Really? I thought ELCA was more liturgical.
One of the continuing problems in American Lutheranism is that, in the pews it has been pretty easy for many to more-or-less adopt a kind of generic American Protestantism. It's probably not really all that different to how we might see many who were raised Catholic are often nominally Catholic.
Both in the ELCA and the LCMS (as well as other Lutheran bodies) there has been a push over the last several decades to recapture our uniquely Lutheran identity. But getting that from the top to the bottom isn't always easy.
In some ways this has always been a problem in Christianity in every generation. Luther complained about this in his own day, that many Christians were utterly uninformed about even the most basic articles of the Christian faith, in fact he says this in the introduction to his Small Catechism, and was the impetus for it. The ideal would be that not only would the clergy and others in positions of leadership in the Church teach to inform the congregation, but that parents in turn would be teaching their children, which is why the Small Catechism instructs the head of the family to guide instruction in the catechism, and is written so that young children and the uneducated can learn and grow in the faith.
From the beginning we see the Apostles and other leaders of the Church writing to other church leaders about being vigilant against false teaching and false teachers, for the sake of the community. In his 2nd epistle John writes to the "elect lady" (probably the woman whose house was used as the meeting place for Christian gathering) to not even allow false teachers in or give them any quarter:
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Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward. Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person." - 2 John 1:7-11
The fathers of the Church struggled with this. Teachers, theologians, and many throughout the history of the Church have struggled with this. So it shouldn't be altogether shocking that, today, this is still a problem.
One of these problems, in my experience, is that there are many Christians who simply don't care. You can find them even here on CF, who will say that theology doesn't matter, doctrine doesn't matter, all that matters is that we have a "personal relationship" with God, by which they usually mean to some kind of esoteric, interior spiritual feeling-ness. Instead of realizing that it is absolutely critical that we confess the faith, defend against error, and stand firm in what has been given us. What we say about God
matters. It is difficult to have a relationship with Someone you do not know, or don't know very well. Theology matters. Doctrine matters. The Creeds matter. The Confessions, Catechisms, teachings, and all that has come before us and has been taught and confessed over the last two millennia all matter. There is no Christianity without it.
-CryptoLutheran
