Doctrine

What is doctrine? One one hand (at least from my human "wisdom") it seems to be a great way to keep people from falling into error. If I can just get someone to agree with my doctrine, I can know that they are saved. Doctrine seems to stand against the post-modern wishy-washiness* as a modern fortress, on its best days sounding like Paul saying: Keep to what you learned originaly!

On the other hand, how much can doctrine cover? Can we have True doctrine, or can we just have doctrine that is continually updated and changed with the Spirit? I might be going to Lutheran seminary soon, so I need to figure out how to get my hands on a Book of Concord. Apparently Lutherans confess that this is a true exposition of the Word. I've never even read it.

When Luther did his thing, way back when, he imagined the common man sitting down and reading the bible in his own language, and then, with no other help but the Spirit, coming up with all the same ideas he came up with. That didn't work so well, and so apparently he said latter in life: "Now that we have doctrine, there is no reason to read the word**" (Calvin wrote his Institutes for the same reason.)

If true, this is obviously a problem.

Lutherans of many sorts seem to experience God through the Word. This is a good thing, for God sent us the Word as a communication from himself. As I was growing up, I probably would have said that is the only way God communicates. And when I said it, I meant The Holy Bible to be the word. What Lutherans seem to lack is communication with God through the Spirit. I don't know where they stand on Spiritual gifts doctrinally (need to get that book of Concord,) but I do know that the first time I heard of someone speaking in tongues, I thought "ehh, they are probably just making it up." That is what the modern mind thinks when it comes into contact with non scientifically verifiable phenomena. When hearing about a miraculous healing, I was skeptical. So my upbringing seems to have been that, while God performs miracles (usually meaning financial blessings, or healing in response to prayer (not with any of that crazy "laying on of hands")) he doesn't do crazy stuff.

The big question is this, if we admit that the Holy Spirit is a living force on Earth, and we admit that there are evil spirits (another bad word for modernists, but one I couldn't not-believe after reading the bible for any length of time,) how do we know if we are being motivated by an evil spirit or the Holy Spirit (especially in "crazy" things?)

Some say doctrine, others say ______. I'm not sure, but since I fall into the others, I need to find out***.

*"This is what is right for me, you need to search and find your own truth."

**Or something like that, I heard this from my brother.

***I don't think doctrine is useless, but am just pointing out that it tends to stand against the crazy stuff.
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