08 March 2013

New Lutheran Quote of the Day

And when here on earth the tragic case occurs, which happens again and again where the question of truth is earnestly engaged, that one confession of faith is set against another, conscience against conscience, then we must leave the decision to Him who in the Last Judgment will finally separate truth from error. We do not know God's judgments, and can and may not anticipate them. Also when we speak the "condemned" against a false teaching, God's forgiving grace may bring the erring sinner into the church triumphant, where there is no more untruth. On the other hand, this door will be shut to many a one who has done battle for the truth in perfect orthodoxy but forgotten that he too was only a poor sinner who lives only by forgiving grace.—Hermann Sasse, We Confess: the Church, pp. 57, 58.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It goes to show that you can be conservative and charitable too.

Peace and Joy!
George A. Marquart

Herr B. said...

Right before this section, Sasse says "Kierkegaard observed that truth's quotation marks are polemical." What do you think he means by that? The thing that came to my mind was when, e.g., the nonreligious talk about "truth" (in quotes) and tolerance. Those quotation marks seem to be clearly asserting a position.

Is there a Kierkegaard reference that comes to mind that might shed some light on what Sasse is saying?

William Weedon said...

I have always taken that to mean that expressing the substance of what is true invariably involves rejection of what contradicts that truth. That is why truth's quotation marks invariably mark what is said as "fighting words."

Herr B. said...

Thanks -- that makes sense to me.

-David Bentlage