Sausage Factory Wisdom

God in the Hands of an Angry Sinner

No one can mangle a question faster than Frosty Bivens, the Waldo Werning Professor of Church Growth at the Mequon Sausage Factory. He was asked about masculine and feminine in the Holy Trinity.

One part of his answer had to do with the gender of the words in Hebrew, Greek, etc. Someone with only a slight knowledge of foreign language realizes that the gender of the word does not indicate the gender of the thing itself. Does parthenos (virgin) in Greek indicate the person is male because the noun is masculine? Utterly ridiculous.

Here is a pronouncement from the Oracle of Mequon:

Most adequate approach

Christians understand that the Father and the Spirit don’t have gender in the same way humans do; God is neither male nor female. Yet we maintain that masculine terminology be normative with reference to God because that is how God has revealed himself in Scripture. Of greater importance is the creating, redeeming, and sanctifying work of God for all humanity. We rejoice in that above all else.

I think Frosty is still trying to justify the absurd feminist Creeds they foisted upon WELS in Charismatic Worship. "Creating, redeeming, and sanctifying" are the new words used by feminists for work of the Holy Trinity. As always, WELS is up to date, 20 years late. The words themselves are not wrong. They have been ill used so often by so many opponents of the Holy Trinity that a Lutheran should avoid them. Many ELCA baptisms today are conducted "In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sanctifier." A Hindu could use the same words. The specific Biblical formula is the actual name of the Holy Trinity - The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Fuller Seminary would be proud. They have a special committee to deal with students who do not accept the ordination of women and feminist theology. I trust that Frosty and his WELS kindred did not fall into the clutches of those harpies.

PS - The WELS hymnal turned "and became man" into "fully human," a rendition offered by Wisconsin's favorite group of unionistic, non-Lutheran, apostates. The synod was forced to use this version, they claim. I can imagine that. A bunch of committe members from this pan-denominational study committee walked into the Love Shack, their leather pants perfectly matching their Calvin Klein glasses. They stomped their Guccis and declared, "Use fully human or we will cancel your retreat at Fire Island."