A little Loehe for Lutherans:

"His Word and the Word of his apostles is clear and understandable to all. This is the most important point in the doctrine of the church.  Everything I have said in this little book is nothing at all if the apostolic Word, the Scripture, is not clear.  Right here is the great danger.  If we win on this, we have won; if we lose on this, all is lost.  It will not just be lost for this or that denomination but for the whole Christian community on earth.  If the Scriptures cannot be the uniting force of the church, then there is nothing to unite it since everything else without the backing of the Scriptures is empty and vain." [Three Books About the Church, p.65]

"God be praised, it is the chief parts of the truth which are preserved in

otherwise corrupted churches.  In so many places the Ten Commandments, the

Creed, the Lord's Prayer, baptism, absolution, the Lord's Supper, and many

precious passages of the Holy Scriptures are to be found that there is

always a possibility that a man may come to repentance and saving faith.

The Spirit of the Lord is all-powerful, so how can it be impossible for him

to achieve the goal He desires through the Commandments, the Creed, other

uncorrupted portions of God's Word, the baptismal blessing, and the hearing

of the Lord's Prayer?  It is difficult to find the way to life through the

clouds of strange doctrine in some communions, but it is still possible, and

at the last day there will be many examples of this from the history of the

nations."  [Three Books About the Church, p.95]

"Let us remember at the very outset that entire churches would not have been

founded as a result of slight differences.  It is true that men frequently

dispute over trifles, but in religious matters there are no trifles, and

where religious distinctions and divisions are concerned men are not in the

habit of being frivolous.  To be sure, in England and North America there

are some sects which are distinguished by trifles, but they are ephemeral.

They come and go, and often they know no truth except that which

distinguishes them from others.  We are not speaking about them.  We are

discussing the larger communions -- e.g., the Roman Catholics, the Eastern

Orthodox, the Reformed, the Lutherans, etc.  These things that divide them

are by no means trifles, and the articles about which they dispute and for

which they contend are truly worth fighting for.  To want to disregard these

differences is the beginning of gross ignorance or indolence or an arrogance

which deifies one's own ego."  [Three Books About the Church, p.101,102]

"The name 'Lutheran,' however, pertains to the content of the teaching

itself and was applied to our denomination [confession] by its enemies

because in their vain arrogance they claimed the names 'Christian,'

'catholic,' and 'apostolic' for themselves and on account of their egotism

could not apply them to others."

[Three Books About the Church, p.112]

"We know what our opponents always say.  They say, 'When were you united?

You have always argued; since when have you begun to praise the one church

again?   It is not very long that you have been talking this way and it is

not been very long since you forsook your own confession and were not at all

the church that you now boast of being.'

There is nothing in our opponents' mockery which frightens us.  We have

enough courage to tell the whole truth---the courage to repent---and in this

courage is a new life whose winnowing fork they should fear.  It is true

that our fathers argued.  In the bright light of our church they saw tiny

rough spots in the road, flecks of dust in the air; this is what they argued

about.  But our fathers did the fighting for us, and now there is concord."

[Three Books About the Church, p.113,114]

"Truth is not always surrounded by an equal number of confessors.  The

number is an adiaphoron, an accident which has nothing to do with the

substance.  We must never ask how many confessors there are but what they

confess.  Word, confession, doctrine--that is all;  everything else changes.

If only the church is apostolic, it will then be large enough, no matter

what its fixed membership.  The word 'catholic' cannot be defined in terms

of any fixed number but is properly explained by the doctrine of the

universal grace of God which wants to see true doctrine and the true church

spread as widely as possible, and they would be widely spread if it were not

for the opposition from men's wickedness.  It is the Lord's unalterable

decree that nothing can prevail against his grace except for the wicked

heart of man."

[Three Books About the Church, pp.123,124]