On Monday, January 16, 2012, Redeemer will host a free conference. The theme of the conference is the on-going difficulties with Rome’s doctrine of the papacy and Pope Benedict 16th’s hermeneutics and theological process. This might strike some as strange since Benedict is the friendliest pope in memory and maybe since Luther’s excommunication. So also there have been requests that we re-think and re-evaluate the Confessional identification of the office of the papacy with the antichrist.
The Roman doctrine is more complicated than it first appears and Lutheran apologetics haven’t always been fair. We make no promise that we will answer all the issues fully. But we promise no cheap shots and will attempt to address them together, fraternally, and to seek to better understand the Holy Scriptures and the Confessions regarding these things.
The first address will be given by Rev. Heath Curtis, Gottesdienst Editor, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Worden, Illinois and Zion Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois. He will consider the doctrine of the antichrist in the Holy Scriptures as well as the confessional claims, in the context in which they were written, while evaluating whether or not these things still apply to the modern pope.
The second address, “Benedict 16th and the Hermeneutic of Continuity” will be presented by Rev. David Ramirez, assistant pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Illinois. From his own involvement in Vatican II to his time as the Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the “hermeneutic of continuity” has been a central aspect of his Benedict’s Theology. It not only defines his interpretation of Vatican II, but also is the key to his understanding of history, doctrine, authority, and the nature of the church.The conference itself is free, but lunch is not. We will order in pizza and take a collection to cover the cost for those who stay. You may, of course, choose to go elsewhere for lunch or to bring your own lunch. The conference will begin with the panelists at 11 but be preceded by an opportunity for Private Confession with Rev. Petersen in the Chapel beginning at 9:30 am and the Holy Communion at 10:30. We will also have the opportunity to learn better how to read and sing Gregorian chant as presented in the Brotherhood Prayer Book under the tutelage of the Rev. Dr. Ben Mayes at 3:30 pm and then to pray Vespers together from the Prayer Book in the Chapel at 4:30.
Here is the schedule:
Monday January 16, 2012 A+D
9:30 Private Confession available with Petersen in Redeemer's chapel
10:30 Low Mass in the Chapel
11:00-45 “Consideration of the Papacy in Light of the Confessions” by Rev. Heath Curtis
11:45 “Benedict XVI and the “Hermeneutic of Continuity” by Rev. David Ramirez
12:30 Lunch - order in pizza, pitch in for costs
2:00 The Panel takes questions and considers statements from the floor
3:30 Gregorian practice/training with Dr. Ben Mayes for the LLPB Vespers
4:30 LLPB Vespers w/ Treasury Propers
