Journeyman
A Journal for the Inquiring Christian

Vol. 1, No. 2, November 2001 There We Stood, Here We Stand Overview: Kelly Brimmer-Pittman reivews Timothy Drake's book about eleven Lutherans who converted to Roman Catholicism. The book is published by 1st Books Library Reviewed by Kelly Brimmer-Pittman Eleven Lutherans Rediscover their Catholic Roots Timothy Drake's book, There We Stood, Here We Stand details the conversion stories of eleven former Lutherans. It is interesting to note that prior to becoming Lutheran all of the writers were members of other mainline evangelical Protestant denominations. The majority were initially attracted to the rich liturgical traditions and the desire for sacramental worship that dominates the Lutheran faith. Ultimately, however, it was the truth of the Roman Catholic Church and specifically its claim to authority that drew most of these converts from Lutheranism to the Church of Rome. The writers all elaborate on a multitude of personal difficulties they had with issues such as the veneration of the Virgin Mary, intercessory prayer, justification and Purgatory. However, the overriding theme conveyed in all of these accounts was the desire for a church that was uncompromising and unchanging in its beliefs. Through study of the early Church, the Church Fathers, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and other Church documents such as the Council Of Trent, the writers gradually came to believe that there were too many inconsistencies within Lutheranism when compared with the Catholic Church. The issues of abortion and homosexual unions were often the catalyst that started some of the converts on their search for Church authority. These topics greatly illustrate not only how far removed modern Lutheranism is from the Catholic Church, but how widely this denomination has strayed from the original church Luther founded. Some of the conversion stories detail how Lutheran denominations, particularly the Evangelical Church of America (ELCA), have changed the liturgy and meaning of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, to such as extent that Luther himself would not recognize his church. Their stories make clear the glaring distinction between historical Lutheran theology and contemporary Lutheran beliefs of today. Arthur Bowman and Jennifer Ferrara, both former Lutheran pastors, elaborate on the depth of theological issues that divide the two faiths by comparing the authority of the Magisterium to the various decision-making bodies in both liberal and conservative Lutheran denominations. Bowman states, "The teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church was not vested in majority votes at Church conventions, but in the Magisterium of the Church." He goes on to say, "I could no longer tolerate Lutheran Church Conventions made up of special interest groups dictating what Lutheran belief and practice should be. Theoretically, a Lutheran Church Convention could vote Easter off the Church calendar." Patricia Ferrara felt compelled as a leader and pastor of her congregation to speak with her Bishop regarding the ELCA's position on abortion. When she stated her problems about counseling her parishioners against abortion without having the backing of the church, he replied that abortion was simply not something that the laity was concerned about. The frustration that these writers had with decisions made by those in positions of leadership — decisions that caused the disintegration of morality and reduced it to subjective opinion — was enormous. Ferrara's statement echoes that of Bowman when she says, "The leadership of the ELCA has replaced claims for authority with calls for openness and dialogue, and these are often barely disguised attempts to bludgeon theological conservatives into changing their positions." She gives an example of this is the Division For Church in Society's 1993 social statement on human sexuality, which states, "As Lutherans we offer guidelines but we also affirm our Christian freedom to make responsible decisions specific to our life situations." Ferrara details further, "It proceeds to explain not everyone's life situation falls into the categories of marriage or celibacy, the other situations being cohabitation and same sex relationships. By contrast, in Evangelium Vitae, I encountered the constancy of the Church's moral teachings on sexual morality and human life stated in the loving and compelling way that is a hallmark of Pope John Paul II." One could argue that most of the writers could have remained Lutheran if they had transferred church membership to one of the more conservative denominations such as the Missouri or Wisconsin synods where abortion and homosexuality are forbidden. However, the argument is not merely liberal Lutheran theology vs. conservative. The Lutheran Church's insistence on sola scriptura destroyed the very foundation of the faith as a whole. Again, a quote from Jennifer Ferrara explains. "History demonstrates that an insistence upon scripture alone, no matter how much authority we grant it, leads to schism. If the teachings of Scripture are as self-evident as Luther argued, why do we have so many different Protestant groups all claiming their interpretation of Scripture is the right one?" The idea of sola scriptura ushered in a new methodology: each man interpreting the Bible and its meaning with the assistance of the Holy Spirit apart from the authority of the church. The confusion and schism this caused is evidenced by the literally thousands of different Christian denominations that exist today. Prior to his death, Luther was able to see the catastrophic effects of sola scriptura as shown by this quote in a letter to fellow reformer Heinrich Zwingli. "There are almost as many sects and beliefs as there are heads; this one will not admit Baptism; that one rejects the Sacrament of the altar; another places another world between the present one and the day of judgment; some teach that Christ is not God. There is not an individual, however clownish he may be who does not claim to be inspired by the Holy Ghost, and who does not put forth as prophecies his ravings and dreams." He conceded that reformers would again have to rely on church councils in order to preserve the unity of the faith that had been so fragmented by the interpretations given to Scripture. As little as a year after the Ninety Five Theses, Luther wrote to Pope Leo X that "I never approved of a Schism nor will I approve of it for all eternity ... that the Roman Church is more honored by God that all others is not to be debated ... though nowadays everything is in a wretched state, it is no grounds for separating from the Church. On the contrary, the worse things are going, the more we should hold close to her, for it is not by separating from the Church that we can make her better ... There is no sin, no amount of evil, which should be permitted to dissolve the bond of charity or break the bond of unity of the body." Patricia Soldano Ireland, another former Lutheran pastor, sums it up nicely with this statement from the book, "The early reformers did not foresee that once they negated the Holy See, they removed all positive authority, cohesion and controls from their new church. The Lutheran doctrines of sola fide and sola scriptura necessarily placed private interpretation and judgment in a conflicted and tendentious relationship with Catholic tradition." While many areas other than authority are covered in this book, the key element of conversion in these stories rests in the ultimate authority of the Church in matters of faith and tradition. Once this doctrine is accepted, all other issues fall away. This book is an excellent read with compelling arguments on other doctrines that both the Catholic and the Lutheran will find of interest.