in such a forum become a standard of dogma, a secondary authority for teaching the faith, and a key in the interpretation of Scripture. Not since Nicea had such a confession become a fundamental definition of what Christians believe and teach. The document immediately set the standard by which the Augsburg confessors themselves and their followers were to be judged; and it became their agenda as they proclaimed, taught, and lived out the Christian life. This confession defined the essence of the
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