Full Text for Confessions 2- Volume 16 - Doesn't Luther make humans pretty insignificant? (Video)

ROUGHLY EDITED COPY CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY EDUCATION NETWORK CUENET LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS 2-16 DR. ROBERT KOLB CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY: CAPTION FIRST, INC. P.O. BOX 1024 LOMBARD, IL 60148 800-825-5234 *** THIS TEXT IS BEING PROVIDED IN A ROUGH DRAFT FORMAT. COMMUNICATION ACCESS REALTIME TRANSLATION (CART) IS PROVIDED IN ORDER TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION ACCESSIBILITY AND MAY NOT BE A TOTALLY VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS. *** LC2-16 >> HASN'T LUTHER MADE HUMAN BEINGS PRETTY INSIGNIFICANT WHEN HE DESCRIBES US AS WITHOUT ANY MERIT OR WORTHINESS OR MIND AT ALL? I MEAN, WELL, I RECOGNIZE THE TRUTH IN WHAT LUTHER SAYS. BUT HE SEEMS TO SAY IT PRETTY BLUNTLY. >>DR. ROBERT KOLB: I THINK THAT'S TRUE. HE'S SAYING IT QUICKLY AND HE'S SAYING IT VERY BLUNTLY. THIS IS AN INTERESTING POINT THAT THE GERMAN SCHOLAR OSWOLD BYER (PHONETIC), SYSTEMATICIAN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TUBINGHAM POINTS OUT. THAT PHRASE REALLY COMES FROM LUTHER'S MEDIEVAL INSTRUCTION. HE WAS TRAINED IN A SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY CALLED ALCHEMISM, WHICH PROBABLY HAD LISTENED MORE TO THE OLD TESTAMENT AND LESS TO ARISTOTLE THAN SOME OF THE OTHER SCHOOLS OF MEDIEVAL THOUGHT, ESPECIALLY THE FOLLOWERS OF THOMAS AQUINAS. AND THE ALCHEMIST SAID GOD BY HIS ABSOLUTE POWER COULD DO ANYTHING HE WANTED BECAUSE HE'S GOD. IN THOMAS YOU GET THE IMPRESSION THAT THERE'S AN ETERNAL LAW THAT'S SORT OF PARALLEL TO GOD. AND WHILE GOD ISN'T REALLY SUBMITTING TO THE ETERNAL LAW, GOD DOESN'T -- THAT GOD DOESN'T DEPART FROM THE SYSTEM. AND THAT'S CONSISTENT WITH THE KIND OF THINKING, THE KIND OF SYSTEM OF THOUGHT, THAT ARISTOTLE ESTABLISHED. FOLLOWING DON SCOTUS (PHONETIC) FOCUSED A LITTLE MORE ON THE OLD TESTAMENT. THOUGH HE WAS CERTAINLY AN ARISTOTELICIAN, TOO, THOUGH HE BELIEVED THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IS AN ALMIGHTY GOD THAT DOESN'T CONFORM TO AN ETERNAL LAW BUT CREATES THE UNCHANGEABLE LAW THAT GOVERNS OUR LIVES. AND THAT GOD, GOD AS HE ACTS BY HIS ABSOLUTE POWER, IS REALLY BEYOND OUR ABILITY TO KNOW. BUT THE TRUE GOD THEN HAS REVEALED HIMSELF TO US. THIS IS AN -- THIS ISN'T EXACTLY LUTHER'S DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE HIDDEN GOD AND THE REVEALED GOD. BUT YOU CAN SEE HOW LUTHER CAN COME TO HIS DISTINCTION FROM IT. THE REVEALED GOD HAS GIVEN US IN SCRIPTURE IN THE MESSAGE OF THE CHURCH THE INFORMATION WE NEED ABOUT HUMAN REALITY. BUT FOLLOWING DON SCOTUS, WILLIAM OCCAM BELIEVED THAT AS HE SAYS AS PAUL SAYS IN ROMANS 9, GOD IS LIKE A POTTER AND GOD SHAPES VESSELS. AND HE SHAPES THE VESSELS THAT HE WANTS TO SHAPE. AND NO CLAY POT CAN COMPLAIN THAT THE POTTER HAS BEEN UNFAIR. AND IT'S OUT OF THAT KIND OF BACKGROUND, THAT DEFINITION OF GOD AS SOVEREIGN MAJESTY, THAT LUTHER COMES TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE LOVING GOD WHO ALSO IS LORD AND MASTER AND SOVEREIGN OVER HIS CREATION, THAT LOVING GOD WHOSE ESSENCE IS STEADFAST LOVING KINDNESS AND MERCY, THAT GOD HAS NOT HAD ANYTHING IN US TO LOOK AT THAT WOULD QUALIFY US FOR THAT LOVE AND MERCY. WE ARE TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON HIS GRACE. SO IT DOESN'T REALLY PUT US DOWN WHEN LUTHER SAYS "WITHOUT ANY MERIT OR WORTHINESS IN ME." IT DEFINES THE REALITY OF OUR SITUATION AS CREATURES OF GOD. HE HAS DONE ALL THIS OUT OF HIS FATHERLY DIVINE GOODNESS AND MERCY, WITHOUT ANY MERIT OR WORTHINESS IN US. WHY? SO THAT WE CAN BE THE HUMAN BEINGS HE MADE US TO BE. HE MADE US TO THANK AND TO PRAISE, TO SERVE AND OBEY HIM. HE MADE US TO BE LIVING THE KIND OF LIFE HE WANTS US TO LIVE, NOT SIMPLY AS RECEIVERS OF HIS MERCY, THAT'S THE CORE OF OUR EXISTENCE, BUT ALSO AS THOSE WHO IN HIS IMAGE THEN PRACTICE THE KIND LOVE AND MERCY TOWARD OTHERS THAT REFLECT HIS IMAGE. AND SO WHAT LUTHER DOES IN THE FIRST ARTICLE OF THE CREED IS, FIRST OF ALL, TO ESTABLISH CLEARLY THAT GOD IS THE CREATOR WHO CONTINUES TO BE THE ONE WHO PROVIDES US WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE. NOT ONLY THE MATERIAL BLESSINGS BUT ALSO SPOUSE AND CHILDREN, FIELDS, LIVESTOCK. SOME PEOPLE SAY LIVESTOCK DOESN'T SPEAK TO KIDS TODAY. BUT NEARLY ALL NORTH AMERICAN KIDS HAVE THEIR OWN LIVESTOCK, EVEN IF IT'S ONLY A GUPPY OR TWO. AND OUR PROPERTY. BUT THEN HE'S ALSO IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR LIVES PROTECTING US AGAINST ALL DANGER, SHIELDING US, PRESERVING US IN THE FACE OF ALL EVIL. AND WHY DOES HE DO THAT? NOT BECAUSE WE HAVE EARNED IT. HE DIDN'T DO IT FOR ADAM AND EVE BECAUSE THEY HAD EARNED IT. HE DID NOT TAKE THE DUST, BREATHE INTO IT AND SAY "YOU'VE GOT A PROBATIONARY PERIOD TO PROVE WITH YOUR DEEDS WHETHER YOU'RE WORTHY FOR BEING CALLED HUMAN." NO. HE CREATED THEM AS HUMAN BEINGS. HE CREATED THEM AS HIS CHILDREN AND HIS CREATURES SO THAT THEY THEN COULD GO FORTH TO LIVE A LIFE OF THANKS AND PRAISE, OF SERVICE AND OBEDIENCE. SO THE FIRST COMMANDMENT CONFESSES GOD AS CREATOR. BUT FROM LUTHER'S POINT OF VIEW, IT ALSO CONFESSES US AS TRULY HUMAN CREATURES. NO MERIT. NO WORTHINESS. BUT A LOT TO DO FOR THE GOD WHO HAS CREATED US AS HIS OWN CHILDREN. *** THIS TEXT IS BEING PROVIDED IN A ROUGH DRAFT FORMAT. COMMUNICATION ACCESS REALTIME TRANSLATION (CART) IS PROVIDED IN ORDER TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION ACCESSIBILITY AND MAY NOT BE A TOTALLY VERBATIM RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS. ***