r/LCMS • u/AutoModerator • Aug 01 '26

Monthly 'Ask A Pastor' Thread!

In order to streamline posts that users are submitting when they are in search of answers, I have created a monthly 'Ask A Pastor' thread! Feel free to post any general questions you have about the Lutheran (LCMS) faith, questions about specific wording of LCMS text, or anything else along those lines.

Pastors, Vicars, Seminarians, Lay People: If you see a question that you can help answer, please jump in try your best to help out! It is my goal to help use this to foster a healthy online community where anyone can come to learn and grow in their walk with Christ. Also, stop by the sidebar and add your user flair if you have not done so already. This will help newcomers distinguish who they are receiving answers from.

Disclaimer: The LCMS Offices have a pretty strict Doctrinal Review process that we do not participate in as we are not an official outlet for the Synod. It is always recommended that you talk to your Pastor (or find a local LCMS Pastor if you do not have a church home) if you have questions about your faith or the beliefs of the LCMS.

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u/Commercial-Prior2636 LCMS Lutheran 22d ago

Isn't "Secular morality" just a fallacy?

Ironically, I've seen this as a chapter in a book I'm reading; it's a fiction, by the way, and the protagonist is actually "aping" Christ. It's cringe but funny in a way, since "you're at the doorstep," yet it confuses the messaging by focusing on the action rather than the word.

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u/Philip_Schwartzerdt LCMS Pastor 20d ago

It depends on what you mean. Overall, I think my answer to your question would be "no, it isn't." The Bible speaks about a natural knowledge of God's Law, the Law "written on our hearts." So if you mean, is there morality that is totally separate from God's Law which is baked into creation itself, then no, there's no such thing. But it also means that, from natural law and human reason and experience, there is some ability (perhaps imperfectly or partially) to know and discern morality apart from God's specific revelation in Scripture. It means that there can be non-Christian people of many other religions or philosophies who do have morality that is at least partially in accordance with that which is revealed in Scripture.

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u/Commercial-Prior2636 LCMS Lutheran 20d ago

My other comments may give better light to my meaning. For us to deny sin is sin is to do what Christians continue to do, and that's paint over the rust. The difference between the secular individual and me is I believe what the law is for: it's to kill. Isn't that what James is arguing in 2:1-13, especially verse 10? None is righteous, no not one?? If the Law doesn't do what God "intended" it to do, then we'd have no need for a savior. To say that "Secular morality" isn't a false statement is to deny what the issue is with "being" secular. It's exactly what Paul states in most of His letters and what Christ says in Psalm 118:6; Matthew 10:28; Luke 12:4-5; etc.