Much has been said about the dissenting nature of the ACELC, and I agree that these fellows went about their work in the wrong way. Rececently, I was reminded about the original gangstas of dissent in the LCMS, namely the Statementarians, who were the first to site their concerns. In some corners of the LCMS, these men are still considered "heroes." How is the ACELC (or TTMBO, the statement that came out after the Yankee Stadium service) any different from the OGs?
Here is the the beginning of the Statement:
In Nomine Jesu
STATEMENT
We, the undersigned, as individuals, members of Synod, conscious of our responsibilities and duties before the Lord of the Church, herewith subscribe to the following statement:
FOUR
We believe that the ultimate and basic motive for all our life and work must be love--love of God, love of the Word, love of the brethren, love of souls. We affirm our conviction that the law of love must also find application to our relationship to other Lutheran bodies. We therefore deplore a loveless attitude, which is manifesting itself within Synod. This unscriptural attitude has been expressed in suspicions of brethren, in the impugning of motives, and in the condemnation of all who have expressed differing opinions concerning some of the problems confronting our Church today.
FIVE
We affirm our conviction that sound exegetical procedure is the basis for sound Lutheran theology.
We therefore deplore the fact that Romans 16:17, 18 has been applied to all Christians who differ from us in certain points of doctrine. It is our conviction, based on sound exegetical and hermeneutical principles, that this text does not apply to the present situation in the Lutheran Church of America. We furthermore deplore the misuse of First Thessalonians 5:22 in the translation "avoid every appearance of evil." This text should be used only in its true meaning, "avoid evil in every form."
The whole text may be found here:
http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/lcms/ST44/ST44.txtI personally love this line: We therefore deplore a loveless attitude, which is manifesting itself within Synod.
So, how is this statement any different than the "That They may be One" or the ACELC?