The Psychoanalytic Assembly
by George H. Muedeking, editor*
As editor of the American Lutheran Church's official publication, the Lutheran Standard, my predecessor, Dr. Schramm, gave each ALC convention a name. I discontinued the practice, but many attending the 1995 ELCA Assembly asked, "What are your impressions of this meeting?" I share some of them with our FOCL-POINT readers, in lieu of the news reports which are otherwise available.
This Assembly was a living theater of the early 20th century's three-ring psychoanalytic circus. Freud and Sex: Adler and Power, Jung and Religion – they were all there.
Freud and the Assembly
Sex issues popped up like eradicable weeds. The ELCA Church Council tried to keep them down by sanitizing the ground beforehand. It told the Assembly that the infamous document, "The Church and Human Sexuality," whose release by the Commission for Church in Society in 1993 had precipitated a firestorm of protest throughout the Church, would not be offered for approval. So also with its 1994 rewrite, "Human Sexuality." No "Social Statement" on the subject would be reinitiated until after the ! 997 Assembly. Reason: the ELCA is too "confused" [read: divided 80%-20% against approving homosexual behavior, premarital and extramarital sex, and promoting condoms to prevent Sexually Transmitted Diseases].
Delegates grasped at the Council's proposal as a way out. Those who represented the radicalizing of sexual mores were glad to get a few more years to reeducate all the unenlightened Midwestern Lutherans (see Robert Bene's article, "Losing the Ball on the One Yard Line" in the last issue of FOCL-POINT). The others were pleased as well. They trusted that the Scriptures, historic church ethics and theology, and society's uniform experience regarding intact families and proscribed forms of sexual extravagances, will be convicting enough to determine acceptable parameters of human sexuality.
Not all delegates were happy with the Council's recommendation, however. From a 40 minute go-around over the very first Assembly resolution to hit the floor, the homosexual lobby pushed its opinion that the Church was forfeiting its ministry toward this group with its Scripture-based and centuries-long warning against homosexual behavior. The way to ministry, these advocates held, should rather be to welcome them and affirm their behavioral inclinations asa"gift of God."
To impress the delegates, a homosexual worship celebration of Holy Communion was mounted in the church edifice next door, during the Assembly hours, with – believe it or not – one of the ELCA's own bishops as the promotional preacher.
But this unremitting effort to get the Assembly to legitimate and endorse this life style came apart dramatically. One Texas delegate, announcing that he had brought along his homosexual partner, moved that the Assembly approve not only homosexual, but also "bisexual," behavior. He explained that his proposed substitute resolution would "include people of all sexual orientations."
It suddenly came clear that the ELCA was being propelled beyond the simplistic assertions that "committed loving relationships" between same-sex partners were all the ELCA was being badgered into endorsing. Alarmed delegates then rushed to the microphones, pointing out that necrophilia, zoophilia, and pedophilia would also be detailed for subsequent Assembly approval, were the Assembly to unchain the Freudian libido in this fashion. One agitated African-American woman delegate summarized the issue: "We want our children to be HOLY!" And thus SEX was maneuvered back into its cage for the time being – but only for sure until "after 1997."
Adler and the Assembly
The Assembly also went to validating Adler's humans as being essentially a brood of power-seekers. Many celebratory Assembly events underlined this year as the 25th anniversary of women's ordination, Lutheranism has always accepted the Bible's comment that "God is no respecter of persons." It has affirmed that by our baptism all are ordained to "the priesthood of believers."
Despite this, thejudgment was often voicedin these celebrations thatwomen's ordination is a matter of equality and justice, as though Christ's women are not accorded equality before Him. The issue then must be understood more carefullyùdoes ordination confer an Adlerian power-base otherwise unavailable to the baptized believer? Evidently it is thought so to do, both by the many speakers who applauded women's rise to the clerical status, as weli as by those who carped repeatedly that authority positions in the clergy ranks were still largely agrey-hairedand undeserved masculine advantage.
How intense is this search for power by thefeministmovementinthis Church, was demonstrated by the rise of April Larson to the final runoff ballot for Bishop of the ELCA. She is bishop of the smallest of the ELCA's synods and possesses only a biennium of ecclesial leadership experience.
This thirst for Adlerian power was not confined to gender, however. When the Church Council proposed a triennial over a biennial Assembly, objectors called attention to the distrustthroughout the ELCA of the national office leadership cadre. A three-year interval would only augment this disconnect. The Assembly agreed, and turned back the proposal, despite the reminder from ELCA Secretary, Lowell Almen, that each Assembly costs $1.5 million from budgeted funds.
In addition, another 25 per cent of the total cost is given in grant funds from outside donors, and ELCA staff time devoted to preparing for an upcoming Assembly goes uncalculated in these costs.
Ultimate power of persuasion and leadership of the ELCA lies with the Bishop of the Church. On every count, the need to fill this power-position occupied the major interest of the delegates. The election of H. George Anderson, who had both seminary and college presidency incumbencies, both ALC and LCA ecclesiastical expertise, and asolid theological career as achurch historian, convinced the delegates that church-power would rest most becomingly on his head.
That he chose to conclude his acceptance address with the hymnic Te Deum, "Holy God We Praise Thy Name," with its total affirmation of the historic Church'sdoctrinesofthe Trinity, bodes well for the direction of his leadership, hinting that it will exhibit a perceptible appreciation of Lutheran conservation-theology and practice.
Jung and the Assembly
Psychoanalytic Jungianism was at the Assembly also. As Jung had corrected theexcess of naively viewing the human being as only either a sex-drive or a power-drive, so this Assembly endorsed Jung's conviction that religion is the ultimate driver of and explanation for the human enterprise.
Jung, of course, was no traditional religionist who got his bearings from orthodox Christianity. Like the opponents of early Christianity, he was a "Gnostic," one who possesses the secret psychic wisdom, gnosis, which is denied to the traditional Christian Church, its creeds and its run-of-the-mill members. So in this Assembly, there were frequent outbursts of Gnosticism. A bishop opined, for example, in relation to the substitute resolution advocating bisexual behavior, "I sensed my confusion and uncertainty. If we are to err we should err on the side of grace. So I accept the substitute."
This was, of course, an appeal to secret wisdom, denied to a Church that holds dear the Holy Scriptures which everywhere and in all instances, denounces and repudiates this life-style. It apparently never occurred to this ecclesiastic that grace would best be exercised not by affirming these activities, but by warning and alerting those who practice them that forgiveness is available from a grace-filled God, and that it must be sought. Just as grace is available and must be sought by every other sinner who trespasses the Biblical mandates.
To escape the Gnosticism trap, it was of no help for the Bishop of the Church to include in his farewell address the lengthy admonition that the ELCA must"usethe Bible with care," exploiting the old chestnut that we do not "worship the Bible in the ELCA." This also is Gnostic esoteria, alleging that only the elite have the gnosis to tell us what we may believe from our Bibles. It comes with minimal sensitivity in aChurch that in its constitution accepts that very Bible as its normative mentorfor faith and life.
Meanwhile, FOCL-POINT readers, eager to affirm the blessings of God visited upon the ELCA, will rejoice that it was not only Gnostic religionists who walked the halls of the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Stalwart lay delegates especially, but also brave and loyal clergy, rose up again and again, sometimes in noticeably hostile environs, to reassert the ELCA's commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the sufficient guide for the Church's faith and life. Repudiating Gnosticism, they testified that their own and their Church's embracing of the God-relationship must be mediated through the Scriptures as the "means" of grace.
Paul and the Assembly
Moving through all this psychoanalytic theater was a pervasive desire that the conflicts and divisiveness which have characterized this Church since its formation, must be mitigated. The election of H. George Anderson as bishop of the church, a man who vowed "to listen" to the Church, and whose administrative and ecumenical experiences vouchsafed a practiced collegiality, was solid affirmation of this intention to unify the Church. Staving off every hasty attempt to position the Church over against the explosive issues of sex, ecumenical commitments with the Reformed and Anglican denominations, sacramental practices, and Church Orders, the delegates opted for the hope that by the 1997 Assembly in Philadelphia, the Church would have found a unity in faith and practice that until this moment has escaped it in its role as a Lutheran voice in a suspicious and increasingly self-directed culture.
Pessimistically one could then have named this the "wallpaper convention" – every body about the business of papering over the cracks and fissures; optimistically one will name it the "Pauline Philippian Assembly"ù forgetting what lies behind, we press on toward the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
More Reformation Rallies Slated For October
FOCL's determination to make historic Lutheran "conservation-theology" available to all of California has received a big boost. Dr. Walter Sundberg, church history faculty at Luther Seminary, who is this year's Reformation Rally speaker, will appear not only at three events in Northern Caiifornia during the weekend of Oct. 22, but will also speak at three sites in Southern California on the weekend of Oct. 15.
Sundberg is one of a number of brilliant young theologians who has resisted the incursionsof theological and biblical laxity in the ELCA.
He has authored more than 60 professional articles in three fields of theology, is co-editor with Gracia Grindal of THE ROSE, a personal-faith magazine published for ELCA members, and co-author with Roy Harrisville, Jr. of the new volume on the historical critical method of biblical understandings, The Bible in Modern Culture, published by Eerdmans.
Sundberg's Northern California appearances will be at St. Ansgar Church in Salinas, Friday, Oct. 20th al7p.m. and at Grace Church, Palo Alto, for its two Sunday morning services at 8 and 10:30 a.m. and the9:15 a.m. Adult Forum. The annual FOCL REFORMATION RALLY itself will be staged at St. Timothy Church, 5100 Camden Ave., San Jose, at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22.
The earlier annual Northern California rally site announced in the last issue of FOCL-POINT to have been at Good Shepherd Church, Sacramentoù has been relinquished this year and moved to San Jose. Concern not to interfere with the final night of Billy Graham's only North American Crusade appearance, meeting in Sacramento that same evening, prompted the change of place.
FOCL board president, Gordon Selbo also noted that the new rally site in San Jose will giveloya! Lutherans on the Peninsula and the East Bay the opportunity to join this annual FOCL "call to the center" of the Lutheran faith.
In Southern California, Sundberg will speak at Mission Church, Laguna Niguel, on Sunday morning, Oct. 15th, and conduct a discussion with area Lutheran pastors on Monday morning at Concordia University, Irvine, under sponsorship of the Lutheran Bible Institute in California. The Southern California Reformation Rally will be held at Grace Church, Huntington Beach, at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The FOCL movement with its churchly goal of "encouraging biblical, evangelical and confessional faithfulness to the Christian heritage," has won national and international recognition. It strives particularly to reeducate the Lutheran laity in the precious faith entrusted to them. This faith, FOCL believes, is in evident danger, as the ship of the Church lurches under the winds of alien doctrines and life-styles that threaten its survival.
Revisiting the Gospels?
by William R. Bragstad, Ph.D.*
At college we were taught a theory on the formulation of the writings of the New Testament. It may be summed up as follows: St. Paul's writings were without doubt the earliest of Christian documents, as he does not mention the gospels or even hint of their existence. He must have learned of the life and ministry of Christ from the preaching of Jesus' followers, and not from the written word. The gospels were compiled like any folk tradition, having been crystallized in the Christian community over a number of decades into pre-gospel and gospel form.
The reason for this lengthy period of oral story-telling would have been twofold: (1) Since theendof the age was expected to come soon, there seemed little point in making permanent records of the words andactions of Jesus. (2) In those times, few people could read or write. Thus "word of mouth" would be the most effective means of preserving the recollection of Christ in the early church.
Questions
In recent years, however, the author has come to question this theory. First, it seems unlikely that the tradition surrounding the life, ministry, andperson of Jesus could have "crystallized like any folk tradition." If something really happened outside the normal flow of human events, that is, if God did make here a unique revelation in history, then the gospels would not have arisen in so leisurely a manner. Only imagine the profound excitement at what had occurred!
Secondly, while the end of the age was expected to come soon, the ancient church would have been compelled to greater evangelical activity rather than less (Matt. 24: 14; Col. 1: 23). Such an enormous undertaking as evangelizing the whole known world would have had to rely on the written word, as did the Jewish synagogue.
Thirdly, the notion that few people could read or write in this period of the history of the church is doubtful. Given recent archeological finds, such as the one at Oxyrhynchus, writing had been a normal part of daily business, much as it is today. In addition, biblical evidence indicates that writing is mentioned from the time of Moses, pen and ink from the time of Jeremiah.
So, when were the four gospels written? Many scholars cite references in the gospels to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. They say the gospels must have followed this event of 70 A.D., for as many times as the temple had been plundered and destroyed in the past, Jesus would not have predicted such a thing happening again. Thus, references to such an event could only be included in the gospel document after the fact.
And Other Answers
Yet if Christianity is based on the "Christ-event," the unique revelation of God in history, is it plausible that the disciples merely sat around the campfire and reminisced for thirty years or more before someone had the idea of writing things down?
Rather, it should be argued that the gospels were among the earliest documents in the New Testament, for evangelism was their very reason for being. As the word spread, converts added, and new churches established, the manuscripts would have been copied and copies left with the new churches to insure an on-going believing community and consistently sound doctrine. Thus was the teaching of Jesus in the early church both collected and taught (I Tim. 6:3).
In I Corinthians 4:5, Paul addresses the "wise" and judgmental Corinthians by saying: "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God." The Jerusalem Bible cross-references these three teachings respectively with Matthew 7:1-2 (where Jesus commands us not to judge), Luke 12: 2-3 (where Jesus states that what is concealed will be disclosed), and John 5:44 (where Jesus speaks of the true praise that comes from God). In the very next verse (I Cor.. 4:6) Paul states: "Now brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, 'Do not go beyond what is written.'"
What is Written
What is written ordinarily refers to Scripture, certainly to written documents. Could not "What is written" refer in this verse to the gospels of Matthew, Luke and John? If not, it would at least be a reference to Christian scriptures in existence at the time of the writing of First Corinthians (i.e., mid-50s A.D.), since it is the teaching of Jesus that is being discussed.
Significant also is the passage from I Corinthians 9 where Paul states: "It is written in the Law of Moses, 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.' ...In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel" (verses 9,14). Later in I Timothy 5: 18, he refers to these sayings again with these words, 'The scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain,' and 'The laborer deserves his wages.'"
The first "scripture" is, of course, a passage from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 25: 4). Significantly, the second passage to which Paul refers in a matter-of-fact way as "scripture" is apparently quoted directly from Luke 10:7. Here Paul calls "scripture" – in the same breath as a reference to the Old Testament – a verse which, according to certain scholars today, could not have had such authority at this early date in the history of the church. I Timothy 5, however, and already, indeed, I Corinthians 4, provide evidence to the contrary.
The implication is that the earliest form of an official body of Christian writings, or canon of the New Testament, may have emerged by the time of the writing of I Corinthians and definitely by the time of I Timothy – that is, precisely between the mid-50s and early 60s of the first century A.D. Paul's quotation would also suggest that Luke's gospel must have been written some time prior to this date when it is given equal footing with the Old Testament.
Luke himself, it may be argued further, suggests an early date for his gospel, since he refers to "those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word," as forming his data base (Luke 1: 1). Eyewitnesses, after all, in any kind of research, are a diminishing resource for a number of reasons. Thus in all likelihood, Luke's gospel was written much earlier than the 80s of the first century, a date many critics currently suggest for its origin.
New Testament as "Scriptures"
Other passages in Paul's letter to Timothy refer to "scripture." In 11 Timothy 3: 14-15 Paul states, "as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."
The Oxford Annotated Bible interprets this verse as referring to the Old Testament. The text, however, speaks of "the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." Now the Old Testament does instruct us in many things, but it nowhere speaks of Christ as ' 'Jesus". While the coming of the Messiah is certainly foretold in the Old Testament, He is never specifically given the name of "Jesus."
This would imply that II Tim.3:14-15 embraces "scriptures" of the New Testament. If so, we should place the date of some of these writings back to the early 40s or late 30s of the first century A.D., by virtue of Timothy's knowledge of them "from childhood."
Thus there is a body of evidence in the primary documents themselves to suggest that prior to St. Paul's writing, at least some gospels – perhaps all – were already in existence.
Apparently Paul's own writings had also achieved such a status, given Peter's statement allying them with the "other scriptures" (IIPeter3:16). These "other scriptures" may be another reference to the scriptures of the New Testament, since Peter deals here with the "twisting" of the Christian message by false teachers.
Conclusions
Given the above discussion then, it is quite in order to conclude that certain gospels were, at the very least, written early in the life and ministry of the church, perhaps in the earliest forms only a few years following the resurrection. They were followed some years later by the missionary journeys and epistles of St. Paul. A case can be made for this conclusion based on the witness of the New Testament alone. An early date for the writing of the gospels would correspond also to the practical development of other historical movements in which documentation precedes implementation.
Indeed, it would appear that a designated group of books, a primary canon of the New Testament, had emerged in the church by the early 60s of the first century. When "scripture" is mentioned as of this date, the term may well refer to the Old Testament, or material now contained in the New Testament, or to both.
* Dr. Bragslad is a member of the ministerium of the Sierra Pacific Synod, ELCA. He was a founding member of the Fellowship of Confessional Lutherans. A more, extended and academic discussion of this topic is found in, Bragstad, Wm.. R.: "The Origin of the Gospels," in the Concordia Theological Quarterly, Oct. 1994.
Children Need Two Parents
In a revealing Phi Beta Kappa lecture, Leon Eisenberg, Prof, of Social Medicine at Harvard, recently confronted the question: "Is the family obsolete?" He observed,'The universality of the family in every society testifies that it meets essential human needs toloveand be wanted, to giverise to children, to rear them until they become independent, and to preserve property rights." He noted from six nationally representative data sets that "children growing up in single-parent households, whether the parents were never married, are separated, or are divorced, have twice the risk of dropping out of high school, of being out of work, and of becoming teenage parents themselves."
In contrast to the politically correct wisdom that children are minimally scarred by divorce or separation, he reported, "The splitfamily loses about 40 percent of its income, children have much less time with their fathers (one third never see them at all)..." and are further stressed when trying to adapt to stepparents, as one-third of parental remarriages endin divorce again.
Eisenberg related (F b K Key Reporter) similar epidemiological findings from the U.S. National Health Interview Survey (1988): "Childrenliving with singlemothers or with mothers and stepfathers are more likely than those with both biological parents to have to repeat a grade at school, to be treated for emotional or behavioral problems, and to have elevated scores for behavioral problems and health risks... [Even] when income and ethnicity are taken into account, children from single-parent families fare worse."
Should not our pastors be more directive when counseling rocky marital problems? How about: Do more love-thinking for your children before you take the easy way out by unburdening yourself of the wedding covenant with which you made the promise to hang in there," 'til death us do part"?
Lutheran World Relife
No, dear reader, that was no misprint. Wisconsin's Rev. Bill Genszler,"the blanket man," said of his favorite, Lutheran World Relief: "I love it, because its creative enduring concern is giving tens of thousands 'a crack at life.' To me Lutheran World Relief means Lutheran World Re-Life."
When we despair that our church has lost its spiritual fire, we can do no better than to pick up John Bachman' s altogether stirring account, Together in Hope: 50 Years of Lutheran World Relief, recently published by LWR. What eagerness to share the fruits of faith, what tenacity to prevail over governmental red-tape, what largeness of heart to widen the lap of mercy unrestrictedly to include people of every politic and every creed ! Instead of cringing under the harsh charges againsttheChurchmadeby special interest activists who want their programs underwritten by guilt-ridden Lutherans, we can hold our heads high in appreciation that God saw fit to use our paltry resources to help rescue our brothers in Europe and give access to reliving to mute, impoverished and suffering humanity across the world. Praise the Lord! He has done marvelous things through his servants. Read this book! And rejoice in the God of constant care.
READER RESPONSES
Dear Editor:
I appreciated very much the video tape of the 1994 FOCL Rally with Dr. James Burtness. I will pass it on to other interested pastors. You and FOCL are on the right track, but it's loo late. Full-time pastors must follow the dictates of a bishop or never receive another call. [Young] pastors must be faithful to the 'ELCA Bureaucracy' and wouldn't dare support your conservative confessional true Lutheran program.
Pastor Walt Rowoldt Lincoln, NE
Dear Editor:
I appreciated the article by David Preus on revitalizing the ELCA. I am sympathetic to the congregational emphasis he makes. I hope we can keep a good balance between the larger church and the local congregation.
I wondered about your apparent condemnation of Chung Hyum-Kyung's disbelief in an "omnipotent macho warrior God who rescues all good guys and punishes all bad guys."
Surely the editors, who affirm justification by faith through Grace, do not believe in such a God either?
John Helgeson Walnut Creek, CA Dear Editor:
Wow! Right on! Thank God somebody has said it! Those were only a few of the exclamations going through my mind as I read Dr. Preus' article, "Reclaiming the ELCA." Having been through business mergers, I was aghast at the proposed structural organization and location of the headquarters. One of my principles in engineering was, "You don't have to be too smart to succeedùif you will just do as you are told." The Bible is FILLED with clear and explicit directions and instructions. Dr. Preus states, "There is strong feeling there has been serious erosion of biblical authority fin the ELCA]." To my protest of "watering down" the Holy Bible, the response was, "We don't worship the Bible, we worship God."
R. Haacke Portland, OR
Dear Editor:
I thought the article by David Preus was extremely significant andpertinent. I have written to David commending him and expressing to him the hope that the information in this article will be addressed by the appropriate people in our ELCA. Thank you for providing this information for us. God's peace and strength be with you daily.
Pastor Russell C. Lee Albuquerque, NM