what is the diffrence between a lutheran and a christian?

Answer 1

Nothing - a Lutheran is a Christian

Lutheranism describes those churches within Christianity that were reformed according to the theological insights of Martin Luther in the 16th century.

Luther's writings are also credited with launching the broader Protestant Reformation. And while many of the religious movements of this era are commonly referred to as reformed, that term cannot properly be applied to Lutheranism, which retained many of the sacramental understandings and liturgical practices of the Western Christian church that were enhanced by reformed tradition.

The Lutheran reform of the theology and practice of the Western church eventually led to separation within the Western Christian church.[1] Today nearly 70 million Christians belong to Lutheran churches worldwide;[2] furthermore, many of the 400 million Protestant Christians[3] can trace their tradition, at least in part, back to Luther's reforming work.

Answer 2

There are Christians within the Lutheran Church, unfortunately there are also non Christians.

Our Lutheran theology, as described in the Bible talks of TWO Churches. One Visible, one Invisible. The visible Church is made up of all Denominations. It is the Buildings, and the Congregations that we see. As stated above this Church consists of Christians and non Christians.

The invisible Church Consists of All Faithful believers (not just Lutherans!) Living and Dead. This is what is meant when we confess in the Creeds "I believe in the Holy Christian (catholic) Church, and the Communion of Saints".

When the Faithful worship, celebrate the Sacraments, pray, evangelize, and exercise stewardship in there everyday lives, they are in the company of the invisible church. Lutheran or not.

Scripture is the only guide line that God has given his Church. Since the Confessional Lutherans stand on Scripture alone. I am not willing to take a chance with denominations that place tradition and human reason on par, or even ahead of the Bible.

Answer 3

Firstly Lutherans are Christians. And just as their are many different kinds of groups claiming to be Christian, there are many different kinds of lutherans. Detective did a pretty good job of explaining the differences between lutherans and other groups, so I'll try to give a very brief, (I have to go in a couple of minutes) explanation of the different kinds of Lutherans. Unlike catholics, who have a strong central authority figure, the pope, and a very rigidly defined doctrine, Lutherans are more diverse, for better or for worse. Their doctrines differ on many aspects, as well as their faithfulness to the Bible. My denomination,Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, uses the only the Bible as its source (sola scriptorum). Other denominations use human thought, such as replacing creationism with evolution. To be biased: this seems to me like thinking that they know better than God, and replacing what the Bible clearly states with what they want to believe.
Other groups also allow gays and women to be pastors, though the bible states that pastors are meant to be examples to the congregation, and leviticus 20:13 clearly states that homosexuality is a grave sin. God forgives all sin, but pastors should not do something so obviously contrary to scriptures. As for women pastors, there is another verse against that, but I can;t remember it's exact location (sorry). Another division is whether or not a church accepts Revelation to be literal or metaphorical, (personaly, I'm thinking metephorical). Sorry for the fact that this is obviously biased towards my own church.
One last note, I've found that people from other religions sometimes think that we treat Luther as a prophet, like Mohamad for Muslims, this is not the case. He is simply a scholar who helped return the church to scripturaly sound teachings.
After reading the answers that were submitted while I was typing I have one more thing, WaineT and Baphomet are very, very, wrong.

Answer 4

Lutherans are Christians who believe in going by the Bible alone which is interpreted through the 3 creeds, the 1st 4 Councils ,the Augsburg Confession(Invariata) and (for some/many
Lutherans) the rest of the Book of Concord.
Lutherans are more liturgical than Reformed,Wesleyan orBaptist Protestant traditions.
Many Lutherans see themselves as the real and original Protestants and evangelical catholics.

Answer 5

Mark R made a great statement about the visible church & the invisible church, so I won't repeat it.

The short answer is that Lutheran churches are Christian churches--they are generally orthodox in their doctrine. However, not all Lutheran doctrine is the same. There are the more conservative denominations: Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) & Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). Then there is the more liberal denomination: Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) which would resemble more of the generic evangelical American church. You can find official doctrine statements on each denomination's website. I am an LCMS Lutheran--their website is http://www.lcms.org/.

The kind of motto of the Lutheran church is: "Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura" = we are saved, "by God's GRACE ALONE, through FAITH in JESUS CHRIST ALONE, as written in SCRIPTURE ALONE". There is an emphasis on Word (Law & Gospel) & Sacrament (Baptism & Communion) as these are God's chosen means of grace by which He distributes forgiveness of sins & grants eternal life; establishes & maintains a relationship with us.

On the websitw below, you can explore the differences between other denominations & the LCMS.

Answer 6

There is no difference, as the Lutheran Church is a Christian Church. Many other Religions are Christian too.

Answer 7

Lutherans ARE Christians. The Lutheran Church is one of the many "mainstream" denominations of Christianity.

Answer 8

Lutherans are Christians.

Answer 9

A Lutheran is a Christian, but a Christian may or may not be a Lutheran.

Answer 10

Christian is the total faith. Lutheran and Catholic are denominations of Christianity that means Lutherans and Catholics are Christians however they have got separate ideals. There are countless variations among the rituals and dogmas of every however all of them think in a single foremost factor: Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. Hope that helped.