'The truth is stranger than fiction, judgy-wudgy!'

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:31-36 ESV)

[That's Curly swearing in to testify in the Three Stooges short, Disorder in the Court.]

The more I learn about what others-- even "other" Lutherans (meaning in no other sense than not Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod)-- believe and what taste the very designation "Lutheran" leaves in the mouths of Christians and non-Christians alike, the more fascinated I become! (Luther never envisioned "Lutherans," but a reformed (little r) Roman Catholic Church; in fact, he disliked the label altogether.)

I started my penultimate seminary course on Monday, the history of Lutherans in America. I'm enjoying it, as well as the "textbook" we use, Lutherans in America: A New History, written by an ELCA professor and published in 2015. It's so insightful, I've placed it at the top of my good reads list (at right). The seed planted by Luther 500 years ago has sprouted more than a few trees of questionable fruit-- this book is a ride through the cultural, ethnic, geographical, civic, religious, and language issues that European Lutherans faced in the New World, then as part of the predominately English-speaking Colonies. Imagine you're among Lutheran arriving in a place with a different climate, indigenous peoples, other immigrants from different cultures and languages, and a dearth of pastors. And add conflicts with the British and the French, as well as theological differences with Anglican Episcopalians, Protestant Reformed, and Lutherans with differing doctrine and practice, and, likely, an altered (forsooth!) Lutheran Confessions... Well, it's very easy to see why there are so many different Lutheran strains in existence.

On my drive to class this morning, I was listening to the local hard-right news and talk station on the radio and they played a clip of Ted Nugent (popular 70s rock guitarist/singer and now the rusting hood ornament for the NRA) blathering on about the congressmen coming together in their annual baseball game as a show of brotherhood and a united stand for what makes this country great (or something like that). Anyway, he made an all-American sounding statement (underlined) that my mental DVR captured:

[From Fox News website story] Nugent also said he is encouraging his "friends [and] enemies on the left in the Democrat and liberal world that we have got to be civil to each other, that the whole world is watching America, where you have the God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and we have got to be more respectful to the other side."

Two thoughts occurred to me near-simultaneously (I know, you're amazed that they didn't kill me...hah ha). First, Nugent's sentiment reflects that of the majority of Americans (or "a-MUR-kens"), who were taught that a) this country is "One nation under God" and, in a deceivingly similar-sounding verse penned by Thomas Jefferson in our Declaration of Independence, b) "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Second, Jefferson, like many of the founding fathers, was a Deist. What's a Deist? Well, loosely defined, a Deist is a person who subscribes to the theory that the Creator of the universe and all things in it reveals Himself in the immutable laws of nature...that is, God created the world then disappeared, leaving behind a whole lot of clues; that we can seek and, theoretically, "find" God through the apps He's built into us (endowed us with), such as a conscious, reason, sexuality, etc.

So it was the "God-given right" part of Nugent's proclamation that caught my ear. But that's not what Jefferson said, though it may very well have been what he meant. I have no doubt that the founding fathers' vision and planning for their new republic was guided by Providence and the final result was prodigious (coalescing 13 individual colonies into one country, built on democracy and individual freedoms)... But for Jefferson, as Peter S. Onuf (Thomas Jefferson Memorial Professor of History at the University of Virginia) writes, the natural world was like a great book, made legible to scientists (or “natural philosophers”) through its predictable and lawful patterns. Enlightened men who discerned nature’s laws could begin to master the world, promoting the improvement of man’s lot and fulfilling God’s original intentions for His creation. The Declaration of Independence is one of the most eloquent documents ever produced, but its-- Jefferson's-- theology is a product of its time, the Enlightenment faith in a rational, law-governed world created by a “supreme architect” or cosmic “clockmaker.”

Nowhere in Scripture does God reveal to us that we have been given rights to anything, much less life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Does God desire such things for us? Of course! And we had all of those things (and more!) before sin entered the picture. The term itself, "right," is often wrong. As a noun, a right is "a moral or legal entitlement to have or obtain something or to act in a certain way" (so sayeth dictionary.com). A moral or legal entitlement. And the words right and entitlement are strange bedfellows-- the latter a battle cry for so many in a postlapsarian world in which, honestly, we are entitled to absolutely nothing from God. That we're even here to think about it is a GIFT from God, and that's only because of His love for His wayward creations in the work of Christ Jesus. 

Let's look at "right" in a more secular and familiar way. Would we say that a legal heir to an estate is entitled-- has the right of claim-- to an inheritance? Sure, and this is an example of a legal or a civic right, which can be exercised or not. Ultimately, a right is the ability to decide for one’s self; to make a choice. Exercising a right is always a choice. Choosing to not exercise it is still a choice; a decision based upon thought. And that is the core of all inalienable rights, according to the Voices of Liberty website. Lutherans believe and teach that God has given Man free will in earthly matters, i.e. life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness; however, Man has no say-so, or rights, or before God (ref. Augsburg Confession, Article 18). We cannot even come to faith on our own, contrary to popular misconception (and popular Christian doctrine).

In the same radio discussion, the topic of "absolute truth" came up. There was a group bemoaning that for the Millennial generation there are no absolute truths. Everything is relative and experience-oriented. I would agree (with their bemoaning) and add that there are older folks moving through this world-- like that angry, disenfranchised guy who shot up the Republicans' baseball practice-- for whom absolute truth is corroborated by other like-minded thinkers, and, in my humble opinion, accepted through emotion rather than reason. Social media is burning absolute truth at the stake.

One of the most profound statements in all of the Bible is made by Pontius Pilate in the form of a rhetorical question in John 18:38. In Pilate v. God, Jesus tells him (matter-of-factly, I like to think) "The reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Pilate, somewhat dejectedly, but very honestly, responds "What is truth?"

There's a pretty good website about Lutheran theology, LutheranReformation.org, where I found this: To many twenty-first-century minds, the claim that there is objective truth is regarded with deep suspicion. To suggest that there is one, and only one, absolute truth about God is regarded by many today as absurd, foolish, ridiculous, or the sign of an intolerant and weak mind. Sadly, even many modern Christians now view claims of truth and certainty with a good deal of suspicion. But truth and falsehood are real. It is possible to know truth and it is necessary to reject all errors that contradict the truth. God reveals absolute truth in His Word.

I'm not at all knocking science or philosophy, Man's unquenchable thirst for answers. But how much of what the world tells us is a certainty? For me, absolute truth can only be vetted through faith. An absolute truth is a truth that is the same everywhere, all the time. Like the world is round. AND like the same world is broken, disordered, and full of fear (of both the known and unknown). The cause is the disease of sin for which there is only One cure:

[Lutherans] believe, teach, and confess that the unregenerate will of man is not only turned away from God, but also has become an enemy of God, so that it only has an inclination and desire for that which is evil and contrary to God, as it is written (Genesis 8:21): The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. Also (Romans 8:7): The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither, indeed, can be. Yea, as little as a dead body can quicken itself to bodily, earthly life, so little can man, who by sin is spiritually dead, raise himself to spiritual life, as it is written Ephesians 2:5: Even when we were dead in sins, He hath quickened us together with Christ; 2 Corinthians 3:5: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything good as of ourselves, but that we are sufficient is of God. (ref. Epitome of the Formula of Concord, Article II)

Okay. You can file this post under "Proselytizing on a Friday Afternoon." I hope I made a point or two-- when you hear the Ted Nugents express what appears to be an actual absolute truth, be careful. Or you might wind up with Cat Scratch Fever... (Now that's an absolute truth, Millennials.)

¡Vaya con Dios (not con Deists), ya'll!

P.S. On the topic of absolute truth, a pastor responded to a question about God and civil government on a blog with these words:

If there is no God, then you are correct, this world should essentially be live and let live. But, if there is a God, as billions around the globe would argue there is, then He is the One who has the say of right and wrong, not us. We can say and do as we please, but ultimately, if truth is up to us, then He’s not really God is He? If He exists, if He created this world, then He is the source of all life and truth, and we play by His rules. You may certainly disagree with me on this, but someday we will find out truth isn’t relative. Either you’re right, or you’re wrong.