Who Died on the Cross?
Replies from LCMS Pastors
Edited by Rev. Jack Cascione

 

Pr. Cascione: just a note to let you know that I believe that God died on Good. Friday. You aren't alone. Peace, (LCMS pastor Nebraska)

Dear Jack: Regarding the death of God, check out TLH 167, Stanza 2. In the original German it read, "Gott selbst is tot." That translates, "God Himself is dead." One wonders if there were reasons other than meter for the poor translation in TLH (LCMS Pastor Texas)

Dear Jack: "But when you say "all of God died on the cross" your language naturally leads Trinitarians to believe that you are saying that God the Father died and that God the Holy Spirit died." (LCMS Pastor Illinois)

Dear brother Cascione: Sincerely-The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Please do not refrain from using the classic descriptors of the questions! The heresies are not new. You will undoubtedly be accused of patripassism because you aren't getting the clear answers to your questions. I didn't do all that well in "Early Church History" but I believe you are on the right tac. I also encourage you to continue to give as much charitable courtesy as possible to your opponent. Now I lightly regret that I threw "Health & Healing" out before subjecting myself to it. Joyfully serving Jesus and His people, (LCMS Pastor Wisconsin)

Hi Jack: Just a word on this subject. What happened to the word "paradox?" There is so much in our faith that is a paradox, and one of them is the Trinity. Yes, we say and confess that God died on the cross. "My Lord, my God has died for me." But we also say, and so did Luther, that the Father did not die nor did the Holy Spirit. Heresy results when we try to resolve the paradox. It seems to me that this is where Waldo is, trying to comprehend the Trinity and to divide the Trinity into "logical" parts. I join you in resisting his approach. But especially when discussing the Trinity we need to hold in tension the seemingly paradoxical truths that God did indeed die, and on the other hand that the Father did not die nor did the Holy Spirit. That is why, in order to help us poor mortals, that the Scriptures says the Son of God died on the cross to help us distinguish between the Persons of the Trinity. (Sincerely, LCMS Pastor California)


Rev. Jack Cascione is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church (LCMS - MI) in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. He has written numerous articles for Christian News and is the author of Reclaiming the Gospel in the LCMS: How to Keep Your Congregation Lutheran. He has also written a study on the Book of Revelation called In Search of the Biblical Order.
He can be reached by email at pastorcascione@juno.com.

March 17, 2002