The Narrow Lutheran Middle Road for Creation

Abstract

Mark Bergemann’s essay, published in the Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly (Summer 2016), outlines a “narrow Lutheran middle road” for approaching the doctrine of creation. He contrasts two extremes: one that overemphasizes human reason in defending the faith, and another that rejects reason entirely. Bergemann argues that while reason cannot create or sustain faith—only the Gospel can—it can be used to clarify spiritual truths, silence objections, and provide points of contact for evangelism. Drawing on Scripture and Lutheran theologians, he emphasizes that apologetics must be grounded in the Word, not in rational proofs. The essay critiques popular creationist organizations for misusing reason and warns against common errors in creation apologetics. Bergemann concludes by encouraging careful, biblically faithful use of reason to support believers and witness to unbelievers, while avoiding both rationalism and anti-intellectualism. Abstract generated by Microsoft Copilot (GPT-4).