Samuel Houseman's Page

Hi Samuel

Welcome to the trail. I am a former atheist who learned that nothing makes any real sense unless there is a God. I am a Lutheran because my wife is a Lutheran, but I have found that Lutheranism as such is pretty much the most orthodox (LCMS or in my case the Canadian branch LCC).

I spent a month in Berkeley in 1970 but haven't been back since then. I was a young hippy in those days, days which are thankfully long gone. It was a silly time.

Dave

Hi Sam,
Saw your message at Dave Gosse's page and it piqued my curiosity.
You say that you're a former confessional Lutheran, which is cool, but I'm wondering what you hope to see at WT. I'm not a big fan of denominational accretions either, but then, that's why I'm such a big defender of the unaltered Augsburg Confession, which is about as stripped down a presentation of the Christian faith as you'll find in the past 1000 years.
Since any discussion of matter of faith must begin and end with the Holy Scriptures, I'd been to chat about anything you want (that is, if I can remember to check my messages on this site!)
peace in Christ,
Mark

Hi Sam

I don't think I'm too caught in denominational dogma, but I do tend to read a lot of Christian dogma from a variety of denominations. So far I have found little to quibble with in Lutheran dogma as far as the historic version goes, but some of the modern accretions leave me disappointed.

As for the debates on creation, I enjoy poking at the "allegorical" views of "educated" people. I have always been interested in science, from long before I ever considered Christianity (I was an atheist or agnostic for 40 years) and have retained that interest. When I discovered the hypothetical nature of so much scientific "fact" I decided that there was no reason not to embrace a young earth. There are difficulties with some things but they are no more insurmountable than the difficulties attendant upon an ancient earth.

Certainly I find the Christian worldview much more descriptive of man as man and life as it is than the materialist based anthropologies. Some of them are quite anti-human despite their claims to the contrary.

Dave

Hi Sam,
I'm interested to know what accretions you've seen creep into those who fly the "confessional" flag. It will be neat to see if they mesh with my observations.
in Christ,
Mark

Hi Sam,
You're right, of course; if the simul justus et peccator is something you cannot see to be scriptural, then it's hard to remain in the Lutheran Confession. I don't want to lure you into a debate, either, and clearly you've given this a lot of thought. I have only one comment, though: the what you call "controversial" interpretation of Romans 7 relates in fact directly to Luther's contention that there be a clear distinction between God's Law and His promises. If we take Luther seriously, then we see the scriptures open up with the simul justus et peccator all over the place (just take Psalm 19.12, or Psalm 51, or I John 1.8.9,). Anyway, blah, blah, blah.
God grant you His peace which neither I nor anything on earth can give.
pax Christi,
mark

Thanks for the comment about the most significant day in my life. Like you I don't remember anything. All I know is what I was told and what Romans 6 says.
Rev. Daryl Olson