Marquart Responds to Christain News on Fort Wayne

What follows is a response to Rev. Jack Cascione's article, "Fort Wayne: Long on Form But Short on Polity?". This letter appeared in the December 6, 1999 issue of Christian News.

 

November 28, 1999

The Editor
Christian News
New Haven, MO

Sir,

Your publication has often treated occasional modest contributions of mine with embarrassingly generous praise. This imposes on me, I fear, a certain duty to speak out when I can on behalf of such as are in my view treated less than fairly. A case in point is your issue of 22 November 1999, in which our friend Pastor J. Cascione launched an unbelievably bitter attack on our Ft. Wayne Seminary.

I happen to believe that no one in the church except the Lord Himself is beyond criticism. No institution, no synod, no seminary is perfect -- the devil, the world, and our flesh see to that. Honest brotherly correction therefore ought to be freely offered and received on all sides but Brother Cascione's tirade goes beyond the bounds of fairness, not to mention charity. Incidentally, I write this purely on my own initiative, and speak only for myself. In the interest of brevity I restrict myself to but a few observations:

1.  Yes, I too regret that the ministry debate among us often follows the maxim of Luther's drunken peasant: in the middle of the road only on the way from one ditch to the other. Both extremes have abused Walther, whom they neither understand nor heed. Articles like Brother Cascione's do nothing to help us regain the golden middle of the road!

2.  Granted, the "Called and Ordained" piece in the Seminary publication was a bit one sided. Even Roman Catholic scholarship today admits that the New Testament uses "priestly" language only of Christ Himself and of the whole People of God-- not of the clergy. But why is this article ripped out of the context of the rest of the issue? Why is the worst construction put upon it, despite the clearest statement, only two pages later: "The laying of hands.is not as such a divine institution or a sacrament:"? Deliberate refusal to quote such statements amounts, I'm afraid, to deliberate misrepresentation. And if one must fuss about the mere word "priest," no matter how innocently used, then why not attack the Lutheran Confessions' habitual use of the traditional term, without any ill intent? And must we scratch Hymn 483 in The Lutheran Hymnal because of stanza 3: "Anoint them priests. Strong intercessors, they"? Or worse, stanza 4: "Anoint them kings; aye, kingly kings, O Lord"?

3.  The title "Long on Form But Short on Polity" is as absurd as the alternative "Long on Style But Short on Fashion"! Polity is form! It is not doctrine. Pieper: "Our Lutheran Church has no special constitution to hold it together.To the true unity of the church there belongs, as our Confession says, only the pure Word and the right administration of the Sacraments. The fact that the sects put so much stock in external forms is due to the fact that they do not maintain the distinction between Law and Gospel." ("Theses on the Distinction Law and Gospel," 1880, Iowa District)

4.  Walther never talked about "voters' assemblies" which suggests Democrats and Republicans --but about "Gemeindeversammlungen," congregational meetings. And his "Pastoral Theology" makes it quite clear that there is no magic in mere majorities: matters of faith and conscience are to be settled by the Word of God, with unanimity; all other things are subject to love and mutual accommodation. Walther never confused - as modern secular "autonomy" talk does--congregations as property-holding corporations under the law, with congregations as spiritual entities in the Gospel and sacraments. Both have their valid place, but they are not the same.

5.  "Hauptgnadenmittel," a la Grabau, means not "head grace mediator" but the "chief means of grace"--which is quite bad enough.

6.  Lutheran theology describes the means of grace as "instrumental cause" of faith, and the Gospel ministry as "ministerial cause." That is, the only point of the ministry is to be bearer or servant of the means of salvation. In this limited sense "through the ministry" has a right meaning. Walther: "when a pastor uses God's Word in his congregation .then the congregation hears Jesus Christ Himself out of his mouth. In that case it owes him unconditional obedience as the one by whom God desires to make known to it His will and lead it to eternal. Life" (Church and Ministry, pp.303-304).

7.  No spiritual gifts in ordination? Walther: "even today ordination is no meaningless ceremony if it is connected with the ardent prayer of the church, based on the glorious promises given in particular to the office of the ministry; it is accompanied with the outpouring of heavenly gifts on the person ordained" (Church and Ministry, p.248).

8.  Now that world "Lutheranism," as represented by the bankrupt "Lutheran" World Federation, has officially given up the ghost-by surrendering justification to the Vatican and the Sacrament of the Altar to Geneva Protestantism-our little confessional churches throughout the world cannot afford complacency and self-congratulation. But please no orgies of self-destruction! Vigilantism is not vigilance. Let us try to serve one another with light, not heat.

9.  In that spirit I implore you to avoid editorial comments like "LCMS officials are now allowing charismatics to remain on the LCMS clergy roster."   Presumably such issues must be settled after the clarifying talks with "RIM" now scheduled, not before! Why not thank God for confessional leaders who demand such talks-instead of tempting Him with our ingratitude? If after the doctrinal discussions nothing is done, then will be the time to hold "LCMS officials" accountable, for of course Pentecostalism cannot be accommodated within any responsible reading of the Book of Concord. The Lord help us all-- and let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Yours in the bonds of faith, office, and friendship,
K. Marquart
(Dept: , Syst. Theol.
CTS, F Wayne)


Christian News is published weekly (except in August) by Lutheran News, Inc.  It is not an official organ of any church-body, but an independent publication designed to supply rank and file Christians with information needed to face the present crisis in Christendom.

The above "Letter to the Editor" is reprinted with permission of Christian News.