ELCA Shrinking: Too Much Church Growth? Or Too Much WELS-ELS-LCMS?

Here is an interesting article on ELCA shrinking.

A major reason is that, in 20 years, the ELCA hasn't achieved a clear identity. Ask anyone what an ELCA Lutheran is - including ELCA Lutherans - and they will be hard pressed to tell you.

Ask someone what a Baptist or a Roman Catholic is and right away, you have a pretty fair idea what those terms mean. Not so with these Lutherans.

Inskeep says one reason is the ELCA never has come to terms with what it takes to live in the modern world. The endless debate about the role of gays and lesbians in the church is an example. Other denominations - Roman Catholics, Reformed, Baptists - have, for better or worse, addressed the issue and moved on.

Tradition also plays a big role. An unspoken commandment: "We've always done it this way. Why change?"

Some ELCA churches are growing and doing well. But Inskeep says overall, 72% of congregations lost worshipers between 2000 and 2006, and the number of churches where less than 50 people worship regularly jumped from 18% in 1988 to 26% in 2005.

Two decades ago, a few observers feared the ELCA would become the "General Motors of Lutheranism."

Turns out they were right, but not in the way they intended.

Lie Down With Dawgs Get Up With Puppies

The WELS-ELS-LCMS combine works with ELCA on a host of religious projects, including worship and evangelism. Look at the links for ELCA's full communion partners:

News from Full Communion Partners Episcopal News Service/Episcopal Life Online Moravian Church in North America Presbyterian News Service Reformed Church in America News United Church of Christ News

Why work with ELCA, WELS leaders? Do they feed your faith?

Why work with ELCA, LCMS leaders? Do they feed your faith?

Why work with ELCA, ELS leaders? Do they feed your faith?

The WELS AnswerMan says no.

In View of Faith

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Fruits of UOJ":

Dr. Jackson:

Since you don't agree with the old Synodical Conference on objective justification, what is your position on election? Are you a follower of the "intuitu fidei" theology?

Thank you.

***

GJ - It does not follow that rejecting one false doctrine means embracing another one. I know many are on the lookout for intuitu fidei while comatose about Reformed doctrine and Church Growth marketing madness, not to mention UOJ. I can usually predict where someone is going in an essay when the experts cited are Walther, Pieper, Walther, more Pieper, and a recent seminary professor or two. Daniel Preus has an essay posted where he embraced the magical and non-existent Easter Absolution (from Walther's sermon). Am I the only one to think it strange to base a doctrine on a recent sermon? I know the Methodists do that with Wesley's sermons, but at least they admit how weak they are in doctrine.

"In view of faith" comes from truncating the original formula, that we are saved "by the merits of Christ apprehended by faith." Leaving the merits of Christ out left a phrase "saved in view of faith"

From Thy Strong Word, Justification by Faith:

If the new Lutherans are correct in claiming ancient truths, then their doctrine should be found consistently in dogmatic statements about justification. Error is not proved by its popularity or unpopularity, but we can expect that the central doctrine of Christianity has been taught properly by various church fathers through the ages. However, we can also assume that some statements are misunderstood or distorted in time, perhaps in spite of good intentions or as a result of doctrinal shorthand. The issue “in view of faith” (intuitu fidei) began with a correct statement truncated and repeated until it became institutionalized.[46]

a. Correct – We are saved in view of faith apprehending the merits of Christ.

b. Incorrect – We are saved in view of faith. The shortened version made people think that faith itself saves, as if faith were a virtue or a frame of mind generated by man.

If we are to avoid being tangled in endless disputes about words, we must avoid being wedded to each word of every single dead Lutheran, since our confession rests upon the Scriptures as the ruling norm of faith (norma normans) and the Book of Concord as the norm ruled by the Scriptures (norma normata).


The false view was promoted by the catechism of Erik Pontippidan (1698-1764), the same catechism used later to justify the Church of the Lutheran Confession’s “holy self-love” doctrine. Pontippidan was a Danish-Norwegian Pietist. The truncated “in view of faith” issue led to the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod in 1918 when the majority of Norwegian Lutherans merged by compromising on this topic. In time, “in view of faith,” became the majority view in the larger Norwegian Lutheran Church. The larger Norwegian church eventually became part of the ELCA.

I have not involved myself in denominational history for some time, so feel free to correct me if I am rusty on the details.

I was asked about this in WELS colloquy, but I should have questioned the people questioning me. Professor Brug has supported the Church Growth Movement and women's ordination (women's ordination in the Quarterly, no less). DP Mueller supported Church Growth, stealth missions, but rejected the Sixth Commandment as obsolete in practice.

Fruits of UOJ

Universal Objective Justification (grace without the Means of Grace) bears fruit, in a manner of speaking.

The UOJ Gestapo police the synods and discussion boards so they can attack anyone who questions their toxic opinions. They do not defend their notions because they cannot.

UOJ fanatics are always angry. If they found peace in their apostasy, they would be mellow instead of agitated, furious, and spiteful.

UOJ is like mercury, a heavy metal that attaches itself to gold and silver. When the UOJ leaders speak about justification, they are promising gold and silver while offerig a heavy metal poison.

KJV John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

In contrast, to John 3:36, which UOJ fanatics cannot answer, the Wisconsin Synod ran a failed evangelism campaign where they said, "I am saved, just like you" to everyone - via banners, etc. Luther said that proclaiming the Gospel without the Law will make someone stare at you the way a cow looks at a newly painted fence. If there is no knowledge of sin, there is no need for forgiveness.

On LutherQuest (sic) one UOJ fanatic claimed that he told this to people who confessed their sins, "You were forgiven before you came in here." What a powerful motivation for all kinds of evil!

"In like manner Moses must precede and teach people to feel their sins in order that grace may be sweet and welcome to them. Therefore all is in vain, however friendly and lovely Christ may be pictured, if man is not first humbled by a knowledge of himself and he possesses no longing for Christ, as Mary's Song says, 'The hungry he hath filled with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away,' Luke 1:53."
Sermons of Martin Luther, ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 149. Matthew 15:21-28; Luke 1:53.


One District Pope told his adulterous VP pal, "You are forgiven and I will lie for you, as you requested."

UOJ lends itself to complete doctrinal apathy. Take away the Means of Grace and all denominations are much the same. Look around at the Lutheran synods. They let Pentecostalism and Evangelicalism run rampant. They work gladly and continuously with the Universalist-Unitarian-papal ELCA leaders. But these same synodical leaders have no forgiveness for those who doubt that everyone is forgiven already. WELS says everyone in Hell has the status of a saint, but WELS damns anyone who questions this bizarre opinion.

To Justify Believers
"The Third Article the adversaries approve, in which we confess that there are in Christ two natures, namely, a human nature, assumed by the Word into the unity of His person; and that the same Christ suffered and died to reconcile the Father to us; and that He was raised again to reign, and to justify and sanctify believers, etc., according to the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed."
Apology of the Augsburg Confession, III. #52. Of Christ, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 119. Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:19ff. Tappert, p. 107. Heiser, p. 32.

UOJ Filter - Very Useful
"They [the false teachers] fared like a man who looks through a colored glass. Put before such a man whatever color you please, he sees no other color than that of the glass. The fault is not that the right color is not put before him but that his glass is colored differently, as the word of Is. 6:9 puts it: You will see, he says, and yet you will not see it."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 644. Isaiah 6:9.

Can Bivens, Valleskey, Wayne Mueller Say This?
"The apostle says 'our,' 'our sins;' not his own sin, not the sins of unbelievers. Purification is not for, and cannot profit, him who does not believe. Nor did Christ effect the cleansing by our free-will, our reason or power, our works, our contrition or repentance, these all being worthless in the sight of God; he effects it by himself. And how? By taking our sins upon himself on the holy cross, as Isaiah 53:6 tells us."
Sermons of Martin Luther, ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 180. Hebrews 1:1-12; Hebrews 1:3.

Two Roads Diverged in the Wood and I

There are two types of church people, whether they are clergy or laity. The normal division (clergy and laity) is all wrong.

The two estates really are:
1. Political.
2. Apolitical.

The political clergy and laity do a lot of posturing, but they will never endanger their perks by taking a stand on anything. They are constantly apologizing for the synod, defending error, attacking anyone who questions His Holiness the District Pope, His Eminence the Circuit Pope, or His Awesomeness the Synod Pope.

They have their recognition signs, so the other politicians know they are safe. They will say:
A. "That could be interpreted correctly" (when a blatant false doctrine is mentioned).
B. "That is one of the g - r - e - y areas of Scripture." It is important to draw out the word grey, to show how absolutely ambiguous the Word of God is. In fact, God is so unclear that it will take a synodical commission several years and $10,000 to figure out one verse.
C. "Do you have proof of that?" - then they quickly change the subject when the proof is offered. The ability to change the subject in two shakes of a lamb's tail is greatly admired by all who covet a higher office.
D. "Are you equating the Book of Concord with the Word of God?" This howler was forged in the dark recesses of Vice Pope Kuske's mind, useful for any mention of the Confessions, which the Wisconsin Synod rejects. Such statements are more powerfully communicated with a red face and quivering jowls.

The political laity are eager to serve as synod minders. They are picked because they are safe, reliable, and quick to report to the synod. The more unstable a lay-minder is, the more valuable he or she is to the synod. Influence only seems to work one way today. If someone has a powerful friend or relative in the synod structure, that only seems to work against the faithful. Powerful lay-dad will pound his pastor-son into conformity with the synod - instead of son-pastor influencing his father to straighten things out. That is why the synods love corporate types on committees, commissions, and appeal boards. Corporate types know how to pivot, duck, weave, conform, and knuckle under. If they do not, they can be out-maneuvered by others and ousted for having a bad attitude.

The more political the laity or clergy, the less studious the individual is. The more political they are, the more they will be advanced in the synod structure.

The political ones are always on email or the phone. They do as little parish work as possible and cannot wait to escape it forever. Far better to be the visiting bigshot, giving the same sermon (for extra cash) at Steam Corners, Ohio or Buffalo Chip, Kansas.

Meanwhile the apolitical study, preach, teach, and visit. They are the true workers of the Kingdom, the poorest paid, the least regarded. They alone are worthy of double honor (double pay in Greek).

KJV 1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. 18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

***

Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.

The Road Not Taken


TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

My Walther Idol

Somebody made little statues of Walther for Christian News to sell. I got one for free. The statue sits overlooking my computer, a good replacement for St. Christopher, who was erased by the Church of Rome.

I do not have a quia subscription to the writings of Walther (or Luther, for that matter). Walther had some good points, but he was completely wrong about UOJ. Unfortunately, many pastors and some laity are still messed up over UOJ - forgiveness without faith, without the Word, without the Means of Grace.

Nevertheless, some of Walther's sayings are good and worth following:

1. The nearer to Luther, the better the theologian. Notice that the Church Growth leaders and the crpto-Catholics are united in avoiding Luther. The Reformer is the greatest theologian of all time because of his integrated knowledge of the Bible, church history, and literatue. His unified view of the Bible is enough by itself to make him one of the greats in theology, but God granted him an overflowing of talent in church history, literature, and music as well.
   
2. Not many, but much. That means - Do not read all the books, but a few books over and over. The older I get, the less I want to read all the new books in theology, the more I want to re-read the best books of the past. I never tire of Luther's sermons. When I finish reading one of his sermons to my wife and write my own, people email me: "That was a great sermon." Pastors and laity would do well to lay aside most books and read the KJV (or a version thereof), the Book of Concord, Luther's Sermons, What Luther Says, Chemniz Examination of the Council of Trent. Synod leaders should be studying instead of traveling around the world at the expense of members who cannot afford such luxuries.
   
3. Attend to your reading. All pastors and synod leaders must be "apt to teach." They must study. Augustine is the foundational theologian for the Church. His City of God and Confessions permeate all theology. City of God is more of an encyclopedia, not a book to read through. People who appreciate Luther will see how much of Augustine is in Luther's thought.

The Artist for Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant

Norma Boeckler, the artist for Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, has her own art website:

Norma Boeckler

She designed the entire website for Jesus, Lord of Creation. Her art illustrates the book and the website:

Jesus, Lord of Creation

She lives in Midland, Michigan, so you may be able to see her work at various art fairs and galleries around the state.

Doctrinal Discipline: LCMS Style

I knew about the Kokomo Statements before I joined WELS, but they were never discussed afterwards. When I was in Panning's Romans class (Mequon) I do not recall him insisting that "God has declared the whole world forgiven." At the Hartman farm I learned Panning was on the appeal committee for Kokomo. The families spoke well of him.

So, after five years of WELS Church Growth and adulterous pastors, I resigned and joined a Missouri congregation recommended by Herman Otten. I got to know Larry Darby and his family at Trinity Bridgeton, Missouri. He was on a board at Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne, at one point. Larry ran into the Kokomo Statements and began studying them. At first Pastor Bischoff agreed that UOJ was poppycock. Read the UOJ quotations on this blog and judge for yourself.

Soon Bischoff changed sides. The UOJ Gestapo came out in force. They kicked out Larry, his wife and children. I wrote to an elder, asking him, "In your role as the Torquemada of Trinity, what made you think this little girl deserved excommunication?" The result of my innocent question was a refusal by Trinity to give money to Christian News because Otten printed my articles.

Darby and I agreed about the fallacy of UOJ, but he went his own way with doctrine. Thereafter I heard he was my disciple or I was his. Liars never tire of their lies. The UOJ people are especially fiendish.

I learned that Paul McCain got involved with Trinity. He sent a "confidential" letter to Bischoff, which was read to the members of Trinity. Then McCain did his best to distance himself from that letter. I heard I was mentioned in McCain's letter, so I asked him for a copy. No response at all.

I have two letters sent by McCain. One is dated January 3, 1995. The second letter from McCain states:

Therefore, in light of its inappropriate use by Pastor Bischoff, and in light of the apparent harm which Pastor Bischoff's reading of my letter caused, I want it clearly understood that I wholeheartedly retract my letter. Therefore, my letter must have no bearing on your congregation's decisions in regard to any member, present or former, nor should it every (sic) had any such influence.

Darby added this note to the copy of the letter:

Gregg - He slams you also in his so-called confidential letter - says you contributed to my "fall from truth." I can't send a copy on advice of lawyer. L.D.

Thus a minister is inflated by being a campaign manager for the synod president, after having an M.Div. and three years parish experience on his resume.

Meanwhile - Who Was Watching DP Benke?

During the time (roughly) that McCain was meddling in Trinity's affairs and pronouncing judgment in a most underhanded way, who was watching DP Benke?

The office of Synodical Pope should begin and end with supervision of doctrine, yet everyone admits Barry did nothing about DP Benke's earlier crimes. McCain-Barry dodged their duty and left it to Wally Schulz to discipline Benke, leading to Schulz' being fired from The Lutheran Hour (as I predicted).

Religious Tolerance has a brief summary of the Yankee Stadium incident.

Doubtless McCain is burning with wrath against DP Benke, for worship with all kinds of religion at Yankee Stadium. Not at all. In his capacity as Number Two at Concordia Publishing House, McCain is soliciting a book from Benke.

I wonder if McCain has ever written to DP Benke, the Apostate, "I feel sorry for you."

Dividends from Dishonesty

The various synods are reaping dividends from their decades of dishonesty. The organizations are not run with integrity, and they are not Lutheran.

One successful businessman left the Lutheran Church. He said, "Synod officials make sure the Scriptures are not being followed."

When I was in the Michigan District, WELS, two members of the praesidium were engaged in adultery. One was promoted to an administrative position, his adultery covered over with a smokescreen of lies. The other one left with "all the divorced women in the church bawling their eyes out."

When District Popes like Janke (WELS) oust faithful pastors from the ministry, they start a series of reactions that will be felt for generations to come. The pastor's family is completely disrupted and disgusted. Will the children take up church vocations, knowing the sacrifices of their parents have been regarded as worth nothing?

When Pope John the Malefactor (ELS) tosses pastors and congregations around like wooden soldiers in a toy-bin, what does that do for trust? Because synods have taught synod-worship and fidelity to their popes/antichrists, people think they have lost the Kingdom of God when they are shunned by the synod.

People have told me how they became non-persons after their excommunication for daring to say the synod was less than perfect. One seminary student got the finger from his seminary professor.

Luther advised that it was good when church people disappoint us, because it shows we should trust in God's Word alone. Unfortunately, the poverty of Lutheran training has left people weak in faith. When every church or synod anniversary is labeled "Grace Triumphant" rather than "Bumblers Survive," people think grace comes from the institution, not from the Means of Grace.

Notice how adroitly the LCMS-ELS-WELS combine took away the Means of Grace in the last 30 years and substituted secular marketing from Fuller Seminary. Now if someone doubts their beloved Church Growth Movement, the synods react with fury. That is why nothing is ever said and errors continue to grow.

Where is David Jay Webber (ELS), the Lion of Scottsdale? He wants all the heretics punished, as long as someone else does the work for him.

Where is Kincaid Smith (ELS), God's Pitbull? Smith learned early that questioning Carl Mischke for meeting with ELCA (Snowbird Conference) was enough to bring on the WELS Ice Age. Mischke refused to endorse What's Going On Among the Lutherans? because of Kincaid's folly. So, instead of a version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, we got Rev. Smith Bows to Milwaukee.

Please do not say, "There is no discpline anymore.: There is plenty of discipline, all aimed at those who are faithful to the Confessions. As their predecessors used to say in concert, "Anathema sit! Anathema sit! Anathema sit!"

Pope John the Malefactor - On the Road Again

Pope John the Malefactor is taking a trip to Ukraine, only a few months after his syond-paid trip to Korea. The Little Sect on the Prairie must be a rich synod, to lose so much in offerings from kicking out congregations and pastors - and yet to afford so much international travel for His Holiness.

On the Road Again (with apologies to Willie Nelson)

Got a mission trip
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The synod life is spendin' money with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
Got a mission trip
Goin' places that you've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again,
And I can't wait to spend your offerings again.

Got a mission trip
Like a band of bishops we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world is turnin' our way
And our way
Is on a mission trip.
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is spendin' money with my friends
And I can't wait to get on a mission trip.

Ludwig Fuerbringer, an earlier president of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, said he refused to take trips because they took him away from his studies. If only synodical leaders would attend to their studies today!

Use the Labels

The labels at the bottom of each post are good for finding similar posts. Look at the label list on the left side. Clicking on a given topic will list every single post with that label.

If there are a number of verbatim quotations on a post, it is labeled quotes.

Is Fuller Seminary Next?

WELS AnswerMan may be showing symptoms of Lutheran doctrine:

Q: I have been invited to attend a Women of Faith conference. According to their website they are an Interdenominational women's ministry committed to helping women of all faiths, backgrounds, age groups, and nationalities grow emotionally and spiritually. How does WELS feel about attending such conferences?

-----------------------------------------------

A: "Interdenominational" in effect means that they agree to disagree on doctrines of the Bible which they do not regard as essential. In reality, "interdenominational" usually means a kind of non-Lutheran, non-sacramental Evangelicalism. We can't feed our faith with teaching that is deliberately diluted.

Ichabod wonders - cannot the same be said of Fuller Seminary, Willow Creek Community Church, Trinity Deerfield, and InterVarsity Press? Obviously the faith of such Church Growth heroes as - Wayne Mueller, Lawrence Olson, James Huebner, Ron Roth, Frosty Bivens, David Valleskey, Wally Oelhaven, Fred Adrian, and their mentor Floyd Luther Stolzenburg - has not been fed, but starved.

The Love Shack has been running on this mish-mash of Pentecostal-Evangelicalism for decades. Why deny it to the women?

I call WELS headquarters The Love Shack because the heretics therein think they can convert people with love. Luther said that the Word, not love, converts the unbeliever to Christ.

***

WELS Statistics Down Again,
September FIC

Page 24: NEWS: WELS membership declining. That's the headline. We learn WELS, between 1990 and 2006, has lost 25,449 souls. But only 5,743 were communicants. Maybe not so oddly, 19,706 were non-communicants. Some 162,942 children and adults were confirmed in those 16 years (mostly children by about 10:6), but more than 150,000 were released either by removal or by request. This is a colorful recap of the stats on the website complete with pretty bar charts.

Vote the Poll - Bottom of Page

Vote in the poll at the bottom of the page. Six days are left.

Following WELS standards, all results will be ignored, unless they fit my agenda.

How the Wisconsin Deals with Its Scandals

The GOP has its senator problem at the moment. Next year we will have all forgotten his name.

How does the Wisconsin Synod deal with its scandals? Here is a recent example.

The word got out that a pastor was committing adultery out West - nothing was being done. In most Bibles there is a commandment against adultery, but not in the WNIV (WELS New Ignorance Version). A reporter went up to SP Gurgel at the convention and asked him about this scandal.

WELS went into "pound the leaker" mode, interrogating various people. One pastor even asked me, "Did you tell the reporter?" He was friendly, but intrigued.

1. I do not deal with reporters. They are probably more drunken and adulterous than the WELS ministerium. That bad? Probably.
2. I had no direct knowledge of the situation. I heard of the name from a layman, the non-discipline, but that's all. The laity know. The pastors know. The DP does nothing. The old SP wants to find the leaker. That is WELS discipline.
3. DP Janke, for example, has driven six pastors out of the ministry. I know of two cases where it was pure spite. Janke was second in the race for SP (but nowhere close).

WELS leaders - you can fool the ignorant, but that number is diminishing fast. Everyone has email, even the blue-haired great-grannies. And the clergy have their own group email lists. The faster you thugs lie, the faster people find it out.

Even if you could fool everyone for a few more years, God will not bless your corruption. God has not blessed any of your schemes.

Ichabod prediction - WELS attempts to stop the gushers of red ink will get nowhere until there is a concerted drive to deal with false teachers and predatory clergy (often the same names).

PS - A. Nony Mouse is offended that I did not name the clergy adulterer. There are three sins in WELS:
1. Not naming names.
2. Naming names.
3. Suggsting that Holy Mother WELS is less than perfect.

Herr Mouse is full of suggestions. He wants me to name names, but he never gives his. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Are They the Same Person?

When Karl Rove resigned as Bush's political advisor, I was struck by his resemblance to Paul McCain.

God-Willing Schedule for Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant

Earlier this year my teaching schedule slowed down, so I rewrote Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, using the original as the base. The final version is virtually ready to go. This second edition is 99% like the first one, with some changes for clarification and adult/youth class use. Norma Boeckler has contributed her artistic skills to this version. I had excellent editorial assistance from laity and pastors.

During the last year I began scouting for work to balance the ups and downs of teaching. I decided to return to insurance sales while limiting when and where I taught. That change took a little time and energy; then my main school threw a bunch of courses at me all at once. And, a new school asked me to teach New Testament history online (and learn a new technology for online). That was hard to resist.

In last few years I have taught several thousand students all over the world. They do not seem to have suffered. My school picked me to show other professors how to teach - and to introduce new students to the college. Both distinctions are limited to very few professors. Still, the schedule is theirs and not mine, so complications arise with my wife's care.

Mrs. Ichabod has been quite ill during this time, first with Valley Fever, which can be deadly. Then with cardiac failure and other problems. She has been at one or another hospital four times in the last week. So the following schedule is a God-willing one, as all schedules are.

I hope to get CLP ready for Lulu.com publishing this weekend. That will give me an ISBN number, which I need for regular printing. Since Christian News wants to sell it, I will also have my Michigan printer produce copies. If all goes well, copies should be available toward the end of September.

I plan to publish and re-publish other books through Lulu.com. I can also publish supplemental material for CLP at Lulu.com and at the Martin Chemnitz Press blog.

New Poll Started - See Bottom of Page

To make Ichabod more scientific, a poll has been added at the bottom of the page.

Anony-mouse has left a new comment on your post "New Poll Started - See Bottom of Page":

I enjoy the fact that you've worded the poll so that any answer ultimately fits your predetermined viewpoint. Very scientific. The professional pollsters couldn't have done it any better.

GJ - I followed the scientific model of WELS for amalgamation (die dreckische Anschluss):
1. WELS had district conventions vote on amalgamation, closing down Northwestern College. The districts voted against it.
2. WELS sent out a mail survey. The responders voted against it.
3. WELS had a national convention narrowly defeat amalgamation, so WELS reported it as a victory and went ahead.
4. WELS insisted that the districts had to amen their plans, going ahead with construction before the WELS constitution was followed in having district conventions approve the decision.

Bailing Water Is Back

Bailing Water is back. Just click on the embedded link.

Bailing Water is written by a WELS layman. The Fiends will do everything possible to shut him down. They are already murmuring about the 8th Commandment! Telling the truth about published false doctrine and public false practice (a little girl preaching to a congregation) - those are not violations of the 8th Commandment. Falsely accusing people of slander is a violation!

History of Bailing Water: Aaron Peders a WELS delegate started the post after the WELS cut his imprint blog on wels.net. After about a week he just disappeared. Then a guy named Jared took up the site. He wanted to mostly receive posts about MLS. But he then dropped it this weekend. Another person is now the blogger.

***

One person was very mocking toward me when I showed how a WELS pastor copied Presbyterian and Baptism sermons (bad ones at that) and claimed them as his own on his church website. This anonymous person wanted to know if I had talked to the plagiarist. My question would be - has the District Pope? That is illegal - to claim someone else's work as his own. Yet the WELS CG pastors do it with impunity.

Thou shalt not steal - that's a commandment too.

***

Anony-mouse had this seething comment, which - according to his logic - I wrote:

Greg, I wouldn't be surprised if you posted your own comments on your blog. You make all these accusations and start all these rumors, but you offer no proof, no names, no documentation (such as the "WELS Curia" still trying to close MLS, or the pastor who used Baptist sermons, etc.) Nothing has really changed since your days on the pages of Christian News, has it Greg? I really feel sorry for the poor souls who take everything you say as gospel truth. I would only hope they could really get to know you and what kind of "professor" and "pastor" you really are, before it's too late for them.

No documentation about plagiarizing the Baptists? I copied the "WELS" sermon and the Baptist sermon, the "WELS" sermon and the Presbyterian sermon. All posted.

If you want to know what Michigan District pastors are thinking, ask them. My source is from the Michigan District, WELS.

I am the same person. I document the facts while cowardly synod minders attack anonymously. You only hurt yourself, Anony-mouse. You are angry, full of false ideas, and probably potty-trained at gunpoint.

I appreciate the opposition, Anony-mouse. I sign my material, unlike you. I document with verbatim quotations and my eye-witness experiences, such as talking to the Kokomo excommunicants. I have published many books and hundreds of articles in 30 plus periodicals. I have earned six degrees from accredited institutions most people have heard about, so I must know something.

Here are some recent comments, sent by email and signed:
WELS pastor - "I love Ichabod. I read it every day."
WELS layman - "Time will tell. we think you deserve alot of credit for bringing issues to the attention of many. And that's putting it mildly."

WELS Curia Still Trying to Close Michigan Lutheran

This just in - from one source in the Michigan District, Diablo.

WELS pastors in the Michigan District are furious because The Love Shack is once again trying to close Michigan Lutheran Seminary, in spite of the convention vote and the election of Luther Prep president Schroeder.

Grow up, boys. Convention votes mean nothing unless they support the apostate wing of the synod. Then they are Law, the very oracles of God. The unelected Curia will continue to protect their salaries. That is how so much money disappeared. Designated funds were decimated to pay their generous salaries and benefits.

I thought the news was rather slow in coming. The new Synodical President will need the support of pastors and laity if he is going to accomplish anything.

The one and only issue is doctrine, not money, not schools. A genuine effort to study and renew sound Lutheran doctrine would boost every area of the synod.

ELCA Silent 12 Days after Convention

The ELCA News Archives have been as quiet as the library at Mequon, ever since the convention. That's surprising: ELCA normally puts out daily
the latest news on a host of topics.

ELCA pastors at ALPB Online were hoping no one noticed the vote to keep bishops from disciplining homosexual and lesbian couples in the parsonage. All the wire services noticed. LCMS SP Kieschnick noticed and frowned. No gratitude! ELCA communed Kieschnick and yet he posted an objection to the ELCA convention decision.

Correction. ELCA did post some news after the convention, but precious little. That could mark vacation time or everyone hiding under the desk to survive the incoming artillery barrage.

NAE
Meanwhile, Ted Haggard, the former National Association of Evangelicals president, has moved to Phoenix and enrolled at the University of Phoenix. His wife has moved with him to Phoenix and has also enrolled at UOP, both in the master's program. He will be in counseling. The announcements did not mention the whereabouts of his boyfriend. In spite of his enormous salary before he resigned, Ted has sent out an appeal for funds from his followers.

Anonymous Wants To Know More About UOJ

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "UOJ - No Wonder WELS Loves Willow Creek":

1. For the benefit of your newer readers, could you briefly restate your position on justification? How do you define justification? In your view, when and how does it occur?

2. Both the Beckman and Zarling papers state that the Kokomo statements are inadequate representations of the doctrine of objective justification as interpreted by WELS. The statements were taken out of context from the Meyer book, and became a sort of de facto "litmus test" during the controversy. Are they really still used by WELS today?

Thanks for the clarification.

***

The Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions are very clear about justification by faith. The Holy Spirit works through the Gospel to plant faith in the hearts of those who hear the message (including infants being baptized). Faith receives the Promises of God and the blessings offered: forgiveness of sin, the fruits of the Spirit, eternal life.

Faith is not the cause of salvation. Faith is the result of Gospel proclamation. The statement below is a perfect expression of what I believe and a complete repudiation of UOJ and its bastard child, the Church Growth Movement.

"On the one hand, it is true that both the preacher's planting and watering and the hearer's running and willing would be in vain, and no conversion would follow, if there were not added the power and operation of the Holy Spirit, who through the Word preached and heard illuminates and converts hearts so that men believe this Word and give their assent to it. On the other hand, neither the preacher nor the hearer should question this grace and operation of the Holy Spirit, but should be certain that, when the Word of God is preached, pure and unalloyed according to God's command and will, and when the people diligently and earnestly listen to and meditate on it, God is certainly present with his grace and gives what man is unable by his own powers to take or to give. We should not and cannot pass judgment on the Holy Spirit's presence, operations and gifts merely on the basis of our feeling..."
Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article II, Free
Will, 55-56, The Book of Concord, ed. Theodore G. Tappert, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959, p. 531f.

***

Obfuscation by WELS

WELS is both for and against its own position, depending on the audience. Another exponent of ambiguition on justification is Rolf Preus, who switches back and forth with regularity.

Any quotation or paraphrase that reveals the real WELS is "taken out of context." Long verbatim quotations are "taken out of context." UOJ is the constant drumbeat of WELS today, but Meyers-Kokomo is "taken out of context." Every so often FIC will repeat the false doctrine of God declaring the whole world righteous, free of sin.

I know of a WELS pastor who periodically grills a member on whether that person adheres to the Kokomo Statements.

UOJ is taught in the ELS (Pope John the Malefactor), LCMS (early Robert Preus, but repudiated in his last book), and above all - in ELCA. UOJ is Universalism in another dress.

UOJ - No Wonder WELS Loves Willow Creek

Sometimes I reject comments so I can feature them rather than have them appear as pop-ups. Here are two useful ones because they link to WELS documents on Universal Objective Justification.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Justification by Faith":

N.B.

http://www.wlsessays.net/authors/XYZ/ZarlingJustification/

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ask Luther about UOJ":

Read this for a clearer understanding of the actual WELS position on universal or objective justification:

http://wlsessays.net/authors/B/BeckmanUniversal/

***

Both essays are shallow, but the Beckman one is worse. They were both inspired by the Kokomo incident, where Pastor Papenfuss (his real name) dumped UOJ on the congregation.

I was at the Hartman farm and spoke to both families excommunicated from WELS for believing in justification by faith. I asked for xeroxes of the letters that were sent to them. I told you before - I have been everywhere.

There has been considerable lying about the Kokomo statements. WELS teaches them more ardently than any other synod, but WELS also tries to distance itself from those statements. Sometimes their finger-puppets in the CLC will echo their deceptions about Kokomo. If you click on the UOJ label or look up the justification chapter of Thy Strong Word, you will find more material than you can ever digest on UOJ.

The essays cited above are typical WELS productions. They pretend to deal with the Scriptures (Wauwatosa style) but really start and end with recent Wisconsin Synod teachers and books, especially Meyer's pathetic Ministers of Christ (no longer published by WELS) and Sig Becker's material.

Although WELS both denies and admits it, the first three Kokomo statements are from Meyer's Ministers of Christ. The fourth Kokomo Statement can be found in earlier conflicts about UOJ, which erupted from the Pietists in the 19th century.

UOJ is nowhere to be found in the Book of Concord or the Scriptures. WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC can quote UOJ sources - all derived from the Pieper crowd. Their legitimate quotations from Luther, the Book of Concord, Romans, Corinthians, are about the atonement of Christ. He died for the sins of the world.

J. P. Meyer taught forever at Mequon. They were still talking about the "Meyer dog notes" in the 1980's. Seminarians keep their notes and wrote the conference papers from them. No wonder:
1. They cannot debate doctrinal issues.
2. The same false doctrines get recycled endlessly.

The Church of Rome has nothing on WELS in the category of infallibility. No Wisconsin Synod leader has ever been wrong. Any false doctrine (like Manufacturing Disciples) can be established by having a couple of synod hacks write a paper. The Book of Concord? WELS is not bound by it. The Word of God? WELS will advise God on what He should have said.

ELCA's The Lutheran

GJ - Could this also be true of Forward in Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Lutheran Witless?

Fair and Balanced at The Lutheran « on: August 03, 2007, 02:37:47 PM »

----------------------------------
I listened very intently during the Central States Synod assembly early June as the new editor of The Lutheran, Daniel Lehmann, made an impassioned pitch for his magazine. The Lutheran is down to something just slightly over 300,000 readers. This is from a high in 1988 of about 1.5 million. (Seems like everything in the ELCA is down.) Lehmann, who comes from a secular newspaper background, was pretty candid as to why readership is approaching zilch. Declining congregational finances means the "every-member subscription plan" is a ready target for budget cutting bean-counters. That's true, and it may even be the major factor in the wholesale decline in readership.

Equally, though, somewhat to my surprise, he made reference to the "liberal bias" of the magazine as another turn-off factor. This was done somewhat off-handedly, a kind of "by-the-by" note. But his comments following that indicated he intended the comment as more than "by-the-by," because he went on to invoke the Fox News mantra. He promised news reporting under his editorship at The Lutheran would be - are you ready - "fair and balanced."

He explained a distinction between "news" and "commentary." News is news and carries no bias. It's straight reporting. Commentary, though, is frequently - even necessarily - opinionated. One may hope for an informed opinion, but at the end of the day, it is opinion. He didn't say it, but I will, news may also properly report opinion, but to properly retain the designation of "news," opposite opinion must also be referenced. "Fair and balanced" = fair reporting on diversity and equal space for both.

With this in mind, haul yourself back to the recent August issue (those of you still among the faithful 300.000), turn quickly to page 51, and read the "news" item "Discipline upheld, pastor defrocked."

There are four paragraphs reporting the action of the disciplinary appeals committee regarding the Bradley Schmeling case in Atlanta. The news here is simple, factual, informative. So far, so good. The fifth paragraph, though, is devoted to a lengthy quotation from Emily Eastwood, identified as the executive director of Lutherans Concerned, "a group that works for the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Lutherans in the church." She describes the outcome of the appeal as "what happens when human law becomes an end to itself." The ELCA "judicial process," she says, is "an ecclesiastical dry hole." She promises that "LGBT Lutherans and their allies . . . will not relent until justice and mercy prevail."

There is no sixth paragraph to argue for the appeals decision, no quotations asserting that no one is "excluded" from the church. Absent that, a sharp-eyed news editor should have excluded Ms. Eastwood's remarks from the article, and news of the appeals decision reported, uh, straight.

Personally, I think it is a shame that readership of The Lutheran has fallen so alarmingly. I seldom like everything I read in it. (Oh, hell, some issues I don't like anything in it at all, ever.) But it remains still the best source for knowing what's up with the ELCA, and why. I have written for The Lutheran in the past; I expect I shall write for it in the future. I genuinely believe Mr. Lehmann will make every effort to produce a magazine that fairly represents both sides of an issue.

Yet, equally, I also believe he needs a staff - a good news editor - who can distinguish news from sheer propaganda masquerading as news. Of course, he's still new to the job. As time passes, he may figure that out for himself.

ALPB Discussion Forum

« Last Edit: August 03, 2007, 02:39:25 PM by Russ Saltzman » Logged

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Russell E Saltzman
former editor, Forum Letter

Where UOJ Leads

Gospel reductionism is UOJ. This is where it leads:

I was surprised when our beloved moderator informed me, some months back, that numerous congregations in his neck of the woods were routinely and intentionally inviting the unbaptized to receive communion. I guess I should not be surprised to hear that some reserve the use of the creeds for an occasional high holy day, but I am. I hope that this was not a group preparing to go to the churchwide assembly. Are there still any here who deny that there is more than one faith being taught in the ELCA?

Mel Harris (truly a dinosaur)

ALPB Online Discussion

Ask Luther about UOJ

"It is a faithful saying that Christ has accomplished everything, has removed sin and overcome every enemy, so that through Him we are lords over all things. But the treasure lies yet in one pile; it is not yet distributed nor invested. Consequently, if we are to possess it, the Holy Spirit must come and teach our hearts to believe and say: I, too, am one of those who are to have this treasure. When we feel that God has thus helped us and given the treasure to us, everything goes well, and it cannot be otherwise than that man's heart rejoices in God and lifts itself up, saying: Dear Father, if it is Thy will to show toward me such great love and faithfulness, which I cannot fully fathom, then will I also love Thee with all my heart and be joyful, and cheerfully do what pleases Thee. Thus, the heart does not now look at God with evil eyes, does not imagine He will cast us into hell, as it did before the Holy Spirit came...."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 279. Pentecost Sunday. John 14:23-31.

"But outside of this Christian Church, where the Gospel is not, there is no forgiveness, as also there can be no holiness [sanctification]. Therefore all who seek and wish to merit holiness [sanctification], not through the Gospel and forgiveness of sin, but by their works, have expelled and severed themselves [from this Church]."
The Large Catechism, The Creed, Article III, #56, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 693. Tappert, p. 418. Heiser, p. 195.

Justification by Faith

Justification by Faith? or
Justification Without Faith (UOJ)?

"For neither you nor I could ever know anything of Christ, or believe on Him, and obtain Him for our Lord, unless it were offered to us and granted to our hearts by the Holy Ghost through the preaching of the Gospel. The work is done and accomplished; for Christ has acquired and gained the treasure for us by His suffering, death, resurrection, etc. But if the work remained concealed so that no one knew of it, then it would be in vain and lost. That this treasure, therefore, might not lie buried, but be appropriated and enjoyed, God has caused the Word to go forth and be proclaimed, in which He gives the Holy Ghost to bring this treasure home and appropriate it to us. Therefore sanctifying is nothing else than bringing us to Christ to receive this good, to which we could not attain ourselves."
The Large Catechism, The Creed, Article III, #38, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 689. Tappert, p. 415. Heiser, p. 194.


"Moreover, neither contrition nor love or any other virtue, but faith alone is the sole means and instrument by which and through which we can receive and accept the grace of God, the merit of Christ, and the forgiveness of sins, which are offered us in the promise of the Gospel."
Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, III. #31. Of the Righteous of Faith before God. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 925. Tappert, p. 544. Heiser, p. 252.

"Moreover, neither contrition nor love or any other virtue, but faith alone is the sole means and instrument by which and through which we can receive and accept the grace of God, the merit of Christ, and the forgiveness of sins, which are offered us in the promise of the Gospel."
Formula of Concord, Thorough Declaration, III. #31. Of the Righteous of Faith before God. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 925. Tappert, p. 544. Heiser, p. 252.

"Yet these exercises of faith always presuppose, as their foundation, that God is reconciled by faith, and to this they are always led back, so that faith may be certain and the promise sure in regard to these other objects. This explanation is confirmed by the brilliant statement of Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:20: 'All the promises of God in Christ are yea and amen, to the glory of God through us,' that is, the promises concerning other objects of faith have only then been ratified for us when by faith in Christ we are reconciled with God. The promises have been made valid on the condition that they must give glory to God through us."
Martin Chemnitz, Loci Theologici, 2 vols., trans. J. A. O. Preus, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1989, II, p. 495. 2 Corinthians 1:20.

"For we are not justified because of our faith (propter fidem), in the sense of faith being a virtue or good work on our part. Thus we pray, as did the man in Mark 9:24: 'I believe, Lord; help my unbelief'; and with the apostles: 'Lord, increase our faith,' Luke 17:5."
Martin Chemnitz, Loci Theologici, 2 vols., trans. J. A. O. Preus, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1989, II, p. 506 Mark 9:24; Luke 17:5.

"The entire Scripture testifies that the merits of Christ are received in no other way than through faith, not to mention that it is impossible to please God without faith, Hebrews 11:6, let alone to be received into eternal life. In general, St. Paul concludes concerning this [matter] in Romans 3:28: Thus we hold then that a man becomes righteous without the works of the Law—only through faith."
Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 165.

UOJ Classics

"The doctrine of universal justification is often ridiculed with the argument that if God really forgives sins prior to faith then the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith becomes meaningless. Such conclusions demonstrate a rationalistic spirit that consciously or unconsciously refuses to be guided by Scriptures alone."
Sigbert Becker, "Objective Justification," Chicago Pastoral Conference, WELS, Elgin, Illinois, November 9, 1982, unpaginated.


"The two terms are relatively modern. They are not used in the Lutheran Confessions. They are also not really synonymous. 'Universal justification' is a term denoting the doctrine that God has forgiven the sins of all men. Strictly speaking, the term objective justification expresses the thought that the sins of a man are forgiven by God whether he believes it or not. Objective justification is not necessarily universal, but if justification is universal it must of necessity be objective."[23]
Siegbert Becker, "Objective Justification," Chicago Pastoral Conference, WELS, Elgin, Illinois, November 9, 1982, unpaginated. [GJ - Can you figure this out?]

This UOJ Fanatic Joined the Church of Rome
"So, then, we are reconciled; however, not only we, but also Hindus, and Hottentots and Kafirs, yes, the world. 'Reconciled', says our translation; the Greek original says: 'placed in the right relation to God'. Because before the Fall we, together with the whole creation, were in the right relation to God, therefore Scripture teaches that Christ, through His death, restored all things to the former right relation to God."
F. R. Eduard Preuss, 1834-1904, Die Rechtfertigung der Suender vor Gott. Cited in Rick Nicholas Curia, The Significant History of the Doctrine of Objective or Universal Justification, Alpine, California: California Pastoral Conference, WELS. January 24-25, 1983. p. 24.

J. P. Meyer UOJ Howlers
I. "Objectively speaking, without any reference to an individual sinner's attitude toward Christ's sacrifice, purely on the basis of God's verdict, every sinner, whether he knows about it or not, whether he believes it or not, has received the status of a saint. What will be his reaction when he is informed about this turn of events? Will he accept, or will he decline?"[41]
J. P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 103f. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

II. "Before Christ's intervention took place God regarded him as a guilt-laden, condemned culprit. After Christ's intervention and through Christ's intervention He regards him as a guilt-free saint."
J. P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 107. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.

III. "This applies to the whole world, to every individual sinner, whether he was living in the days of Christ, or had died centuries before His coming, or had not yet been born, perhaps has not been born to this day. It applies to the world as such, regardless of whether a particular sinner ever comes to faith or not."
J. P. Meyer, Ministers of Christ, A Commentary on the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Milwaukee: Northwestern Publishing House, 1963, p. 109. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21.