wfn.org | Critical Dialogue Required for Further Fellowship with Adventists

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Statement by the LWF German National Committee

HANOVER, Germany/GENEVA, 30 May 2002 (LWI) - The German National
Committee (DNK) of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has
responded to reactions to its commentary on the report concerning
conversations between the LWF and the General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists (SDA).

In a May 16 statement on feedback to the DNK's December 2001
remarks on the report "Adventists and Lutherans in Conversation,"
the committee said the SDA community in Germany had expressed
several times its dismay that the LWF national committee thought
further clarification of basic theological issues would be
necessary.

Both the public reactions from Adventists and some letters
received by the German national committee spoke of the feeling
that the DNK comments did not sufficiently take into account the
greater ecumenical openness which had been developed by the SDA
community, pointing to its practical co-operation within the
Christian churches' working group, Arbeitsgemeinschaft
Christlicher Kirchen (ACK).

In its recent response, the DNK recalled that the conversations in
the international group had the character of exploratory
conversations, "for the purpose of finding out how (the partners)
relate to one another in terms of doctrine and practice." The
group also had the task of "discussing how this relationship might
develop in future." Since for the LWF it is the member churches
that are entitled to respond to dialogue results, it was the
churches which were asked to react to the report from the
international group. Only on the basis of their responses could
the LWF, probably in autumn 2002, pass a resolution with regard to
the reception of the results from these conversations. The remarks
of the DNK had therefore concentrated entirely on the text of the
report and had not made any assessment with regard to the SDA
community in Germany.

Since the SDA had described themselves in the report, as "heirs of
the Reformation and... descendants of Luther" (p. 41), their
theological explanations had been examined according to the
criteria of Lutheran Reformation doctrine, said the LWF national
committee. In doing so, the DNK had seen both the necessity and
possibility of reaching a better mutual understanding through
further conversations.

The statement noted that the SDA response to the DNK observations
further made it clear that even for the Adventists, important
theological issues need clarification.

The national committee welcomed the fact that conversations had
been held between the SDA and LWF. The committee said that it was
convinced, however, that "critical and questioning dialogue" would
contribute "to strengthening co-operation between the partners in
the dialogue." It supports the intention to hold further doctrinal
conversations between the SDA and LWF in the near future.

The German committee thinks direct conversations with the local
SDA community would be desirable and is open to such an exchange.
The DNK member churches hope to be able to have a constructive
dialogue on doctrinal issues at national level. The issue of the
understanding of Scripture and how it is treated in the
development of the churches' teachings would be a point of
departure which could take the conversation further.

The DNK emphasized that the good relationship between its member
churches and the Free Churches in Germany was also the result of
open dialogues, in which the partners had a common understanding
when dealing with each other's questions. This openness was also
the prevailing attitude toward the SDA community.

The DNK represents 13 Lutheran churches. Besides the eight member
churches of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany,
VELKD, - those in Bavaria, Brunswick and Thuringia, and of
Hanover, Mecklenburg, Saxony, Schaumburg-Lippe, and the North
Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church - the DNK includes the
Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Baden and Oldenburg, Evangelical
Church in Wuerttemberg, Evangelical Church of Pomerania and Church
of Lippe (Lutheran Section). It represents 14 million local church
members.

The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 133 member churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5
million of the 64.3 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted,
material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the
LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced
with acknowledgment.]

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