriptural backing do a disservice to those that give their lives for these statements of faith.
This is most evident in my own life. What I realized last quarter was that I had been well catechized. I knew all the doctrines of the church. Yet, I had no clear idea of how to justify them with God's Word. I realized that the most important and most challenging task ahead of me is proving and consequently believing that the words of the Lutheran Confessions as found in the Book of Concord can be subscribed to "quia", that is
because they are in accordance with scripture. Its a big book and I'm sick of hearing and saying myself cheating answers of "the Doctrine of _____ says this, so ah ha! I win." Rather than "Holy Scripture says this, as expressed by our doctrine of _________."
Doctrines refute error but don't create faith. God's Word does. Use appropriately.
