Outer Rim Territories

Chris:That was mostly CTS CDs with a few others thrown in for taste. That was my classmate who chose them. The conference wasn't well-behaved. Last year no such definitions were necessary. As a matter of fact, both Image of God and Good Shepherd this year wouldn't have needed that. Unfortunately people thought they should try to convert the heathens... whose shields were on full, all power diverted to forward shields, thank you Mr. Scotty. Moderation was definitely called for and I would expect it next year. By Dr. Braaten, David Scaer was doing what should have been done earlier.

Sam

The first referred presenter was: "A Confessional Lutheran Voice in the Contemporary Scene" - Dr. Robert Benne, Director, Center for Religion and Society, Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia

His paper was an assessment of the errors of approach of both ELCA and LCMS. He accused the ELCA of being too liberal. While personally affirming women's ordination, he was frustrated that the masculine references to God were removed from their revised liturgies (including Father, Son, and Lord.) We obviously see this as not surprising but he wouldn't acknowledge a correlation.

On the other hand, He said Missouri's limitations were bound to holding to rigid Biblical inerrancy. Now the tension rose in the room pretty dramatically. He knew full well the tension this would cause. So he baited the audience with questions/statements like "You don't all believe in the six day creation, do you?" and "Evolution is a proven scientific fact."

He had 30 minutes available for Q&A which largely devolved into catcalls and attempts to proselytize him. He was invited to present a perspective of ELCA which he did. He also presented their perspective of the LCMS... that is, we're a bunch of Bible-bashing fundamentalists. A minority played right into his hands and affirmed that they aren't interested in listening but are more interested in a severe head-bashing. At an academic event such as this, the lack of respect they showed was despicable.

Dr. Carl Braaten was more interesting as he was the last presenter. The conference was still reeeling from Dr. Benne's presentation of the morning. Either way, after three days of conferencing the attendees were worn out. Thankfully Dr. Braaten's baiting of the audience was a little better received... mostly because it was heavy handed unlike Benne's subtle manipulation.

The best interchange was:

Dr. Braaten: "You can have he Seminex crowd back."
Dr. David Scaer: "You can keep them. We don't want them either."

and later:

Dr. David Scaer: "They're the gift that keeps on giving."

My notes aren't so hot for Braaten so hopefully the audio will get posted sooner rather than later.

The day's speakers included two from the ELCA. While I missed the first one, I heard about it later. I hope that it is included on the web site so that I can read it for myself. Apparently he betrayed his left-leaning insights more than most. The second ELCA speaker was Dr. Carl E. Braaten. Dr. Braaten may be known to many for his collaboration on the dogmatics text he wrote some years back that is used in ELCA seminaries. His lecture was entitled "Confessional Lutheranism in an Ecumenical World." The emphasis of his paper, however, centered on his premise that Lutherans "are Catholics in exile." From his perspective the largest impediment to returning from our 'exile' is the "false government" in Rome. Like the Eastern Orthodox we reject the "universal jurisdiction" of the pope. I was disappointed, though, that Dr. Braaten did not appreciate the more significant differences, especially regarding the central doctrine of the church: justification. It was actually surprising to hear him refer to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) as "a miracle of grace." He seemed to be caught up in the belief that Rome and Wittenberg really do agree on this central doctrine, although anyone who has examined the document itself, and reflected on the use of terms between these two communions, will eventually realize that Rome conceded nothing and that they still believe everything they did at the time of Luther. The Council of Trent, although perhaps ignored or discounted by some Catholic and non-Catholic scholars today, is still the 'official' teaching of Rome. He stated that the "mutual condemnations" of the two churches "no longer apply," but what he failed to mention is that Rome did not removed them. The agency of the church that approved JDDJ on Rome's behalf was not the arm of the church that defines or enforces the teachings of the church. For those who wish to study the background of this document and the terms involved, should read Dr. Robert Preus' book Justification and Rome, published by CPH.