ELCA Wrestles With Trinity
By Rev. Jack Cascione

 

According to the May 2002 issue of ELCA's "Lutheran" it is not necessary to believe in the Trinity to be a Christian and a member of the ELCA. A question and answer on this subject is found on page 31.

The article is titled: "Wrestling with the Trinity: Must I believe doctrine to be a member?"

Question: "Should I renounce my membership? I'm a committed follower of God, and Christ, and the Spirit, but I don't believe in the Trinity theory. I've been told, 'If you don't believe in the Trinity doctrine you can't be a Christian.' How does one prove this doctrine?"

Answering this question for the ELCA is former Rocky Mountain Synod Bishop Rev. Wayne Weissenbuehler. He responds:

"You need not renounce your membership in the Christian church. Even Paul didn't ascribe to the doctrine of the Trinity since it wasn't defined until hundreds of years later. But I believe he would confess the truth of revelation of God to which this doctrine bears witness.

The Trinity isn't meant to explain God. In fact, saying God is One but three persons proves that God can't be explained-only witnessed to.

The Trinity isn't some litmus test of intellectual ascent to a doctrine. Rather, it calls us to trust and commit to the God revealed as Father, Son and Spirit, which is precisely how you spoke of your faith. We can't prove the Trinity. But based on Scripture, church tradition and experience, the doctrine of the Trinity expresses the faith that we hold to be true and life-giving. We don't need to prove God. We only need to worship and obey God. This we can do."


Commentary by Reclaim News.

The Athanasian Creed begins as follows:

"Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic [i.e., universal, Christian] faith. Which faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, . . ."

But what does the ELCA say? "Even Paul didn't ascribe to the doctrine of the Trinity. . ." We ask, "Why should people have to believe in the Trinity if the Apostles didn't believe it?"

Clearly, the ELCA is not concerned about the correct witness to the Trinity.

Even if people don't believe the "Trinity theory" (which means God is not a fact in the Bible) Weissenbuehler says they are still fine Christians if they just agree to be followers of God, Christ and the Spirit. How we understand these words is of no consequence. In fact, he claims the Trinity can't be explained or understood from the Bible, not to mention the Lutheran Confessions.

While the person who asked the question is eternally damned according to the Athanasian Creed, at least the ELCA enjoys his financial support and statistical presence while he is on earth. This is what really matters.

It's not possible to throw stones at the ELCA's distortion of the Trinity without saying that many LCMS clergy and those in leadership positions are also promoting their own distortions about the Trinity.

More than 600 LCMS clergy who promote "Jesus First" have officially endorsed Dr. Waldo Werning's heresies about the Trinity. Werning's own District President and officials of the South Wisconsin District defend Werning's heresy and attack in print those who disagree with Werning. They make the Eighth Commandment more important than the First Commandment.

None other than the former Chairman of the LCMS Council of District Presidents, Dr. John Heins, was the witness in support of Werning during Dispute Resolution hearings. At that time Werning refused to say that Jesus was God on the Cross. Werning won't say that Jesus is God because he believes God is three parts and Jesus is only a part of the Trinity.

Werning doesn't agree that every Person of the Trinity is all of God, apart from whom there is no other God, and yet there is only one God. In opposition to the Athanasian Creed, Werning divides the substance of God and confuses the Persons of the Trinity.

"Jesus First" would rather let souls be damned than lose political capital by admitting that Werning teaches heresy.

We read in the Lutheran Confessions, Formula of Concord, Article VIII, Par 44, Concordia Triglotta pages 1029-1030:

"Dr. Luther says also in his book Of the Councils and the Church: We Christians must know that if God is not also in the balance, and gives the weight, we sink to the bottom with our scale. By this I mean: If it were not to be said [if these things were not true], God has died for us, but only a man, we would be lost. But if 'God's death' and 'God died' lie in the scale of the balance, then He sinks down, and we rise up as a light, empty scale. But indeed He can also rise again or leap out of the scale; yet He could not sit in the scale unless He became a man like us, so that it could be said: 'God died'" 'God's passion,' 'God's blood,' 'God's death.' For in His nature God cannot die; but now that God and man are united in one person, it is correctly called God's death, when the man dies who is one thing or one person with God. Thus far Luther."

Jesus is not a part of God. Every Person of the Trinity is all of God, yet there is only one God.


Rev. Jack Cascione is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church (LCMS - MI) in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. He has written numerous articles for Christian News and is the author of Reclaiming the Gospel in the LCMS: How to Keep Your Congregation Lutheran. He has also written a study on the Book of Revelation called In Search of the Biblical Order.
He can be reached by email at pastorcascione@juno.com.

April 30, 2002