Soul Sleep
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It seems that Luther did believe in a soul sleep, he has many statements on it. However, he also has statements that contradict a soul sleep. He just is not clear on what he believes and seems to prefer to not focus on it. Here is a good article on the subject:
A Re-examination of Luther's View on the State of the Dead
I believe in soul sleep, you will probably find differing opinions in Lutheran synods and members.
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I'm not aware of anything in the Lutheran Confessions that specifically addresses the topic, but then I'm far from an expert--others would be far more helpful in that regard.
But, generally, I haven't seen anything in Lutheranism to suggest a departure from basic, historic Christian views on the subject: that, while we can't really know much, we can be confident that between death and resurrection we are with Christ; as He has promised, "Where I am, you will be also".
Scripture itself is all but silent on the matter of the intermediate state, we have St. Paul saying in 2 Corinthians "being absent from the body and present with the Lord", thus indicating some kind of continued, conscious existence between death and resurrection. And in the Apocalypse St. John has a vision of the souls of the martyrs before God's throne.
All that I've read about Luther tends to be that Luther's own views are hard to pinpoint, sometimes saying things that sound one way, and then in other cases sounding another.
Perhaps the truth is simply that our interest in what happens immediately at death just isn't the kind of thing the biblical writers, and most theologians historically have been all that interested in. Christian eschatology tends toward the broad, overarching themes of salvation, redemption, judgment, and renewal. That, ultimately, justice does happen, and that means the victory of life over death, not just for us as individuals, but indeed the entirety of creation.
-CryptoLutheran
But, generally, I haven't seen anything in Lutheranism to suggest a departure from basic, historic Christian views on the subject: that, while we can't really know much, we can be confident that between death and resurrection we are with Christ; as He has promised, "Where I am, you will be also".
Scripture itself is all but silent on the matter of the intermediate state, we have St. Paul saying in 2 Corinthians "being absent from the body and present with the Lord", thus indicating some kind of continued, conscious existence between death and resurrection. And in the Apocalypse St. John has a vision of the souls of the martyrs before God's throne.
All that I've read about Luther tends to be that Luther's own views are hard to pinpoint, sometimes saying things that sound one way, and then in other cases sounding another.
Perhaps the truth is simply that our interest in what happens immediately at death just isn't the kind of thing the biblical writers, and most theologians historically have been all that interested in. Christian eschatology tends toward the broad, overarching themes of salvation, redemption, judgment, and renewal. That, ultimately, justice does happen, and that means the victory of life over death, not just for us as individuals, but indeed the entirety of creation.
-CryptoLutheran
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Scriptures don't elaborate much on the subject, and although it sometimes uses the language of sleep, the more favourable understanding and the one Lutheranism hold to, is that after death there is immediate judgment. That is, body and soul are separated, but the soul is either in heaven or in hell, and will raise bodily either in the new resurrection or in eternal condemnation.
This is the orthodox Lutheran position and is explicitly taught in Heinrich Schmid's The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, A.L. Graebner's Outlines of Doctrinal Theology, and Leonard Hutter's Compend of Lutheran Theology. I can write up some quotes if anyone is interested! It's also plainly expressed in several answers on both the LCMS and the WELS websites' Q&A section.
Saying all of this, I have to confess, I was skimming through the Book of Concord and I couldn't find any obvious teachings on it. I guess it simply wasn't much of a controversy at the time of writing. I thought perhaps it would be mentioned in relation to temporal death or the refute of purgatory, but couldn't catch any clear remarks on it. I'm sure it's in the confessions somewhere and I'll keep an eye out for it!
This is the orthodox Lutheran position and is explicitly taught in Heinrich Schmid's The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, A.L. Graebner's Outlines of Doctrinal Theology, and Leonard Hutter's Compend of Lutheran Theology. I can write up some quotes if anyone is interested! It's also plainly expressed in several answers on both the LCMS and the WELS websites' Q&A section.
Saying all of this, I have to confess, I was skimming through the Book of Concord and I couldn't find any obvious teachings on it. I guess it simply wasn't much of a controversy at the time of writing. I thought perhaps it would be mentioned in relation to temporal death or the refute of purgatory, but couldn't catch any clear remarks on it. I'm sure it's in the confessions somewhere and I'll keep an eye out for it!
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