CONCORDIA JOURNAL Volume 28 April 2002 Number 2 CONTENTS ARTICLES Pursuit of a Lutheran Raison d’Être in Asia Won Yong JI ............................................................................ 126 “Real Presence”: An Overview and History of the Term Albert B. Collver, III .............................................................. 142 The Aleppo Statement: A Proposal That May “Serve the Cause of Christian Unity” Edward J. Callahan ..................................................................... 160 REVIEW ESSAYS ................................................................................ 175 HOMILETICAL HELPS ..................................................................... 192 BOOK REVIEWS ............................................................................... 216 BOOKS RECEIVED ........................................................................... 230 CONCORDIA JOURNAL/APRIL 2002 125 Articles Pursuit of a Lutheran Raison d’Être in Asia Won Yong JI We are to deal with a serious subject on the reason for existence of Lutherans in Asia. Lutherans are the minority of minorities in the Asian context, with the possible exception of Papua New Guinea, in the midst of most of the leading historical world religions and among relatively large constituencies of Roman Catholic and other Protestant denominations— the “Reformed” oriented, theologically speaking. Furthermore, Lutherans are surrounded by the general milieu of the so-called Charismatic groups which are frequently not compatible with Lutheranism. In such circumstances, is there a future for Lutherans and thus a hope for their presence? Let us proceed with this subject under four categories. I. Nature and Identity of “The Church” from the Lutheran Confessions The Lutheran Confessions (i.e., The Book of Concord) are clear and specific about the church of Jesus Christ in definition and description— Lutheran identity as the terminus a quo: – What the church is (its nature and identity); – What the church does (its ministry which God wants the church to do, i.e., His work). The confessional understanding of the church is based upon the Biblical understanding of what the church is and does. The Holy Scripture presents the church as “the people of God” in the house of the Lord (1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Cor. 3:9), the body of believers in Christ’s vicarious atonement (Acts 5:14; Rom. 3:22), and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. It has a special “divine” nature which is not at all rationally verifiable. On the other hand, viewed from the visible building, organization and structure, it has a human aspect of the gathering of the people. It is not merely a human organization, not Dr. Won Yong JI is Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO. This article was originally presented at the Symposium on Ecclesiology by Asian Lutheran Churches, which met in Syngal/Seoul, Korea, on October 25-28, 2001. In this article Dr. JI ad- dresses the question of the furture of Lutheranism in Asia. 126 a Gesellschaft, nor a Genossenschaft, as one says in German but a spiritual Gemeinshaft (Communio Sanctorum). At any rate, the church is a special and distinct communion of Christians. The Lutheran Confessions (hereafter, the Confessions) as norma normata instructs us in the teachings of the norma normans, the ultimate, absolute norm of our faith and life. The Ecumenical Creeds, the “Nicene Creed” in specific, confess “one, holy, catholic (‘Christian,’ ecumenical), and apostolic church.” The apostolicity of the church refers to its foundation on the teaching of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 3:4, 5; John 17:20; Gal. 1:6-8). The church is catholic (i.e., universal), not limited geographically. Sectarianism, which limits its identity to any race, caste, or social class, denies catholicity (Acts 10:43). The church is holy with the true purity wrought of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:14-7:10; Phil. 3:9). The church is the one family of God the Father (Eph. 4:6), one in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 10:17; Eph. 2:14; 16:1; 1 Cor. 10:17; Gal. 3:27), and one fellowship in the Spirit (Eph. 4:3; Acts 4:32). It is unfortunate that denominational division threatens the church of Jesus Christ. St. Paul did experience the same, crying, “Is Christ divided?” (1 Cor. 1:13). As we know, when the church is divided, it is weakened and injured but not necessarily destroyed. The church of Christ cannot be destroyed; our understanding of it may be causing us to be divided. True, Lutheran theologians consider these aspects of the church as the basic “attributes” of the “universal” Christian church. They also reflect on the nature of these attributes, whether they are visible or invisible. This has been discussed frequently in various circles. From the point of the constitutive factor of the church, faith in the heart is invisible for human beings and known only to God (1 Kings 8:39; Acts 1:24). The kingdom of God, the body of Christ, comes not with observation, so that it can be seen with the eyes (Luke 17:20-21). On the other hand, God’s written Word and the Sacraments are said to be the visible side of the church, as well as the local congregations. “But the means of grace, the Word and Sacraments, are not on that account the church itself or a part of the church any more than air and food are man himself, or a part of him, though man cannot live without air and food. However, Word and Sacrament are correctly called notae ecclesiae” (F. Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, III, 409). The above attributes signify the basic characteristics of “the universal church.” On the other hand, there are the “local congregations” (church bodies and denominations) with both the divine and human characteristics in a building and human organizational and administrative aspects. Furthermore, we use the term “invisible” and “visible” referring to the fundamental nature of the Christian church; nevertheless, such terminology frequently confuses the marks of the church proper. We will now give careful attention to the writings in the Confessions. As we know, the Confessions give much space for telling us what the church is and does. The Confessions, expositing the teachings of the Holy Scripture and CONCORDIA JOURNAL/APRIL 2002 127 reflecting some of the thoughts of Martin Luther, have many clear statements on the nature and function of the Christian church. The confessional understanding, in brief, is the Biblical understanding. The following references can be considered: – The Third Article of the Apostle’s Creed in the Small and Large Catechisms. – Confessio Augustana, Articles V, VII. – Apology VII-VIII. – Smalcald Articles, Part III: XII the church “consists of the Word of God and true faith.” – LW (American Edition) 41:5-178: “On the Councils and the Church,” 1538. – LW 40: 263-320: “Instructions for Visitors of Parish Pastors,” 1528. – LW 40: 321-377: “The Keys,” 1530. – Gerhard O. Forde...(et al.), Christian Dogmatics, vol. II., ed. Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984). – F. Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, vol. III, (St. Louis: Concordia, 1950) 3:397-435. – Hans Küng, The Church; On Being A Christian, trans. Edward Quinn (Garden, NY: Doubleday, 1976). – L. Berkholf, Systematic Theology, “The Church.” (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1953), 553-603. – Werner Elert, Structure of Lutheranism, “The Church,” trans. Walter A. Hansen (St. Louis: Concordia, 1962), 1:255-402. – G. H. Pöhlmann, Abriss der Dogmatik, 2nd ed. (Gütersloh: Gütershoher Verlagshaus Gerd Mohn, 1975). – Theologische Realenzyklopädie, 2nd ed., “Kirche,” (Berlin; New York: deGruyter, 1994) 18:198-344. The Augsburg Confession declares the church as the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel. For it is sufficient (satis est)...(AC VII). The Apology VII-VIII states further: The church is not merely an association of outward ties and rites like other civic governments,...it is mainly an association of faith and of the Holy Spirit in men’s hearts.... This church alone is called the body of Christ, which Christ renews, consecrates, and governs by his Spirit (Eph. 1:22-23).... Thus the church, which is truly the kingdom of Christ, is precisely speaking, the congregation of the saints.... 128 Luther’s Large Catechism adds in the Third Article of the Creed: ...the word communio (sanctorum)...should not be translated “communion” but “community” (Not Gemeinschaft but Gemeine)...idiomatically saying “a community of saints,” that is “a holy community” (Par. 49). And Luther’s Small Catechism, the Third Article ends with these words: In this Christian church he (Christ) daily and abundantly forgives all my sins, and the sins of all believers, and on the last day he will raise me and all the dead.... These words quoted above are clear and meaningful. Furthermore, when we come to the “function” of the church, that is, in the area of ministry and the pastoral office (Amt), there are also many statements and expositions of the role of the church in the world which are beyond the scope of this paper. With this essential nature and identity of the holy Christian church in mind, we plan the “programs,” by no means with a contrasting position against what the church truly is. What she does ought to be measured and assessed by what she is. As we proceed to the next section of this presentation one may rightly and realistically raise an important question both ontological and epistemological in nature. In many Asian lands