Thursday, November 16, 2006

Lutheran Wins Religious Discrimination Case

It is good to see that a Lutheran person stood up for her convictions. It does make me think about how much we all seem to cave in to the society and culture in large and small ways. What have you been taught that is "Biblical" that you don't follow in your daily life? Or things you know are commanded in the Bible that you don't do? I'm not talking about the obvious "big sins," but the smaller things that have slid away in the rush of our daily life.
Posted by at
Labels:

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous11/16/2006 7:39 PM

    Awesome link to a great story! Keeping the commandments... oh my, how we all need refreshers. coveting... big one. bearing false witness... hugely popular it seems. It is good to see how the good news wins out though!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rev. Paul T. McCain11/17/2006 8:58 AM

    Unfortunately, the Lutheran Church has no such position on work on Sundays! If our vocations require us to work on Sunday there is no sin in it and I think this woman is very fortunate that the other side didn't do a better job of actually investigating the doctrinal position of the Lutheran Church.

    The lady is free to have her own personal and private convictions, and that alone may have been enough to win the case, but if there was any suggestion in the case that the Lutheran Church believes working on Sunday is a sin, that is just not so.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LutherPunk11/17/2006 9:30 AM

    But we are expected to worship on Sundays, undoubtedly. If this prevented her from doing so, then I can see where she had a case both legally and theologically.

    I will say this, though. The article linked seemed very surface. I would be curious to learn a little more about the facts of the case.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Rev. Paul T. McCain11/17/2006 2:35 PM

    No, in fact, we are "expected" as the Catechism puts it, to "not despise preaching and His Word but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it." If in this case the library was requiring her to be absent regularly from the only opportunity to worship that she had at her congregation, then that was one thing. If on the other hand they were requiring her simply to work on Sundays, and she took the position that working on Sundays is sinful...that was her own private conviction, not the position of the Lutheran Church because it is not what Scripture teaches.. It would be interesting to know more precise details of the situation. Hard to believe a library would have been opened so early on Sunday that she was unable to attend church.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11/18/2006 1:55 PM

    PS,

    Thanks for the link, I hadn't heard this story before I saw it here. Like Pr. McCain, I believe that as Lutherans there is no sin if we work on Sunday. However, with LP, I don't think the matter ends there. In the Large Catechism, Luther upholds the need for a day of rest, and a day devoted to the worship of God. Indeed, the Reformer says, "Since, therefore, so much depends upon God's Word that without it no holy day can be sanctified, we must know that God insists upon a strict observance of this commandment, and will punish all who despise His Word and are not willing to hear and learn it, especially at the time appointed for the purpose."

    I applaud this woman for being so devoted to her worship of God.

    ReplyDelete

And what do you think?

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)