History
Some notable Lutheran ministers include Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, Martin Chemnitz, Henry Muhlenberg, C.F.W. Walther, Gerhard Forde, J.A.O. Preus II, Hans Fiene, and Jordan Cooper.
October 31, 1517 - Martin Luther, professor at Wittenberg, publishes his 95 theses concerning indulgences. This leads to the Heidelberg Disputation (1518) and the Disputation of Leipzig (1519)
1520 - Luther writes four short books. In December, Luther burns the Papal bull that threatened him with excommunication if he did not recant 41 statements. He is then excommunicated by the Pope.
1521 - The Imperial Diet of Worms; Luther refuses to recant before the emperor, Charles V. Safe in Wartburg Castle, Luther translates the New Testament into German (the Old Testament would be completed in 1534). In the same year, 24-year-old Philip Melanchthon writes the first Protestant systematic theology, Loci communes.
1526 - At the Diet of Speyer, local princes are permitted to decide religious issues. This is allowed to gain political unity in the Holy Roman Empire amid a war with France and the Pope. This gives opportunity for Protestant reforms.
1529 - Martin Luther writes the Small Catechism and the Large Catechism.
1530 - The Protestants present their confession of faith, written by Melanchthon with Luther’s approval, to the emperor at the Diet of Augsburg. Pressure from hostile Turks motivate the emperor to tolerate Protestants to maintain political unity. Protestantism also spreads to Scandinavia during this time. An Apology (Defense) of the Augsburg Confession is written by Melanchthon in 1531.
1537 - In preparation for a possible general church council, Luther writes the Smalcald Articles and Melanchthon writes The Power and Primacy of the Pope.
1546 - Martin Luther dies in February. In June, the emperor launches the Schmalkald War to subdue the Protestants.
1555 - A treaty is made, the Peace of Augsburg, which allows each territorial prince to decide whether the territory would be Lutheran or Roman Catholic.
1546-1577 - After Luther’s death, several controversies were debated in Lutheran circles on issues like Christ’s presence in the Lord’s Supper, original sin and free will, antinomianism, and adiaphora (things indifferent). Some Lutherans were closer to a Reformed understanding, prompting the charge of Crypto-Calvinism, while others were further away.
1577 - The Formula of Concord (its “Epitome” and its “Solid Declaration”) was produced to bring about unity among the Lutheran churches, addressing the controversies.
1580 - The Book of Concord was published, consisting of the three ecumenical creeds, the Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, the Small Catechism, the Large Catechism, the Epitome of the Formula of Concord, and the Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord. It gave unity to Lutherans and was adopted by many German Lutheran churches and lands, but not all. Some regions continued to only hold some of the documents as authoritative (usually regions that had not been disturbed by the controversies or that desired closer relations with Reformed churches and countries).
1600s-1700s
The Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation came back with a vengeance at the beginning of this century, and the 30 Years War broke out in Central Europe, in which Protestantism struggled for its freedom. Gustavus Adolphus was an important Lutheran king who kept the Protestant cause from falling at that time. After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, these lands sought to recover. Pietism grew in the late 1600s and early 1700s in Lutheran lands as a movement in response to low religious conditions. Pietism was inspired by English Puritans and was itself an inspiration for later Methodism. Yet, this movement could be unbalanced. Others stressed the importance of orthodoxy and the church. At the same time, Lutheranism came to America in colonies like Pennsylvania. This era also saw the rise of Enlightenment Rationalism in Europe.
1800s-1900s
In this century immigration from Germany and Scandinavia to America increased. One cause was religious in nature, as when Prussian authorities sought to force Reformed and Lutheran churches to unite in one communion. Some of these “Old Lutherans” who refused to comply fled from Saxony to Missouri and joined with other Lutherans to form the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. This denomination was organized in 1847 as the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States.
Other Lutherans formed themselves into various synods, often locally and then merging with others. In 1982, the ELCA was formed by a merger of three other Lutheran denominations. (1) The American Lutheran Church was composed of predominantly German, Danish, and Norwegian Lutherans, with a geographical center in the Upper Midwest (some of its more conservative churches refused to join the ELCA and formed the American Association of Lutheran Churches). (2) The Lutheran Church in America was centered more on the East Coast, with roots back to colonial times and the earlier waves of German and Swedish immigration, along with some Finnish and Danish churches in the Midwest. (3) The Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches was formed by 250 churches that left the LCMS after the LCMS maintained a conservative position on things like biblical inerrancy.
The three main Lutheran denominations in the USA today are the ELCA (~3.7 million), the LCMS (~2.1 million), the WELS (~380,000; Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod; centered in the Upper Midwest). The ELCA is generally liberal, while the LCMS and WELS are confessional. There are a number of other smaller denominations (e.g. AALC, AFLC).
Doctrine
Confessional Lutherans hold to many doctrines in common with us Presbyterians. They hold to core creedal doctrines and core Protestant doctrines like justification by faith alone, salvation by grace alone, and Scripture alone as the rule of faith and life. The LCMS and WELS have maintained biblical authority and the proclamation of the gospel against the inroads of liberalism. I have much appreciation for them and their work.
Some Lutheran traditions (often those with Scandinavian roots) do not subscribe to the full Book of Concord, and thus have greater doctrinal diversity.
Concerning God’s sovereignty in salvation, Lutherans who hold to the Book of Concord basically affirm that fallen man is unable to will that which is truly good, that God unconditionally elects people unto salvation, and that he sovereignly and effectually calls the elect to salvation by his grace. But they deny limited atonement and the perseverance of the saints (they believe in the perseverance of the elect, but not of all believers). They object to “double predestination” (a debatable term even among the Reformed) and stress the need to be guided in life by God’s revealed will in his word (as we do too).
Lutherans who hold to the Book of Concord affirm the three uses of the law, although they can differ from the Reformed in emphasis (they also number the first two in reverse order). Some other Lutherans, like Gerhard Forde, do not teach the third use of the law.
Confessional Lutherans, like us, hold that the sacraments are means of grace, along with the word. They deny that the sacraments give grace by the outward act, and affirm that the promised things offered in the sacrament are only received by faith. The sacraments are used to strengthen our faith.
It seems that they usually assert that all baptized infants received what is promised in their baptism at that time, although I have not found this yet in their confessional documents. To be more precise, they believe that when an infant is baptized God creates faith in their hearts, a faith by which the child receives what is promised. This is also a faith that must be fed and strengthened, as they believe a person can fall away from faith. Thus, they do not believe that all baptized infants are elect, and they affirm the need to teach and encourage children to believe and repent and diligently use the means of grace. They do not believe that baptism is necessary for justification (as the Restorationists do). For example, if an outsider comes to faith, he is justified for Christ’s sake alone through faith alone right then, and thus is to be baptized.
Confessional Lutherans, like us, deny that the Lord’s Supper is a sacrifice for sins and that the substance of the bread and wine turn into that of Christ’s body and blood. Unlike us, they believe that Christ’s body and blood are substantially united with the elements and received in the mouth by all who partake (although only to the benefit of those who receive it by faith). Rather than appealing to the work of the Spirit to explain how Christ’s body and blood are given to us in the Supper, they appeal to the ubiquity of Christ’s body and blood, arguing that in his glorified state his human nature can be in more than one location at the same time. Many of them only administer the Lord’s Supper to those who agree with the Lutheran doctrine of the Lord’s Supper (WELS is most strict, LCMS is pretty closed, and ELCA is wide open).
Worship
While some of their churches have adopted more contemporary styles, their worship is usually liturgical and dignified. They are known for their rich hymnody and music. While they do not worship images, they do not object to the presence of images of Christ (Reformed churches object to the images themselves).
Church Government
Lutheranism does not have a distinct church government. Their church government varies, usually with a mix of congregational, presbyterian, and episcopal influences. They see the pastoral office as the only divinely ordained office, with churches free to have other officers like elders to help. Their view of the pastoral office is similar to the Reformed view, and historically their use of elders has been similar (although not quite as robust) to that in Reformed churches. The LCMS is composed of ministers and congregations, has regional districts and a synodical convention, and tends toward congregational government in their churches (e.g. excommunication is by the minister and the congregation).
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