L P Cruz has left a new comment on your post "Chameleon Lutherans":
Dr. Greg,
I am just curious as to what you think of Society of Saint Paul? Is this baby steps to the Tiber do you think?
LPC
Oops I meant Society of Saint Polycarp I think by LCMS pastors here is the link
Society of Saint Polycarp
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GJ - Baby steps? This website is a perfect example of the Missouri Synod underground in favor of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. I will quote some of most febrile passages below in italics.
The Rule of the Society of St. Polycarp
Pastor Larry Beane-Dean For questions or comments: Contact Pastor Bean.
7. As the Lutheran Symbols confess the Blessed Virgin Mary to be "the pure, holy, and ever-virgin Mother of God" (Theotokos, Gottes Mutter), as well as "that the blessed Mary prays for the Church" (Ap. XXI, 27; SA I, IV, Latin; FC SD VIII, 24), it is altogether fitting, proper, and consistent with the Faith of the Church Catholic to honor the Blessed Virgin in liturgical celebration. Members of the Society will seek to restore the traditional Marian feasts of the Church of the Augsburg Confession (i.e., the Feasts of the Purification, Annunciation, and Visitation) as a testimony of the grace of God through her, that we might imitate the Blessed Virgin in word and example, and in thanksgiving for the Incarnation of the Son of God through her humble submission to the will of God. Members of the Society will also promote the observance and celebration of saints' days and commemorations. This is wholly in keeping with the evangelical and catholic tradition of the Church of the Augsburg Confession, whose Symbolical Books acknowledge the saints as fitting exemplars of the catholic Faith worthy of imitation, as well as our heavenly intercessors (AC XXI, 1; Ap. XXI, 4-9).
8. As the Church of the Augsburg Confession understands herself as a part of the One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, particularly as she exists in the West, members of the Society will take seriously the commitment to the proper ecumenicity this demands. Members will pursue dialogue with:
- Fellow Lutheran Christians to foster and promote Lutheran unity.
- Our separated brethren in the Roman Church, with which the Lutherans at the Diet of the Augsburg in 1530 clearly sought reconciliation.
- The Eastern Orthodox Church, following the example of the exchange between the Lutheran theologians of the University of Tübingen and Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople (1573-1581).
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GJ - In spite of the obligatory Lutheran orthodox sounding words not quoted, this page is far more than baby steps toward Rome and Constantinople. More like a double back-flip with a half gainer.
The Mariolatry cited above gives the scheme away. As Schmauck said, the more people veer away from the Confessions, the more they insist they are the true Lutherans. Chemnitz, the primary editor of the Book of Concord, said we should not give Mary more titles than the Scriptures reveal. This group would have Mary replace Jesus as the object of worship, which is the fetish of Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Here's more:
On Theosis and the Mystical Union
Pastor William Weedon
I have made no bones about the fact that I think there is enormous congruity between what the East calls theosis and what the Lutherans of the 16th and 17th centuries termed mystical union. The loss of that whole mystical union way of thinking has been a sad loss, in my estimation, for the Lutheran Church, and it has disfigured us. The exclusive description of justification in forensic terms has been reduced to the imparting of information: God declares you righteous for Christ's sake. That's indeed the truth, but it is not all of the truth.
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GJ - Where did we hear about theosis before? Oh yes, the ELDONA/Augustana (sic) conference. And the term Church Catholic? That was a favorite of Richard J. Neuhaus before he poped.
Pastor William Weedon is quite active, but not alone. Rev. Fenton (who repudiated Lutheran doctrine and joined the EO) posts on Weedon's blog.
Here are team members of Weedon's blog on the Lutheran Confessions. Thanks to some HTML skills, I was able to copy their links so Ichabodians can see what floats their boats or lights their incense:
Blog Authors
- Rev. Paul Gregory Alms
- Rev. Dr. Albert Collver
- Rev. William M. Cwirla
- Rev. Ryan Fouts
- Rev. Paul T. McCain
- Rev. David Petersen
- Rev. Dr. Lawrence Rast
- Rev. Dr. Holger Sonntag
- Dr. Gene Edward Veith
- Rev. David Jay Webber
- Rev. William Weedon
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GJ - Few things shock me about Lutheran apostasy these days, but I was astounded that
McCain (LCMS) and Webber (ELS) would associate with a Romanist like Weedon on a site supposedly dedicated to the Lutheran Confessions.
These Recessional Lutherans have given me an idea. I will start Roman Catholic blogs with names that will draw people in from their Google searches: Scapular Devotions, Holy Mother Church, Quenching the Purgatory Fires, Boys Town, and Luther's Errors. The blogs will make people believe I am a Ultramontane Roman Catholic, but I will spice them up with material that will turn them into Lutherans. That is better by far than pretending to be a Lutheran while turning people into papists.
Anonymous asked: How are you determining that these men are "team members"? There is no reference along these lines on either of the sites you link from the post. Also, are each of these individuals writing for Weedon's blog, or merely linked by him? Since no one can control who links to their blog, it would be unfair to criticize the men on your list merely for being a link from Weedon's blog. Please be more precise.
I just make this stuff up! Here is the verbatim information about the blog:
Blog Name Team Members
Concordia | The Lutheran Confessions orthodoxy hunter; Paul T. McCain; David Jay Webber; Paul Gregory Alms; ABC3+; Rev. Ryan Fouts; Petersen; Holger Sonntag; wm cwirla; GEVeith
Orthodoxy Hunter is not linked on the main page or listed, but McCain says she is a new friend who designed his new Google blog.
