Monday, May 27, 2024

It is the 27th of May 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A happy Monday to you, if you are indeed listening in almost-real-time. If you have a sports team doing well, great. I’m happy for you. I hope you win everything all the time. My teams are terrible.

Ok- let’s head to Greg in Kennewick, Washington, as it is Monday, and we go to the mailbag. Kennewick is part of the tri-city area in southeast Washington state- along with Pasco and Richland. I love me some Pacific Northwest. The Tri-Cities are home to the Tri-Cities Dust Devils- the high A minor league affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. It was home to Nate Mendel of Sunny Day Real Estate and the Foo Fighters. Also, a very interesting history with the Manhattan Project- there on the Columbia River was site W, the first full-scale plutonium reactor in the world.

Greg asks, “Where does the idea of the priesthood of all believers come from? Why do some protestant churches, like the Episcopalians, still have priests?”

Ok- Greg. Great question. The basis for this doctrine is 1 Peter 2:

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

The idea here is that in Christ, we are the chosen people- the priesthood, once a very selective and exclusive caste, is now for all who are in Christ. After the growth of the church as a bureaucracy in the Middle Ages, it was first Luther who attacked the professional priestly class by saying, “You are not a special intermediary in the Old Testament sense”- there is no hierarchy as all are invited to a relationship with the Father through his Son and the power of the Holy Spirit.  

So- different Reformation traditions did different things with this idea. For instance, should there be a doctrine of the office of ministry that gives certain people certain exclusive rights- say, to baptize or give the Lord’s Supper? Luther would say that, in a pinch, anyone could do these things, but we still have the office that has a distinct role. Others pushing the doctrine farther said “the priesthood of all believers” negates the need for a special “priesthood” or “office” (usually called “pastor”, some held on to the “priest” language- others got rid of all distinctions and simply called one another “brother” and “sister”).  

An interesting argument from the side that wants a “priesthood of all believers” but also a distinct call and office for “ministers of the Gospel” has pointed out that in Exodus 19, the people of God are called “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” but this did not preclude God calling out the Levite’s as a special caste to perform certain functions.  

Essentially, the doctrine of the “Priesthood of All Believers” is a Protestant emphasis, and you can trace its use on a conservative to radical spectrum. The more conservative Lutherans and Anglicans will hold on to a hierarchy, while the more radical on the Reformation spectrum- say to Anabaptists, Quakers, etc.… the distinctions over who can do what change a good bit.

But I find one more part interesting- amongst the Lutherans, you have two conservative bodies- the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The Missouri Lutherans believe that the “office of the ministry” is a divine call, and with it comes biblically mandated jobs that a layperson can not do. The Wisconsinites, still conservative, believe that the office is one created in Christian freedom for good order but is not divinely appointed in the same way- so some disagreement with some despite being very close elsewhere— I’ll let them fight it out somewhere over eastern Iowa.

Thanks for the question, Greg- can we all do everything in the church, or are some jobs off limits, even for “the priests” of God as we are called in the New Testament? It can lead to good questions and a fruitful conversation. Enjoy those Tri-Cities just outside that most euphonious of cities, Walla Walla Washington- you can send me your questions at danv@1517.org.

 The last word for today is from the daily lectionary and a great word from Psalm 20:

Now this I know:
    The Lord gives victory to his anointed.


He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary

    with the victorious power of his right hand.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

They are brought to their knees and fall,

    but we rise up and stand firm.

Lord, give victory to the king!

    Answer us when we call!

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 27th of May 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by the high priest of Random Lake; it’s Archbishop, Priest, Vicar, Producer, and Brewer- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who knows he doesn’t have to, but I still like wearing the priestly undergarments-  I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.