Doctrine

In confirmation class, our students learn that God's moral Law is like a mirror. When we look into it in view of our own lives, we see reflected an accurate moral understanding of our own lives. The conclusion for every human on earth is that we are morally guilty, and in need of rescue from the punishment we deserve.

Recently, I've noticed how some people consider Lutheran theology to be "hateful" or "hate-filled." It seems that these words are used in the same vein as the recently-coined concept of a "hate crime." That alone should make Christians uncomfortable with this trend in the legal system of our states and nation. But that's beside the point.

I've just had a complex thought, but I'm not sure I can express it in words. BTW, that's one of the great values of writing those thoughts down. When you try to express them, as happens on a blog, they tend either to crystallize or evaporate. Please be patient, and we'll see what happens this time.

A key part of the context of my thoughts on fellowship is the Werner Elert book Eucharist and Fellowship in the First Four Centuries. It shows how Holy Communion as an expression of fellowship was practiced so differently in the early church than it is practiced today -- even in the ELS -- and yet there are so many parallels and similarities. Read it if you have the chance.

Is there any such thing as Fellowship? What an odd question to ask. But I ask it anyway, for the sake of discussion, because our doctrine and practice of fellowship seems to be self-contradictory.