Why Are Lutherans Poping, Semi-Poping, and Demi-Semi-Poping?

One reader wonders why Catholicism is so attractive to Lutheran pastors?

1. Poping means joining Rome, even becoming a priest, as Richard Neuhaus did.
2. Semi-poping means joining Eastern Orthodoxy: tastes great, less fulfilling.
3. Demi-semi-poping is my term for walking the tightrope between the Lutheran Church and popery.

The cause is three-fold.
A. Lutherans have lost their nerve. The leaders no longer believe in Luther's doctrine and the Book of Concord, the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace. Many leaders bow to Fuller Seminary and Willow Creek, leaving others to think the answer is becoming a lapdog for the Antichrist.
B. Seminary faculty members delight in promoting their cause among their students, watching with pride when their students make the switch they are afraid to make.
C. Rome never stops its massive propaganda efforts.

Worship training centers at Notre Dame, so the football school has influenced as many denominations to obey Rome as Fuller has in the opposite direction. This is a real life example of Wayne Mueller's quotation from Luther (which he distorted and abused for his nefarious purpose). The crypto-papists stab their church in the back to save it from the Fuller monster. In fact, Fuller and Rome are two versions of the same false doctrine.

The new fever about Apostolic Succession is a good example of the Roman yeast at work. The crypto-papists can talk about Apostolic Succession and publish their papers without being too obvious about their longing to return to Holy Mother Rome. Some of the other discussions, such as the term bishop, are excellent ways to promote the agenda. They can point members toward Rome without naming the Holy Father, their leader. If everyone can keep yakking about non-essentials, the lack of doctrinal education can do its damage in time.