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What we believe Our Members What is a Lutheran? Who was Martin Luther? The Ten Commandments The Sacraments Luther's Morning and Evening Prayers ELC Home Page |
First and foremost, a Lutheran is a Christian. We have no monopoly on being Christian, but are part of the holy catholic ("universal") Church. The Lutheran Church comes out of Martin Luther's sixteenth-century protesting of certain Roman Catholic church teachings for which Luther found no biblical basis. His primary insight into the Gospel was that salvation is never earned by our own efforts, but is a free and gracious gift of God. Thus, Lutherans have ties to Roman Catholicism (after all, Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk), as well as to other Protestant churches. Luther's explanation can be summed up in three phrases -- Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura:
Many Lutherans still consider themselves as a reforming movement within the Church catholic, rather than a separatist movement, and Lutherans have engaged in ecumenical dialogue with other church bodies for decades. In fact, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has entered into cooperative "full communion" agreements with several other Protestant denominations. Luther's Small Catechism, which contains teachings on the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, Holy Baptism, Confession and Absolution, Holy Communion and Morning and Evening Prayers, is still used to introduce people to the Lutheran faith, as is the Augsburg Confession. These and other Lutheran confessional documents are included in the Book of Concord. Some material adapted from "Essential Questions -- Christianity and Lutheranism"; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. (www.elca.org) |