JM
Puritan Board Doctor
I've heard it said many times (by Dr. White and Dr. Sproul I believe) that Lutheranism is really Melanchthonism, that Melanchthon disagreed with Luther or softened Luther's Augustinian theology. As I read through The Book of Concord Luther signed the Augsburg Confession, penned others and seemed to rely on him to theologically express Lutheran beliefs. Modern Lutherans admit that after Luther's death Melanchthon waffled and that lead to errors and they claim these errors have been rejected.
A quote:
How is Lutheranism really Melanchthonism? Is it just a pejorative?
Yours in the Lord,
jm
A quote:
"Melanchthon had lost his anchor, and subsequent events proved that losing Luther before Melanchthon was certainly more damaging to the Wittenberg reformation than losing Melanchthon before Luther would have been. Melanchthon’s desire for peace led to compromise on all sides, politically and theologically, leaving the churches of the Augsburg Confession a mess, divided into various factions.
But in one of the ironies of history (an irony in which Lutherans cannot but detect the hand of God), Melanchthon would himself lay the foundation for the renewal and restoration of Luther’s doctrine amongst those who confessed his theology. It would be the students of Melanchthon would correct many of Melanchthon’s errors, eventually composing and adopting the Formula of Concord, which was the capstone of the Book of Concord, providing a definitive answer to the controversies that devastated the Lutheran Church after Luther’s death." https://lutheranreformation.org/history/luther-and-melanchthon/
But in one of the ironies of history (an irony in which Lutherans cannot but detect the hand of God), Melanchthon would himself lay the foundation for the renewal and restoration of Luther’s doctrine amongst those who confessed his theology. It would be the students of Melanchthon would correct many of Melanchthon’s errors, eventually composing and adopting the Formula of Concord, which was the capstone of the Book of Concord, providing a definitive answer to the controversies that devastated the Lutheran Church after Luther’s death." https://lutheranreformation.org/history/luther-and-melanchthon/
How is Lutheranism really Melanchthonism? Is it just a pejorative?
Yours in the Lord,
jm