Open letter to Dr. Braaten

Dear Dr. Braaten,
I read your letter to Bishop Hansen and stand with you but I think you should know that you are at least in part responsible for the condition of the ELCA. Some thirty to forty years ago you were one of those smart young seminary professors that stripped away the theological foundations we came to seminary with and failed to put any new Lutheran foundation in their place. You delighted in tearing down the Missouri Synod and other conservative Lutherans. Its not that what you said was wrong. You did a very good job at dismantling . You just did a terrible job at rebuilding. And you were not alone. The whole attitude of the seminary was one that didn't seem to take the confessions or scripture seriously. Those classes left seminary with four fundamentals.
1. Baptism and Communion were very important, even magical.
2. Worship and liturgical worship was very important.
3. Social ministry of one type or another was the heart of the gospel.
4. Scripture could not be used to build or defend doctrine.
Some of that group who were stubborn or bull headed rejected it all and became Lutheran Fundamentalists. Some who came out of a pietistic background went back to their roots and became Evangelical Lutherans or charismatic Lutherans. Some of us continued to study the confessions, material on the confessions and to read Luther and ended up close to where you seem to be in your letter. But the majority built on the four fundamentals. They were open to any wind of doctrine that came along. They built that doctrine not on scripture but on science and not even good science but social science. Hence in the debate over Homosexuality in the ELCA there is very little reference to scripture and a great deal of reference to the findings of social science. Or the theology coming in from the women's movement that gives us god the mother and Jesus the child. Away with the Trinity.
As time has gone on the ELCA has begun its slide to just another liberal Protestant denomination.
As it slides the cracks began to appear and some began to leave. You document that well on the leaders but little guys left to. They went to the Missouri Synod, The Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and to Lutheran splinter groups of one kind or another. Some of us tried in Synod to stop the slide. We were not treated well. The majority like bishop Hansen would not hear that there was a problem. Like the alcoholic or the person caught up in sin they got angry with anyone who pointed out the problem. Perhaps like pharaoh of old God has hardend their hearts.
So the slide continues. More will leave. Real breaks will come. New denominations will be born. If I was not so Lutheran I would jump off as well. So I admire your desire to stay and fight. I pray to God that somehow you will be able to do something.
Pastor John Linna, your former student.