Monday, October 11, 2004

I went back to Norma's home church website. I decided I was going to test the orthodoxy of this church by putting in three simple words. See what the results are!

This is further evidence of my contention that her congregation isn't really all that Lutheran.

This all may sound to some people as me being a whinny little Gen-Xer who is still a little immature. That is true of other things (my obsessions with Monty Python and Beer are the two most obvious) but once we begin treading into the realm of theology, I become very serious. Much of the reason why I am so silly sometimes is because I carry scars. They are very visible if you ever meet me. It's hard to miss the biggest scar on the right side of my face, a reminder every day of a six-year old's world turned upside-down. There are many people who poo-poo plastic surgery. Most people think of plastic surgery as something unnecessary, something done to reverse age or to lose weight, not realizing plastic surgery is sometimes necessary. Being the recipient of such a case, I have nothing but gratitude for plastic surgeons. That's besides the point, however. The point is when I need to become serious, I am very serious. I've had too much crap happen too early in my life for me not to be. I take theology very seriously and I take Christian Freedom very seriously. It's no secret that I have problems with the ELCA. Orthodoxy is lacking within the ELCA. UALC is just a different expression of that heterodoxy. Normally, heterodoxy is expressed through relying on historical-criticism and reinterpreting scripture in light of the modern culture. The UALC buys into the modern notion of Protestantism at the expense of the cathlicity of Lutheranism. It's kind of like replacing a good, balanced meal with a bowl of sugar. Sure, you can survive temporarily on that but you sure wouldn't want that diet for the long run. Programs dominate when Word and Sacrament should. Honestly, I feel bad that people get suckered by this.

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