Debates of the Century

The WELS AnswerMan dealt recently with charges from the Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic) about Wisconsin Synod unionism: Church and Change invited non-Lutheran apostates to be featured speakers. The same letter mentioned CLC congregations working other denominations on a Creation Museum. Both groups posture about "fellowship principles" but invoke gales of laughter when they do.

Item: At a joint ELCA-WELS religious conference, WELS leaders explained their fellowship principles (sic) to ELCA. According to DP Robert Mueller, ELCA said, "We could use some of those." All those who believe that story raise your hands. Only one? Wally, put your hand down.

Item: WELS had a series of Roman Catholic priests and the pedophile Archbishop Weakland as featured speakers at Wisconsin Lutheran College. That was either before or after Martin Marty was their featured speaker. The Church and Change speakers do not violate fellowship principles because they believe what the WELS leaders believe - nothing.

Item: WELS produced or produces the Joy religious radio show with ELCA.

Item: WELS joined with Missouri and ELCA for the lavishly funded Church [Growth] Membership Initiaive.

The CLC has long suffered from the antics of Paul Tiefel Jr. and David Koenig. Yes, this Tiefel is related to the WELS Tiefel and both are nicknamed Teufel for some reason. Koenig hates Lutheran doctrine so much that he once devoted the entire service at his congregation to a rant against Lutherans for not being mission-minded like the Roman Catholics. The CLC responded by making him a world missionary again and featuring him often in their little magazine. Koenig and Tiefel's derelict doctrine used to fill the pages of While It Is Day, a publication so bad the elders of Tiefel's church asked him to stop. So he did not stop. Koenig phoned Valleskey and asked if the former seminary president went to Fuller Seminary. Valleskey said yes. Valleskey was angry that Koenig admitted this fact in one of his oh-so-ferocious letters to me.

Is this WELS-CLC debate on unionism the funniest yet, or is it less entertaining when Waldo Werning and Jack Cascione argue about which one is a false teacher?