Confessing on Campus

Today is the 479th anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession. Even though others included in the 1580 Book of Concord are considered equally normative for Lutherans, the Augsburg Confession has a place of primacy because it was the first official statement of faith from those who were disputing the false practices of the Pope's church, some of which remain to this day.

To this day it remains the starting point for dialogue with non-Lutherans and even with other Lutherans who subscribe to these confessions in a different way. If someone is serious about learning what Lutherans believe, the catechisms are great, but nothing puts it forth point by point like the Augsburg Confession.

It is a great reminder to campus pastors and others involved in campus ministry that Lutherans are confessors - we exist, we grow, we live, and ultimately, we will die as confessors. There is a temptation in academic environments to breathe deeply of the rarefied air of enlightenment and higher wisdom. This air will tell you that there is great knowledge out there to be found if you wait for it patiently without closing your mind to new and strange ideas. Constructing truth for yourself in this way takes time, and one only impedes such 'development' if one exercises hasty judgment upon one idea or another. Contributing knowledge to the discussion is only for those who are sure that their constructed realities are appealing enough to all. This air is abundant at the public university, but if you breathe deeply enough of these notions you'll suffocate in the noxious gas of relevance and tolerance.

Lutheran ministries on college campuses serve students best when we represent ourselves as we really are - confessing Christians who know what we believe and aren't afraid to say it. Talk about fresh air in this kind of environment! This doesn't mean we proselytize nor does it mean we have to be mean or arrogant about what we believe. We have a treasure in this confessed faith and it is a treasure for sharing. On this anniversary which commemorates the presentation of the Augsburg Confession, take some time to read what the confessors wrote in the face of a hostile environment, and let us learn from them to boldly confess the same faith in our time wherever we are.