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The Confessions. The Augustinian monk named Martin Luther had no intention of founding Lutheranism—either in fact or in name. In 1522. when some of his followers referred to themselves as Lutherans, he wrote: "Please do not use my name; do not call yourselves Lutherans, but Christians . . . The doctrine is not mine; I have not been crucified for anyone . . . Why should I, a miserable bag of worms, give my meaningless name to Christ's children?'' Only later, when Roman Catholics used the term as an insult, did Luther consent to let his name be applied to those who agreed with him.
Lutheranism — and Protestantism—came formally into being 16 years before Luther's death with the public reading on June 25, 1530, of the Augsburg Confession. This official summation of the doctrinal position of the Lutherans was drawn up by Philip Melanchthon, Luther's wise and temperate friend, and like Luther a well-founded theologian. This and two later creedal statements are included in the Book of Concord of 1580 and supply the Lutheran answers to almost every spiritual problem the Christian soul is prone to—Anti-Trinitarianism, humanism, Pelagianism, synergism, determinism, Manichaeism, spiritualism, enthusiasm, sacerdotalism, sacramentalism, mysticism, asceticism, perfectionism, antinomianism, chiliasm, apocalypticism, Donatism, Novatianism, etc.
The Lutheran confessions reached the New World nearly a century after their publication.* They remained a kind of sub-Scriptural scripture, and the attitude a modern Lutheran takes to them places him on the scale somewhere between liberal and conservative.
The Groups. The most conservative U.S. Lutheran group is the MISSOURI SYNOD, which regards the confessions not only as "a doctrinal standard" but as "kerygmatic and prayable, i.e., they belong in the pulpit and the pew. They are a doxology [and] establish the consensus with the fathers." The Missouri Synod and its conservative associates in the SYNODICAL CONFERENCE (see Chart) stand unalterably on acceptance of the confessions "because"—not "insofar as" —they are in agreement with the Bible. They are equally firm on 1) literal interpretation of the Bible and 2) refusal to join any group whose members do not interpret the Word exactly as they do.