Are the Augsburg Confession and Book of Concord normative for all Lutherans?

[Matt Black]

Question is self-explanatory. I've read somewhere that not all Lutherans subscribe to the above. Is that correct?

Also, what implications do the two documents have re the ecumenical relationships between Lutherans and Catholics (the Pope is the anti-Christ and all that)? I know that this was one of the points that Benedict XVI(when he was Cardinal Rottweiller) and various eminent Lutherans had to cover when formulating the Augsburg Declaration of 1999 but I'm not sure whether they properly resolved it...?

 

[Chemnitz]

The Augsburg Confession is part of the Book of Concord, so really don't need to seperate them out. I can only speak from an American perspective since I do not hear much about the other countries. In the U.S., Wisconsin Evan. Lut. Synod, Evangelical Lut. Synod, Lut Ch. Missouri synod, and the SELK in Germany all profess a quia subscription or because they are a correct exposition of scripture subscription to the BoC. The ELCA uses the BoC but only in that it illuminates the beliefs of the church at that time in history. A person can tell how the various Lutheran Churches view the BoC by which branch of theology they teach it under in their seminaries. The churches that still applies today will teach it in their Systematic theology courses, while others such as the ELCA teach it in their historical theology classes.

Lutheran World Federation, the group involved in the talks with the RCC, is essentially the puppet of the ELCA and does not speak for all Lutherans. I have heard more and more rumblings from the more conservative members.

We still teach that the office of the Pope is still a form of the antichrist and will remain so as long as it inhibits the pure proclamation of the Gospel. The Popes recently have not been as bad as the ones from the Reformation but they still endorse teachings and practices contrary to the Gospel.