Non-Lutheran Godparents/Sponsors for Baptism?

Resha Caner said:

First, I can't claim to speak for the whole Lutheran church.

But I would say, no, that is not the Lutheran position. Again, that makes the whole thing binary: it either is or isn't - it's perfect or it's not - God is here but not there.

I think of it in engineering terms as a signal (specifically, like Shannon's Law). Some signals have more noise than others. The Lutheran signal has the least amount of noise. So, suppose I want to watch the Super Bowl, and the picture on my TV, while it has a few flaws, is pretty good. My neighbor is also watching the Super Bowl on his TV, but his picture is fuzzy, jumps around, freezes, and cuts in and out. We'll probably both know the final score of the game, but I'd rather watch on my much clearer TV.

With that said, you shouldn't be surprised if a Lutheran occasionally sounds Catholic, Orthodox, or Anglican. We're closer to those denominations than we are to most Protestants.

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I am surprised on this matter because it indicates a level of priority in the importance of the Lutheran Church itself as opposed to the Gospel in of itself which Lutherans are very careful to distinguish from the Church on most occassions.

I don't understand why one would insist on a Lutheran upbringing as opposed to a conventional Christian upbringing if both equally have the Gospel. Would this not indicate that the extra features and bits that Lutherans have, that others lack, somehow add to the Gospel?

Ignatius the Kiwi said:

I am surprised on this matter because it indicates a level of priority in the importance of the Lutheran Church itself as opposed to the Gospel in of itself which Lutherans are very careful to distinguish from the Church on most occassions.

I don't understand why one would insist on a Lutheran upbringing as opposed to a conventional Christian upbringing if both equally have the Gospel. Would this not indicate that the extra features and bits that Lutherans have, that others lack, somehow add to the Gospel?

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I'm confused by your confusion. Per my analogy, why would I choose to watch the Super Bowl on a junky TV when a much better one is available?

Further, I'm not sure how you are getting a juxtaposition of Church and Gospel from what I've said. The Church has no purpose apart from the Gospel, so there is no attempt to prioritize them with respect to each other.

Resha Caner said:

I'm confused by your confusion. Per my analogy, why would I choose to watch the Super Bowl on a junky TV when a perfectly good one is available?

Further, I'm not sure how you are getting a juxtaposition of Church and Gospel from what I've said. The Church has no purpose apart from the Gospel, so there is no attempt to prioritize them with respect to each other.

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The way I see the analogy at play is that it shouldn't matter what type of tv you use to watch the Superbowl, what matters is that you are watching the Superbowl. The picture may be less crisp but you get the essence of the thing still conveyed to you. The superbowl being the Gospel and the type of Church being the TV in this analogy.

So when it is insisted upon that the Lutheran ought to have their child's Godparent be another Lutheran I am a little confused. What matters in Lutheranism is the Gospel first and foremost right? Everything else is optional? If it is mandatory to raise Children Lutheran, this implies only Lutherans truly have the Gospel, or have it more than others.

Ignatius the Kiwi said:

The way I see the analogy at play is that it shouldn't matter what type of tv you use to watch the Superbowl, what matters is that you are watching the Superbowl. The picture may be less crisp but you get the essence of the thing still conveyed to you. The superbowl being the Gospel and the type of Church being the TV in this analogy.

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It is possible to "get the essence" with the bad TV, but less probable. My analogy involved persevering to the end in order to know the final score. Knowing the score at half time isn't the same as knowing the final score - Being able to recount the parable of the Prodigal Son doesn't mean one is saved.

Not everyone is a football fanatic willing to endure a junky TV. Some will give up because the game has not caught their interest. Some will hear the wrong score.

Or, in terms of Bible parables, some seed will fall on shallow soil, some on rocky soil, etc. There's no need to reduce the chances by also throwing out inferior seed.

If no Lutheran church were workable, I would rather they attend some Christian church than none at all. But it's not my first choice. And though there is no sharp line - though it is fuzzy - there are religious organizations I would never join. If my only choice was JW, I'd not attend at all.

Ignatius the Kiwi said:

So when it is insisted upon that the Lutheran ought to have their child's Godparent be another Lutheran I am a little confused. What matters in Lutheranism is the Gospel first and foremost right? Everything else is optional? If it is mandatory to raise Children Lutheran, this implies only Lutherans truly have the Gospel, or have it more than others.

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So, extending what I said above, if there were no other choice, a non-Lutheran godparent is an option. It's just not the first choice. And a Lutheran church where there is no option for a Lutheran godparent is a Lutheran church that is really hurting.

But it is not "Eh. Shrug. Six of one, half a dozen of the other."

I'm in this same boat. I currently am a member of a LCMS church. I've thought about going to the RCC but that's another story all to itself. My wife and I are having our first in February and will baptize her in our Lutheran Church. We'd like to have my brother and my SIL be godparents, but they are not LCMS members. Brother is a Presbyterian (sometimes Baptist) and SIL is a Presbyterian and might be one of the best people I know.

We'd like to keep godparents in the family if possible, but we haven't gotten down the road of speaking to our pastor yet.