Merry Christmas to Our Military

I have the honor of teaching many people in our military. Some are stationed in Yuma, a few in Tucson and Phoenix. Many take courses online.

Thanks to GI benefits, many can complete a college education in the service or afterwards.

Merry Christmas to all those who service in our armed forces, and to their families. They sacrifice in so many ways, something deeply felt during Christmas.

Christmas Sermon

The Nativity by Federico Barocci (c. 1535-1612)

KJV Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

KJV Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Christmas

The Hymn #87
The Invocation p. 15
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual Isaiah 9:2-7
The Gospel Luke 2:1-14
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #102
The Sermon
The Prince of Peace

The Offertory p. 22
The Hymn #94
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #646

Prophesies Fulfilled – The Prince of Peace

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

A layman interested in theology phoned me recently. We talked about prophesies in the Bible and many other topics.

The scoffers who pretend to know the Bible claim all prophesies are about the immediate future. Their real message was that the Bible was a man-made book and could never have something miraculous within it: nothing divine, nothing beyond the realm of human reason.

The Old Testament is not a monument to a forgotten past but the cradle of all Christian promises. One indication is the number of Jews who have become Christians in spite of rabbinical and family opposition. I recall vividly how the liberal Old Testament scholars (nominal Christians, genuine Unitarians) wrote that we must see the Old Testament the way Jews did, without any Christian assumptions. All my life I have encountered people raised in Judaism who became Christians. I know the opposition they encountered. Yet at some point they saw how Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament promises.

The Isaiah passages are quite astonishing.

KJV Isaiah 7:10 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Ahaz refused to accept a miraculous sign from God. In reality, he refused to obey a command, since this was God speaking in the imperative mood – “Ask.” God was commanding, not suggesting. God gave Ahaz a sign – Behold a Virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

There are at least three things to note here:
1. The miraculous sign comes from the Lord himself. This shows us how important it is.
2. A Virgin shall conceive. This is the bugbear of all liberals. The RSV changed the wording to “a young woman.” If someone refuses to believe in the Two Natures of Christ, this passage must be twisted into something within human experience. The Hebrew word does mean virgin, just as our word maiden has the sense of “young woman” but primarily “virgin.” A maiden voyage and a maiden speech exemplify what maiden means in the primary sense. So it is with almah, Hebrew for virgin, young woman.
(To this day, a Jewish wedding is completed when the couple is ushered into a room and the door closed for 10 minutes. According to Jewish tradition, if a woman is alone with a man, she is “married.” Therefore, it was always important not to compromise a young woman before marriage.)
3. His name will be Immanuel, God with us. No king of Israel was called God with us, but the name is perfect for Jesus.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

One never finds a child actually becoming a ruler as a baby, yet Jesus was born the Savior. For centuries people who believed in Him were justified by faith, like Abraham, the father of faith, who believed and was counted as righteous. (Romans 4)

Gibbons (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) does describe an ancient king crowned before birth. The soothsayers predicted that the queen would give birth to a son, so they placed a crown where they thought his head would be, “and paid homage to their insensible and invisible sovereign.”

Infant kings have potential power, but no real power. Regents are appointed to exercise royal power. Jesus was king at birth, Savior before birth. The mystery of the Incarnation is this – the Son of God existed from the beginning. The Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament was the Son of God before the Incarnation. When the Virgin Mary conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Son of God took on our human nature: God with us.

Every believer must realize that the Son of God became Incarnate to benefit us, so we would see and hear God. He became Incarnate to die for our sins and rise as the firstfruits of all who would rise from the dead.

If someone can get around the government being placed on the shoulders of this little baby, they must still deal with the everlasting expansion of his government. Israel was pursued by Satan from the moment God promised a child would crush his head (Genesis 3:15, which makes no sense, apart from Christ). By the time Jesus was born, only a stump remained of Israel. The crown had passed from Jewish rulers to a non-Jew, Herod. All the conditions of the Old Testament were fulfilled. Soon after the death and resurrection of Christ, Jerusalem was captured by Rome (70 AD). About 60 years later, Jews revolted again and were expelled from Jerusalem by Roman decree. The nation of Israel did not exist again until 1948.

In contrast, the Christian faith has expanded throughout the world and is the world’s most populous religion. Islam is second. The Gospel rain moves on, as Luther said. Believing Christians are few in America and Europe, but the growth of the faith in Africa and China is amazing. Many religions have risen up and still exist in distant corners of the world. Christianity has defied persecution and affluence (which is far worse than persecution) to extend throughout the world.

his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

How could a human king be called The Mighty God? This one title is related to Immanuel, a different word, the same concept. One of the greatest blessings of the Word is seeing how the Holy Spirit teaches us the divine, revealed truths. How do we know that the Savior is human and divine, the Two Natures united in the One Person, Christ? We know this from dozens of passages throughout the Bible.

At times people have been troubled to learn that the Savior was a human being. They did not want their Savior to be born of a woman, suffer, and die. Countless passages reveal that Jesus never lost His human nature, even after the resurrection.

Now we have people who will allow for Jesus being a teacher, as long as He is just an ordinary man. The pastor of St. John’s, Ellisville, Missouri (LCMS) portrays Jesus as a demanding simpleton, someone endlessly annoyed by people giving Christmas gifts. Thomas Jefferson saw Jesus as a moral leader only. His Jefferson Bible selected the parts of the New Testament he liked and eliminated the rest. (Give him points for honesty.) His status as a heretic moved him to promise “church and state separation” because the states did not trust him. They did not want their established churches (different in each state) to have any interference from the federal government. Yes, indeed, the states could and did define voters as communing members of one denomination. Some even had religious definitions for state office holders, at first.

Someone who denies the divinity of Christ has separated himself from the Christian faith. One can be a member in name and yet not be a believer. “A mouse may be in a cookie jar, but that does not make him a cookie.” Corrie Ten Boom.

Losing faith can be very gradual. The Lutheran Confessions are clear in pointing out the dangers of associating with false doctrine, the dangers of becoming indifferent about sound doctrine. That is why it is good to have turmoil about the teachings of the Bible. If nothing disturbed our thoughts, we would become more and more numb to what mattered.

The Prince of Peace

What does peace mean in the Bible? The primary meaning does not concern war or a lack of war. (Nominal Christian peace groups are always appeasement groups.)

Peace is the result of forgiveness, justification by faith, and salvation. Our natural inclination is toward justification by works. American Protestants have all come from a Pietistic background, which measures people by what they do. Old-fashioned Pietism banned tobacco, alcohol, card playing, theater of any kind, cosmetics, and other visible signs of the faith.

Pietism was keen on missions and good works. In both areas the leaders said, “Let’s not fight about doctrine so we can work together.” And they did. World-wide enterprises began as cooperative ventures. Lutherans often joined the Reformed in these efforts. Prussia commanded that the Reformed and the Lutherans unite in one church. This resulted in one Reformed church, not one Lutheran church. Some Lutherans escaped and came to America. The Loewe missionaries asked the Perry County Lutherans to join them in what became the Missouri Synod. They were against unionism. The Wisconsin Synod began as an indifferent, unionistic group. Walther and Hoenecke helped them wise up. Now Missouri and WELS work with ELCA on all kinds of union projects, from Lutheran World Relief to evangelism and worship. The ELS is mute.

The trouble with Pietism is not just with the end result – Unitarianism. The real trouble is with any thought process where judgment is based on works. “If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand?” That question from the Psalms (used in funerals) should remind us of the difficulty of justification by works. When a law requirement is added to justification by faith, the law dominates and destroys peace.

Peace cannot come from the Law, because the Law always condemns. Jesus is the Prince of Peace because His Gospel promises are based upon His merits, not ours. When the Body and Blood of Christ are distributed, no merit is required from the recipients. Instead, we receive the merit of Christ, the righteousness of the Prince of Peace. Holy Communion is an instrument of God’s grace, the Word in visible form. As Luther said, do not concentrate on the elements but on the Word – Given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sin.

For the peace that passes all understanding.

For the life of the world.

Amen.

PM Popes

Prime Minister Tony Blair Waited to Convert So He Could Lead Pro-Abortion Ideologues


Criticism For Blair Over Conversion
Updated:19:21, Saturday December 22, 2007

Tony Blair's conversion to Catholicism has been criticised by commentators who argue his views as PM were at odds with church teachings.

Tony Blair has met Pope BenedictMr Blair was welcomed into the Roman Catholic church by the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor - leader of the Roman Catholics in England and Wales.

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor welcomed the politician's personal decision, which culminated in the ceremony at the chapel of the Archbishop's House in Westminster.

He said: "For a long time he has been a regular worshipper at Mass with his family and in recent months he has been following a programme of formation to prepare for his reception into full communion."

The move comes after years of speculation that Mr Blair, whose wife Cherie and four children are Catholic, would convert from Anglicanism after he resigned from Number 10 in June.

Converting while in office would have caused him problems in connection with issues such as abortion, contraception, homosexuality and faith schools.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) reacted with surprise to the news.

Christmas Song

Pope John the WELS Confessor

Merry Christmas to you,
In the ELS you're through,
We'll just take your members,
And property too.

Lutheran Books, II

Shepherd and sheep, by Norma Boeckler

Part I

The essentials are:
A Bible in the King James tradition. I use BibleWorks, which has the original text and dozens of translations. A good book answering the issue of Biblical problems is: William Arndt, Bible Difficulties and Seeming Contradictions.
The Concordia Triglotta.
Luther's Sermons (Seven-volumes for about $35).

The list above should be interpreted as, "How can I call myself a Lutheran if I do not own and read these on a regular basis?"

Part II

There are two ways to become grounded in the Patristic era, the Church Fathers (not to be confused with synodical founders). The Book of Concord assumes the reader will want to see how the Confessors agree with the early theologians, now ignored by the synodical apostate leaders.

Ach, Du Lieber Augustine
Augustine is the most important theologian, the best theologian of the Patristic era. He wrote The City of God when Eternal Rome fell to the barbarians. The City of God is an encyclopedia of theology, to be read and appreciated in small sections. Can anyone from Fuller or Willow Creek say this:

Two Cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the Lord. For the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest glory of the other is God, the witness of conscience. The one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to its God, “Thou art my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” City of God

Augustine was the most significant good theologian in the formation of Luther, who was an Augustinian monk after all. All of Western literature relies on Augustine. Someone who does not want to buy and read City of God could read his Confessions instead. By good theologian, I mean that Augustine had more Gopspel in his works than the others. Those who venerate recent synodical writers (some still alive, but worshiped as gods) should note Augustine's Retractions and his desire than nothing he wrote be taken seriously if it disagreed with Scripture.

An English edition of the Nicene Fathers can be obtained for very little. Classics are inexpensive. Rotten books cost a bundle. The danger in having a big, heavy set with small print is the confusion of owning with reading. Many own without reading. Another solution is having a CD version, for text searching. There is no substitute for reading from a book and having a doctrinal crisis to motivate the study.

Zwei, Du Lieber Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the second way to learn the Patristic Fathers. His Two Natures of Christ is one of the finest works ever written. Chemnitz converted Roman Catholic theologians by showing them that the Wittenberg party was the one confessing the truths of the Word and the Church Fathers. No theologian is correct all his life in all his writings (pace, Werning, et al.) The small c catholic tradition is that body of theology expressing the pure Word of God. Unfortunately, devious Lutheran seminary professors are using Patristics to seduce future Lutheran pastors into Eastern Orthodoxy or Roman priestcraft. If someone wants to attend a high-price Lutheran seminary, he should go forewarned and prepared.

I would pick Two Natures as the best Chemnitz book to study (if there was only one choice). The Enchiridion is a small book written to prepare seminarians for their exams. Examination of the Council of Trent is a personal favorite for many reasons. There is no better way to find the answer to all Roman Catholic claims than Examination. When I wrote Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, I found that the modern Catholics were arguing just as they did during Chemnitz' time.

Anything by Chemnitz is excellent. I also recommend Jack Preus' The Second Martin. Too few Lutherans know anything about Chemnitz.

Pilgrim's Progress
For centuries, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress was considered the most important English publication, apart from the KJV. The allegory was translated into 100 languages and remains constantly in print. The author was not a Lutheran but he said that Luther's Galatians was his most-read book, except for the Bible. I wonder today how many ordained Lutherans today could call Galatians an ever-read, let alone a most-read book!

This is a book available in many editions. I got one from Folio and mailed it back, then bought the Limited Editions version for less money. Small children will love the children's editions with pictures. There is also a video. The humor and wisdom of the book are unique.

Bunyan was almost always in jail for being a Nonconformist preacher. His individual publications were so popular, nevertheless, that scholars think some titles disappeared simply from all the copies being worn out. Bunyan did more for the Gospel in his cell than all the cell groups started by Fuller Seminary graduates of WELS, Missouri, and the Little Sect on the Prairie.

Prophetic Utterance by Steve Kurtzahn, WELS

A soft, warm, harmless sheep wants to love and be loved.

"But as you can see from the above references, ever so slyly, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, Valleskey is promoting the Church Growth Movement. [emphasis in original] I will argue that with anyone. God forbid, but my guess would be the next such book out of WELS will be even more CG oriented and even more blatant in its CG statements."

WELS Pastor Steve Kurtzahn, 1996, when he was still a Church of the Lutheran Confession (sic) pastor. He started out WELS, left for the CLC (sic), and went back to WELS.

So why did Kurtzahn denounce the false doctrine of the president of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, and then join WELS? Was he trying to out-Preus Jack and Robert Preus? Answer: - The Greeks have a saying: "A chameleon can turn every color except white."

KJV Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Unionism Becomes Apostasy

Unionism Turns a UOJ Stormtrooper into a Rainbow Warrior: "Like, peace, man."

Are You Going To Believe Me Or Your Lying Eyes?
"CHIEFS CONFER: Waiting their turn to speak at a recent Lutheran leadership consultation are Dr. Carl Mischke, president of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Church...Bohlmann...and ELCA Bishop Herbert W. Chilstrom. At the July 18-20 event in Snowbird, Utah, in the Wasatch Mountains, 130 Lutheran leaders gathered to articulate a 'vision of leadership' for their respective church bodies." The Lutheran, (ELCA) September 4, 1991 p. 33.

ELCA's Martin Marty, Featured WELS Speaker
"Front row center, among the 231 ELCA and Episcopal bishops gathered for a 'class photo' of their historic first meeting to discuss full communion, are (from left) Martin Marty, Presiding Bishops Browning [Episcopal] and Anderson [ELCA], and Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey." The Lutheran, November, 1996

"Dear Friends, AAL is committed to helping Lutherans and assisting Lutheran congregations. That has long been a primary purpose of the organization, as stated in AAL's articles of incorporation. In pursuing this intention, we've often gathered information that helps us to better serve Lutherans and their institutions." Richard L. Gunderson, Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993, Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road, Appleton, WI, 54919-0001, 414-734-5721, June 30, 1993.

WELS and ELCA, Bosom Buddies
"To the reader: This binder contains a summary of activities and findings of the Church Membership Initiative funded by AAL. A meeting in February, 1993 at Orlando involving congregational participants and church executives was phase three. This summary focuses on the findings of phases one and two. As is the nature of such studies, emphasis is on research and statistical analysis. Such studies do provide helpful indicators. Such an approach, however, cannot directly reflect spiritual reality, which must remain with the judgment of those dispensing the means of grace. Phase four--utilization of information coming out of the first three phases--is open ended for whatever church body [ELCA, WELS, LCMS] will determine such use to be." Rev. Wayne Borgwardt, WELS, Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993, Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road, Appleton, WI, 54919-0001, June 30, 1993. Five copies at Martin Luther College (WELS). BV 4523 .C48 1993 c.5

"In 1970 there were 500,000 more baptized members of Lutheran congregations than was the case in 1990. The Church Membership Initiative project was undertaken to understand and address this decline... Contact: Rev. Mary Ann Moller-Gunderson, Executive Director, Division for Congregational Ministries, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 8765 W Higgins Road, Chicago, IL, 60631, 312-380-2570; Rev. Lyle Muller, Executive Director, Board for Evangelism Services, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, 1333 S Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO, 63122-7295, 314-965-9000; Rev. Wayne Borgwardt, Administrator for Worker Training, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, 2929 N Mayfair Road, Milwaukee, WI, 53222, 414-256-3236; Mr. Douglas Olson, Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road, Appleton, WI, 54919, 414-734-5721." Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993, Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road, Appleton, WI, 54919-0001, June 30, 1993.

"The IMAGINE 2000+ A.D. symposium involved the gathering of 61 growing congregations to describe their ministry. The congregations were grouped with other congregations of similar size and ministry setting." Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993, Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road, Appleton, WI, 54919-0001, June 30, 1993. p. 12.

"Four people from each of 61 growing congregations gathered to share their congregational development experience, to react to the utility of toolbox items uncovered in Sections 2B and 2C above, and to exchange views with church body officials. Approximately 125 church body officials [ELCA, WELS, LCMS] and other guests observed these congregations and participated in the discussions." Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993, Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road, Appleton, WI, 54919-0001, June 30, 1993. p. 20.

"This does not mean that judicatory (ELCA synods, LCMS districts, WELS districts) and national expressions of the church bodies are not involved. They can play key roles in assisting congregations." Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993, Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road, Appleton, WI, 54919-0001, June 30, 1993. p. 5.

"In-person interviews were held with ELCA, LCMS and WELS national office personnel who are responsible for evangelism, outreach, North American activities, and ministries to people of color." Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993, Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road, Appleton, WI, 54919-0001, June 30, 1993. p. 5. "Congregational growth, stability, and decline patterns were analyzed for all Lutheran congregations within each of three church bodies (ELCA, LCMS, WELS)." Church Membership Initiative, Narrative Summary of Findings, 1993, Aid Association for Lutherans, 4321 N Ballard Road, Appleton, WI, 54919-0001, June 30, 1993. p. 9.

"Dr. Mann remarked, 'he doubted not that there was much good in the constitution of the Melanchthon Synod; but he would not eat poisoned bread, though there was much good flour in it.'"
F. Bente, American Lutheranism, 2 vols., The United Lutheran Church, Gen Synod, Gen Council, Un Syn in the South, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1919, II, p. 121.

Typical Snotty Unionist
Harkey: "We want love as much as orthodoxy, yes, a thousand times more than what some men call orthodoxy."
F. Bente, American Lutheranism, 2 vols., The United Lutheran Church, Gen Synod, Gen Council, Un Syn in the South, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1919, II, p. 121.

Bente Nails the Unionists
"In the Lutheran Observer, January 2, 1863, H. Harkey wrote: 'Some say that unity must precede union. But the Bible demands that we unite. Hence those who magnify these differences [among Lutherans] are the greatest sinners in the Church.' This has always been the view of the General Synod: union, irrespective of doctrinal differences...all endeavors at union which disregard the divine norm of Christian fellowship are anti-Scriptural."
F. Bente, American Lutheranism, 2 vols., The United Lutheran Church, Gen Synod, Gen Council, Un Syn in the South, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1919, II, p. 19.

WELS and LCMS Have Now United with the Reformed
"Unionism and indifferentism mark the character of the General Synod from its very beginning. And how could this have been otherwise? The un-Lutheran spirit of the General Synod was not so much acquired as inherited. The Pennsylvania Synod, while promoting the Pan-Lutheran union, was at the same time planning a union with the Reformed! In 1819 and 1822 resolutions were passed to this effect."
F. Bente, American Lutheranism, 2 vols., The United Lutheran Church, Gen Synod, Gen Council, Un Syn in the South, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1919, II, p. 20.

Bente Predicts Werning, Kent Hunter, Larry Olson, Paul Kelm, Wally Oelhaven, and the Jesus Birthday Party at Ellisville
"Wherever Lutherans unite with the Reformed, the former gradually sink to the level of the latter. Already by declaring the differences between the two Churches irrelevant, the Lutheran truths are actually sacrificed and denied. Unionism always breaks the backbone, and outrages the conscience, of true Lutheranism. And naturally enough, the refusal to confess the Lutheran truth is but too frequently followed by eager endorsement and fanatical defense of the opposite errors."
F. Bente, American Lutheranism, 2 vols., The United Lutheran Church, Gen Synod, Gen Council, Un Syn in the South, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1919, II, p. 68.

Quaint Remarks by What's-His-Name
"Dr. Luther, who, above others, certainly understood the true and proper meaning of the Augsburg Confession, and who constantly remained steadfast thereto till his end, and defended it, shortly before his death repeated his faith concerning this article with great zeal in his last Confession, where he writes thus: 'I rate as one concoction, namely, as Sacramentarians and fanatics, which they also are, all who will not believe that the Lord's bread in the Supper is His true natural body, which the godless or Judas received with the mouth, as well as did St. Peter and all [other] saints; he who will not believe this (I say) should let me alone, and hope for no fellowship with me; this is not going to be altered [thus my opinion stands, which I am not going to change]."
Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article VII, Lord's Supper, 33, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 983. Tappert, p. 575.

"And all these are established by the words by which Christ has instituted it, and which every one who desires to be a Christian and go to the Sacrament should know. For it is not our intention to admit to it and to administer it to those who know not what they seek, or why they come."
Fifth Part, Of The Sacrament of the Altar, #2, Large Catechism, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 753. Tappert, p. 447.

"And Paul commands that godless teachers should be avoided and execrated as cursed. Galatians 1:8; Titus 3:10. And 2 Corinthians 6:14 he says: 'Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what communion hath light with darkness?'" Marks of Antichrist, 41, Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 517. Tappert, p. 328. Galatians 1:8; Titus 3:10; 2 Corinthians 6:14.

WELS-ELCA-LCMS Joint Worship. Are You Going To Believe Me or Your Lying Ears? - Mischke
"A new sacred classical music radio program soon will be available to radio stations across the country. The hour-long, weekly program, called "Joy," is an inter-Lutheran project of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. "Joy" will be produced by KFUO-FM in St. Louis and will be funded by Aid Association for Lutherans, a fraternal benefit society. 'I'm excited about being involved in this project which is the first joint venture into ministry that has ever been done by these three Lutheran churches,' said the Rev. Richard Jensen, a member of ELCA communications staff and the Joy Advisory Committee. 'Joy is a program of sacred music. The focus is on the classics of sacred Christian music..."
ELCA Newsbriefs, Christian News, 12-9-91, p. 2.

Charlton Heston, Husband of One Wife
"There is a 'method in our madness' in securing such a high profile speaker. Regardless of the value of the message such speakers always bring in the numbers. Generally speaking, they seem to double the attendance of a convention." [Having Charlton Heston speak at the WELS Lutherans for Life convention]
Rev. Robert Fleischmann, Commentary, National Director, WELS Lutherans for Life, 2949 N Mayfair Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53222 n.d.

The Spirit of ELCA
"Dedication: to a holy ministry, orthodox as Chemnitz, Calovius, Gerhard, and Krauth; spiritual and consecrated as Arndt, Spener, and Zinzendorf; active in the Master's service as Francke, Muhlenberg, Orberlin, and Passavant, this book is hopefully dedicated."
G. H. Gerberding, The Lutheran Pastor, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1902, p. 2.

True, But Who Agrees Today?
"Truthful separation is far better than dishonest union, and two churches are happier, and more kindly in their mutual relations, when their differences are frankly confessed, than when they are clouding with ambiguities and double meanings the real divergences."
Charles P. Krauth, The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology, Philadelphia: The United Lutheran Publication House, 1913 (first edition, 1871), p. 326.

"We have so much to learn from Fuller." - Mequon President Valleskey
"If one associates much with heretics, one finally also makes oneself partaker of their false doctrine, their lies, and their errors; for he who touches pitch soils his hands with it."
Martin Luther, What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 646.

Mischke Said He Didn't Do Unionism - Do You Believe Him or Your Lying Eyes?
Pictured together: Rev. Carl Mischke (WELS), Rev. Ralph Bohlmann (LCMS), and Bishop Herbert Chilstrom (ELCA).
Lutheran Brotherhood, Bond, "Preparing the Church for the Next Century," Fall, 1991 68, p. 12.

WELS and LMCS Leaders Attended This Farce
"Four speakers prominent in the field of leadership research shared their perspectives. Frances Hesselbein of New York City, president and chief executive officer of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, spoke on 'The Challenge of Leadership.' She noted, 'The church shares the same bottom line with all voluntary and human service organizations: changed lives.'" [Note: CG enthusiasts love Drucker management books. The four leaders of the conference were: a woman, a CG icon (in the words of Rev. James Schaefer, NWL), an ultra-liberal Reformed theologian, and a historical-critical expert from an ELCA seminary, Trinity, which once boasted of Lenski and Leupold as professors.]
Lutheran Brotherhood, Bond, "Preparing the Church for the Next Century," Fall, 1991 68, p. 12.

"William McKinney, dean and professor of religion and society at Hartford (Connecticut) Seminary, disagreed with the popular view that conventional Protestant churches have moved from mainline to sideline." [Hartford is very Reformed and very liberal.]
Lutheran Brotherhood, Bond, "Preparing the Church for the Next Century," Fall, 1991 68, p. 12.

"George Barna of Glendale, Calif., president of the Barna Research Group, a marketing firm specializing in research for Christian churches and parachurch organizations, laid out 'The Context for Leadership' with rather challenging facts about the society the church faces today."
Lutheran Brotherhood, Bond, "Preparing the Church for the Next Century," Fall, 1991 68, p. 12.

"The Lutheran Leadership Consultation, facilitated by Lutheran Brotherhood in partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Lutheran-Church Missouri Synod (LC-MS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), was the first meeting of this type that included the three major Lutheran Churches as planners and participants." Lutheran Brotherhood, Bond, "Preparing the Church for the Next Century," Fall, 1991 68, p. 12. "Throughout the Consultation, Walter F. Taylor, Jr., Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, explored principles and examples of leadership in the Pauline epistles." [Trinity is an ELCA seminary which sponsored an insurance funded gay seminar.] Lutheran Brotherhood, Bond, "Preparing the Church for the Next Century," Fall, 1991 68, p. 13.

"Take the Church Membership Initiative, lavishly funded by the Aid Association for Lutherans. The 'Narrative Summary of Findings' and the 'Research Summary of Findings' (1993) reveal an approach both shallow and complacent. There is no interest at all in underlying theological maladies." Professor Kurt Marquart, "Church Growth" As Mission Paradigm, A Lutheran Assessment, Our Savior Lutheran Church, Houston: Luther Academy Monograph, 1994, p. 141f. "Its 'overall objective' is: 'To set in motion forces that will result in annual increases in the number of members of Lutheran congregations.' Why would any confessional Lutheran wish to 'set in motion forces' for 'annual increases in ELCA membership? The introductory page already alerts one to the hollowness of the talk about 'faithfulness to the substance of Lutheranism' (p. 3), by listing an ELCA official, a pastoress, as one of the sources of further information. 'Unchurched people feel good about their faith,' we are told, and the implication is that we should too."
Professor Kurt Marquart, "Church Growth" As Mission Paradigm, A Lutheran Assessment, Our Savior Lutheran Church, Houston: Luther Academy Monograph, 1994, p. 142.

"Are You Going To Believe Me Or Your Lying Eyes?" - Mischke
"The article in Christian News to which you refer escaped my attention until one of our other pastors called it to my attention soon after it appeared. Initially I even had difficulty relating to it. After thinking about it for a time I remembered that I was asked about a year ago whether the WELS would endorse or be in sponsor of such a program. My answer then was 'No" and still is. I have consistently taken the position with the fraternal benefits societies that 'pan-Lutheran' projects almost inevitably exclude us from participation because of our fellowship principles. The leadership of the fraternals has respected our position. So the statement by a member of the ELCA communications staff that this is the 'first joint venture into ministry' ever done by these three Lutheran churches is simply not factual. It has been called to the attention of those who made this statement." President Carl H. Mischke (WELS Synodical President), Letter to Pastor James Sherod, 1-3-92.

CG Gurus Forced Neuhaus into Becoming a Priest
"Then there is the church growth movement, which has made more devastating headway in LCMS than in ELCA (although it is evident enough in the latter). Today, it is said, Missouri has three seminaries-- St. Louis, Ft Wayne, and Fuller Seminary in California, the hothouse of church growth enthusiasms. The synodical and district mission offices are frequently controlled by church growth technocrats...But the idea that Word and Sacrament ministry is somehow validated by calculable results is utterly alien to the Lutheran Reformation...The triumph of style over substance, however, is all too evident in LCMS congregations that look like Baptists with vestments. As we have noted before, second-rate Lutherans make fourth-rate Baptists."
Rev. Richard Neuhaus, (ELCA at the time), Forum Letter, 338 E 19th Street New York, NY 10003 November 26, 1989 p. 2.

Joel Gerlach, No, Kent Hunter, I Mean, Ortiz
"Pastors become disciples so they can make disciples. As a proud Pentecostal I thought I had everything because I belonged to a Full Gospel church. Little did I know how much I had to learn until I came together with other pastors--Baptists, Presbyterians, Plymouth Brethren, and Catholics. As a proud Pentecostal I had to become a humble elder of the church."
Juan Carlos Ortiz, Call to Discipleship, Plainfield: Logos International, 1975, p. 100. (GJ - WELS now falsely and officially declares that the Great Commission is "to make disciples." Unionism creates liars who cannot stop with their cover-ups. They have to falsify the Bible, too.)

This Makes WELS Roman Catholic and Fuller-Willow Creekish
"The orthodox character of a church is established not by its mere name nor by its outward acceptance of, and subscription to, an orthodox creed, but by the doctrine which is actually taught in its pulpits, in its theological seminaries, and in its publications. On the other hand, a church does not forfeit its orthodox character through the casual intrusion of errors, provided these are combated and eventually removed by means of doctrinal discipline."
(A Brief Statement of the Missouri Synod's Doctrinal Position, 1932) Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 2.

"Unionism is characterized by these marks: It fails to confess the whole truth of the divine Word; it fails to reject and denounce every opposing error; it assigns error equal right with truth and creates the impression of church fellowship and of unity of faith where they do not exist." (Wisconsin Synod, Prayer Fellowship, Tract No. 10, 1954)
Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 64.

"We have no intention of yielding aught of the eternal, immutable truth of God for the sake of temporal peace, tranquility, and unity (which, moreover, is not in our power to do). Nor would such peace and unity, since it is devised against the truth and for its suppression, have any permanency. Still less are we inclined to adorn and conceal a corruption of the pure doctrine and manifest, condemned errors. But we entertain heartfelt pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and anxious to advance, that unity according to our utmost power, by which His glory remains to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the Holy Gospel is surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor sinners are brought to true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith, confirmed in new obedience, and thus justified and eternally saved alone through the sole merit of Christ." (Closing of Formula of Concord, Trigl. p. 1095)
Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 65.

Reu - Marks of Unionism
"Here we discover the first mark of unionism: A difference in doctrine which hitherto has been regarded as divisive, is suddenly made to lose its divisive significance." (About the Augsburg Confession, Variata, Real Presence)
M. Reu, In the Interest of Lutheran Unity, Columbus: The Lutheran Book Concern, 1940, p. 19.

"The second mark of unionism, therefore, is this: Differences in doctrine are made to lose their divisive significance with a view to uniting hitherto separate churches." (about unification of all Protestant forces)
M. Reu, In the Interest of Lutheran Unity, Columbus: The Lutheran Book Concern, 1940, p. 19.

"The third mark of unionism, therefore, is this: A formula of unification is found which each of two hitherto separate churches may accept but which each of them interprets differently. An external bond is found for internally divided groups." (About Melanchthon using 1 Cor. 10:16 as the basis for uniting the Reformed and Lutherans, Luther's favorite text against the Reformed.)
M. Reu, In the Interest of Lutheran Unity, Columbus: The Lutheran Book Concern, 1940, p. 19. 1 Corinthians 10:16.

"Doctrinal indifference is at once the root of unionism and its fruit. Whoever accepts, in theory as well as in practice, the absolute authority of the Scriptures and their unambiguousness with reference to all fundamental doctrines, must be opposed to every form of unionism."
M. Reu, In the Interest of Lutheran Unity, Columbus: The Lutheran Book Concern, 1940, p. 20.

"We find this attitude of tolerance quite frequently among unionists. It is often used to assuage a troubled conscience, one's own as well as that of others; for the unionist declares that every one may continue to hold his own private convictions and merely needs to respect and tolerate those of another. This attitude is totally wrong, for it disregards two important factors: (a) in tolerating divergent doctrines one either denies the perspicuity and clarity of the Scriptures, or one grants to error the right to exist alongside of truth, or one evidences indifference over against Biblical truth by surrendering its absolute validity; and (b) in allowing two opposite views concerning one doctrine to exist side by side, one has entered upon an inclined plane which of necess- ity leads ever further into complete doctrinal indifference, as may plainly be seen from the most calamitous case on record, viz., the Prussian Union."
M. Reu, In the Interest of Lutheran Unity, Columbus: The Lutheran Book Concern, 1940, p. 20.

Holy Mother Synod at Work Today
[Selnecker, who wrote "Ach bleib bei uns" (TLH #292) was bitterly attacked and severely persecuted by the Reformed, deposed when Augustus died, reduced to poverty, and not allowed to remain in Leipzig as a private citizen.]
Theodore E. Schmauk and C. Theodore Benze, The Confessional Principle and the Confessions, as Embodying the Evangelical Confession of the Christian Church, Philadelphia: General Council Publication Board, 1911, p. 310ff.

Kieschnick Described
"The modern radical spirit which would sweep away the Formula of Concord as a Confession of the Church, will not, in the end, be curbed, until it has swept away the Augsburg Confession, and the ancient Confessions of the Church--yea, not until it has crossed the borders of Scripture itself, and swept out of the Word whatsoever is not in accord with its own critical mode of thinking. The far-sighted rationalist theologian and Dresden court preacher, Ammon, grasped the logic of a mere spirit of progress, when he said: 'Experience teaches us that those who reject a Creed, will speedily reject the Scriptures themselves.'"
Theodore E. Schmauk and C. Theodore Benze, The Confessional Principle and the Confessions, as Embodying the Evangelical Confession of the Christian Church, Philadelphia: General Council Publication Board, 1911, p. 685.

So Why Does WELS Sponsor Church and Change?
"The real question is not what do you subscribe, but what do you believe and publicly teach, and what are you transmitting to those who come after? If it is the complete Lutheran faith and practice, the name and number of the standards is less important. If it is not, the burden of proof rests upon you to show that your more incomplete standard does not indicate an incomplete Lutheran faith."
Theodore E. Schmauk and C. Theodore Benze, The Confessional Principle and the Confessions, as Embodying the Evangelical Confession of the Christian Church, Philadelphia: 1911, p. 890.

Their Unionism Is Bad, Our Unionism Is Good
"The greatest single weakness, it seems to this reviewer, in Dr. Lindsell's battle line is in the area of fellowship. The soft spot is his failure to advise a fellowship practice that accords fully with Scripture, a failure that has ever been a weakness among the 'evangelicals.'
Review of The Battle for the Bible, by Harold Lindsell, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976. Armin W. Schuetze, Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, October, 1976 73, p. 326.

Obsolete
"Before God every activity of our faith is at the same time fellowship activity in the Communion of Saints."
Doctrinal Statements of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Authorized by the Commission on Doctrinal Matters. p. 27. (GJ - District Puppet Seifert gave me these statements when I was still an LCA pastor, but urged his WELS pastors to attend to pan-Christian worship conference at Carthage College. The official WELS worship conference was organized by James P. Tiefel, Mequon.)

But We Have So Much To Learn from Fuller - Valleskey
"In selecting specific individuals or groups for a joint expression of faith we can do this only on the basis of their confession."
Doctrinal Statements of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Authorized by the Commission on Doctrinal Matters. p. 29.

Be Careful Whom You Denounce WELS
"Dr. Martin Marty is pastor of the Missouri Synod Church of the Holy Ghost, Elk Grove, Illinois. At the same time he is associate editor of The Christian Century, a religious journal which denies the teachings of Scripture on Jesus Christ, the inspiration of the Bible, the atonement, the virgin birth, and other cardinal doctrines...Whether or not Dr. Marty as associate editor is directly responsible for the shaping of editorial policy, the fact remains that he has lent his name and sanction as a Lutheran to the blasphemies the unchristian Century prints. Again the question: How many may have had a stumbling block put in the way of their faith by this gross offense? And what will the MIssouri Synod answer for lending its membership and prestige to that kind of gross offender? Luke 17:1, 2." E. Arnold Sitz, Entrenched Unionistic Practices, A Record of Unionistic Practice in the LCMS Authorized by the Commission on Doctrinal Matters, Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod. p. 21.

Olson, D.Min. Fuller, Kelm, D.Min. St. Louis - Disagree
"In an essay on Unionism, Dr. F. Pieper, a former president of the Missouri Synod and successor of Dr. Walther as president of Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, in 1924 said to the Oregon and Washington District: 'The Holy Scriptures very emphatically and in manifold ways teach that all fellowship with false doctrine is forbidden by God and is harmful to the Church.' On II John 10, 11, he said: 'God here forbids Unionism, religious fellowship with those who are known to be false teachers.'"
Carl Lawrenz, Chairman, Commission on Doctrinal Matters, Fellowship Then and Now, Concerning the Impasse in the Intersynodical Discussions on Church Fellowship, p. 20. 2 John 10, 11

Barber Was Only Giving Counsel to ELCA for the Joy Radio Show - Mischke
"Rev. Brenner tells us how unionists in the General Council chloroformed the conscience of the body. When they entered into working arrangements (in the distinctly religious sphere) with the Reformed churches, they glazed the matter over by reporting that 'the object of these conferences is purely that of counsel concering the problems of foreign mission-work.' Only counsel; no fellowship; just consulting with one another. Thus does the camel push its nose into the tent. Let us keep our eyes open" (p. 98ff.)
Carl Lawrenz, Chairman, Commission on Doctrinal Matters, Fellowship Then and Now, Concerning the Impasse in the Intersynodical Discussions on Church Fellowship, p. 23.

Wouldn't Lawrenz Be Impressed that Marty Is Now a Favored Speaker for WLC and WELS?
"Only recently Dr. Martin Marty, a pastor of the Missouri Synod and an associate editor of the Christian Century, outlined with considerable frankness the program and methods whereby changes may be effected within church bodies that still are antiecumenical (to him this means, church bodies who decline to engage in joint worship and church work unless first confessional unity has been established). Writing in the Christian Century, he advocates a program whereby the ecumenically minded remain within their church bodies, but 'work for constructive subversion, encirclement, and infiltration, until antiecumenical forces bow to the evangelical weight of reunion.' Although they remain within their denominations, with whose principles they do not agree, they will 'somehow telegraph to the world who it is they serve and where their loyalties already lie' (Jan. 11, 1961, p. 45). These are the methods Dr. Marty openly proposes." Carl Lawrenz, Chairman, Commission on Doctrinal Matters, Fellowship Then and Now, Concerning the Impasse in the Intersynodical Discussions on Church Fellowship, p. 27.

Hoenecke Describing ELS-WELS-LCMS Today
"Those who defend a false union assert that while practicing unionistic fellowship one can still cling firmly to the true confession, that unionism is not then synonymous with indifferentism. This is an illusion, even as experience has sufficiently shown that a false union opens the doors wide to indifferentism. And how could it be otherwise?"
Adolf Hoenecke, Dogmatik III, p. 441f. Carl Lawrenz, Chairman, Commission on Doctrinal Matters, Fellowship Then and Now, Concerning the Impasse in the Intersynodical Discussions on Church Fellowship, p. 31.

United Nations and LWR Support
"$60,000 General world relief (through C.A.R.E. and Lutheran World Relief) Rev. Kennth Strack, chairman WELS Reports and Memorials for the Fifty-fourth Biennial Convention, Milwaukee: WELS, 1997. p. 165.

Survey, Virgin Birth: Find the Apostates

The Greek initials stand for Virgin Mary and Son of God,
foreign concepts to sophisticated bishops.

Posted by David Virtue on 2007/12/14 14:20:00 (1310 reads)
Do you believe in the Virgin Birth?

The Spectator asked a select group from the Archbishop of Canterbury to Christopher Hitchens
Christmas survey

The Spectator
http://tinyurl.com/38rlzx
December 12, 2007

Christmas is not just about shopping and flirting, eating and drinking, anger and remorse. It is also about the Incarnation. But how many people believe in the Christian story of Christmas, and how strong is their belief? To find out, The Spectator approached leading public figures in the Churches, in the arts and the media and in politics, and asked them: 'Do you believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ?' Here are their challenging - and sometimes surprising - answers.

The Most Reverend and Right Hon. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

Yes; I believe that the conception of Jesus was a moment when the creative action of God produced a reality as new in its way as the first moment of creation itself. And I believe that what opened the way for this was the work of God through human history over centuries, coming to its fullest moment in Mary's consent to God's call. The recognition of the uniqueness and newness of Jesus is a recognition of the absolute freedom of God to break the chains of cause and effect that lock us into our sins and failures; the virginal conception is an outward sign of this divine freedom to make new beginnings.

His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster

Of course. All teaching about Mary the Mother of God points us to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. The miracle of his birth shows us that he is God-with-us. Jesus has only God as Father and Mary as Mother and in his birth we are adopted as children of the Father in the Holy Spirit. We look to Mary as a Mother who loves us.

Colin Wilson

No, of course I don't, and I imagine you'll have some difficulty finding any educated person who believes in it, or any other Christian dogma. Of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, only the third survives.

James Delingpole

Look, I've successfully survived 42 years as a member of the Church of England without ever having to give serious thought to the Virgin Birth and I jolly well don't see why I should be put on the spot now just for the sake of a Speccie feature. I guess that makes me a 'Don't Know', which is a terrible thing to admit given that I'm halfway towards being a pillar of my beloved Chelsea Old Church. But that's the great thing about being C of E, isn't it? If I were Catholic, I suppose I'd have to find the issue intensely important. Me, I care more about hymns having the right tunes, and the Prayer Book being 1662.

Ann Widdecombe

If Christ was also God, then he cannot have been born purely of humans, so his incarnation as a man must have been via a virgin. Thus I see no reason to doubt the testimony of scripture that Jesus was not the son of Joseph, but of God.

Christopher Howse

I gladly believe Jesus was born of a virgin. The teaching is clear. It was believed in the earliest times, and was no more likely then. What tended to repel ancient pagans was God-made-man humiliatingly spending months in the womb. But that too Christians believe: he assumes our humanity, which he derives from his mother. The same person is pre-existent God and an individual little foetus. That is the great mystery which reconciles us to God and destroys sin and death. We only know about it because we were told, and we were told because, after dying on the cross, Jesus rose again and people saw him and listened to him. That is a more impressive miracle than mere parthenogenesis.

Edward Stourton

Hmmm. I can see the logic which argues that if you believe in the Incarnation, you need to believe in the Virgin Birth, so I suppose I ought to say yes ...but I wouldn't say it is a constant source of inspiration when I reflect on the great questions of life.

The Revd Professor Keith Ward

I do not believe in the Virgin Birth. The point of the Biblical account is to see Jesus as the start of a new creation, fulfilling the hopes of the 'virgin Israel'. I do not dogmatically deny it, but think it probably legendary.

The Revd Nicky Gumbel, Vicar, Holy Trinity, Brompton

I do believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ. I believe Jesus is the unique Son of God. The Virgin Birth was a miracle. The real issue facing the world today is 'Is there a God?' If there is, then miracles become a real possibility. If God is God, then he created matter, reason, time, space and all scientific laws and therefore is at liberty to interfere. If there is no God, then miracles are a problem. But philosophy and science alone will not answer the crucial question. Scientific laws are not like the laws of pure mathematics that cannot be broken. Rather they are descriptive. Once I came to believe in the great miracle - that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us - I had no problem in believing in the Virgin Birth.

Father Michael Holman SJ, Provincial of the Society of Jesus, British Province

If we do not believe in the Virgin Birth, we deny the very divinity of Christ, relegating him to simply a great human being, but not the Son of God. But I believe that Jesus Christ is truly God, and truly man; that his Incarnation was through the divine intervention of the Holy Spirit; that God himself is his Father; and that his mother, Mary, was a woman. The Virgin Birth is, therefore, a core Christian belief, and is a doctrine in which I firmly believe.

The Rt Revd Dr Michael J. Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester

Yes. The story is reported by both Matthew and Luke, who rely on independent traditions for their material. It is also echoed in other parts of the New Testament. There is good reason to believe that there was something very unusual about the birth of Jesus, even his enemies and detractors acknowledged this and early anti-Christian polemic had to find ways of dealing with it. Finally, there is, of course, the testimony of the Koran which relies on yet another stream of tradition! Quite a lot of evidence for the birth of a child, don't you think?

Charles Moore

Jesus Christ was true God and true Man: the Virgin Birth is an obstetric statement of this fact.

Roger Scruton

The Virgin Birth is a doctrine of the Church that many Christians today find hard to believe, and one entirely unnecessary for the belief in the divinity of Mary's son Jesus. I would not regard my faith as shaken by its disproof. However there are many ways in which women can become pregnant while remaining virgins, and as for the Holy Ghost - this can hardly be the only time that he has had a part in it. The annunciation is enough for me, along with all else that is implied in the 'Hail Mary': Mary earned the status attributed to her by that prayer through her motherly devotion, her innocent suffering and her obedience to God.

A.C. Grayling

No, of course not. But I'm interested in the idea's (so to speak) logic. Many mythological heroes were fathered by gods on mortal women. Not all these latter were any better than they should have been, unless god-attracting youthfulness made them so. But in the combination of ambiguous etymology (does Isaiah vii 14 specify the Messiah's dam as a 'young woman' or a 'virgin'?), St Paul (Christianity's proto-Jesuitical inventor), and the early Church's orthodoxy squabbles over sex and original sin, the Mother of God (weird idea) had to be pure. And therefore not just a virgin but herself 'immaculately' conceived. We await the next step, relating to her mother Anne. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was declared by Pius IX in 1854; we can expect the Nonpeccavistic Zygotisation of Anne herself, by this timeline, around 3708 ad.

Piers Paul Read

Our sex-obsessed generation feels affronted by the idea of the Virgin Birth, yet virtually everything we know about Jesus comes from the four Gospels, two of which (Matthew and Luke) explicitly state that Mary became pregnant without sexual intercourse. Why should they have falsified the record? Some theologians suggest that it was because Isaiah (vii 14) had prophesied that the promised Messiah would be born of a virgin. But the other two Evangelists, Mark and John, did not think it necessary to make this connection; and there was certainly no need for Luke's psychological elaborations - Mary's surprise, Joseph's jealousy. As any journalist should recognise, Luke must have had a primary source, and that source can only have been Joseph or, more probably, Mary herself.

Christopher Hitchens

I no more believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary than I believe that Krishna was born of the virgin Devaka, Horus was born of the virgin Isis, Mercury was born of the virgin Maia or Romulus was born of the virgin Rhea Sylvia. As the preceding examples help to demonstrate, parthenogenesis would in any case not be proof either of divine paternity or of the truth of any subsequent preachings. The authors of St Matthew - whose account cannot be squared with the one offered by Luke - in any case seem to have mistranslated the Hebrew word almah, meaning 'young woman', from the original legend in the book of Isaiah. Christianity insults our intelligence as well as our innate morality by insisting that we believe absurdities that are drawn from the mythology of paganism and barbarism.

Paul Johnson

The Incarnation is the most delightful, human, visually beautiful and delicate of all Christian beliefs. The idea of God's son coming to earth in the womb of a virgin, and being born in a manger, is beyond the power of any mortal imagination to invent and is so obviously true that anyone who denies it must have the feelings of a brute.

Jonathan Aitken

I believe the Virgin Birth because it is the story of a radical new beginning in God's relationship with the human race. Mary's joy and obedience (astounding in an age when unmarried mothers were stoned to death in Judaean villages) testify to the power of the Holy Spirit. The incarnation, together with the creation and the resurrection, are the cornerstones of my faith. When I hear the Gospel reading for Christmas day as it reaches John i 13-14 'born not of the will of man but of God. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us' a tingle runs down my spine, for this is the good news of the ultimate miracle.

Douglas Murray

Yes. For any practising Christian the Virgin Birth is one of the tenets of faith. I find it odd when people chip away at particular miracles. I've never seen much point in claiming that, for instance, Christ couldn't feed the five thousand. If he couldn't do that, then what are the odds on Resurrection? And if he didn't do that, then there's no faith. Christmas only seems meaningful as a religious celebration. Its demotion to a binge makes it ordinary, not miraculous. I have dabbled in atheism, but always had doubts.

Iain Duncan Smith

This secular society prides itself that all its decisions will be based on logic, tempered by experience and underscored by scientific evidence. On that basis the Virgin Birth is physiologically impossible. And yet, the whole point about a deity is that logic has nothing to do with it and if you believe in God, as I do, the impossible becomes possible. As Jesus was the Son of God his birth was special. And as the Son of God sired by the deity, then the Virgin Birth is not only possible but unique and credible.

Peter Oborne

This is a complex issue but luckily I have been able to draw on a formidable body of knowledge. My daughter, who is studying theology at university, informs me that modern liberal Biblical scholarship views the whole thing as a myth. She points out that two of the four gospels don't even mention the birth narrative, and adds that the two that do offer contradictory accounts. There is no question that the early Church was obsessed with the virginity of Mary. But this may have been based less on the historical record than a determination to make Jesus fit into Biblical prophecy. I think that it is impossible to be a Christian without a literal belief in the Resurrection of Jesus. Everything falls down without it. The same is not true of the Virgin Birth.

Fraser Nelson

The basis of Christianity is that Jesus was the Son of God, not the son of Joseph - his DNA was a mix between that of Our Lady and the Almighty. If you don't believe in the Immaculate Conception, then The Life of Brian starts to look more like a documentary. (GJ - The Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic doctrine about Mary, not even connected with the Biblical teaching of the Virgin Birth.)

NO SHOWS

Three bishops were too busy to help The Spectator with its inquiries: The Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford; the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, Bishop of London; and the Most Revd Dr Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States. The following politicians did not respond to approaches made through their offices: the Prime Minister (who may have been too busy), Liam Fox, David Cameron, George Galloway and Tony Blair.

END

WELS Apostasy Proven

Issues in WELS Official Mascot

I was at a WELS gathering, after the dedication of a church building, around 1991 or so. I wore my Fuller Seminary sweatshirt, so I would fit in better. That made many of the pastors uneasy. Later, Northwestern College students borrowed the sweatshirt to wear around campus. More unease.

I told the son of Oscar Naumann, "WELS is a liberal denomination."

He said, "Why do you say that?"

I responded, "The liberals are rewarded and the conservatives are punished." He left the room. His father began the Church Growth Movement in WELS by approving of The Evangelism Life Line, that tacky little newsletter started to promote the cause of the CGM. Ron Roth, Bob Hartman, and Paul Kelm all promoted CG through TELL and found themselves promoted.

Where are the WELS false teachers now?

Ted Hartwig is the champion apostate. He was exposed for advocating the Historical-Critical Method. Nothing substantial was done. He continued to teach at MLC (nee Dr. Martin Luther College). Hartwig remained very influential in WELS and introduced the feminist creed in Charismatic Worship to WELS, in the journal and the magazine.

Larry Olson went to Fuller Seminary for a D.Min. and became the Waldo Werning Professor of Church Growth at Martin Luther College. Paul Kelm earned a D.Min. at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and worked his way down through the ranks. Now he is a pastor at one of WELS' largest and most ridiculous congregations. President-in-Waiting Wayne Mueller got in trouble over doctrine at Mequon, so he was put in charge of Parish Services, then elected First VP of the sect. Joel Gerlach got in trouble about doctrine while teaching at Mequon and remained influential in WELS.

Slick Brenner, the father of Mequon professor John Brenner, told me about Wayne Mueller and Joel Gerlach.

David Valleskey went to Fuller as a parish pastor and became the president of Mequon, something little noted nor long remembered, but significant for the sect's growing passion for Reformed doctrine and marketing savvy. His friend Frost Bivens went to Fuller as a parish pastor and became a Mequon professor.

James Huebner went to Fuller and is now a synodical VP, which may mean next to nothing, but it is a post no opponent of CG will ever have.

No one even minds that WELS works with ELCA on a wide variety of ecumenical efforts, from worship to evangelism. Sure, WELS cared enough to lie about Snowbird, the Joy radio show, the multi-cultural project, and some other events. But no one is going to fuss too long or too hard.

The Michigan District passed a resolution about having Martin Marty lecture at Wisconsin Lutheran College. (He already had at Orlando, at a joint WELS-ELCA-LCMS evangelism event, but so what!) That resolution is still celebrated as The Moment of Spine...in the Michigan District. WLC thumbed its nose at Michigan (gave it the finger, according to Pastor Guy Purdue) and had Marty speak anyway. No one said anything about the Roman Catholic Archbishop and pedophile Weakland speaking (with other priests) at WLC. After all, that fulfilled one of the multi-cultural goals.

Archbishop of Canterbury, Apostate

Satire Turns Into Reality as the Archbishop of Canterbury Denounces the Christmas Story

It's all a Christmas tall story Three Wise Men

by Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent
The Times
December 20, 2007

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, dismissed the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men yesterday as nothing but "legend".

There was scant evidence for the Magi, and none at all that there were three of them, or that they were kings, he said. All the evidence that existed was in Matthew's Gospel. The Archbishop said: "Matthew's Gospel doesn't tell us there were three of them, doesn't tell us they were kings, doesn't tell us where they came from. It says they are astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire, that's all we're really told." Anything else was legend. "It works quite well as legend," the Archbishop said.

Further, there was no evidence that there were any oxen or asses in the stable. The chances of any snow falling around the stable in Bethlehem were "very unlikely". And as for the star rising and then standing still: the Archbishop pointed out that stars just don't behave like that.

Although he believed in it himself, he advised that new Christians need not fear that they had to leap over the "hurdle" of belief in the Virgin Birth before they could be "signed up". For good measure, he added, Jesus was probably not born in December at all. "Christmas was when it was because it fitted well with the winter festival."

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A special baby is the integral part of the tale

He said the Christmas cards that show the Virgin Mary cradling baby Jesus, with the shepherds on one side and the Three Wise Men on the other, were guilty of "conflation".

But in spite of his scepticism about aspects of the Christmas story, as told in infant nativity plays up and down the land, he denied that believing in God was equivalent to believing in Santa Claus or the tooth fairy.

"The thing is, belief in Santa does not generate a moral code, it does not generate art, it does not generate imagination. Belief in God is a bit bigger than that," the Archbishop said.

Dr Williams was speaking live on BBC Radio Five to the presenter Simon Mayo when Ricky Gervais, star of The Office and a fellow guest, challenged him about the intellectual credibility of the Christian faith.

He said he was committed to belief in the Virgin Birth "as part of what I have inherited". But belief in the Virgin Birth should not be a "hurdle" over which new Christians had to jump before they were accepted.

He hinted that decades ago he was not "too fussed" with the literal truth of the doctrine of the Virgin Birth. But as time went on, he developed a "deeper sense" of what the Virgin Birth was all about. And he went on to do a literary-critical analysis of the traditional Christmas card that features, as often as not, a Virgin Mary cradling a baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes, with shepherds on one side, the Three Wise Men on the other and oxen and asses all around. Sometimes the stable is depicted with snow falling all around, and often with a bright star rising in the East.

Most of it, the Archbishop said, could not have happened like that.

One of the few things that almost everyone agreed on was that Jesus's mother's name was Mary. That is in all the four Gospels. It was also pretty clear that Jesus's father was called Joseph.

Dr Williams was not saying anything that is not taught as a matter of course in even the most conservative theological colleges. His supporters would argue that it is a sign of a true man of faith that he can hold on to an orthodox faith while permitting honest intellectual scrutiny of fundamental biblical texts.

The Archbishop admitted that the Church's present difficulties, with the dispute over sexuality taking the Anglican Communion to the brink of schism, were off-putting to outsiders. "They don't want to know about the inside politics of the Church, they want to know if God's real, if they can be forgiven, what sort of lifestyles matter more and they want to know, I suppose, if their prayers are heard."

Dr Williams's views are strictly in line with orthodox Christian teaching. The Archbishop is sticking to what the Bible actually says.

A special baby is the integral part of this tale

The essential part of the Christmas story is the baby. God came to us in human form, as part of creation and absolutely integral to it. That is the heart and essence of it. This is why the last reading at the service of Nine Lessons and Carols held in churches throughout Britain at this time of year is the first few verses of John's Gospel, about the incarnation of the "Word". This culminates in that spine-chillingly wonderful declaration: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth." Without that, Christmas would be a rather vague festival.

In carols we sing about a baby, sweet and mild, one that "no crying makes". This is wishful thinking, along with other parts of the story.

But some of it cannot be challenged, such as Mary, or in Greek, "Theotokos", literally "God-bearer". Her willingness to be part of God's plan is central.

There seems little doubt that Jesus was born in a stable. The Bible says "outside the house", and this was probably because the house was full. If it was a stable, there could have been animals at the birth of Jesus. We are also told that there were witnesses from the fields, shepherds taken by surprise by the news from the angels, rushing down from the hillsides, wondering in awe and then going back to their sheep, transformed by the coming of the baby.

The Wise Men were witnesses of the opposite kind. They were careful, calculating, educated men who think that they begin to discern God's imminent arrival and who blunder their way across the region until they find what they think they've been seeking. They, too, go back transformed.

These are the really important bits of the story.

- The Rev John Jennings is a Church of England clergyman and adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury

***

GJ - As a long-time reader of The Episcopalian, the American tabloid newsletter of the denomination, I can vouch for the anything-goes-theology of the group. As I recall, the English Archbishop was ordained as a Druid pagan priest just before he was installed in his post, appointed by the Queen.

Not all the Episcopalian leaders are so fatuous. Some conservatives are Roman Catholic in their perspective. Others are Evangelical. Obviously they cannot live with leaders who attack the most basic Christian doctrines. As Rush Limbaugh said today on the radio, the doctrine of the Virgin Birth is not negotiable.

Likewise, how can WELS and LCMS leaders work with ELCA leaders? Apostates have no trouble working with apostates. I leave it to Missouri and WELS to prove they are not apostate by breaking with ELCA on all projects, however they are defined.

Apostasy: While McCain Fiddled, Missouri Burned

LCMS President Al Barry and his assistant Paul McCain did nothing about this congregation for nine years, just as they did nothing about Al Benke. St. John's in Ellisville is a stone's throw from the Purple Palace. St. John's was already a union church during the McCain-Barry administration, belonging to the Missouri Synod and the Willow Creek Association at the same time. Now DoLittle McCain postures about Ellisville.

The Video From Hell

Click on the link to YouTube

or go to St. John's CuzChristmasIsNotMyBirthday,

or pick up the link from St. John's.

to watch the blasphemous video.

The senior pastor of St. John's, Steve Hower, posing as Jesus, stars in the video. He has been a Church Growth icon in the LCMS for many years. Here are some highlights of the video, in case you cannot view it or you click it off in disgust:

1. Jesus begins by peering into the lens and asking if the camera is on.
   
2. Jesus appears a bit fuddled, like a pot-head.
   
3. Jesus reads cards addressed to Him, asking for presents. Does anyone do this? Hower seems to have confused Christmas cards (where no one asks for gifts) with letters to Santa.
   
4. Jesus drinks some wine and says, "Take and drink," mocking Holy Communion.
   
5. Jesus licks off some icing from a cake and says, "Take and eat," making the mockery abundantly clear.
   
6. Jesus seems to be demanding that everyone show up for His birthday. There is nothing about Christmas in this video, no hint of the Gospel.
   
7. The video pretends to be clever and funny, but it is embarrassing, unfunny, and truly disgusting.

Hower is embedded in the Parish Leadership Initiative, the attempt to train all LCMS pastors in Church Growth apostasy. PLI's reading list is heavy with Management by Objective, Peter Drucker, that gasbag John Maxwell (a Robert Schuller mime), Barna (Fuller favorite), Covey (Mormon), Luecke, and Hower. I like Hower's book title: Sharpening the Sword. Is it not amazing that all the CG puppets end up saying they can improve on the Word? Olson, Huebner, Valleskey, and Kelm are just as clever.

On his St. John website, Hower lists seminary training as graduate school. No one considers seminary graduate school. I do know some blokes who portray a D.Min. as a doctorate and call themselves Dr! Typically they earn their D.Min. at Fuller (Larry Olson) or St. Louis (Paul Kelm).

Hower's assistant pastor went to Fuller Seminary. Now that was a surprise! I am guessing that both men are familiar with Fuller and Willow Creek training.

McCain makes a big deal about St. John's not using Lutheran on their new signs. The term Lutheran is meaningless today, so it is re-assuring that Hower will not add to our shame, pain, and discomfort by identifying himself with Luther. I fought that battle and lost 20 years ago. Paul Kuske, Floyd Stolzenburg, and Roger Zehms founded Pilgrim Community Church in Columbus, Ohio. They wanted no identification with the name Lutheran, with Lutheran worship or music. They eventually had three in attendance.

Soon after, when I urged McCain (as Barry's ghost writer) to be tougher on CG, as he appeared to be pre-appointment, he became hostile. McCain has discovered that three steps to the Left and one step to the Right will fool most folks.

Reaction to Dissent in Holy Mother Synod

Holy Mother Synod - The Golden Calf

1. "You have criticized the synod."
2. "We will not publish the book until your attitude changes about the synod."
3. "You have shown contempt for synod resolutions."

Number Three is just not so. I tried hard to hide my contempt for synod resolutions.

By studying organizational methods, the synods have devised a clever way for a tiny minority to rule and rake in the loot for themselves. World trips, perks, jobs for useless relatives. Felonious cover-ups of criminal activities for pals. The Left Foot of Fellowship for conservatives. Hoo-rah.

Holy Mother Synod is the golden calf. No, it does not matter which synod. Each synod is. There is a certain amount of posing about each synod being better than all the others combined, but the actual attitude is - "We hate dissent." The synod popes identify with each other, confer with each other, help each other.

By making Holy Mother Synod the object of worship, the apostate leaders have solved all problems. Anyone who disagrees with them is really attacking the synod. Anyone attacking the synod must be dis-membered, in more ways than one. When they are done with the loathsome beast who has disagreed, no one decent will talk to him. The worst accusation is then, "Are you his disciple?"

Apostasy

Leonard Sweet (Methodist) is near the top, just below the Fuller Seminary mascot. Reggie McNeal is in the middle. The founder of Church Growth in the Synodical Conference is on the bottom - Donald McGavran, Disciples of Christ. Their theology glorifies man and disparages Lutheran doctrine. All three get better press (among Lutherans) than Luther, Chemnitz, Melanchthon, and Gerhard combined.

Someone who never gets anything right asked about apostasy. His straw-man response was: "Are you accusing all the pastors and professors of WELS of being non-Christians?"

My answer is - No, just the leaders of WELS, the Little Sect on the Prairie, and the LCMS.

The term apostasy comes from the New Testament, which is why A. Nony Mouse knows so little about it.

KJV 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away (apostasia) first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The term in Greek literally means "falling away." An atheist cannot be an apostate. A Hindu cannot be an apostate. Someone must have saving faith and then lose that faith. The prime objective of all mainline seminaries has been to turn believing students into apostates. One seminary chaplain (former LCMS, then ELCA, now Roman Catholic) published an article bragging about that goal.

The genius of the old Synodical Conference leaders (LCMS, ELS, WELS) has been their ability to posture as conservatives (in contrast to ELCA, as they work with ELCA) while bowing and scraping to McGavran, McNeal, and Sweet. ELCA venerates the Baptist-Pentecostal wing too, but they generally prefer the Church of Rome.

Many of these leaders have lost all faith in Christian doctrine. Proof is their constant measuring of material results (which God denies them in His wrath or His humor) and their disparaging of spiritual treasures. Moreover, the passage from Fuller Fever to outright apostasy is impossible to measure. Who knows exactly when a man decides that Christianity is a joke but his training suits him for no other vocation? We can only measure them by what they say they believe. That is where the claw and fangs emerge from the fleece.

Apostates lie about their beliefs, unless questioned closely. I know of three Mequon seminary professors who were trained at Fuller facilities; only one admitted it consistently. Someone who studies at Fuller and either denies it or brags about it (depending on the audience) is far along the road to apostasy. The brother professors who know and yet pretend not to know are just as bad.

By now most people realize that Concordia Seminary St. Louis went slowly apostate, with the old conservatives saying nothing for decades. Rehwinkel tried to stir the faculty up about false doctrine, but the only result was his exile to foreign seminaries. (How original!) The end result was the explosion and a repetition of the same debacle.

WELS is apostate because the synod allows Church and Change to organize its conference, even worse when registration takes place through the official WELS website. The ELS is apostate for saying and doing nothing, not that they are pure otherwise. Missouri is simply retro-ELCA, a few years behind their big sister.

The Good News is - this was all predicted long ago in the New Testament.