What does this mean?

I've come across two terms which I'm unfamiliar with. What does "canon" mean? And when one refers to the Lutheran confession(s), exactly what are they talking about? What are Lutheran confessions? I'm sure these are very basic questions, but I'm quite new to christianity.

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Music is enough for life, but life is not enough for music.-Sergei Rachmaninoff

The word "canon" is Greek and means "measuring stick" and refers to the basis for determining what books are considered the word of God.

The Lutheran Confessions are the documents found in the Book of Concord of 1580 which consist of the three creeds - Apostle's, Nicene, and Athanasian; the Augsburg Confession; the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Small and Large Catechisms of Luther; the Smalcald Articles; the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope; and the Formula of Concord. Confessional Lutheran churches hold to a full subscription of the confessions, meaning that they are thoroughly scriptural.

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What ABM said. Also: http://bookofconcord.org/


While the whole BoC is worthy of careful study, I believe Lutherans should try to be especially familiar with the Small Catechism and the Augsburg Confession at the very least.

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Confessional Lutheran Christianity: Christ-centered, Cross-focused.
Biblical, historic, traditional, creedal, confessional, liturgical, monergistic, sacramental, evangelical, catholic, orthodox Christianity.