Is Cross Theology Too Narrow? Do We Need To Move Beyond The Cross?

A lot of Christians regard Lutherans as being very one-sided or narrow in their theology.  The accusation towards Lutherans is that we Lutherans shrink the church year together into Good Friday.  In other words, Lutherans are often blamed for making every day Good Friday while ignoring the other major themes of the church year.  People will often state, "There are 3 articles of the Apostle's Creed, not just the 2nd article!"  Or how about this one, "You need to move beyond the cross to the resurrection."  


Herman Sasse in his book We Confess addresses these concerns saying, "Obviously the 'theology of the cross' does not mean that for a theologian the church year shrinks together into nothing but Good Friday.   Rather, it means that Christmas, Easter and Pentecost cannot be understood without Good Friday."  Sasse goes on to state, "Always it is from the cross that everything is understood, because hidden in the cross is the deepest essence of God's revelation."


What this means is that we don't avoid the themes of Creation, the work of the Holy Spirit and the Resurrection.  Rather, we embrace these themes while understanding them in light of the Cross and never apart from the Cross.  


PAX