It's happening again. The world's attention is focusing on the Roman Catholic Church. With the retirement of one pope and the imminent elevation of another, commentators on television, facebook, and print media have started sharing their deeply held beliefs. Most of the comments start out something like this: “I'm a Catholic, but I don't believe what my church teaches about…”
     As a Lutheran by conviction there are any number of Roman Catholic doctrines with which I take issue (most importantly salvation by grace through faith) and I have a solid biblical and confessional basis for what I believe.  There are some things which every church teaches that are neither commanded nor forbidden by the Bible (do we have a church building? do we use an organ to accompany our singing? should we buy insurance?). A seminary term for those areas is “adiaphora” and it means “indifferent things.” We try to thoughtfully and prayerfully make decisions in those areas using good stewardship and respect for our members, those we are trying to reach and community sensibilities, as applicable.
     However, there are also areas in which no variation from biblical teaching is possible. Even though we don't have “cardinals” in our church, those teachings are sometimes called “cardinal doctrines” or “essential truths.” The doctrine of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; salvation by grace through faith in Christ; and the faith handed down through the Aposltes', Athanasian, and Nicene Creeds, for example, are essential or cardinal doctrines.
     Now, when someone renders a theological opinion such as, “I don't think church leaders should wear red shoes,” that falls into the category of adiaphora with which our Amish or Quaker brothers and sisters in Christ could wholeheartedly agree. When someone opines, “I think people should be free to live in open and unrepentant sin,” however, that false teaching contradicts the doctrine of salvation and jeopardizes everyone who embraces it.  
     I would urge everyone to examine the biblical basis for what their church believes and if they have questions, ask someone in the know. If any of our members or visitors are curious about what we believe, stop in for a cup of coffee or tea or Mountain Dew and we'll talk. Hopefully our members will be knowledgably saying, “I'm a Lutheran Christian and the Holy Spirit has led me to believe, teach, and confess what my church teaches because it is solidly based on God's Word.”