Throwback Thursday: Playing the Das-Ist-Katholische Card
Note: Since Reformation Day falls on Thursday, here is a reflection, originally published by Fr. Braaten in 2012, which was re-posted as the 500th anniversary of the Reformation was approaching in October 2017. As a bonus, Fr. Braaten followed up with a Part Two that was published on the 500th anniversary of the posting of the 95 Theses. ~ Ed.
I was chatting with a college friend on Facebook this past week. He was questioning why the likes of the Gottesdienst Crowd weren't more hard on the papists. He questioned why we were so hard on the Evangelicals and didn't seem too concerned by similar errors made by Rome.
First, I’ve found that, in advocating for and making use of the ceremonies of the Western Rite, I must be very clear about what we, as Lutherans, believe, especially regarding our departure from the Roman Catholic Church. Second, I’ve also found that the vast majority of Lutherans I encounter reflect the beliefs of generic American Protestantism and have almost a gag-reflex reaction to anything they deem to be Roman Catholic (which incidentally can be as wide and broad as Harrison's stache).
But, I digress. So, here’s a portion of what my friend wrote: