Timothy J. Winterstein

Many, many, many books and essays have been written on the differences between Lutherans and Roman Catholics. (In other words, I am not going to tell you anything new. For the most significant differences, you may want to reread the Augsburg Confession and its Apology.)

We are always confessing something. Whatever we do, whatever we say, we confess. Perhaps that seems like an exaggeration, because when we hear the word confess, we usually limit that to our sins or, perhaps, to our faith.

I am not entirely sure who invented the idea of the “suppressed binary opposite,” but it is a favorite concept of mine. Essentially, it refers to the thing one is arguing against (binary opposite) without naming that opposing position, hence “suppressed.” One opposite in my mind when it comes to theology is those who think that theology is primarily an intellectual exercise and that theological concepts are conceived in some kind of tower—ivory or otherwise.